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First Foray into XLR

I know this is a topic like ‘oil’ or ‘tires’ on a car forum, but I have to ask...

Marantz AV8802a to Odyssey Stratos amp to Aerial 7T’s. Looking for advice on 1M XLR’s from pre/pro to power amp.

I’m skeptical of cables and snake oil claims, but I’m trying to be open minded. I’ve not used XLR before, so I’m not replacing anything, and not looking to spend a fortune, but would like input from others who’ve been where I am.

thanks
english210

Showing 7 responses by sisyphus51

sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
Aside from Studio or large facility applications, balanced XLR interconnects are of little use. They are designed for rejection of electromagnetic interference over long runs in a studio environment with equipment specificly designed for low impedance operation.
In my opinion, balanced XLR connections are useless for Home Audio.
[I deleted the unecessary snark. :-) ]
sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
tweak 1
"ignorant, or just plain stupid." - Really?

I had a thirty year professional carear in the television broadcasting and audio recording industries!
What, might I ask, are your technical credentials?
sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
tweak 1

I think you have "Bats in the Belfry"!
sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
Re. Pin 1: In studio facilities, XLR cables usually have the shield (gnd.) lifted at the receive end to prevent ground loops while still blocking EMI/RFI. This is very well known in professional audio circles. There is too much interconnected equipment in the studio to be dicking around with ground loop problems from one miswired cable or a non-standard I/O.
sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
ron1319
Why replug all cables in a system before auditioning new ones?
-To make sure the connection is sound in the first place, maybe?
Ha ha, "sound", I made a pun! ;-)
sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
tweek1
"Reviewers who are tasked with reviewing actual XLR kit seldom have differentially balanced systems. How many times have I read them say "I hear no difference" Meaning Editors should be shot, then hanged, then shot again..."

...then disemboweled and hanged too? How Medieval!

sisyphus51's avatar
sisyphus51
121 posts
 
ieales
You make a good point there!
It might just be my cynical nature but, it seems to me that XLR I/O connectors on high end consumer - audio gear is nothing more than Bling.
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