Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere has posted some interesting and illuminating facts about balanced connections. It is Ralph’s contention that the manner in which the signal wires are connected to the electronics---which pins are hot, which is ground, where and how the cable shield is connected---has an effect on how audible the cable is. He claims that when done correctly, as he does in his products, the cable ceases to be audible. He goes further to say that other companies offering balanced connections make those connections incorrectly, not to industry standards, thus squandering the full benefit of balanced connections, the cable then becoming audible. One such company, says Ralph, is, surprisingly, Audio Research. Look at the other cable threads for his full explanation
