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Cary SLP-05 balanced or single ended

I purchased a Cary preamp and read in Stereophile that the performance in balanced mode suffered compared to to unbalanced mode. Of course this leads me to look for RCA type interconnects. I'm a DIY guy to a point and was looking to build my own, rather than shell out large sums of money for brand name interconnects which I'll no little how they sound until they show at my doorstep.

VH-Audio sells some very nice silver wire with a cotton dielectric and low capacitance sleeve. I'm thinking of giving this a go. Any thoughts?

The detail and excitement this tube pre brings is amazing. There is a cost however in that some songs portray highlights a bit over the top. The same goes for vocals where is can get a bit shouty. I tried some brown base Sylvania's yesterday and that cured the upper end aggressiveness but at the expense of some detail and loss of lower end textures in the base/midbass dept. Is there a happy medium for 6SN7 tubes in this regard?

FWIW, I'm fairly new to tube based equipment. I'm hopeful for some insight from some well experienced folks here.
Thanks much!
128x128desalvo55
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desalvo55 OP
257 posts
 
I just ordered some Neotech EI-3001 cable and the Furutech Rhodium balanced connectors to build a balanced cable. My current balanced cable is a vampire connector and a much cheaper Neotech wire configuration. I wonder if this is a potential bottleneck or should I wait and see if the performance of this very pricey (in my world) DIY cable is worth it.

Thanks folks!
amfibius
282 posts
 
Jaiello, read the measurements section of the SLP-05 review in Stereophile. The frequency response of balanced is not as even as single ended. Having said that, I am like you - I run mine balanced from my SLP-05 to a pair of CAD-211AE's. Regardless of what Stereophile says, I prefer the sound.
jburidan
803 posts
 
I prefer the single-ended mode. The sound seems to have nicer texture.
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