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Switched from RCA to XLR Interconnects - WOW

I just received a set of Pangea True Balanced Premier SE XLR interconnects from Audio Advisor and connected them between my phono preamp to my amp.
I really didn't expect to hear any major difference, but man was I wrong.  The sound quality is night and day improved over my previous cables (Clear Day Cables RCA cables).  The improvement in bass response is amazing, and the soundstage got about 2 feet wider and deeper.  Mids and highs are also more clearly defined, and the backgrounds are about as black as I have ever heard.   What also surprised me is how much hotter the signal is into the amp.  I had to turn the volume down quite a bit to equal levels I usually listed to with the previous cables.
FYI, the preamp is a Parasound JC3+ and the amp is a Lyngdorf TDAI-3400.  
I'm really impressed.  I had always wanted to try using balanced cables but this is the first amp I have owned that had balanced inputs.  
snackeyp

Showing 2 responses by atmasphere

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,109 posts
 
The rest of my system has a mix of RCA and XLR. I cannot say the XLR have any superior sound advantage over the RCA within this Kimber model.

If the equipment does not support the balanced standard, then variable results will be the case.

Switching from RCA to XLR  is only worththe extra time and money  is if, you have a True differential balanced from input to output for each channel . Which is easy to tell ,you will see 4 transformers .

We patented a method where this is not the case- using a direct-coupled output. This output circuit (modified Circlotron) is on the output of our tube preamps.
Lamm certainly does use XLRs at least they used to on their amps. My understanding is that the circuits were not truly balanced. Nonetheless, they probably met the criteria mentioned in this thread.
They don't. Pin 3 is not connected, so if a true balanced source is connected to this input, a buzz will result since pin 2 will be floating with an incomplete circuit.
If you have consumer grade audio then balanced may not do much for you unless you have an EM/RF noise (reduced by 40 dB in extreme cases) problem.
Our MP-1 is meant for home use but supports AES48. So there is some 'consumer grade' equipment that flies in the face of this.
If you have even noticed a difference between audio cables, you might want to read this. Its quick and no math:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Resources/balanced.php

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,109 posts
 
No sense to have XLR from your cartridge but everything else analog should be XLR, preferably the components should all work at pro level to give you the maximum headroom
This statement, IMO, is false. Cartridges are a balanced source, so it totally makes sense to run a balanced connection between the tone arm and the phono preamp.
Why would longer cables be better than short ones in this case?
One advantage of balanced lines, as you have discovered, is that there is less coloration- and as a result you get more detail. Because there is so much less coloration (and a lower noise floor) you can run the cable much longer distances. One very common myth about balanced lines is that they are only useful if you run longer lengths, but the benefit is audible even if the cable length is only 6 inches.



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