Considering switching to XLR cables,


Currently have Kubala fascination RCA  IC cables between my Aqua Lascala DAC, ARC Ref6 pre, Pass 350.8 into Maggies 20.7.  ARC recommends XLR iIC.  Considering

Audioquest Water

Zavfino Arcadia 

Audio Envy Mk ii

Triode Wire Labs

Looking to say in the relative price range.  Not sue they are an improvement.  Appreciate any experience and/or comparison with  the above.

 

salc

Showing 1 response by v-fi

I'll echo what others have said, it really depends on your gear and how it is implemented. I don't think XLR is inherently better than RCA in most cases. Unless you need a really long cable run which is where XLR is clearly better. But most people don't need anything like that.

You need to know if your DAC is truly balanced or not, and same with your preamp. Otherwise there is conversion involved which can be done well or poorly depending on the design. 

I've been enjoying the Veritas Cables Argentum R for a while, which is a silver RCA design. Recently I picked up the Argentum X which they say is a very similar design but in balanced form. In one of my systems I can't tell the difference when I switch between them. But in a different headphone based setup the XLR interconnects are much more enjoyable. I don't think that is related to this particular cable design, it's just that the DAC and headphone amp do best when operated fully balanced. 

If you do decide to try out a set of XLRs, make sure to buy something you can return if you don't like or hear a big enough improvement. I can vouch for Triode having a good policy like that, not sure about the others you mentioned.