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You never know what today will bring

I introduced new XLR Discovery Essence Interconnect in between my CDP and Pre today, in place of an older pair of very short audioquests with RCA termination. My speakers now deliver the same number of dBs as before with the preamp set two clicks LOWER. I did not expect such a substantial change in SNR. My thought is that this is due to balanced circuitry, not to differences in cable.
judit
drtmth58
66 posts
 
TWL is correct. The difference between single-ended and balanced is indeed +6db. The same thing would happen if you switched from single-ended to balanced between your preamp and amp.
subaruguru
1,376 posts
 
Teacher, Judith forgot to do her maaaath!
judit OP
217 posts
 
Yeah Ernie, but think of the benefits. If I sold Subarus for you, everyone would get more for less.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Actually, the difference in output between single-ended and balanced connection will vary depending the gear in question, but the increase with balanced is more typically on the order of about 3dB or so (6db means twice as loud), which sounds more in line with Judit's experience of having to turn down two 'clicks'. It is true that the common-mode noise rejection will improve by up to about 6dB.
subaruguru
1,376 posts
 
Huh? I thought that true balanced operation output is ALWAYS EXACTLY 6dB higher as the "equal" signal "halves" are summed, which is exactly +6dB, and has NOTHING to do with reduced noise due to common-mode rejection. Oh well, maybe I'm wrong here? Wouldn't be the first time....
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