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Switched from RCA to XLR Interconnects - WOW

I just received a set of Pangea True Balanced Premier SE XLR interconnects from Audio Advisor and connected them between my phono preamp to my amp.
I really didn't expect to hear any major difference, but man was I wrong.  The sound quality is night and day improved over my previous cables (Clear Day Cables RCA cables).  The improvement in bass response is amazing, and the soundstage got about 2 feet wider and deeper.  Mids and highs are also more clearly defined, and the backgrounds are about as black as I have ever heard.   What also surprised me is how much hotter the signal is into the amp.  I had to turn the volume down quite a bit to equal levels I usually listed to with the previous cables.
FYI, the preamp is a Parasound JC3+ and the amp is a Lyngdorf TDAI-3400.  
I'm really impressed.  I had always wanted to try using balanced cables but this is the first amp I have owned that had balanced inputs.  
snackeyp
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,394 posts
 
I'm not saying longer would be better shorter. I'm saying that in longer runs, rcas are more susceptible to noise so the difference between noiser long rcas and long balanced would be more noticeable because the balanced would greatly reduce that noise. Sorry for any confusion! Cheers,
Spencer
dill
2,579 posts
 
Now try some Clear Day balanced cables ...
shadorne's avatar
shadorne
7,491 posts
 
Canare Starquad L-4E6S cable are among the best. 

RCA is cheap crap. 

No self respecting self-proclaimed audiophile should be using anything but XLR for interconnects beyond the TT RCA phono leads. (No sense to have XLR from your cartridge but everything else analog should be XLR, preferably the components should all work at pro level to give you the maximum headroom)
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,531 posts
 
Dill....I agree re:ClearDay......however, I understand he's ill and doesn't make cable anymore.  Too bad....I wish him well.
snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
@sbank OK, now I see what you meant.  Thanks!
@dill  I asked Paul to make some Clear Day balanced cables once but he wasn't making them.  That was quite a while back so maybe something changed, but now, unfortunately due to illness Paul is not making anything.
@shadorne Now that I switched I fully agree with you about how we should all be using XLR connections.  Unfortunately, many high end component manufacturers do not include them, and of those who do, I have heard some of them do not include true balanced inputs/outputs.  
I'm guessing it all comes down to cost of adding them and the lack of demand for them.  I will look into the Canare cables you mentioned.  Thanks!  
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