Can You Use Xlr Microphone Cable For Powered Speakers

A dedicated speaker cable is required when connecting a power amplifier to a passive speaker.

Can you use xlr microphone cable for powered speakers.

Unlike the microphone line cables used with balanced unbalanced signals these cables are not shielded. The length of this connection can be up to 600 ft with no signal loss. A balanced microphone cable consists of three main components the conductors internal wires or cores which carry the signal. If you re using an xlr audio cable for live use it is of the utmost importance that it is built with durable shielding.

The only exception for the use of xlr microphone cables for xlr speaker connections is when powered speakers are employed. You can also decide whether you want to use them for microphone or instrument applications though we can cover that more in depth in a different article so that we can focus on all around applications here. It has a gain switch with three different settings so you can use it with a variety of microphones. A decent audio interface can be found for as little as 40 50 but nicer units can go for a lot more.

The shielding which helps protect the integrity of the information passing through the conductors. These are highly durable cables that transmit high capacity electrical signals which have been amplified by the amplifier. Again the most common use case for xlr cables are professional microphones but if you re just starting out in audio and still don t want to deal with all of the equipment involved in xlr microphones don t worry. Anything beyond that cable capacitance will come into play and begin to diminish your high frequencies.

Aside from an xlr mic and xlr cable you ll need some sort of audio interface or mixer so your computer can see the mic. Note use mic or line. The mic mate dynamic doesn t require any. You can still pick up a pretty decent microphone that goes directly through usb so you can plug it directly into your computer.

These speakers contain internal amplifiers and speaker wiring and are therefore considered a line level device for which a standard balanced xlr microphone cable is perfectly suited. The mic mate dynamic from mxl is a simple xlr to usb adapter that was designed for use specifically with a dynamic microphone. It does not have phantom power and is very simple in design and function.