Is XLR Digital Or Analog? (All You Need to Know!)

Geek Musician is reader-supported. We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through our links

Generally, every sound that is produced is an analog signal. However, this analog signal can be recorded via digital or analog media. That is why the majority of the cables we see today come as either digital or analog. However, some cables, like the coaxial cable, can carry both analog and digital signals.

One of the most popular cables in the audio industry is the XLR. The XLR is commonly used in many audio applications and in the digital media space as well.

With some cables being primarily analog/digital, and others capable of carrying both types of signals, where does XLR fall? Are XLR cables digital or analog? Read this article to find out.

An XLR can transmit both analog and digital signals. Analog XLR transmits analog audio signals, and are typically used as microphone cables and interconnects. On the other hand, digital XLRs carry digital signals and are typically used for DMX512 and AES3 cables.

Why XLR Can Be Digital or Analog

The truth is, for most people, a cable is said to be an XLR cable simply because of the type of connector it comes with and not because of the cable itself. This is not surprising since XLR is not a type of cable but a type of connector installed onto various cables.

XLR can be either digital or analog because, at the point of manufacture and assembly, XLR connectors remain undefined in terms of the type of audio signal they must carry. Thus, they are not pre-programmed to accept either digital or analog signals.

Therefore, all you need to do is to install them on the right cable with the application in mind. Standard XLR connectors have a simple cylindrical design having three connector pins/holes. These connectors are not preprogrammed to function as either analog or digital connectors.

What this means is, an XLR can be digital if it is installed at the ends of a cable that is meant to be used for digital applications. Similarly, the same XLR becomes analog if it is attached at the end of a cable that is meant for analog applications.

For general audio applications, XLR connectors are typically used for microphones, audio interconnects, mixing consoles, audio interfaces, and other audio signal applications.

Apart from this, they are also used for digital applications as well. In the digital media space, they are also used to transmit data or signals from a digital interface to another audio device via AES3 cables.

What many people do not know is that XLR connectors are also used in many lighting systems as well.  However, the XLR connectors used in cables for lighting control systems are known as DMX512 cables.

Analog XLR

An XLR cable becomes analog if it is used to carry analog signals. XLR cables that transmit analog signals can be found in many audio applications. They are used in recording studios and during live performances. XLR cables are also used to connect audio equipment such as mixing consoles, microphones, DI-boxes, and speakers.

All the XLR cables used for these connections are typically balanced audio cables with two live connects at opposing polarities and a ground wire that is usually connected to a thick internal shield.

One important thing to note is that these analog XLR audio cables do not carry only analog audio signals. These cables come with shielding within them that can transmit a small electrical current as well. This enables XLR cables to power microphones such as condenser mics.

Due to this shielding, these cables are used to send audio signals to a great distance and are designed to cancel out any audio interference, noise, or RF interference that may be picked up along the length of the cable.

Digital XLR

Digital XLR cables transmit information using binary codes of 0s and 1s.

XLR AES3 Cables

An AES is a professional variant of S/PDIF cables that use standard XLR connectors. Even though AES cables also use XLR connectors, they are unlike analog XLR audio cables and DMX cables.

This is because AES3 cables with XLR connectors are digital cables that carry up to two channels of digital audio from one device to the other. These cables are used to send information from digital video players to amplifiers and TVs as well as between professional audio equipment.

There are several forms of AES3 cables that carry various forms of data. However, primarily, they are all digital cables that are intended to send, control, and command signals between hardware.

They are also used to establish digital connections between hardware and interface audio equipment.

It is worth noting that, though AES is meant for digital audio applications, quite a number of them can be used for analog connections as well if magnetic fields are not an issue.

XLR DMX512 Cables

XLR connectors are also commonly used on DMX512 cables for lighting rigs. These DMX512 cables use XLR connectors because they were developed alongside XLR audio cables years ago. During that period, the same connectors were used simply because it was convenient for the manufacturers.

However, these DMX512 cables are not the same as XLR audio cables and cannot be used similarly. This is because DMX512 cables with XLR connectors are digital cables that are used to transmit a digital signal between lighting hardware. Therefore, they should never be used to transmit an analog signal.

These cables have an impedance of 120 Ohms, while analog cables do not have impedance regulations and are usually built with an impedance of roughly 45 Ohms.

What this means is that these cables are primarily designed to control lighting rigs and should not be used for other purposes.

It is worth noting that, some DMX512 cables are equipped with 5-pin connectors rather than 3-pin XLR connectors. This helps to eliminate the possibility of mixing up regular XLR cables with lighting cables. However, the standard in the industry is still the 3-pin XLR connector.

How to Tell the Difference Between XLR Cables

If you have read up to this point, then you have the understanding that, depending on their application and the cable type, XLR cables can be analog or digital. With that out of the way, how can you tell the difference between every cable that comes with an XLR connector?

Being able to distinguish between every XLR cable is important because it ensures that the right cable is used for the right application.

The truth is that all XLR connectors are effectively identical from observation. Therefore, it can be hard to effectively tell the difference between all XLR cables mentioned above by simply looking at the connector.

That notwithstanding, you can look for identifiers such as labels on the connectors that indicate what the cable should be used for as a way of telling the difference between XLR cables.

In addition to this, you can also feel the cable for its rigidity. In general, cables that are used to build analog XLR audio cables are usually more rigid than digital DMX512 and AES3 cables.

This can be attributed to the fact that, in order to prevent interference and noise from being introduced into analog XLR audio cables, they come with an extra layer of shielding which makes them relatively thicker than digital ones.

I have talked extensively about this extra layer of shielding that prevents audio signals passing through analog XLR cables from picking up noise and electrical interference in my previous article titled “Are XLR Cables Shielded?“. You should give it a read.

On the other hand, since digital XLR cables do not come with this extra layer of shielding, they are not as thick as analog XLR audio cables. These are the only ways to tell whether an XLR cable is analog or digital XLR cables externally.

It is worth noting that, you can also tell whether an XLR cable is analog or digital by unscrewing its connectors to look at the wiring within. Digital XLR cables are made up of two unshielded wires that may or may not be shielded whiles analog XLR cables come with three wires.

Therefore, after unscrewing the connectors to look at the wiring within, if the cable is made from three wires and has a shield around it, it is definitely an analog audio cable. If the cable has two wires that are not interwoven, it is a DMX lighting control cable. However, if the cable has two interwoven wires, it is an AES3 digital cable.

Conclusion

An XLR connector can be either digital or analog. It is all dependent on the particular use have in mind. Thus, what you choose to do with an XLR connector determines whether the cable it is attached to becomes digital or analog.

Generally, analog XLR cables are not ideal for carrying digital signals and vice versa. Therefore, it is very important that a distinction is made between the cables that XLR connectors are installed on and whether or not such cables are meant for sending digital or analog signals.