When to choice XLR over RCA ICs.

@atmasphere - RE:

I see the really big advantage of balanced lines in that you don’t have to have an expensive cable with exotic materials for it to sound just as good as a cable that does have the exotic construction and materials.

if by exotic materials you are referring to OCC copper, OCC silver and low Dialectric contant insulation, then I have found that

• OCC copper and OCC silver are vastly superior to ofther variants (e.g. copper alloys like Copper/gold and copper/tungston) in terms of dynamic performance
• this allows them to recreate a signal that is more accurate i.e. compared to the original signal
• which in turn recreates the image of the venue in which the track was recorded more accurately.
• Insulations that have a low dialectric constant result in less noise being generated within the cable, hence improved clarity, which once again improved on the recreation of the recording venue in the resulting image
• This applies to single ended cables and ballanced cables alike

This has been verified by many members of the audiophile community across the globe that have tried many variations of both wire types and insulatons, with whom I have conversed while developing my own DIY cables. Many of them were building XLR versions of the Helix AIR DIY RCA Cables that used the same OCC metals, and insulations.

So basically the same geometry, wire types and insulations, the only real difference being the connectors, but even they both used silver plated copper pins.

FYI, the development of these cables has taken approximately 10 years so far, with constant assessment of sound quality improvements (or changes, sometimes not for the better), by many individuals from around the globe, so there were many ears listening to many systems of varying abilities and performance levels.

But as I said earlier, in the end it boils down to individual preferences.

• no two systems are the same
• no two sets of ears are the same

Regars - Steve

@williewonka I'd be curious to see if there is a difference in the sound of the cables when the supporting equipment also supports the balanced standard.

Just like single-ended, if the balanced line standard isn't supported you hear big differences between balanced cables.

But the goal of the standard is to eliminate that problem- because it is a problem! Plug and play is the goal, regardless of the cable and over the last 70 years or so, its worked really well (all hifi recordings from the 50s and 60s used balanced lines).

So it would be really interesting to see if OCC wire actually made a difference.

@atmasphere I have Pass Labs XP22 preamplifier and X260.8 mono amps and I can hear the difference between XLR interconnects. I’ve tried a few at various price points. The difference was enough to choose one set over another

@atmasphere , a very good and affordable cable is Audio Envy

• OCC copper
• Very good insulation with low dielectric constant value
• Gold plated copper xlr connector
• You can purchase by the foot

You should hear a significant improvement in dynamics and imaging.

Venue acoustics should make a performance more lifelike

Percussive instruments should sound "crisper". E.G.

• Glockenspiel, the strike of the hammer can be heard
• String instruments, you should hear the nails on the string as it is plucked
• Drums are more crisp, like a gun shot

They have quite the following on audiogon.

They also make very good power and speaker cables

If you stream from a service then try listening to

• Nelly Furtado, great vocal recordings
• Roxette - very dynamic guitar and drums
• The Police, great bass and drums
• Pink, very good vocal recording on slower tracks
• Ed sheeran uses some unique Percussive instruments

On vinyl, I have recordings on the Tacet lable that excel in live classical performances, especially in the area of venue acoustics.

Hope that helps

Regards Steve