balanced vs. unbalanced sound quality

Hi Sebrof, yes the adjustment for the 6db of gain was adjusted for with a trusty Rat shack calibrator. One of the biggest things I noticed was sound stage height and a more enveloping sound, excellent separation between instruments, more of a carved out center image with no loss of already great ambience retrival, and a harmonic bloom I didn't think was possible at this level. And to top it off, an over all cohesiveness to the music. After carefull listening, it didn't even sound like the same amp! (Halo A21)), after many RCA cables they all got me to about 75% of the potental of the amp. Balanced revealed the 25% RCA wont IMHO. Even my Anthem AVM 20 sounds more refinded. For me the urge to upgrade to a dedicated 2 channel preamp has been put to rest. Mabe a new dac?.

Jdub39,
I had the same question on the same amp I own - Halo A21. The Parasound brochure does indicate using a XLR input for the best possible sound. But when I asked this same question to Parasound they mentioned that it did not matter. A search on the internet also mentions that use of XLR input on this amp takes it to an altogether new level. I will be interested in experimenting with the XLR inputs when I get my system out of hibernation.

It's component/system dependent.

End of thread.

I like the more secure locking connection that XLR connectors provide, and the better grounding between components. However, you do pay more, sometimes significantly more, for good XLR connections on gear.

My vote goes to balanced . Lower noise floor and bigger sound stage .