XLR vs. Phono Cables


I am in the process of purchasing a new phono preamp -- the reason being is that my turntable is a distance from my preamp and I need a slight boost of signal. The wires must travel about 12 feet from my turnatble behind a television set to my preamp. This is probably not ideal, but I really don't have a choice.

Earlier I posted recommendations for phono preamps in the $500 to $1,500 price range. I received some very nice feedback. Some of the phono preamps have XLR support, while others only support standard phono cables.

Would I be better off buying a phono preamp with XLR outputs, or will standard phono cables be ok for my purpose?

Thank you.
-Greg
fremonthills

Showing 2 responses by stringreen

it has been my experience that components are designed either single ended or balanced. Yes some of them can do either, but they sound much better in their preferred mode. Ask your manufacturer about that. I have all Ayre equipment, and indeed every component sounds better balanced than single ended. There are components that sound better single ended.
As I said in my post above..if your preamp/line stage is better at XLR then the preferred termination would be blanced...if and only if you're terminus/arm is balanced. If you have RCA's at the end of your turntable, use RCA's into the preamp. Wonderful results can be accomplished using either RCA or XLR. I would not use any adapters to change XLR to RCA or reverse. I tried that and could certainly hear any and all adapters...even the hundred dollar variety.