1/8" > XLR lead?

[wowser]

Does anyone know if I can get a (preferably very shory) cable that has a 1/8" 'line-in' type plug on one end, and a male XLR connector on the other? Thanks - hjaving to use an adapter means i have this 5 inch long extension thing coming out of my eMac's line-in Edit - as the cable is going from a pre-amp into the computer, is it better to use a 1/4" connector at the pre-amp stage, instead of an XLR one?
Cheers

 

[fwhh]

This depends on "what you want to do with it".
If you talk about the LineIn of your mac, you will need a cable on the one side with a stereo (those 1/8" Plug with a little metal ring at the tip (like on your headphones)) 1/8" Plug, on the other side: for stereo 2 XLRm connectors, for mono 1 XLRm. Be aware that XLR-Plugs use "balanced"-signals and your LineIn at the mac is "unbalanced". This requires you to short the XLR-Pins 1+3 (for standard equipment). If you want to make a cable of your own, solder the pins 1+3 to the "ground" pin of the 1/8", pin 2 to "ring" and "tip" for a mono-cable.
You can also go to a music-store or a sound-and-light-rental company. They can shurely help you.