SSAV-MIC-03 3-Foot Balanced XLR Microphone Cable with REAN Connectors

SSAV SSAV-MIC-03: The Desktop-Length Balanced XLR Cable Built for Short Recording Runs

The SSAV-MIC-03 is a 3-foot balanced 3-pin XLR microphone cable designed for the recording surface a buyer actually uses. Most XLR cables ship in 10-foot or 25-foot lengths, which works for studios with a vocal booth and a control room — but for a desktop podcast or voiceover setup where the microphone sits on a tabletop stand within arm's reach of the interface, three feet is the correct length. No slack pooling on the desk. No coiled excess to manage. The male-to-female 3-pin XLR configuration is the universal mic-to-interface direction — male end plugs into the microphone, female end plugs into the audio interface's combo jack.

REAN by Neutrik Connectors Survive Repeated Plug Cycles

The SSAV-MIC-03 uses REAN by Neutrik metal-shell connectors with strain relief at the cable entry. REAN is Neutrik's professional connector line, and the lock mechanism on the female end physically clicks into the microphone's XLR jack so the cable doesn't pop loose mid-session. The nickel-plated 3-pin contacts pass the balanced microphone signal cleanly without the audible degradation cheaper crimped-shell connectors show after 50 to 100 plug cycles. For a desktop setup that gets plugged and unplugged daily, connector durability is the real specification — and REAN is the right answer.

Why Balanced XLR Matters for Microphone Signal

Microphone signals are tiny — often less than 5 millivolts. Over even a short cable run, electrical interference from monitors, laptop power bricks, LED lights, Wi-Fi routers, and fluorescent ballasts adds up. Balanced XLR sends the audio signal twice: once in normal phase on pin 2, and once in inverted phase on pin 3. Any noise picked up by the cable arrives on BOTH wires identically. The audio interface flips one of them back and sums them, cancelling the noise but preserving the signal. The twisted-pair shielded conductor geometry inside the SSAV-MIC-03 maximizes that common-mode rejection across the entire 3-foot run. The result is a quiet noise floor even in a desk crowded with electronics.

Standard Mic-to-Interface Direction Fits Every Recording Setup

The 3-pin XLR male end plugs into the bottom of any microphone — the connector body sits flush against the microphone clip's XLR jack and locks in place. The female end plugs into the combo XLR/TRS jack on any audio interface — the Focusrite Scarlett series, the Universal Audio Apollo series, the PreSonus AudioBox, the Behringer UMC, every analog mixer, every digital mixer. No adapter required, no direction confusion, no compatibility question. This is the same cable specification studio professionals have used for fifty years.