Measurement MacBook Pro Output (Newbie)

[Hasan Aydin]

hello,
I want to measure my MacBook Pro headphone output with my ADI-2 Pro using the REW software. This is the first time I measure something and I'm a beginner.

My question is:
Can I use a simple 3.5mm jack to XLR cable for this or would that be a problem because that is unbalanced to balanced connection?
Something like this:

 

[amirm]

It should be fine although sometimes the wiring can be incompatible.

 

[AnalogSteph]

Note - do this with the Macbook on battery and the RME on another machine in order to eliminate ground loop issues. Yes, REW's author says

You can save REW's measurement sweep to a WAV file from the signal generator, including a timing reference if desired.

(If you need to record on a Windows machine, note that ASIO has to be used for >16 bit samples.)

If you do need a loopback measurement on the same machine, your best chance at a (largely) bulletproof measurement setup would be making your own cable or at least modifying an existing one if feasible (a lot of XLR connectors will open / unscrew but not all may). The most likely configuration to be found is
Signal --> XLR pin 2
Ground --> XLR pin 1, plus bridged to pin 3

What you'd want is
Signal --> XLR pin 2
Ground --> XLR pin 3 only