More on XLR vs RCA considerations?

@billpete

So I had an ARC preamp like that (Reference 6) and in fact used it with its RCA inputs (from a phono stage with only RCA outs) and XLR outputs to my amps - and though that sounded best (compared to RCA outputs). Try it both ways, but my "guess" would be that XLR between preamp to amp is likely to sound best. You’ll usually also get +6dB extra gain this way, so make sure to adjust volume accordingly.

I also have VAC Master and Rogue Hera preamps with this arrangement too - RCA & XLR ins & outs. The Rogue and ARC are doing something to the RCA inputs so that it's a balanced signal before it hits the doubled (balanced) circuitry. I think the Master might actually be a SE circuit with full transformer-based I/O to facilitate the flexible I/O.

mulveling

... "Doubling up" the circuitry inside pretty much always doubles the expense ...

It's a misnomer that balanced circuits "double up" the circuitry. Balanced components such as the OP's Aesthetix Calypso use differential circuitry (probably operational amplifiers) to get the balanced outputs. That is a very common approach in high end audio.

Thanks guys

Sooooo.............The consensus is that I "should" hear a benefit to using XLR connections from preamp to amps even though nothing else is balanced?

Thanks,

Bill

What makes you think your thread will be different? Ralph, the BAT crew, and their follwers will swear you can’t have a good system without XLR. Many of the rest of us who swear by RCA, aren’t so married to it and we’ll likely say it doesn’t matter.

I have a custom amp made well beyond the price of most high end amps, and I had RCA inputs installed.

Jerry

carlsbad2

Ralph, the BAT crew, and their follwers will swear you can’t have a good system without XLR.

I generally prefer balanced components for a number of reasons but I don't think your claim is true. I ran single-ended for years with excellent results. As is often the case in audio, implementation is everything - there are good and bad (relatively) examples of each.