Recently our friend Sunny got advice from the shop guy to buy a Behringer UCA 222 interface for his XLR microphone.
At home, he realized that his XLR cable would not fit the Behringer interface.
Not without a hammer, at least 😛
Why is that?
First, let’s not forget where are we coming from. This is basic and without this knowledge we would never know where are we going to… In podcasting, that is.
What is this XLR connector after all?
XLR connector was invented back in ‘40 by a smart guy (he would be a podcaster these days) named James H. Cannon, THE founder of Cannon Electric.
If you want to impress girsl, use the “cannon” name for XLR connectors and you will get extra points for artistic impression 🙂
Cannon connectors got improved over the years and today we have XLR with 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 pins.
XLR3 (with 3 pins) is often used in audio. Most cables are balanced (3 wires inside) but most Chinese cables these days are actually unbalanced (only 2 wires inside) or very low quality 3 wire.
Cable quality IS important, let’s not forget you can spend $0.01 or… $100 for 3 feet of cable (I am using Monster cables for my live shows, but hey, I never had one single noise problem in my life – and I’ll never do).
XLR or Canon connectors, if not Chinese, are related with professional audio. Connector and cable manufacturer is critical.
RCA (phono or Cinch) connector was invented in the same ‘40 and it was mostly used to connect radio and phonograph to amplifiers.
Today RCA connectors are used for HIFI audio and video cables. They are more like home products, not professional. RCA is still used in professional realm for DJ equipment for back compatibility. Modern DJ mixers do have XLR outputs also.
RCA cables are unbalanced cables (only 2 wires).
Professional DJ RCA cables are usually thicker than HIFI cables and connectors are slightly different but compatible.
The Behringer UCA 222 is a $29.99 made for digitizing old vinyl records.
We only have 2 channels (left and right) for input (from the vinyl player), 2 RCA for output (to the HIFI amplifier) and one headphone output for monitoring.
The RCA inputs expect a rather stronger signal (line level), compared with the lower signal a microphone can provide. RCA could not carry phantom power, so bye bye condenser microphones.
Now, for our friend Sunny there is no despair…just yet. He can still use his RCA usb audio interface but he needs at least one microphone preamplifier. On Behringer, as for today, the cheapest option would be MIC 100 – for $39.99. Please don’t be fooled by the “tube”” thing, is not the real thing, is a “starved mode” tube with a colored led in the back for visual effect :-)))
Sunny must also buy one RCA to XLR (female) or RCA to 1/4”Jack cable for the connection.
However, the UCA 222 + MIC 100 is not the best deal on the planet, since Behringer is offering U-Phoria UM2 for $29.99 today, You get a USB interface and one XLR mic preamp (plus one jack entry for your guitar :P) in the same box.
So, what have we learned today?
1) Balanced cables are not unbalanced cables and Chinese connectors and cables did not made any radio star… STAR 🙂
2) Don’t trust the guy in the shop, he will try to sell you anything, the business is not to let a customer go home with money in the pocket (no matter how much money they have). Get them all 😀
3) Ask HipPie PodCasting Technical Tutorials (find our facebook page and facebook group) for advice BEFORE buying. We always offer free technical consultancy for podcasters.
Hippie podcasting !