Belden XLR Male-to-Female Cable, 3 Metre — Neutrik

Belden XLR Male-to-Female Cable, 3 Metre — Neutrik

This 3 metre balanced cable assembly pairs Belden cable stock with Neutrik XLR connectors, an XLR male at one end and an XLR female at the other. It is the everyday microphone and interconnect lead in its most useful short length, built from two of the most trusted names in professional audio cabling. Three metres is the natural choice for a vocal microphone at a desk or lectern, a microphone on a short stand in a studio, or a patch between adjacent pieces of equipment in a rack, where a longer cable would only add clutter and trip hazards.

Key features

• Belden cable stock assembled as a finished balanced lead
• Neutrik XLR connectors fitted at both ends
• XLR male connector at one end and XLR female at the other
• Balanced three-pin wiring with screening for quiet operation
• 3 metre length ideal for desks, lecterns, studios and rack patches
• Passes phantom power to condenser microphones

Belden cable with Neutrik termination

The performance of a short audio cable depends as much on its connectors as on the cable itself. Neutrik XLR connectors are the benchmark in studios and live venues worldwide, known for secure latching, effective strain relief and contacts that keep a reliable connection through thousands of mating cycles. Terminated on Belden cable, which is specified across broadcast and installed sound for its consistent electrical behaviour and screening, the result is an assembly where both halves are chosen for dependability rather than appearance. For a cable that will be plugged and unplugged daily, that connector quality is the difference between a lead that lasts for years and one that becomes intermittent within a season.

Balanced signal integrity

Three-pin XLR wiring carries the audio on two opposed-polarity conductors inside a screen, so interference induced along the cable is cancelled at the receiving input. Even at 3 metres this matters in real environments filled with mains wiring, lighting dimmers, computers and wireless equipment. Balanced connection also allows phantom power from a mixer or interface to reach a condenser microphone through the same cable, with no separate supply lead needed. The assembly therefore serves dynamic microphones, condenser microphones, direct boxes and balanced line-level equipment with equal correctness.

Everyday applications

In the studio, this length connects a vocal or instrument microphone to an interface without excess cable across the floor. In live and installed settings it suits lectern and gooseneck positions, drum and amplifier microphones on short stands, and links between a stage box and nearby equipment. Within a rack it patches processors, wireless microphone receivers and playback devices into a mixer neatly, with the compact coil of spare length easy to dress and secure. It is also a sensible first spare to keep in a kit bag, because its standard configuration fits almost any balanced connection it may be asked to replace.

Care and correct use

Push each connector home until the latch clicks, and press the release latch before pulling it out. Keep the cable away from sharp edges and heavy cases, coil it loosely in over-and-under loops, and store it dry. If a channel becomes noisy, swap this lead for another before suspecting the microphone or mixer, since cables are the most handled part of any signal chain. Specified honestly at identity level as Belden cable with Neutrik connectors in a 3 metre XLR male-to-female format, this assembly is a straightforward professional tool that does its job quietly and keeps doing it.