Al Gershen wrote:

I've searched over the Internet and I haven't been able to find a
defination for what the letters "XLR" mean.

Can you help me?

Dear Group,

This topic doesn't seem to have arisen for quite a while, but I was asked
this recently and did a bit of digging on usenet. Not trusting what I heard
(there were a whole load of different answers, all claiming to be
authoritative), I asked Cannon/ITT what the acronym XLR stands for and they
replied with the following:

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Subject: ITT Cannon - Contact Us
Date: Monday 17 Nov 2003 12:14 pm
From: Technical Query
To: '"


Hello David

As far as I know the XLR is just a series part number, it may have had an
original meaning, however we have no info here on it.

regards

John Embleton
Technical Support
ITT Industries,
Cannon Connector Division,
Basingstoke.
UK

************************************
If this email is not intended for you, or you are not responsible for
the delivery of this message to the addressee, please note that this
message may contain ITT Privileged/Proprietary Information. In such
a case, you may not copy or deliver this message to anyone. You should
destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email.
Information contained in this message that does not relate to the
business of ITT is neither endorsed by nor attributable to ITT.
************************************
-----------------------------------------


So that's the official answer. Ray A. Rayburn gives further information
which ties in with this at http://www.soundfirst.com/xlr.html which gives
the origin of the 'L' and the 'R' if not the 'X' - after reading all the
conflicting stories on the subject it's hard to be sure on anything but I
thought I'd add that link cos it doesn't seem to have been mentioned in one
of these threads and does seem plausible.

Hopefully this post will end up being searched when anyone Googles on this
subject and will be useful - this information isn't currently readily
available without some minor amount of digging as I found out.

Cheers,

Dave

--
Remove the opinion on spam to reply.

My guess -- and it's only a guess -- is that the LR part stands for "locking
receptacle."

In article writes:

As far as I know the XLR is just a series part number, it may have had an
original meaning, however we have no info here on it.

That seems to be as good an answer as any. There apparently was an XL
series of connector that was the same size and layout, but with a hard
insert. The XLR had a somewhat flexible rubber base for the insert,
and that's where the "R" came from (according to other folklore,
sometimes traceable to ITT Cannon).



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
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"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1069087689k@trad...

In article
writes:

As far as I know the XLR is just a series part number, it may have had
an
original meaning, however we have no info here on it.

That seems to be as good an answer as any. There apparently was an XL
series of connector that was the same size and layout, but with a hard
insert. The XLR had a somewhat flexible rubber base for the insert,
and that's where the "R" came from (according to other folklore,
sometimes traceable to ITT Cannon).



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo


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"Dave Turner" wrote in message
...
Al Gershen wrote:

I've searched over the Internet and I haven't been able to find a
defination for what the letters "XLR" mean.

Can you help me?

My GUESS is that it was part of a mil spec part number that became common
George


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Maybe I just dreamed this up but I thought X meant Ground, L meant Left and R
meant Right, corresponding to the three pins in an XLR connector. Works for me,
anyway.


Ted Spencer, NYC

"No amount of classical training will ever teach you what's so cool about
"Tighten Up" by Archie Bell And The Drells" -author unknown

Ted Spencer wrote:

Maybe I just dreamed this up but I thought X meant Ground, L meant Left and R
meant Right, corresponding to the three pins in an XLR connector. Works for me,
anyway.


Ted Spencer, NYC

"No amount of classical training will ever teach you what's so cool about
"Tighten Up" by Archie Bell And The Drells" -author unknown

You know, that's so crazy it just might work :-)

I was working in Broadcast when "XLR's" came out. I don't recall any
reason for the designation.

As I recall, they first appeared on non-broadcast mikes from
Electrovoice and Shure as a better smaller answer than the abominable
screw-on cheapos previously used. The EV654 was the first mike I had
with XLR built into the case. Still have it. It's not good for much!

The 'standard' in the 40's was (As I recall) The "M" round 3-pin
connector about 1 inch in diameter, as seen on the old RCA OP4, OP6 and
OP7 Remote Amplifiers. The Gates elcheapos had the screw-on type. (What
the heck were those called??) I have and old OP-4 and a Gates remote
amplifier.

In the 50's the 'new standard' was the "D" shaped Cannon "UA" with gold
plated pins. It has a real positive locking mechanism. The first piece
of gear I ever bought with them new-fangled Transistors in it was a
Collins remote amplifier. It came with "UA" type connectoirs, and by
1960 we had lots of cables with male UA on one end, that plugged into
the Collins, and out in-the-studio-wall mike connectors. The other end
was female XLR for the 'cheap mikes'. The 'Good Mikes' like RCA 77DX's,
had their own cable connected inside the mike case, like It Should Be.
RCA didn't change that when the BK-5 and BK-5B mikes came out in the
60's. So you had to put your own connector on the cable end of a new
RCA mike.

Jeez, who the heck wanted to know about this?? Sorry...

X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

I may have dreamed this.

--------------------------------------------------
Denny Fohringer
Itinerant guitarist
--------------------------------------------------
Lessons and music:
http://surf.to/dennyf
Bands:
http://bluepearlband.com http://doubletakeband.com
--------------------------------------------------
"Ted Spencer" wrote in message
...
Maybe I just dreamed this up but I thought X meant Ground, L meant Left
and R
meant Right, corresponding to the three pins in an XLR connector. Works
for me,
anyway.


Ted Spencer, NYC

"No amount of classical training will ever teach you what's so cool about
"Tighten Up" by Archie Bell And The Drells" -author unknown

XLR stands for eXtra Large Receptable. Hasn't anyone heard this before?

"Tommi" boldly wrote in message
...

XLR stands for eXtra Large Receptable. Hasn't anyone heard this before?




I have. But rarely on the first date.

Steve Holt
INNER MUSIC
Music Creation & Production
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/steveholt
http://www.inner-music.com

"Tommi" wrote in message
...
XLR stands for eXtra Large Receptable. Hasn't anyone heard this before?


That'd be receptacle.

Denny F wrote:
X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

I may have dreamed this.

What does it mean on an XLR-5?

"S O'Neill" wrote in message
What does it mean on an XLR-5?

I don't know the history, but maybe the XLR-5 came out after the term XLR
gained popularity.

If you search rec.audio.pro (always a good idea)
you will find this post by Jeremy Shaw:

Cannon has a range of connectors in the XL series, IE: XLA, XLB, and
of course, XLR.
You will see that in most catalogs, connectors manufactured by other
companies are called "XLR-type" connectors, so, just like Kleenex has
become a generic (although still trademarked) term for facial tissue,
XLR has become the the term in general usage for this type of
connector.
Now that all that has been said, I have also heard the explanation
that "X" refers to the ground, and "L" and "R" refer to left and right
(or line and return). While this makes a neat explanation for the
XLR-3, it does not explain the XLR-4,5,6, or 7.

In reality XLR is just a part number assigned by ITT/Cannon

X for the series the Military used (or just another letter in their
commercial series of connectors after U and UA)
L for locking
R for rubber

The XLR connector was designed for Boeing in the 60's.
by Cannon (and there was an XL connector before, with a rigid
insulator)
(also I had not heard that it was for Boeing, but could believe that
.... it was commonly used as an inexpensive instrumentation connector
when people wanted something that would lock
but not have a threaded ring)

Then Switchcraft and others used it for audio.
Switchcraft added a grounding lug to connect to the shell, and went
back
to a rigid insulator, which was a bad idea -- the rubber female side
was
tensioned so there was a good strong wiping action to get rid of the
contact oxidation at every mating cycle

In the 80'sit became commonly available with gold
plated pins instead of the silver plating on the old ones that
commonly
became silver oxide and other less conductive silver salts... so that
the scraping/wiping action made by the original XLR wasn't needed...

Note, that ITT/Cannon is different than Canon the copier company.

It is also interesting to note that ITT/Cannon no longer manufactures
the Cannon XLR connectors (or so I have heard). I believe they sold
the patent to Switchcraft.

Jeremy Shaw.

"Denny F" wrote in message
...
X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

how does that work for pin 3 hot?
George


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My guess -- and it's only a guess -- is that the LR part stands for "locking
receptacle."

Xcellent.

NeilH

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1069087689k@trad...

In article
writes:

As far as I know the XLR is just a series part number, it may have had
an
original meaning, however we have no info here on it.

That seems to be as good an answer as any. There apparently was an XL
series of connector that was the same size and layout, but with a hard
insert. The XLR had a somewhat flexible rubber base for the insert,
and that's where the "R" came from (according to other folklore,
sometimes traceable to ITT Cannon).


Xtremely Large Round ?!!

geoff

"S O'Neill" wrote in message
...
Denny F wrote:
X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

I may have dreamed this.

What does it mean on an XLR-5?

But 5 isn't extremely large ...

geoff

"J. Joyce" wrote in message
ws.com...
If you search rec.audio.pro (always a good idea)
you will find this post by Jeremy Shaw:

Cannon has a range of connectors in the XL series, IE: XLA, XLB, and
of course, XLR.

Whatever happened to C,D,E,F,.....

geoff

"Ted Spencer" wrote in message
...
Maybe I just dreamed this up but I thought X meant Ground, L meant Left
and R
meant Right, corresponding to the three pins in an XLR connector. Works
for me,
anyway.


That's what I've always heard too.

"Denny F" wrote in message ...
X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

I may have dreamed this.

i was always told it was: "eXchanging Line Receptacle" denoting the
noise cancelling feature of the balanced connection.

Dave Turner wrote in message ...
Al Gershen wrote:

I've searched over the Internet and I haven't been able to find a
defination for what the letters "XLR" mean.

Can you help me?


X = A small circular plug in the Cannon connector series that was not
originally designed for microphones, but was later adapted, due to
it's small size.

Cannon originally made a large circular connector, the "P" (pin)
series. Microphones used a 3 pin design of that. Speakers used (and
still do) a 4 or 8 pin version of that series......... They wanted a
smaller connector so they designed the "UA" series which were D shaped
connectors. Mics such as the EV 666 and 654 used these........ In
their desire for an even smaller mic connector they went with a small
circular connector that cannon had around called the "X" series.

L = Latch.... The X series had no latch, so they added one

R = Rubber .... The XL series connector became popluar and cannon
later embedded the contacts in rubber to insulate them.

XLR

J_West


Read more here from Ray Rayburn, a very knowlegable audio technician
....... http://www.soundfirst.com/xlr.html

If you read Richard Rhodes' book on the making of the atomic bomb, you'll see a
photo of the first one being readied for testing at Alamogordo, NM. It's an
implosion-type bomb, with explosive lenses spaced around the sphere of
plutonium, and electrical connectors running to the detonators for those
explosive lenses. Looking at the picture, I coulda sworn those were XLR
connectors at the end of those cables, but if the XLR didn't exist in 1945,
obviously I'm wrong. So what were they?

Peace,
Paul

"S O'Neill" wrote

What does it mean on an XLR-5?

Well, I managed to track down Robert the Robot to ask him, but he insists
that Fireball XL-5 had nothing to do with recording equipment, but maybe
Gerry Anderson was onto something way back then....

http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/trekker/fireball.html

JC

Tommi wrote:

"Tommi" wrote in message
...
XLR stands for eXtra Large Receptable. Hasn't anyone heard this before?


That'd be receptacle.


No, you had it right the first time.

ulysses

George Gleason wrote:

"Denny F" wrote in message
...
X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

how does that work for pin 3 hot?
George


It doesn't. Which is how we know that pin 3 hot is WRONG.

ulysses

Dave Turner wrote:

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Subject: ITT Cannon - Contact Us
Date: Monday 17 Nov 2003 12:14 pm
From: Technical Query
To: '"


Hello David

As far as I know the XLR is just a series part number, it may have had an
original meaning, however we have no info here on it.

regards

John Embleton
Technical Support
ITT Industries,
Cannon Connector Division,
Basingstoke.
UK

So that's the official answer.

Official? It's not even an answer. He might just as well have said,
"Who cares?" or "None of your damn business."

Ray A. Rayburn gives further information
which ties in with this at http://www.soundfirst.com/xlr.html which gives

Now this explanation makes much more sense. But having been around the
internet awhile I have learned the important truth that just because a
story sounds plausible, or has been written, doesn't make it true.
This explanation has been repeated by a few other people but for all I
know they could have all gotten it from a single unreliable source.
Since every other explanation I've heard has been obvious bull****,
this is the one I'll choose to believe until I find evidence to
contradict it. Not that it really matters.

What does "NC3FD" stand for?

ulysses

In article ,
says...
.......... They wanted a
smaller connector so they designed the "UA" series which were D shaped
connectors. Mics such as the EV 666 and 654 used these........
The 654 and 666 had XLR's; I have a 654 in my hand.

I have never seen a microphone with a built-in-the-case UA connector.

--
Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont

"The one who dies with the most parts LOSES! What do you need??"

"J. Joyce" wrote ...
....
It is also interesting to note that ITT/Cannon no longer manufactures
the Cannon XLR connectors (or so I have heard).

Perhaps in the USA. But I still see what appear to be new
"ITT/Cannon Japan" connectors on audio and video equipment
from Sony (for example). The classic desgn with the rubber
insulator in the female variety.

I believe they sold the patent to Switchcraft.

If they did (which I kinda' doubt), it wasn't exclusive.
I recall a significant period when Cannon (and then ITT/
Cannon) were still selling XLRs even after Switchcraft
started selling their equivalent version.

OTOH, I concur that "XLR" was just an arbitrary part
number from Cannon. Any nmemonic or acronynomic
associations were invented after the fact by users out
in the field and had nothing to do with the original
name/numbers.

"Terry King" wrote ...
I have never seen a microphone with a built-in-the-case UA connector.

There WERE microphones (EV for certain, and likely others?)
with the larger prececessor of the XLR connector. I used to have
access to a pair, but it has been many years since I saw them last
and I don't recall the model number. Had to make a pair of adapter
cables to use them with "standard" XLR cables.

In article writes:

X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

how does that work for pin 3 hot?

Simple. Just count 1-3-2




--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article writes:

It doesn't. Which is how we know that pin 3 hot is WRONG.

That's Un-American!


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Mike Rivers wrote:

In article
writes:

It doesn't. Which is how we know that pin 3 hot is WRONG.

That's Un-American!


Is it? I thought Pin 3 Hot was un-American. I thought I was
brit-bashing. Oh well.

ulysses

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1069161080k@trad...

In article
writes:

X-L-R
1-2-3
Ground-lead-return

how does that work for pin 3 hot?

Simple. Just count 1-3-2


live sound guys can't say 3 cause on 3 we have to lift something(heavy)
george


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"Justin Ulysses Morse" wrote in message
m...
Mike Rivers wrote:

In article
writes:

It doesn't. Which is how we know that pin 3 hot is WRONG.

That's Un-American!


Is it? I thought Pin 3 Hot was un-American. I thought I was
brit-bashing. Oh well.

Brits / Yanks - same thing these days ....


geoff

In article writes:

Is it? I thought Pin 3 Hot was un-American. I thought I was
brit-bashing. Oh well.

Pin 3 hot was the American standard, or rather, the Ampex standard.
They were the major pro audio manufacturer that built thing with XLR
connectors and that's how they wired them. The famous MX-10 mixer had
Pin 2 of the XLR output connectors grounded so you'd get voltage
between pins 3 and 2.

It was the Europeans who were building things with Pin 2 hot, and in
the '70's, there were more people interested in buying Neve consoles
and Studer recorders in the US than people interested in buying Ampex
recorders and API consoles in Europe, so the standard moved to Pin 2
hot.

Of course the conventin for microphones has always been Pin 2 positive
with respect to Pin 3 for pressure toward the diaphragm, but not
everyone followed that convention, particularly companies like Beyer
and, for a while, AKG, who made the same mics with both XLR and Tuchel
connectors.




--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1069178837k@trad...

In article
writes:

Is it? I thought Pin 3 Hot was un-American. I thought I was
brit-bashing. Oh well.

Pin 3 hot was the American standard, or rather, the Ampex standard.
They were the major pro audio manufacturer that built thing with XLR
connectors and that's how they wired them. The famous MX-10 mixer had
Pin 2 of the XLR output connectors grounded so you'd get voltage
between pins 3 and 2.

It was the Europeans who were building things with Pin 2 hot, and in
the '70's, there were more people interested in buying Neve consoles
and Studer recorders in the US than people interested in buying Ampex
recorders and API consoles in Europe, so the standard moved to Pin 2
hot.

Of course the conventin for microphones has always been Pin 2 positive
with respect to Pin 3 for pressure toward the diaphragm, but not
everyone followed that convention, particularly companies like Beyer
and, for a while, AKG, who made the same mics with both XLR and Tuchel
connectors.

How would we ever be able to get this right when JBL was making RED the
negitive on thier speakers!!!
George


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In article ,
says...
In article ,
says...
......... They wanted a
smaller connector so they designed the "UA" series which were D shaped
connectors. Mics such as the EV 666 and 654 used these........
The 654 and 666 had XLR's; I have a 654 in my hand.

I have never seen a microphone with a built-in-the-case UA connector.
************************************************** ********************
Update on that! Ray Rayburn has showed me four!! so, I am corrected on
that, although we agree the 654 has XLR. Take a look at:
http://www.k-bay106.com/e-v_667.jpg
for a EV 667 AND the EV preamp, all with UA connectors...

--
Regards, Terry King ...In The Woods In Vermont

The one who Dies With The Most Parts LOSES!! What do you need?

In article writes:

How would we ever be able to get this right when JBL was making RED the
negitive on thier speakers!!!

My father (before I was born) worked as an electrician in a shipyard,
and wired up a bunch of pyrometers backwards because his boss insisted
that the red wire was positive and told him to wire them that way. The
other (the real positive) wire was white. Didn't matter (to the boss)
what the instruction sheet said. He knew better.

Since there isn't a standard for speaker connections, I don't know
that there's ever been a convention for polarity vs. color or even
number if the terminals are numbered. Seems to me that I've heard that
the terminal that has the positive voltage on it when the speaker cone
moves out (toward the listener) is defined as positive. If you put a
microphone in front of a speaker with the cone moving in that
direction, it should make pin 2 go positive with respect to pin 3.




--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
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