Why did McIntosh use Female XLR jacks as output connections on some preamps?

Thinker

Super Member
Hi Everyone,

I'm a little puzzled at the moment, I have two C35 Preamps and one has male XLR outputs and the other has female. I don't understand why you'd want a female XLR as an output. I just find it a little annoying since I'm going to have to buy adapters, and I know they're not going to be cheap :p
 
For sure photos please....

Maybe mac ran out of female plugs and said what the hell we have all these males...:rolleyes:

I have a feeling it was ordered that way to fit a system.
 
Nope, don't believe it, there are standards with regards to this, and signal outputs are Male XLR, inputs are Female XLR. If its anything different, there must have been a mistake that slipped through the net at the factory.
 
Actually, he is right. There appears to have been both male and female XLR receptacles used for the balanced outputs on the C 35.
C 35 FN2562 Rear.jpg

C 35 FN1973 REAR.jpg


Larry
 
Maybe to connect to pro gear? I'm running my C24 into a pro JBL/UREI 6260 with unbalanced phono wires and I wish the c24 had balanced outputs ...
 
Out put of a Microphone is a Male XLR, out put of a professional mixer is a male XLR, and so should be the output of a Mac Preamp for balanced circuits. Just because its backward convention from an Ac plug doesn't make it wrong for audio circuits.
 
Out put of a Microphone is a Male XLR, out put of a professional mixer is a male XLR, and so should be the output of a Mac Preamp for balanced circuits. Just because its backward convention from an Ac plug doesn't make it wrong for audio circuits.

This is correct....
Maybe to connect to pro gear? I'm running my C24 into a pro JBL/UREI 6260 with unbalanced phono wires and I wish the c24 had balanced outputs ...

Nope, thats incorrect, pro gear does not follow this standard.
 
Wasn't there a time when McIntosh used pin 3 hot and pin 2 cold? Could the "backward" connector be related to signifying that convention of wiring?
 
The point here is not whether XLR is standard to pro gear, that's immaterial. Pro gear may have XLR, TRS, Phoenix plugs, barrier strip connections, TS, or even RCA in a few cases.

The question here is why Mcintosh used a female XLR where you normally expect to have a male XLR.
 
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i am surprised they got it wrong ..
idea is you shouldn't be able to touch anything to make the amp hum . if the wire from the amp was unplugged at pre end it could happen easily .
wonder if they made an amp with incorrect xlr fitted ..
 
Pro gear does not follow the XLR standard? Or McIntosh uses something other than the XLR standard? I did some research when trying to figure out how to connect the UREI amp and came across this page which seems to say that pro gear uses XLR - http://www.crutchfield.com/S-u4DMTLRw2IC/learn/pro-audio-live-sound-cable-shopping-guide.html. Maybe it's out of date? Thanks.

I never said Pro gear doesn't use XLR, I was saying Pro gear does not follow a standard where signal ouptuts are female XLR, perhaps I didn't explain it very well.
I have been in professional Audio for 30 years, and I have never seen a female XLR representing an output...I would be surprised if this was intentional as it would be rather difficult to hook it up to another device which follows conventional standards.
 
I'm not referring to pro audio in general, I'm referring to what McIntosh may have done.

I can't imagine they would try to change conventional standards, I think its an error at the factory, irrespective of it being pro gear or not, there is a standard and that's not it.....
 
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