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First Foray into XLR

I know this is a topic like ‘oil’ or ‘tires’ on a car forum, but I have to ask...

Marantz AV8802a to Odyssey Stratos amp to Aerial 7T’s. Looking for advice on 1M XLR’s from pre/pro to power amp.

I’m skeptical of cables and snake oil claims, but I’m trying to be open minded. I’ve not used XLR before, so I’m not replacing anything, and not looking to spend a fortune, but would like input from others who’ve been where I am.

thanks
english210
jdpalmer1's avatar
jdpalmer1
33 posts
 
If you go XLR make sure you get a "star quad" cable to get the real benefit of the noise rejection. I’m running the Canare and think they are great.

janewyman
81 posts
 
Bryston  sells very good cables and won't break the bank.
sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
Aside from Studio or large facility applications, balanced XLR interconnects are of little use. They are designed for rejection of electromagnetic interference over long runs in a studio environment with equipment specificly designed for low impedance operation.
In my opinion, balanced XLR connections are useless for Home Audio.
[I deleted the unecessary snark. :-) ]
tweak1
3,699 posts
 
Anyone who says LRs are of little use is ignorant, or just plain stupid. Sorry

I upgraded my system over a decade ago from rca to fully balanced, but that IS the key. Many manufacturers pay lip service to balanced by providing XLR I/Os BUT their component/s are not actually differentially balanced. In those cases XLRs will not matter. I have my doubts that the OPs kit are
duckworp's avatar
duckworp
262 posts
 
I have a fully balanced Vitus amp and yet still found the rca version of my Townsend F1 Fractal cable sounded better than the XLR equivalent, and better than other XLRs I tried including Transparent cables.
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