RojasTKDThe 1/4" TRS port is balanced. Both the XLR and TRS inputs are balanced on this speaker (3 connector). I am going to guess that the 3 wires from each input are on the same signal trace internally. Just clarifying in case anyone is confused on this. The cord that Monoprice sends is 3.5mm stereo to left/right TS 1/4", which obviously works, but it is technically a balanced TRS port on the speaker side.
Balanced works just fine if you discard one of the live wires (live wire #2 is the exact same signal as live wire #1, inverted), it's just more susceptible to hum and interference.
bdleslieYes, I know. So it really doesn't make much difference, still if I get a sourde with balanced outputs I'd just rather connect the XLR outputs to the speakers XLR inputs. It's the OCD in me, can't help it.
I think we're on the same page on this, but you wrote " Massdrop provides an 3.5mm to TRS cable ", but it's 3.5mm to left & right TS (as the link you used
https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP-159-Stereo-Breakout-Cable/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519093767&sr=1-7&keywords=3.5mm+to+TRS
confirms).
Sorry to be fussy about this, but I think you're trying to provide the definitive answer on what is a legitimately confusing topic. If you look at this picture from Wikipedia, the top plug is TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) and the bottom one is TS (tip-sleeve): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Jack_plug.png/330px-Jack_plug.png; TRS provides 3 signal paths, which is why it's functionally the same as XLR. I agree that XLR is superior to TRS if you have the choice, mainly because it's impossible to screw up; we've all had the experience of headphones not quite being plugged all the way in. TRS and XLR balanced connections have 2 live wires, with live wire #2 being inverted. At the receiving side, live wire #2 is inverted again and live wires #1 & #2[inverted] are summed, which should cancel out most distortion such as 60 Hz hum. If live wire #2 is not connected in the first place, it doesn't matter as you are summing live wire #1 with null.