I just tried doing a continuity test on a suspected defective TRS Male to XLR Female connector (adapter cable??). In my opinion, the correct continuity should be:

Tip --> 1 (on XLR Female)
Ring--> 3 (on XLR Female)
Sleeve ---> 2 (on XLR Female)

However, I have a Live Wire Solutions Cable Tester LWSCT (a US product) with instructions embedded on the packet which has a slightly different 'rule' . https://www.amazon.com/Live-Wire-LWSCT- ... B00A6CVA38

I have a photo of the product packaging, but sadly don't know to attach photos to posts on the SOS forum

For clarity, I am using a balanced TRS and a balanced XLR .

Can someone help me reconcile the differences in expected results from what I believe is correct vs what the cable tester 'instructions ' suggest.

Below is what the cable tester suggests:

TRS to XLR balanced
1 sleeve. Pin 1, Pin 3
2 Tip Pin 2
3 Ring. Pin1, Pin 3 (shorted with sleeve)

I'm always keen to learn so will gladly refer to any website that provides more knowledge and/or basis for what the product manufacturer says.

The 3 pin XLR wiring standard is Ground on 1, + on 2, and - on 3. TRS is Ground on the sleeve, + on the tip and - on the ring. So for a balanced XLR-TRS cable, the wiring should be:

Sleeve - XLR Pin 1
Tip - XLR Pin 2
Ring - XLR Pin 3

There shouldn't be any links between pins for a balanced connection.

gogi wrote:In my opinion, the correct continuity should be:

Tip --> 1 (on XLR Female)
Ring--> 3 (on XLR Female)
Sleeve ---> 2 (on XLR Female)

I'm afraid you need to re-think your opinion. Pin 1 on all XLRs is always the ground connection, which equates to the sleeve of a TRS plug. If you look into a female XLR connector from the outside, the pin 1 socket connection is slightly forward of the other two to ensure the ground/screen always makes contact first.

The correct wiring arrangement for a balanced xlr to trs cable is:

Tip --> XLR2 -- balanced 'hot' signal
Ring--> XLR3 -- balanced 'cold' signal
Sleeve ---> XLR1 -- cable screen/ ground

Below is what the cable tester suggests:

TRS to XLR balanced
1 sleeve. Pin 1, Pin 3
2 Tip Pin 2
3 Ring. Pin1, Pin 3 (shorted with sleeve)

This is the wiring for an UNBALANCED connection, since it shorts the balanced cold side (ring/XLR3) to ground (Sleeve/XLR1).

H

Thanks everyone for the wonderful education. I'm more knowledgeable now!