# What does XLR stand for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271 "2004-05-09T06:21:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/1 "2004-05-09T06:21:42Z")
Or is it just an arbitrary string of letters used to name the type of sound cable? ---
**Author:** ![dakravel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@dakravel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dakravel)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/2 "2004-05-09T06:27:42Z")
Checked [acronymsearch.com](http://acronymsearch.com), and it gives me “XLR eXtra Long Run [audio]” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/3 "2004-05-09T06:29:55Z")
The name XLR originally came from the Canon Corp. part number for these types of connectors(XLR3M and XLR3F are the familiar three-pin variety, while XLR5 had five smaller pins). Why Canon chose it is anyone’s guess. XLR connectors are also termed Canon connectors or Canon plugs. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/4 "2004-05-09T06:32:17Z")
[XLR connectors](http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/XLR%20connector). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/5 "2004-05-09T07:07:57Z")
IIRC, Amphenol named their version A3M and A3F. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/6 "2004-05-09T07:17:11Z")
Learn something every day here, I always assumed it was eXtra Low Resistance. And aren’t they damned expensive? ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/7 "2004-05-09T08:20:26Z")
Not really that expensive - a 20’ run of XLR runs about $15-20. You want expensive, look at snakes - a 50 foot 16 channel easily starts around 200 bucks, and rapidly goes up from there. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/8 "2004-05-09T15:41:33Z")
A Canon tech rep once told me their part name originally stood for the actual description of the balanced plug, namely: gound(X?)/left/right… Any truth to that? ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/9 "2004-05-09T18:21:33Z")
> [@picker](#): > > Not really that expensive - a 20’ run of XLR runs about $15-20. You want expensive, look at snakes - a 50 foot 16 channel easily starts around 200 bucks, and rapidly goes up from there. I wish! I wanted to connect my Preamp and Power amp with Balanced XLR cable. £186 for the cheap one. ($300 -ish) Put on hold for the foreseeable future. You can buy a hell of a lot of CD’s for that. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/10 "2004-05-09T18:42:10Z")
> [@Myglaren](#): > > I£186 for the cheap one. ($300 -ish) Good lord, you’re looking in the wrong places! Sounds like the vastly overpriced Monster Cable crap we have here. I don’t know precisely what configuration or length you need, but [here](http://www.soundslive.co.uk/moreinfo.asp?ID=2991) is a 3-meter XLR3F-to-XLR3M cable for £8.00. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/11 "2004-05-09T22:27:12Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Good lord, you’re looking in the wrong places! Sounds like the vastly overpriced Monster Cable crap we have here. I don’t know precisely what configuration or length you need, but [here](http://www.soundslive.co.uk/moreinfo.asp?ID=2991) is a 3-meter XLR3F-to-XLR3M cable for £8.00. Looks good, thanks. The one I was quoted for was Van Den Hul silver. Only need 0.5 M. interlink (CD player is RCA output only.) I’ll give that a try, thanks again \*\* Q.E.D. \*\* Came up with the goods yet again. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/12 "2004-05-09T23:49:36Z")
I’ve always considered that XLR referred to the connectors, not the cable. The cable is 1 or 2 or however many strands, shielded or not, etc. You might connect any of numerous connectors to either end. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/13 "2004-05-10T04:18:53Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > I’ve always considered that XLR referred to the connectors, not the cable. This true, but by convention, a cable that has the same sort of connector at each end is often called whatever the connector is. So, you’ve got RCA cables, XLR cables, DB25 cables, etc. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/14 "2004-05-10T04:53:25Z")
You learn something new every day! I’ve referred to them as “cannon” connectors for at least 30 years, and never even wondered why or connected them to the Canon optical company. Does anyone know what Canon’s original application for them was? Presumably not audio. Neither the dictionary link above nor Canon’s own history page suggest that it has done much outside the area of optics. ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/15 "2004-05-10T16:34:34Z")
The current issue of [Live Sound International](http://www.livesoundint.com/) has a nice chart showing most of the common connector types, sadly none of this is on the web. I think they may make it available in the archives section a month or so from now. The place I go for cabling info is [www.prosoundweb.com](http://www.prosoundweb.com). The ‘Study Hall’ section has great articles. See the [Cabling and Interconnect](http://www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall/ci_index.php) section. ---
**Author:** ![pestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@pestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pestie)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/16 "2004-05-10T19:21:17Z")
So I guess I’m the only one here who assumed (apparently incorrectly) that they were originally used in stereo applications, and that XLR referred to X (common/ground), Left and Right? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/17 "2004-05-10T20:24:44Z")
> [@pestie](#): > > So I guess I’m the only one here who assumed (apparently incorrectly) that they were originally used in stereo applications, and that XLR referred to X (common/ground), Left and Right? Ummm, no. If you check out post #8 above, you’ll see that **NoClueBoy** was given that explanation by a Canon rep. However, I think it may be an _ex post facto_ explanation, since in my 30 years in audio engineering, I have rarely seen XLR cables or connectors used for stereo. Also, it would seem, based on Canon’s optical background, that XLR may not have been originally intended specifically for audio at all, but just general electrical or electronic applications. ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/18 "2004-05-10T20:30:51Z")
> [@pestie](#): > > So I guess I’m the only one here who assumed (apparently incorrectly) that they were originally used in stereo applications, and that XLR referred to X (common/ground), Left and Right? [Info on the history of the XLR.](http://www.null-modem.com/Audio.htm) Scroll down just a bit to the first section. XLR is designed to be balanced not stereo. I suppose you _could_ make a connector to use XLR as stereo but then you’d loose the benefits of a balanced connection and just have a more expensive version of a 1/4" TRS. Scroll down a bit more on the link above for an explanation of ‘balanced’. For a year or so I called them ‘microphone connectors’ because XLR is what a lot of mics use so don’t feel silly! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/19 "2004-05-10T20:57:56Z")
**Opengrave** ’s link refers to “Cannon” connectors, not “Canon.” Could it be that [thefreedictionary.com](http://thefreedictionary.com) link in **Q.E.D.**'s post was wrong in attributing them to Canon Optical Company? That would make a lot more sense to me. Does anyone know if there was a U.S. audio or electronic company called Cannon? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2004, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271/20 "2004-05-10T23:14:13Z")
Cannon for Canon is a common mistake. You’ll even find it in some photography books. I would dismiss it as a typo. Also, being that Canon was a leader in 8mm, Super 8, and 16mm movie cameras during the 60s and 70s, I wouldn’t be surprised if XLR wasn’t designed for sound applications (such as recording or synch) in movie cameras. Hey, it’s as good a wag as any! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-xlr-stand-for/244271.md?page=2)