2. analog
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Why so few balanced phono inputs?

I have been through the posts regarding whether a phono cartridge is a balanced connection or not and per Ralph Karsten etc. I agree it is balanced. It finally hit me why someone like Pass Labs doesn't offer a balanced input on a balanced unit (I wanted one until I saw they only had rca)...There are so few turntables that offer a balanced out connection. I got mine from VPI and it was easily switched and was a huge improvement... but are there other TT brands that offer a balanced connection? I was in a high end shop the other day...first time in a while... and saw none. Even SME didn't show one as an option on their site. Not trying to open the balanced vs. single-ended thing but maybe it is endemmic to the conversation. Thanks
sm2727

Showing 1 response by hiho

hiho
451 posts
 

As long as the ground wire is not touching the cold side of the RCA connector, the signal is still "balanced". It's how you wire it not what connector is used. An XLR connector has 3 pins: hot, cold, and ground. If you use RCA, the shell is cold and center pin is hot and the ground wire is, well, ground. With that in mind, you can wire however you want or use XLR adapters. If you want to keep the entire signal path BAL all the way to the power amp output then you need balanced circuits in your phono stage to line stage to power amp.

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