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Balanced vs RCA Interconnects

I had the opportunity today to compare some interconnects while trying ( and failing ) to accomplish
a very different task. I hooked up a pair of Nordost Red
Dawn RCA int. at the same time as a pair of Homegrown audio Silver Super int. BAL and heard no difference when switching back and forth, other than the short silent period for the switch to go through. Equipment is ML383 Int. Amp, Cary CD303 and B&W Nautilus 805 speakers. The sound is excellent with both. I don't know what I expected, but I guess i expected something different...other than just price.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Ag insider logo xs@2xsnooker14
sedond
1,387 posts
 
i agree it's a worthwhile consideration on long runs, but can't see the reason on short runs, unless the product is specifically designed in a balanced configuration, as john_1 mentions...
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Very interesting dialog. I have been considering this issue now that I have a BAT pre which is a balanced designed with single ended inputs and outputs added for flexibility. I have been using SE since my front end and amp have se only. I like the pre, but would also like to "see" (hear) what its like running balanced. Anyone with any comments on whether this would require changing front end and amp to realize the full benefit of this piece?
njonker
107 posts
 
I have had mixed results in this arena, depending on the equipment in question. From my Mark Levinson 380 to Mark Levinson 335, balanced sounds best, hands down, no questions asked.


From my Sony SCD-1 to the ML 380, SE used to sound better than balanced, that is, a $15 pair of AudioQuest cables used to sound better to me than a $500 pair of Madrigal CZ-Gel... And then I got new speakers that are a little warmer and more coherent, and now the Balanced cables, to me, sound better hands down.


This is doubly odd as the SCD-1 was designed to be single-ended, and the balanced signal is generated artificially...

michaelm704
41 posts
 
It's about the equipment, not just the cable. Like Awdee said, some equipment like BAT are designed with fully balanced circuits. Balanced won HANDS DOWN when I compared the 2 configs with Audio Magic Spellcaster IIs, which I have in both SE and balanced. Bass was alive, transients snapped, and there was an awesome difference in dynamics. Other equipment without balanced circuits might not exhibit the same improvement with the cable switch.
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