Neutrik NC3FXX XLR Female Cable Connector

Neutrik NC3FXX XLR Female Cable Connector

The Neutrik NC3FXX is a 3-pole female XLR cable connector with a nickel-plated zinc diecast shell and silver-plated contacts, from the XX series that Neutrik positions as the successor to its original X series. It is the connector used to terminate the female end of professional microphone and balanced line-level cables: you solder it onto a suitable 3-core cable, and the result is the end that plugs onto microphone outputs, stagebox inputs and equipment male XLR sockets in studios, venues and install work. Neutrik publishes a full specification for this model, and the figures in this listing are taken from that published data.

Key features

• 3-pole female XLR cable connector with latch locking
• Rugged zinc diecast shell with nickel plating
• Cage-design female contacts with silver plating for low contact resistance
• Improved chuck-type strain relief for higher cable pull-out force
• Solder-barrier contacts that keep solder out of the mating area
• Additional ground spring contacts for better shell ground continuity
• Boot with polyurethane gland to protect the cable against bending stress

Published electrical and mechanical data

Neutrik rates each contact at 16 A with a rated voltage below 50 V, a dielectric strength of 1.5 kV DC, contact resistance of 3 milliohms or less, capacitance between contacts of 4 pF or less and initial insulation resistance above 10 gigaohms. The connector accepts cable outside diameters from 3.5 mm to 8.0 mm and wire sizes up to 2.5 square millimetres, equivalent to 14 AWG, terminated on solder contacts. Insertion and withdrawal forces are each rated at 20 newtons or less, the locking device is a latch lock, and the rated lifetime is more than 1,000 mating cycles. In practice this is a line-level and microphone connector for balanced audio circuits; the electrical ratings describe the connector’s published limits rather than a suggestion to run power through an audio cable.

Assembly notes

The XX series was redesigned to assemble faster and more reliably than the series it replaced. The chuck strain relief clamps the cable as the boot is tightened, gripping the jacket around its circumference instead of relying on a crimp or a screw, and the polyurethane gland in the boot supports the cable where it leaves the connector, the point where repeated flexing normally breaks conductors. The female contacts use a cage design that maintains contact pressure on the mating pin, and each contact includes a solder barrier so solder does not wick into the mating area during termination. Slide the boot and chuck parts onto the cable before soldering, strip and tin the conductors to the correct pin assignment for your cable standard, solder, then draw the shell over the insert and tighten the boot to engage the strain relief. Ground spring contacts improve continuity between the shell and the mating connector, which helps keep screening consistent across a long cable inventory.

Where it is used

Anywhere balanced XLR cables are built or repaired: microphone cables for stage and studio, patch cables in recording facilities, install cables terminated on site, and spares kits kept by live sound engineers and AV integrators. Colour rings and boots from the same series can be fitted for coding or identification when a rig uses many similar cables. If you are replacing a damaged female end, matching the connector to the cable diameter range above matters more than anything else: a cable inside the 3.5 mm to 8.0 mm window will clamp correctly and reach the published pull-out performance.

If you build or repair XLR cables and want the connector whose performance is published in full, the NC3FXX is the standard female cable connector in Neutrik’s XX series.