There is no doubt that the decision to move over from 3 pin to 5 pin XLR connectors by some manufacturers, has caused some confusion amongst DJ's.

The excuse for moving over to 5 pin XLR's is that some users were mistaking the DMX In / Out sockets on lighting effects for audio, and connecting them to Balanced sockets on Mixers!. I suppose they have a point, I've known DJ's to do this before!.

Yes, it is possible to link the 3 pins of a conventional XLR wired controller or effect to the 3 connected pins of the 5 pin type.

The pin outs for the 5 pin XLR's are below:-

Pin 1 - Screen
Pin 2 - Data - (cold)
Pin 3 - Data + (hot)
Pin 4 - N/C
Pin 5 - N/C

The conventional XLR Wiring of Most Effects using 3 pin XLR's are:-

Pin 1 - Screen
Pin 2 - Data + (Hot)
Pin 3 - Data - (Cold)

So when wiring 3 pin effects to those using a 5 pin type, use the following pin connections:-

3 Pin XLR Connector             5 Pin XLR Connector

Pin 1                                            pin 1
pin 2                                            pin 3
pin 3                                            pin 2

Pins 4 & 5 on the 5 pin end remain un-terminated

It is important to check the pin outs of the effect using the 3 pin XLR to make sure that they correspond to that indicated above. Most effects display the pin outs next to the connector or in the user manual.