XLR vs RCA

Those who concern themselves with the direction in which their cables are connected don't have to worry about that with XLRs, as they only connect in one direction :-)

More seriously, see my comments dated 12-7-14 here, in which I cited many reasons why the performance of the two interfaces may differ, regardless of whether or not the internal signal paths in the components are balanced. The bottom line: "If the components provide both choices, and are not fully balanced, the only way to determine which interface will perform best in your particular setup is probably to try both of them."

Regards,
-- Al

Most gear today comes with XLR jacks and most audiophiles prefer this type of cable. Unless you have older equipment or tube gear, the choice appears to be XLR. IMO, RCA is fine for shorter lengths but for longer runs XLRs are better for CMRR.

Make and use almost only fully balanced equipment, always use XLR. Our preamps do offer RCA inputs, however when a RCA input is selected it is converted to fully balanced right after the volume control.

On our larger Olympia models we use 75 Ohm BNC connections between the preamps and the power amps.

On a mechanical note the XLR connector is a much superior connector to the RCA connector. Which in my opinion is of MUCH greater importance than the type of wire between the two connection points.

Good Listening all and Happy Holidays

Peter

I'd always used RCA connections until my current rig, which has a very long (4 meter) run between the preamps and amplification set. After finding a long pair of balanced cables here for a price I was willing to pay, I gave them a shot between my C50 and MC302, neither of which are balanced. They immediately dropped the noise floor very audibly. My stereo output now floats on a backdrop of complete silence. Nice.

I also tried balanced in a half-meter run between my MVP881BR and C50 to no audible difference I can discern. I left them in place because the balanced cables do have a much more secure connection as noted by others above.

Accordingly, I agree with Al - you simply have to do an empirical evaluation in your rig and decide for yourself.

Welcome aboard and happy listening!

I tried RCA and XLR on my Oppo and the XLR won out easy.