I use balanced connections in many Pro Audio applications to great effect. In my home systems, I found balanced connections (when available) improved the sound in certain situations where the cable placement was compromised. I am currently using RCA connections (by choice) between components in one of my systems. The components are logically arranged and the cable runs are short and direct. It is my opinion (and the opinion of my amp designer and my speaker designer) that balanced connections can be a good solution for less than optimal wiring conditions, but the improvement in performance will be not worth the additional cost in systems that are optimally organized with short runs and little chance of picking up any external noise.
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.
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.