[Megalith]

I run studio monitors for my HT and have been interested in getting a prepro for some time, the primary reason being that most of them have XLR connections.


But looking at some of the newer Onkyos, it seems to me that I would be saving money by just going with one of their receivers---supposedly there is no difference between their upper-end receivers and prepros other than the latter having no amps but balanced connections.


My thinking is that balanced connections will allow me to run my monitors the way they should be (though my Mackies already offer RCA outputs), with benefits being lack of interference/hum and a lower noise floor.


But in the real world, are these advantages truly worth it when I could just buy a receiver for cheaper?

 

[Terry Montlick]

Balanced connections just let you go farther without external noise pickup.

 

[Dennis Erskine]

...like a road trip without the kids?

 

[tvrgeek]

Please go to the Jensen Transformer site and read their papers on balanced vs single ended. I let the experts talk.

 

[RoboRay]

If you have nothing to say, why say anything?


Anyway... Balanced connections will cancel out noise you may have otherwise picked up in the cable runs. If you have long cable runs or are in a high EMI environment, XLRs may be helpful.


There's really no reason not to use XLR if you have the capability, except for the cost of buying the cables.


If your current system doesn't have any problems with the RCA cables picking up noise, you probably won't notice anything different with XLRs.

 

[tvrgeek]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RoboRay /forum/post/18270326


If you have nothing to say, why say anything?


Anyway... Balanced connections will cancel out noise you may have otherwise picked up in the cable runs. If you have long cable runs or are in a high EMI environment, XLRs may be helpful.


There's really no reason not to use XLR if you have the capability, except for the cost of buying the cables.


If your current system doesn't have any problems with the RCA cables picking up noise, you probably won't notice anything different with XLRs.

I disagree that they will always be as good or better. Hum may be worse. I do agree one should only fix problems they have, not those imagined. Again, the fine folks at Jensen can explain it all far better than I. No, I have no affiliation, I just understand the physics.

 

[Gizmologist]

Generally speaking, balanced lines are able to be run much longer distances and are usually very quiet when compared to single ended Hi-Z ICs.


However, this performance characteristic can be lost if the devices being connected are differential amps (inputs and outputs) as opposed to transformer coupled ICs. Frequently differential amps (electronically balanced) do pick up noise, RFI or ground loop types of hum. The differential amps are still referencing the DC ground in whatever device they are part of.


The transformer coupling does not reference the chassis ground(DC ground ) of either device. The phase +and - pair can be inverted with no ill effects aside from audio (sine wave) phase reversal.


Many times it is necessary to lift the shield/common/ ground on one end of an IC to eliminate a ground loop. As the phase conductors do not reference ground in transformer, there is no degradation of the audio.


The ground/shield should be lifted at the output side on the IC.


his is a VERY common practice in pro AV and where numerous power sources are in use such as between a mix board/amp rack and a satt truck feed.


It is usually not a problem in a residential situation where you are dealing with a single neutral/ground connection.