I've been using balanced and unbalanced where appropriate for many years, both in my work as a musician and live sound mixer, and as a home audio freakazoid. Balanced live means no loss on long cables, and dead quiet, humless (usually) sound. If hum raises its ugly head you can kill it with appropriate ground lifting. Just make sure you don't kill the musicians. In home use I use XLRs because I CAN here and there (DAC to preamp, preamp to amp, although my power amp is likely not balanced and a good RCA sounds identical to the balanced cable on that amp…still…the click of an XLR is somehow comforting). Short runs of RCAs work fine and the better the cables the better they seem to sound.
Single ended vs xlr balanced
I have switched backwards and forwards (going slightly mad in the process) testing (long run) interconnects.
I know some sound engineers, and they tell me I am probably persuading myself that balanced is better than single ended and THERE IS NO REASON WHY SINGLE ENDED CAN SOUND INFERIOR TO BALANCED. Sorry to use capitals but this seem to be a fair summary of the be all and end all of technical discussion. If I was to guess however, my mind would tend to follow the technical opinion not go against it, surely? In my mind the balanced is a deeper more airy sound, just better presence all round. The technical response is that I am not comparing like with like, as the balanced runs at higher voltages and subsequently higher volume (6db). I had a shock at this news and found out therefore by accident that my Bryston 28bsst2s amps have a switch upping the output from 23 to 29db to compensate. Also did I hear properly that Bryston kit is set up preferring balanced? My processor is a Bryston sp3 so maybe my preferred balanced system is what I needed anyway. But it is odd that a reputable company like Bryston would have such a policy (if it has foundation) and not stress that on their literature. If my system can be adjusted for speaker levels then volume output is irrelevant - or is it if that higher voltage has some effect?
And don't get me started on aes/ebu vs spdif! The aes to me is noticeably superior for the same reasons as the rca vs xlr debate. Then hdmi vs spdif ... (Time for my medicine ........)
So my question is - forgetting technicalities which can get more and more complicated by the minute - do other peoples' ears agree with mine?
I know some sound engineers, and they tell me I am probably persuading myself that balanced is better than single ended and THERE IS NO REASON WHY SINGLE ENDED CAN SOUND INFERIOR TO BALANCED. Sorry to use capitals but this seem to be a fair summary of the be all and end all of technical discussion. If I was to guess however, my mind would tend to follow the technical opinion not go against it, surely? In my mind the balanced is a deeper more airy sound, just better presence all round. The technical response is that I am not comparing like with like, as the balanced runs at higher voltages and subsequently higher volume (6db). I had a shock at this news and found out therefore by accident that my Bryston 28bsst2s amps have a switch upping the output from 23 to 29db to compensate. Also did I hear properly that Bryston kit is set up preferring balanced? My processor is a Bryston sp3 so maybe my preferred balanced system is what I needed anyway. But it is odd that a reputable company like Bryston would have such a policy (if it has foundation) and not stress that on their literature. If my system can be adjusted for speaker levels then volume output is irrelevant - or is it if that higher voltage has some effect?
And don't get me started on aes/ebu vs spdif! The aes to me is noticeably superior for the same reasons as the rca vs xlr debate. Then hdmi vs spdif ... (Time for my medicine ........)
So my question is - forgetting technicalities which can get more and more complicated by the minute - do other peoples' ears agree with mine?
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- 45 posts total
@cleeds RCA's don't lock in place, they more "squeeze in place" vs. EVERY XLR locks. I think Parasound is the exception, and they had to go seriously out of their way to find jacks that don't lock. Maybe not in the JC line, but in the lower end Halo parts. :) Yeah, the fact that XLR doesn't need ground at all to work is one of the superior features. The other one is measured as CM rejetion, or Common Mode. This is where a signal is induced from outside. Balanced cables are SUPERB at this compared to single-ended. In a home would that ever matter? Very situation dependent. Still, just to save myself the trouble I always run my subs this way. Best, Erik |
erik_squires RCA's don't lock in place, they more "squeeze in place" vs. EVERY XLR locks.Yes, every XLR locks in place. However, there is such a thing as a locking RCA connector. They are commonly available and they do not "squeeze in place." They lock as tightly as any XLR. |
Boys and Girls,....that's why true balanced circuits cost so much more than single ended. Check the prices of Ayre, Audio Research, etc. and note that there is reason for their high prices. The result is clear to hear... I can turn my preamp on full on phono, and not hear noise, hum with my ear against the speaker. This makes the silence between the notes clean, with no fill-in of spaces caused from the component. |
- 45 posts total