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Converting RCA to XLR

I currently have an OPPO 205 media player that I'm using for stereo / 5.1 audio play back on an old amp. The 205 has 2 stereo XLR's and also RCA's for all of the outputs. I just bought and is in transit, a Parasound Halo A51. I would like very much to use those 2 stereo XLR balanced outs when playing stereo music, but of course I would also like to play 5.1. The issue is the remaining 205's outs aren't XLR's.

The A51 has a switch located on the back of the unit, to switch from balanced to unbalanced, I'm assuming that's kinda like switching from XLR to RCA. So could I plug all RCA's and XLR's in the A51 (that would mean doubling up the XLR and RCA on the front left and front right) and then manually throw the switch back and fourth depending on stereo vs 5.1? That doesn't seem right.I've also seen:
  • XLR converters that the RCA interconnect cable plugs into.
  • and similary cables with RCA on one end and XLR on the other.
Are these converters and or the RCA / XLR cables any good? Or should I be doing/looking for something completely different?
Thanks for your help...
divby0

Showing 2 responses by auxinput

auxinput
2,920 posts
 
I would not recommend using RCA-to-XLR adapters unless you absolutely had to.

The idea of using the switch on the back of the A51 to switch between RCA and XLR inputs is likely your best result.  It's really not a bad idea and you can keep all cables connected at the same time (both RCA and XLR).  Unfortunately, the switch on back of A51 is global and you cannot configure each input separately.  Otherwise, just use only the RCA outputs on the Oppo and live with that.

Another idea is to sell your A51 and then look at buying  A31 and a A21 amps.  The A21 can be setup to use XLR inputs for your left/right.  The A31 would use RCA for all remaining channels.

Or just buy an A21 right now for left/right.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
My understanding is that the Oppo uses both the 5.1 left/right outputs as well as the XLR left/right outputs for generating sound from both multi-channel movie source and stereo music sources, so he should be just fine.

The Oppo XLR outputs use a single 8-channel ESS DAC chip that stacks the internal DACs in parallel for output and also uses a much better analog output stage than the 5.1 RCA board, so audio should be better on the XLR/RCA output section anyways.
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