Which type of cable do I use to connect my Korg keyboard to my studio monitors?
On August - 20 - 2008
Shaun asked:
The keyboard audio out uses one left 1/4″ phone jack and one right 1/4″ phone jack.
Tags: Balanced Xlr, Cables, Korg Keyboard, Rca, Studio MonitorsThe keyboard audio out uses one left 1/4″ phone jack and one right 1/4″ phone jack.
The two monitors each have 3 possible inputs labeled: Balanced 1/4″ phone jack, balanced XLR, and unbalanced RCA.
I want the highest audio quality. Should I get two balanced 1/4″ to 1/4″ cables (they look stereo) even though they will function each as mono?
monitors are powered
First, are the monitors powered (meaning do they have their own power supply)? This is easy to verify.. do they have an AC plug that goes into the wall? If not - answer is moot because you’re coming out of the keyboard at line level, not with a powered signal. For the sake of argument we’ll assume they are powered since you said they have a XLR jack.
XLR is the best of the 3 connections, but is used primarily with microphones. If you adapt from the XLR to 1/4″ you’ll lose the benefits. If the output isn’t balanced, using balanced cables would be of no benefit.
Your 1/4″ cables probably have one “ring” around them - meaning they are unbalanced…. balanced 1/4″ cables will have 2 rings around them… meaning your best connection will be to convert from unbalanced 1/4″ to rca, and input them into the rca inputs on the speaker (unless your monitors will take an unbalanced 1/4″ [also called tip-ring] in the balanced 1/4″ jack [also called tip-ring-sleeve] - you’ll have to check your speaker’s manual for this.)
Hope this helps!
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