Question by Extremely confused: Connect balanced XLR output to restaurant sound system…?
I have a gig tonight I the restaurant owner would like me to plug the output of my amp (Behringer ULTRACOUSTIC ACX1800) to the sound system they have there. I have played there before and remember it being just your typical home theater amplifier with basic RCA inputs and maybe a 1/8 inch jack input. I don’t have access to a mixer so please suggest other alternatives.
Best answer:
Answer by Sullivan
It’s not ideal, but you can get a cable for that. XLR female to RCA male. Guitar Center carries them. You’d probably also want an RCA “Y” cable, one female RCA to two males, so you can feed both of their channels with your single output.
I say “it’s not ideal” because balanced and unbalanced are not really compatible with each other. A simple cable connection will often introduce ground loop hum. Running both your amp and their amp from the same AC circuit – preferably the same outlook – will often get rid of the hum, but not always.
The right way to connect the two, something that will always work with no ground loop hum, is with a transformer. The $ 80 or so “hum eliminators” with either four TRS 1/4″ jacks or four XLR connectors (two M, two F) contain transformers.
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