Balanced Preamp recommendations up to $5,500

aspu307,

Appreciate your response. I will contact Pass and Atmasphere on this site.

Thanks

asp307

@nkonor , the Pass XP-15 and 17 have balanced outs, just not ins..

That's not quite correct. What defines a balanced circuit isn't really the connector - it's the circuit. A phono cartridge is inherently balanced; that is, it has a separate hot for each channel, a separate ground for each channel, and an earth ground. So when you connect a phono cartridge to a balanced differential preamp such as the Pass, you're providing it with a balanced input even if it's using RCA connectors.

@cleeds I should have said no XLR ins..I think what you are saying was corroborated by Kent when I asked him. Thanks.

@asp307

I hate to say it (and also a bit surprised, given the source), but this statement is actually false:

”Probably because there are no phono cartridges with a center tap (6-wires) . So in terms of what we do with a balanced circuit you'd have to emulate that imaginary mid point.. At those signal levels it's always been a step backwards at the first gain stage. The super-symmetry circuit does that quite nicely but only at higher signal levels. Secondary is SE cables generally have lower reactance per foot than balanced cables.”

You don't need or want 6 wires to do a balanced connection!! - you need only 2 for one channel, for a total of 4. The tone arm ground acts as the shield of the interconnect cable and. Collectively, these connections are then pins 2 and 3 of the XLRs of each channel, and pin 1 of both channels (shield) is the tone arm ground. If there were a center tap (and if it were used) it would actually **degrade** the balanced performance. Instead, the input circuit is built to ignore ground and only amplify what is different between the inverting and noninverting inputs, which in this case are the pins of a normal cartridge.

I think Nelson knows this, my surmise is the answer given to you didn't come from him.

To take advantage of the balanced nature of the cartridge, and also the balanced differential nature of a phono preamp, the XLR connection must be used as it does not unbalance the signal in any way, whereas an RCA connector does. So while cleeds' answer above is mostly correct, the bit about the XLR connector as I have mentioned here should be recognized.

Our preamps have had XLR inputs for the phono since they were first introduced in 1989.

atmasphere,

Thank You, 

Clarity as is usual. I think you know that I am saving my nickels and waiting for the final design of the Technics 10R. Hope they design it with “Other arms” in mind.
 I did receive a notice from, I believe Panasonic, that a new tonearm was being designed and would come out at a later date than the 10R.
Nothing is final until you actually see it on the market. So, I am waiting and saving.
You seem to have answered my question. That, it would benefit me to have the Tri-planar arm cable terminated with XLRs as long as I had appropriate inputs to plug into at the preamp or phonostage

Thanks
Norb