XLR vs 3.5mm Audio Cables

XLR cables are more commonly wired as a “balanced signal” which means there are two versions of the same audio signal being passed through the cable. A positive and negative polarity of the same signal. This prevents interference from affecting the audio signal on long cable runs.

3.5mm cables are more commonly wired to transfer stereo signals, DIFFERENT left and right audio signals, which means it can not be a balanced connection. Long 3.5mm audio cables with unbalanced signals may get interference.