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I have a Sound card (Audio Interface) with ‘balanced’ outputs for Left and Right channels. Also I have two reference monitors with balanced XLR inputs. My audio cables have XLR male jacks (to the monitors) and ¼” TS (i.e. not TRS) jacks for soundcard. Further, I removed the cover of the XLR jack and noticed that not all three terminals were used. Only 1 and 3 were (where 1 is for ground and 3 is for the signal, I believe).

Could you please advise whether that these cables can be used to connect the Sound Card and the monitors. I mean, can I use ¼” TS mono jacks with the balanced L&R output channels of sound card? If I use, will it damage any of the equipment (Sound card or Monitors)?

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You can use TS mono jacks in TRS balanced outputs but the resulting connection will be unbalanced. The cable wiring you describe, however, sounds weird: leaving 2 open in the XLR connector is a recipe for trouble.

I think you'll be better off getting TRS-to-XLR balanced cables: using balanced connections is your best bet against ground hum and other noise.

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  • Many thanks for your answer which is highly appreciated!!!
    – maheshqs19
    Dec 3, 2017 at 12:20
  • Mahesh - if an answer helps you, please use the upvote button, don't leave a comment. tour will help guide you.
    – Rory Alsop
    Dec 4, 2017 at 7:37

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