XLR (Balanced) or RCA (Single-ended) Between Pre-amp & Power amp???

[SoundGame]

I would like to get member's input on their experiences and knowledge pertaining to the use of XLR (balanced) vs. RCA (single-ended) interconnect connections between pre-amps to power-amps.

It appears that the few manufacturers e.g. Classe, suggest that you use XLR where possible as the higher voltage and greater resistance to noise will increase dynamics, detail, noise levels in general.

What are you using? Do you have a preference for either and if so, why? What in particular are the difference you've found? Keep in mind that a fair comparison would only be with cables of equivalent quality and perhaps of the same brand and line.

[Suave]

Great subject SoundGame!

First a quick explaination for everyone. XLR cables are said to be balanced because they contain 3 conductors: +, - and ground. RCA cables contain 2 conductors and are said to be unbalanced since one of the conducts carries both the signal and the ground. The 3 conductor design of XLR cables makes them more resistant to noise from other cables and components. Theoretically then, XLR cables are capable of delivering a cleaner sound with increased dynamics and detail, thanks to their better noise rejection capability.

XLR cables are a popular choice in professional audio, where long cable runs are often required. In a home audio system, the distance from your amp to your pre-amp is of course very small.

Another aspect that makes XLR cables quite attractive is that they can be purchased for a lot less than well-made RCA cables.

I have a Classe amp and pre-amp in my system and use XLR balanced connections between them, although to be completely honest I've never really noticed a significant improvement in sound. And this is not something that's easy to compare. If I switch the XLR cables for RCA cables, the RCAs add their own signature to the system (which can be better or worse depending on the cable).

My advice is this then - if your amp and pre-amp have balanced inputs/outputs then you might as well use them.

Anyone else have thoughts on this topic?

[SoundGame]

RCA delivers a +ve signal on one peg and is grounded (-ve) on the other. Essentially there is only a single electromagnetic wave which is transmitted from the +ve to the -ve. In XLR the signal wave is transmitted on both the +ve and -ve side but in opposing (opposite) polarity. So when one is showing a peak the other side is showing a valley. At the receiving end, these two are combined into a single wave and anything that does not match the wave is stripped out (this is how noise is eliminated). Please excuse the simplicity of this but it is to bring the point accross that along with eliminating noise XLR also doubles the voltage level of the signal, which essentially increases the signal-to-noise ratio and theoretically increases performance.

How much of this turn out to be perceivable is the real question.

Hey Suave - are your Classe components connected XLR or RCA? Have you compared using similar / same quality/brand of IC's which is better?

[gil]

I have XLR between my cd player and preamp, and between preamp and amp. I bought them specifically with that connectivity, and use it since day one. I have not compared these components through their RCA connections - just not the point of my setup.

As Suave mentioned, the main drivers for me was cleaner signals and more affordable and neutral cabling (less headache searching / matching RCA cables).

If your gear has XLR, by all means, use it, you won't look back.

[John72953]

I'm a huge believer in acquiring decent cable, but I'm not convinced that for short runs XLR makes a difference. I will say that it can't hurt, and if one has the ability to use connections via XLR they may as well do so.

[Suave]

Hey Suave - are your Classe components connected XLR or RCA? Have you compared using similar / same quality/brand of IC's which is better?

I've got my Classe Audio amp and pre-amp hooked up with good quality Ultralink XLR cables. My Classe Audio CD player also has an XLR output which I use to connect to the preamp. I've used a number of other interconnect cables in my system and found that each cable has it's own sonic signature (or level of tranparency, which is ideal), although none of the cables that I played with out performed the XLR connection (not to say that there aren't cables out there that could do so). Hence I've stuck with the XLR cables.

Also, I like the XLR cables becuase they connect very firmly, unlike other interconnects with big connectors which tend to sag.

[SoundGame]

Suave - with your access to cables that says a lot that your XLR have not been beat in your system. Interesting.

[Suave]

Suave - with your access to cables that says a lot that your XLR have not been beat in your system. Interesting.

In the interest of transparency SoundGame, I can't say that I've tried a ton of cables in my system and therefore my cable testing experience is somewhat limited. With that being said though, I am planning on testing cables (especially power and interconnect) from various manufacturers in the coming months and sharing my findings with everyone here of course

[SoundGame]

Suave - I'm counting on hearing about it.

Currently, I use an AudioQuest Diamondback 1ft RCA IC between my 4B-SST2 and my BP6. I've been considering trying something from Kimber - say perhaps the Kimber Hero IC's. On another front, I'm looking to move up the Kimber line on my speaker cables (currently using Kimber 4PR) to something like the Kimber 8TC. In any case, your feedback on what you find with swapping out different cables will be interesting to say the least.

[John72953]

I'm really interested in your findings about Power cables. I've heard it said they may make the biggest difference of all.

BTW Suave...how do I get your magazine?