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Cable Termination for Pros: XLR, Speakon, Jack — Step by Step

Anyone working in event technology knows exactly: cables are the most wear-prone components. A damaged jack, a corroded XLR connector, and suddenly the PA crackles, or the vocals go completely silent. Sure, you can buy ready-made cables, but if you terminate them yourself, you know exactly what’s inside, what quality the soldering is, and what length you need. Plus it’s cost-effective: a good quality cable drum and a few connectors go much further than buying everything ready-made.

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to build reliable XLR microphone cables, Speakon speaker cables and balanced jack patch cables in-house. Step by step, so you can follow along even as a beginner, but we won’t skip the pro tricks either.

What you’ll need: tools and materials

Before you dive in, check that you have everything. The right tools make the job half as frustrating:

  • Soldering iron — 30–60 W, pencil tip or chisel shaped. Doesn’t need to be a pro station, but stable temperature is essential (270–330 °C).
  • Solder — tin-lead (60/40) or lead-free. Rosin core, thin (0.7–1 mm).
  • Wire stripper — adjustable, so you don’t cut through the inner conductors.
  • Side cutters — for cutting cable, for clean, square cuts.
  • Third hand or soldering stand — so you don’t have to hold the connector with your teeth.
  • Multimeter — for continuity testing, to ensure there’s no short circuit or break.
  • Heat shrink tubing — in various sizes, black or colored. Can be shrunk with heat gun or lighter.

Materials:

  • Cable — for microphones: balanced, shielded, 2×0.22 mm² or thicker (e.g. Sommer SC-Galileo 238, Cordial). For speakers: 2×1.5 mm² or 2×2.5 mm² speaker cable.
  • Connectors — XLR 3p male/female (Neutrik XX series is reliable), Speakon NL4FX/NL4FC, or 6.3 mm jack (balanced TRS: Neutrik, Rean).

Terminating XLR microphone cable: classic, but not rocket science

XLR is the backbone of audio technology. Balanced signal, robust housing, stage-proof latch. The termination logic:

  1. Cut the cable to the desired length, plus allow 10–15 cm extra at both ends (you can trim it later).
  2. Slide on the hood before you do anything with the cable — it’s a classic mistake to notice this afterwards.
  3. Strip the outer jacket about 4–5 cm, carefully, without damaging the shield.
  4. Twist a small „pigtail” from the shield — this will be the ground (pin 1).
  5. Strip the two inner conductors (red/white or blue/brown, depending) about 3–4 mm.
  6. Solder the pins:
    • Pin 1 (ground): the shield pigtail
    • Pin 2 (hot, +): usually red or white
    • Pin 3 (cold, –): blue or brown

    Heat the pin with the iron for 2–3 seconds, touch the solder to it — it should flow on nicely. Don’t flood it, just a thin „tinning” is enough.

  7. Close the housing, screw it together, slide on the hood.

Tip: Neutrik XLRs have a small plastic insert that secures the cable — pull it in properly so the mechanical stress doesn’t fall on the solder joints. Tighten the strain relief firmly.

Speakon speaker cable: power demands precision

The Speakon connector is enclosed, safe, and can handle up to 40 A. Most two-pole PA systems use 1+/1– poles, but the four-pole NL4 is also standard, as it’s needed for bi-amp or combo mode.

  1. Disassemble the NL4FX connector (the plug side). Unscrew the rear plastic housing, remove the insert.
  2. Strip the speaker cable about 6 cm. The two conductors are thick, you may need a stronger stripper.
  3. Twist the strands together so they don’t unravel.
  4. Solder to the +1 and –1 connection points (these are marked inside). If it’s a two-conductor cable, you only use these two points. For four-conductor, +2/–2 also come into play.
  5. Closure: screw the housing back on. The Speakon has a small ridge that slides into the channel — make sure it doesn’t tilt.

Important: Speaker cable does not need shielding, because it doesn’t carry signal level, but amplified power. However, cross-section matters: for 50-meter cable runs you need 2.5 mm² minimum, otherwise there will be losses.

Terminating balanced jack (TRS): for patches and insert cables

The 6.3 mm TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) jack is capable of balanced transmission — perfect for mixer insert points, balanced line outputs.

  1. Strip the cable about 3 cm.
  2. Look at the jack interior: there are three solder points — Tip, Ring, Sleeve.
  3. Wire it:
    • Sleeve = shield (ground)
    • Tip = hot (+)
    • Ring = cold (–)
  4. After soldering slide on the metal housing, screw it together. Use a short piece of heat shrink between the cable and jack body for extra strain relief.

Tip: Rean (Neutrik’s budget line) jacks are a bit lighter, but the Neutrik NP3X series is studio quality with gold-plated contacts — if signal clarity is important, choose that.

Testing: don’t trust your eyes, measure!

Before plugging the cable into a live system, always check with a multimeter:

  • Continuity: touch the same pin at both ends. If the meter beeps, the connection is good.
  • No short circuit: verify there’s no connection to other pins (e.g. no conductivity between pin 2 and pin 3 on XLR).
  • Resistance: a few tenths of an ohm is normal for a one-meter cable. If it shows 5–10 Ω, the soldering is poor or the conductor is broken.

If everything is fine, apply the final heat shrink tubing, mark the cable (colored heat shrink, cable labels or tape + marker) so you know which is which.

Closing tips: practice makes perfect

The first few cables will never be perfect — you might use too much solder, or the joint is cold (dull, grainy surface). This is completely normal. Over time you’ll develop your routine: proper temperature, fast, precise work.

What’s worth remembering:

  • Use quality connectors. Chinese no-name XLRs will rot at a summer festival, while Neutrik will survive three tours.
  • Always terminate spare cables in winter downtime, in calm conditions — not at ten PM on-site when the show starts in minutes.
  • On a cable drum (100 m) you can save a fortune. A Cordial or Sommer microphone bulk cable is unbeatable in price/performance.

Once you get used to every cable being your own work, you’ll never want to go back to the store-bought, questionable quality „black snakes”. Plus a well-terminated cable lasts for years — provided it doesn’t get run over by a forklift and you don’t leave it out in the rain.