My amp (Arcam) has both XLR and Phono inputs. Preamp has only has phono.
I will use 18in interconnects.
Phono to XLR cables are available. Is there any value to using these vs phono to phono?
Will most likely buy Worlds Best Mogami cables.
Balanced versus single ended
From my experience, every situation that had both options, the balanced connection and/or increased gain sounded better, regardless of the bolume knob’s final position. More detail , air, emotional connection etc. The single ended cables used were good, not the bargain or so called high end extreme.
Sometimes using balanced or xlr it involved just the source, but optimally it carried through thd entire chain.
Anyways, my question is: has anyone ever thought that single ended sounded better?given the 2 options. Im only referring to a truly balanced connection.
I ask, because a manufacturer who makes tube amps, recommends single over balanced connection. Is there something else involved in this decision, additional parts or labor complexity? Is the signal path extended?
Thanks in advance
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- 89 posts total
@mglik I don't believe so.
This is entirely false. The only reason its not used in the home is balanced line tends to be more expensive, especially if transformers are used to implement it. But these days transformers are not needed- for example our tube preamps have a patented direct-coupled output, and balanced outputs with semiconductors have been available for decades. It appears you are laboring with a misconception. If the balanced line is properly implemented, there is no '6dB lift'. The balanced output is pin 2 and pin 3; the signal of pin 2 being generated with respect to pin 3 and vice versa, rather than ground. Imagine a simple output transformer secondary with one side tied to pin 2 and the other side to pin 3 and no ground connection, and you have the idea. Obviously if one side were to get grounded to drive an RCA input, the signal voltage would be the same. If the signals are generated with respect to ground in a a balanced connection, then AES48 is not supported and you will get that '6dB lift'. I can't make sense of this 'twisted pair in reflection and differential' bit in your post. BTW that 6dB lift you mention can only happen if there are two single-ended outputs that are out of phase with each other. That is not how a balanced line is implemented, and I can see problems with that if one side is slightly different gain from the other. That would mess with the input of an amplifier if it had a lower CMRR value, and it would increase the probability of ground loops, which the balanced system is supposed to lack! The benefit of a properly set up balanced line is there even if the interconnection is only 6 inches; the length really has nothing to do with it. The rejection of noise including that of the cable itself is. IME once you hear a properly set up balanced line there is no going back to single ended.
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I didn’t read all the responses but I don’t know if anybody talked about, in true balanced, how one of the signal paths is inverted. So over the course of the cable if any RF or electromatic electromagnetic interference is introduced when the inverted signal is flipped back over at the destination those additions to the signal cancel out. This is why XLR is especially good for long runs. The additional line for the single path is also responsible for the 6 dB gain |
- 89 posts total