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Why are my cables balanced ?

I am very new to the hi-end audio scene, and evidently don't know what a 'balanced' cable is:

I was in an audio store looking for 1m cables to run from my new DAC to an amp that I am going to get from someone. The guy was trying to sell me 'balanced' cables with RCA ends. Since the DAC has an 'unbalanced output' and the amp doesn't have 'balanced' XLR inputs, what is the advantage of using a 'balanced' interconnect cable?

I have read a bunch of white-papers but don't really understand them. Perhaps someone could explain this easily!

Thanks,
Matt
mattya
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
STAY AWAY FROM THIS DEALER. If he was truely trying to sell balanced RCA than he was trying to pull something. 'XLR' make a balanced connection, but only if your equipment is truely balanced internally. I would suggest talking with a different dealer, ask him about balanced RCA cables and see how he reacts. Unless I'm missing something I would not trust the guy you talked to! J.D.
awdeeofyle
95 posts
 
I might not be as vehement as Jadem6, but I'd say that the guy at the shop should know better. ...Is this guy a junior salesman or one of the head honcho's? If he's one of the top dogs he's either stupid, dishonest or both. For a fairly simple explanation of balanced go to the following URL http://www.balanced.com/faq/balanced.html. This should provide you with the information you need.
macm
116 posts
 
I would just add that just because a component has balanced or "XLR" inputs and outputs, it doesn't necessarily mean the component has truly balanced circuitry. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say that the majority of components out there with such inputs and outputs, aren't truly balanced in terms of their circuitry.
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