Is there way to go from RCA to XLR without buying an adaptor?

I recently went to a music store and they said that they could make a cable that connects 1 RCA (male) to 1 XLR (female)

Will this work and what will I be loosing with only the use of 1 RCA insert?

The mic I'm planning on getting is an Audio-technica AT835B

I'm using a Canon XL1 camera

Is this a good mic and will this "nonadaptor" idea work?

you could solder or crimp one yourself, but your making it an unballanced line then.

What does that mean?

balanced cables have a third wire that runs in opposite polarity to the ground - essentially it means that it cancels noise in the line. Ever hear a buzzing with like a guitar cable or a rcaa cable? XLR cables cancel that. You will lose that feature if you get an rca adapter. Just keep your cables good quality and as short as possible and noise shouldnt be a drastic problem.

So an RCA to XLR adaptor is essential regardless if it can be done without it?

if you have rca connections on one end and XLR on the other then yea, you have to get an adapter, you still gotta connect em - although if im not mistaken isnt there an add - on unit for the XL1 that gives you XLR ins and outs? I'm sure it would cost a bit of change but it is a good investment. As for having them MAKE you a connector - no, bad idea. they exist:


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=030717135303067087061017208347/g=home/search/d=tp?q=rca+xlr

or radio shack undoubtedly has one, although i'd make sure its decent quality. the bigger issue i see is the weight of the xlr connnector hanging off of a RCA jack, i would go with a short run of rca cable (like the 5 footer i linked to) so that the xlr connector is on the ground or tied to your tripod or something, not sticking off of the camera at the RCA connector. Too much strain.

Hope that helps!

actually i found the XL1 connector i was referring to, the MA-100:

http://www.canondv.com/xl1s/a_audio_access.html

top one. it retails on yahoo shopping in the $180 range. definitely worth it if you can swing it, dual xlr ins.

Yeah I know about those. I was trying to see if you made a cable with an RCA end and an XLR end would that work.

But yeah I'm looking into those

There's the MA-100 $180
and the Beachtek DXA-4C $170

well, yea it would definitely work with a cable. a signal is a signal no matter how it gets to the camera.

Do not buy the Cannon MA-100. It adds noise. Very bad. If you do decide that you want to keep the mic cable balanced (except for the last 6 inches where the adapter goes into the camera), buy the beachtek or studio one adapters (i like the beachteks better).

Yes, an unbalanced line will work in the sense that you will hear the microphone. Whether it will work adequately for your needs is another, more subjective, issue. Why not just buy or make the cable and see if it works? It's cheap and you may be perfectly happy with it. If you're not, you now have a backup cable in case you loose/break the adapter you're gonna buy.