Need help fast - Unbalanced Preamp to Balanced Amp

Kal - This is just the sort of thing I've been looking for to connect an unbalanced preamp to a balanced amp. I've tried DIY cables, but wound up with a hum problem. Do you think this converter is of sufficient quality to use with Rowland & Placette gear without degrading the signal? Thanks.

Thanks guys. I didn't mean to highjack the discussion, as I'm not the originator of the thread, but I do have an interest in the topic.

For those who might be interested, here's my actual situation. . .

I'm waiting on delivery of a pair of Maggie 1.7's. I thought I would use my very good sounding Rowland Concerto Class "D" integrated with internal phono. However a friend let me try a DIY SS Class "A" 45w amp that is based on a Nelson Pass design. As good as the Rowland sounded, I fell in love with vocals thru the DIY amp. Hard to beat Class "A" for midrange purity.

With this in mind, I thought I might purchase either a Pass XA30.5 or XA 60.5 mono's to go with the Maggies. My room is small (12'x 14'x 10') so I shouldn't require a huge amount of power for them to play at satisfying levels for my usual jazz, blues, female vocal listening. A stereo XA30.5 might be all I need. The heat wouldn't be as big a factor vs the mono's either.

I'm currently using a custom Placette RVC (unbalanced) that has 2 inputs. My Squeezebox is connected to one input via a PS Audio PerfectWave dac, and I'd like to use the phono of the Rowland thru the 2nd input. Unfortunately the Rowland only has balanced connectors for it's output, thus the need for conversion.

Not knowing whether I'll keep the Rowland or not, I'd rather not spend a lot of $$ on cabling at this point. Almarg & Kal have provided several alternatives for me to explore. I thank them and everyone else who has provided suggestions. Hopefully I will discover something that works and is relatively inexpensive.

Ralph - Thanks so much for your detailed response. I have a good friend who can make a cable as you describe. He tried once before, but apparently had it grounded differently, thus the hum.

Almarg - The Placette is a temporary thing. I will eventually go with an active preamp. Thanks again for your advice.

Energizer - Thanks for the offer. I need RCA at one end and female EBU at the other. Is this the config of your cables?

Thanks everyone. I think Almarg may have the best advice, and that's to contact Rowland. I just noticed that the owner's manual specifically suggests using a Jensen Model PC-2XR adapter box, but if I could accomplish the same result with a cable, that would reduce the number of connectors, and cost. Should I decide to go the cable route, I will be sure that my friend closely follows the advice of both Almarg & Atmasphere. Thanks guys.

Energizer - Thanks again for your offer, but I think I need to do more research to make sure I don't damage anything with good intentions. You're very generous though, and I sincerely appreciate your help.