Balanced vs. Unbalanced
A balanced audio cable uses three copper wire conductors to carry an audio signal - one for positive, one for negative, and one for grounding. An unbalanced cable uses two conductors, one for positive and one for negative and ground.
Unbalanced cables are more likely to pick up interference, while balanced cables are designed to cancel out interference and noise with a second conductor wire and separate ground wire. Both conductor wires work to cancel out interference in balanced cables.
TS Audio Jack
TS connectors, or tip-sleeve connectors, are 2-contact unbalanced connectors commonly used for speaker and instrument cables. They come in three different sizes: Micro Mini (2.5 mm), 1/8" Mini (3.5mm), or 1/4" (6.3 mm).
TRS Audio Jack
TRS connectors, or tip-ring-sleeve connectors, are 3-contact balanced connectors commonly used for mixer and headphone inputs and inserts. TRS connectors come in three different sizes: Micro Mini (2.5 mm), 1/8" Mini (3.5mm), or 1/4" (6.3 mm).
TRRS Audio Jack
TRRS connectors have 1 unbalance and 2 balanced channels. They are commonly used for stereo AV, microphone connections, smartphones, and some video recorders. TRRS connectors have 1/8" (3.5 mm) jacks.
Stereo Audio RCA
RCAs have 2 unbalanced channels with left and right stereo audio connectors. They are commonly used for TVs, media players, projectors, and consumer audio equipment.
XLR (3-Pin)
XLR connectors are balanced connectors commonly used for microphones, audio mixers, headsets, video cameras, and other professional audio equipment.
SpeakON
SpeakON's unbalanced audio and power connectors have a higher power rating than TRS and XLR connectors. They are intended for high current audio applications and commonly used for connecting large pro audio speakers to amplifiers.
