balanced output VPI

You can buy a special balanced output "block" for lack of a better word from VPI

Good Listening

Peter

@Pbnaudio

I know I can buy the XLR junction box. But I think these are highly over priced. At least for a VPI Scout they are. But then I would need a XLR-RCA cable and I would perfer a RCA-RCA cable.

From what I understood is that if I disconnect the ground from the plus in the RCA junction box I can use it balanced.

I don't know the answer, but that is an interesting feature.

You will need to replace the existing VPI RCA terminal junction box with a VPI XLR terminal box and add a pair of XLR cables to connect to your phono stage's XLR input. I believe that the dip switch on the back of your phono stage just activates the appropriate input i.e. RCA or XLR.

There is another way to do it as well.

Since your box has a ground post is why you can do this. The signal is actually balanced all the way to the box. All that happens in the box is that the RCAs are connected. The RCAs are insulated from ground.

If the barrel connection of the RCA is not treated as the shield connection (which is the ground post) then you can set up a true balanced line. The only issue you may have is if someone touches the sleeve connection of the RCA while its playing- you may get a buzz at that point.

But otherwise this can be a totally balanced setup. BTW, we offered the first balanced line preamp (MP-1) back in 1989, and this has been one means of making the balanced connection to the phono that we have used since that time. The complete scenario is in our preamp owner's manual, which can be downloaded from our site; click on 'Support'.

The connection:

Ground post = shield of **both** channels, pin 1 on both XLRs.

Center pin of RCA = pin 2 of XLR

ground sleeve of RCA (which is insulated from the ground of the box BTW) = pin 3 of the XLR.

The connections for pin 2 and pin 3 are a twisted pair within the shield of the cable.

The advantage of doing this is that the phono cable will cease to have an effect on the sound (worth doing IOW).