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Soundcraft MFXi MPMi User Guide Issue 1210
Polarity (Phase)
You will probably be familiar with the concept of polarity in electrical signals and this 
is of particular importance to balanced audio signals.  Just as a balanced signal is 
highly effective at cancelling out unwanted interference, so two microphones pick-
ing up the same signal can cancel out, or cause serious degradation of the signal 
if one of the cables has the +ve and -ve wires reversed.  This phase reversal can 
be a real problem when microphones are close together and you should therefore 
always take care to connect pins correctly when wiring audio cables. 
Grounding and Shielding
For optimum performance use balanced connections where possible and ensure 
that all signals are referenced to a solid, noise-free earthing point and that all signal 
cables have their screens connected to ground. In some unusual circumstances, 
to avoid earth or ground ‘loops’ ensure cable screens and other signal earths are 
connected to ground only at their source and not at both ends.  
If the use of unbalanced connections is unavoidable, you can minimise noise by 
following these wiring guidelines:
On INPUTS, unbalance at the source and use a twin screened cable as though 
it were balanced.
On OUTPUTS, connect the signal to the +ve output pin, and the ground of the 
output device to -ve. If a twin screened cable is used, connect the screen 
only at the mixer end. 
Avoid running audio cables or placing audio equipment close to thyristor 
dimmer units or power cables.
Noise immunity is improved significantly by the use of low impedance sources, 
such as good quality professional microphones or the outputs from most 
modern audio equipment.  Avoid cheaper high impedance microphones, 
which may suffer from interference over long cable runs, even with well-made 
cables.
Grounding and shielding is still seen as a black art, and the suggestions above are 
only guidelines.  If your system still hums, an earth/ground loop is the most likely 
cause.  Two  examples of how an earth loop can occur are shown below.
Warning!  
Under NO circumstances must the AC power mains earth be disconnected 
from the mains lead.