wst3
...I suspect we're going to have to agree to disagree on the cable thing, but some last minute thoughts are interspersed...

 
I agree!

wst3
...Agreed, it is all about language, and words (who knew) do matter<G>!..

 
Hey Bill, we're agreeing!!! 
 
 

wst3
So what would you call a cable of shielded twisted pair construction when used to connect a single-ended source to a single-ended input?

 
A balanced cable used incorrectly (or in the wrong application). One of the twisted wires carries a single ended signal while the other wire along with the shield are grounded.
 

wst3
How about a single-ended source to a balanced input?

 
Same as above.
 

wst3
My point, which may be nothing more than semantics, is that the cable does not posses the characteristic of being balanced or not. It depends entirely on how it is used.
 

 
 
Maybe I should call my sales guy at Sweetwater and demand that they stop calling "Balanced" cables, "Balanced Cables. http://www.sweetwater.com/c807--Balanced_Cables_TRS_to_TRS?adpos=1t1&creative=105744826921&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=CjwKEAiAjIbBBRCitNvJ1o257WESJADpoUt0abPCJ0DCj79Jw1KgCZ2A4PCYKJ3xaiDkfUEndeEEShoCwjLw_wcB 
 
Once again I agree with you that we can agree to disagree. Have a Happy Election night. I'm going to open up a bottle of wine later to ether celebrate or get real drunk...
 
Best regards,
 
Walt
 
 
 

bitflipper
 
... IOW, is the cable called "balanced" because of its design, or because it's normally used in a balanced circuit?...
 

 
Hi Bit Flipper,
 
I agree with everything you stated except I would change the above to "IOW, is the cable called "balanced" because of its design, AND because it's normally used in a balanced circuit?" (Of course it can also be used as a stereo cable, but that's another application of the cable)
 
Walt
 

If it's any consolation, Wikipedia agrees it's about impedance balancing. Which assists in removing interference via common-mode rejection.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_circuit

The EHX nano-Muff, a reissue of their first Muff Fuzz has (or had, I think they may have fixed it eventually) a dc socket wired backwards to the tip+ centre - convention for reasons quite unknown to anyone or even mentioned on the pedal or the instruction leaflet.

They tended to burn out important components if connected to a standard, conventional pedal power supply.

Tell me about it, I blew up a Korg Poly 800 because it used a reversed polarity connector and was not protected. $1,200 poof! 
Since then I'm very careful and I label all my wall warts the minute I get them. I label both the wart and the end of the cable. 

SycraftIt always amazed me how long it took the electronics industry to learn to do simple things like put a diode on the power lines to keep simple mistakes from causing expensive problems. They'd leave off a 9 cent part and then as you said, poof.
 
What amazes me even more is you STILL find some stuff that isn't protected.

The first thing I do with any device that uses an external DC power supply is check, if there is no protection I add it. If that voids the warranty well, I'll take that gamble!

One thing I learned when I was an electronics engineer in a former life was if a manufacturer can save even 1 cent by not putting a component in even if it means quite an improvement in performance they simply won’t do it. (TV's in particular)  Only the better ones where price is no object will favour the performance over price.
 
The thing with diodes is they introduce a voltage drop eg 0.6V.  A bridge rectifier will introduce two voltage drops eg 1.2V I know most cheaper DC supplies can be over voltage anyway but some very well designed ones may put out exactly 9V for example.  So by the time the two voltage drops are taken into consideration eg 1.2V then there is only 7.8V reaching the circuitry which may effect performance somewhat and that may be an issue.
 
I think you have to have even a cheap multimeter handy and check what is actually coming out of the connector on the tip and carefully check the markings on the DC input connector on the device.  For me that has always been the way.
 
I agree with Bill re polarity variables.  I found the only way to actually test microphones properly is to feed a non symmetrical signal into a speaker  (that is known to be correct phase) then put the microphone in front of the speaker, feed the mic signal into a preamp (which you know to not invert the signal) and view the results on a CRO.  You can still see the non symmetrical wave even after you do this.  When I checked all my microphones this way I found about a third of them were the wrong way around!  I rewired of course and now they are all in phase. Pretty important for say a drum kit micing setup.  Adobe Audition has a range of non symmetrical tones which are very handy.
 
It is also amazing what you find out when you test all the speakers in your PA this way too.

I needed to buy 6 XLR Male to TRS Male cables to re-connect my Monitors to my Mackie Big Knob again.   I purchased 6 packs of  Hosa STX-110M - 10' and these were $7.39 each from Amazon.com.  They all gave a great connection with no hums or noise of any kind.    
 
A lot of people like to put down Hosa cables and go for the much higher cost cable, but if you're doing this as a hobby and not earning any money from recording or making song, then you better give that wallet or pocket book a rest and give Hosa a  try;  I've never has a problem with them.
 
Hosa Cable  
Hosa STX-110M - 10'