Re: Cable adapter question - answer

["Scott Fraser" scottbfraser]

<<My understanding is that the shield is left off to avoid ground  
loops and hum etc. (I could be wrong though) and since a microphone is  
basically a 'floating' device (ie it's at the end of the line) hum and  
ground loops are not a problem. I think the article cited is in  
relation to interconnects between hardware.>>

The shield (pin 1) must be connected on a microphone cable. There are  
no ground loops with a microphone, but more importantly, any condenser  
mic utilizing Phantom power requires all 3 conductors to be connected  
in order to receive power.  48volts (positive) is sent equally on pins  
2 & 3, and returns on pin 1, the shield. When using a Phantom powered  
mic into an unbalanced preamp, the output of the in-line Phantom power  
supply must be balanced through a transformer before hitting the  
unbalanced preamp input.

Scott Fraser