Playing with RCA vs Balanced in my setup

[Arkless Electronics]

EH? Am I to take it here that people are thinking there's a difference between XLR and phono sockets? The entire point is balanced OR unbalanced. The type of socket has feck all to do with it! You could use two phono sockets per channel to send a balanced signal!! You could even use a 5 pin DIN plug to send both channels of balanced audio....

[Spectral Morn]

EH? Am I to take it here that people are thinking there's a difference between XLR and phono sockets? The entire point is balanced OR unbalanced[/U]. The type of socket has feck all to do with it! You could use two phono sockets per channel to send a balanced signal!! You could even use a 5 pin DIN plug to send both channels of balanced audio....

Indeed Chord Electronics had a phono stage that had balanced in implemented that very way.

[brucew268]

So just to spin possibilities with no knowledge of whether they could make any difference...

• Could it be that the 6.8Vrms output to the amp's input (900mV sensitivity) is handled better than a 2.2Vrms output to the amp?
• Could it be that the Balanced DAC output has a different impedance than the single-ended output?

BTW: Don't get too hung up on the terms. I was just using RCA as a shorthand for single-ended. That's not the point!

[Arkless Electronics]

So just to spin possibilities with no knowledge of whether they could make any difference...

• Could it be that the 6.8Vrms output to the amp's input (900mV sensitivity) is handled better than a 2.2Vrms output to the amp?
• Could it be that the Balanced DAC output has a different impedance than the single-ended output?

BTW: Don't get too hung up on the terms. I was just using RCA as a shorthand for single-ended. That's not the point!

Output impedance has nothing to do with balanced or unbalanced. It could be different yes but as both are likely less than 1K it's irrelevant...

Again the output level is irrelevant. It will have to go through attenuation whether it's 2V or 7V.

[Arkless Electronics]

I wonder if there is a market for a "make your system balanced" gizmo!? A pair of boxes, one sits on top of the pre and one on top of the power amp and makes an unbalanced signal balanced to send it balanced to the power amp where the other box converts it back to unbalanced... It is how many pieces of balanced kit work anyway! Cynical? Moi?

[brucew268]

DAC's tend by their nature to have true balanced outputs anyway (even if no balanced output is provided in your DAC the DAC IC usually works in balanced form)....

So is it possible that Calyx implemented their DAC's single-ended circuit less optimally than the balanced out?


BTW: they've laid things out in such a way that one has to take the DAC completely apart in order to see the circuits. Opening the case just shows the underside of the PCB.

[Arkless Electronics]

So is it possible that Calyx implemented their DAC's single-ended circuit less optimally than the balanced out?


BTW: they've laid things out in such a way that one has to take the DAC completely apart in order to see the circuits. Opening the case just shows the underside of the PCB.

Most DAC IC's are intrinsically balanced output whether or not balanced outputs to the outside world are provided on any given model of a complete DAC.

I don't really know what you're driving at with that question though I'm afraid...

[brucew268]

Maybe you forgot the purpose of the OP, concisely restated in #8 & #20.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Barry]

Problem here is not all kit with XLR outs and ins is actually balanced. Balanced kit is dual differential. Using XLR outs may not sound better than RCA, but much depends on the circuit topology and the way the XLR outs and ins have been implemented.

In my case, the Levinson gear uses dual differential circuitry throughout. The Quad 510s use an input transformer as well as an output transformer (similar to the Quad 50E), but between the two the circuitry is not dual differential.

[Spectral Morn]

In my case, the Levinson gear uses dual differential circuitry throughout. The Quad 510s use an input transformer as well as an output transformer (similar to the Quad 50E), but between the two the circuitry is not dual differential.

As I would expect of ML gear. My BAT kit is dual differential as well. It sounds best hooked up via XLRs. However not all kit with XLR outs and ins sounds best this way, often if its not dual differential then the RCA outs and ins sound better.

Calyx DAC I listened to one back in 2012 and I preferred the XLR outputs to the RCA ones. It was more open and detailed, had a wider deeper soundstage, with more weight and scale. The bass and mid was also better via the XLR outputs than RCA(http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com...gue-converter/) I was using a Chapter Audio pre-power and that was as far as I can recall dual differential.

As an aside an EAR pre I had had XLR ins and outs and the RCA sounded better. This was not a proper balanced design but single ended with XLRs in and out.