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Balanced vs. Single Ended Interconnects

From your experience, would you expect a higher quality single ended interconnect or an entry level balanced interconnect to sound better when connecting two balanced components?

More specifically, I will be connecting a Denafrips Ares ii to a Pathos Classic One Mkiii and I currently have Audioquest Sydney RCA interconnects.  Is it worth getting some cheap Monoprice XLR cables or should I just wait until I can justify purchasing something from Audioquest (probably Red River or Belden BAV) in the future.   

- robot

mceljo
carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

One reason why many prefer rca is that there are many more quality cables available.  That is a very nice amp and you will benefit from a pair of high quality interconnects.  there is absolutely no reason to go balanced on a short run.

Jerry

jerryg123's avatar
jerryg123
3,429 posts
 

No you have a true balanced components and a cheap junky XLR will be of no real benefit. 
 

Wait get a quality XLR to maximize the performance of these components. 

erik_squires
16,892 posts
 

Assuming they are short, and you aren't near a radio station I know I'd be hard pressed to tell a difference.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,688 posts
 

@mceljo You’ve invested in good components so wait and get good XLR interconnects. The cheap Monoprice cables are only good to keep around for when you’re upgrading and are in between cables and don’t want to be left without music.

And even then, for this purpose I’d resort to something like BlueJeans or Mogami, not Monoprice. 

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