Why does my XLR microphone make no sound?

Three usual reasons, in order: phantom power is not switched on at the interface (the button marked 48V or P48), the microphone is plugged into a line input rather than the microphone input, or the gain is at zero. The cable is almost never the fault.

Can I use an XLR-to-jack adapter instead?

It will pass audio and it will not pass phantom power, so a condenser microphone stays silent. It also breaks the balanced connection. For a condenser, use XLR end to end.

The cable that carries phantom power

UGREEN XLR Cable 3 m

Name: UGREEN XLR Cable 3 m
Brand: UGREEN
SKU: B016D50A1Y
Availability: InStock

A three-metre three-pin XLR lead. Balanced, so it rejects interference over distance — and the only cable type that carries 48 V phantom power from an interface to a condenser microphone.

UGREEN 3 m three-pin XLR microphone cable

UGREEN XLR Cable 3 m

A three-metre three-pin XLR lead. Balanced, so it rejects interference over distance — and the only cable type that carries 48 V phantom power from an interface to a condenser microphone.

Connector: 3-pin XLR, male to female
Length: 3 m
Signal: Balanced
Carries phantom power: Yes — 48 V from the interface to the microphone
Amazon reference: B016D50A1Y (identical on 6 markets)
EAN: 6957303827114

Balanced: it can run across a room without collecting the hum a jack lead would
The locking connector will not fall out of a microphone mid-take
No US offer at the time of writing, and the Spanish price stood at roughly double the German one

Best for: Any XLR microphone into an interface or a mixer.

≈ £14 / 10 €

Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Connector: 3-pin XLR, male to female
Length: 3 m
Signal: Balanced
Carries phantom power: Yes — 48 V from the interface to the microphone
Amazon reference: B016D50A1Y (identical on 6 markets)
EAN: 6957303827114

Every question in the “my microphone does not work” category comes back to this cable and what it carries.

An XLR lead is balanced: it sends the signal twice, once inverted, and the receiving end cancels anything picked up along the way. That is why a microphone can sit five metres from an interface without humming, where a jack lead at the same length would.

It also carries phantom power — the 48 V an interface sends up the cable to run a condenser microphone’s electronics. No other common cable does this. An XLR-to-jack adapter breaks it, which is why a condenser plugged in that way stays completely silent while a dynamic microphone works.

Three metres suits a desk setup; the locking connector means the cable does not fall out when the stand is nudged.

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UGREEN XLR Cable 3 m

Specifications

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