"Bob Quintal"
" Wallyman"
I can too. James H. Cannon designed several series of connectors,
including the XL and, later, the XLR.
The IEC spec you refer to was created many years after the XLR-3 had
become the de facto standard in pro audio.
** Hello Bob, have not heard from you in a while.
Despite what the mind readers here may say, I am very familiar will the XLR
and XLP series of connectors. Since the 1960s, there was a plant making them
in Australia and there is still one making them under the Alcatel name.
XLPs came first and were used for many jobs, including microphones. I think
Shure were the first to put a 3 pin XLP style male socket on the bottom of a
mic. Then everyone followed.
The XLR series has some soft material surrounding females pins - mainly so
that when mated with a male version, there is no looseness or movement.
Important with hand held mics to prevent unwanted noises.
Switchcraft had the same idea for microphones, they but used sprung steel
balls instead to eliminate movement plus a very smooth external contour for
user comfort. Overkill really.
The only places I see 4 pin XLRs or XLPs being used is on headsets for
talkback stations and a few PSUs for mixing desks - the later sometimes
having 5 pins versions. So I keep a few of each on hand.
BTW: I think the Neutrik versions are mostly flimsy and horrible.
..... Phil