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Balanced vs RCA between amp/preamp

Well I'm taking my first step into separate components with a Marantz SC-11s1 and SM-11s1. Would like to know about the +/-'s of using RCA vs balanced interconnects between the two. All my input sources are single ended.

I understand the Marantz components balanced connections have pin 2 wired cold and pin 3 wired hot. Does this mean I need to reverse the cables going to my speakers (if I decide to use balanced connections between amp/preamp).

I also understand the RCA connections conserve absolute polarity. But is there a performance "hit" taken by using singled ended connections between amp/preamp?

Thank you in advance......
wec56
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
@atmasphere

Ralph, I agree with your comments 200% (or I would if >100% were theoretically possible), except that like Millercarbon my understanding has been that XLR connectors make the ground connection prior to the making the signal connections, upon insertion, and break the ground connection after breaking the signal connections, upon removal.

And upon close examination of some XLR cables I have, which are terminated with Neutrik connectors, it does appear that on the female end the metal contact within pin 1 extends slightly closer to the front surface of the connector than the contacts within the signal pins. And likewise for female (input) connectors I looked at on the rear panel of a component. And although the pins on the male end all appear to be the same length as far as I can tell, it seems to me that the make & break sequences I described would occur regardless of which end of the cable is inserted or removed, as a result of the configuration of the female connectors.

Best regards,
-- Al

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,249 posts
 

In his Positive Feedback review of the EAR-Yoshino 868L line stage pre, the reviewer made the statement that, though the 868 provides XLR jacks for balanced operation, the pre-amp circuitry itself is single-ended. Designer Tim deParavicini in his manufacturer reply corrected the reviewer, stating that no, the 868 is a true balanced design. It is a commonly-held understanding by audiophiles and semi-pro hi-fi reviewers that a true balanced amp by definition has doubled parts. As atmasphere just said, that is a misconception and misunderstanding of what balanced is. A pre-amp can have single-ended circuits yet be true balanced in operation.

The real concern in any piece of gear is how the balanced inputs/outputs are implemented. In the EAR 868, Paravicini accomplished that goal via transformers. In his Music Reference RM-200, Roger Modjeski does so with a resistor network. Companies with lower standards typically create balanced inputs/outputs with the dreaded opamp, and with the expected sonic compromise. A higher retail price does not necessarily buy one balanced ins and outs NOT created with opamps. If possible, inspect the schematic of any piece of balanced gear you are considering buying, to see how it’s balanced connections are created, and if they conform to AES48.

audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,384 posts
 
Having been involved with every facet of Audio for over 35 years 
balanced if True balanced would be a bit quieter.
that being said your Amplifier and preamp need to have transformers for the input,outputs to be what is considered a True balanced . Most amplifiers have whst I call quasi balanced 
a  XLR but when you take the top off  it is wired  on the same grid
wiring with the RCA. I is a added expense to do properly .
check your components before spending any added costs. Jensen 
make some very good transformers for this application,
there are several good transformers out there I am not certain if Lundahl make any this small . 
itsjustme
683 posts
 
As has been pointed out, balanced is not inherently better sounding.  A balanced signal is simply two unbalanced signals, one 180 degrees out of phase (mirror image).  The you subtract one from the other - common noise cancels.  That's it.
It is more immune to both ground noise and pickup of noise over long distances in noisy environments - like factories or concert stages.
Worse, the simple, common way to create balanced I/O is to add an opamp or other circuitry to create it - and every circuit, no matter how good, adds a little distortion and noise.
There are a bunch of reasons to use balanced - for example to run stereo amps as monoblocks - and yea, i advertised this as a feature on my amps/preamps 25 years ago - and it was true! And sounded great! -- but it used inherently balanced circuitry (not one extra part, not one), and quadrupled the power.
That said, 99% of the time i personally would run the simplest system possible. RCAs.
Plus, you save money on cables - generally lots. Spend that on something truly useful.
As to RCAs preserving absolute polarity - strange comment. So do balanced connections. Actually, absolute polarity is really a function of whether the circuitry inverts or not. If it does, well, swap the speaker leads :-) Problem solved for $0.00
G
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