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Hi. I have balanced XLR cables between my preamp and amp (both Bryston). I bought the Bryston brand cables as well as I got them practically for free.I was told by the dealer that since these are 'balanced' cables, they will not affect sound quality (ie, unlike the usual RCA interconnect's tendency to act like tone controls), their imprint on sound quality will be zero. Is this true?
Thanks in advance! And please dont be mean to me for this basic question. I am a newbie.
Follow Ups:
Hello,Tell your dealer that his statement is 100% BS.
There is nothing beneficial with balanced transmision lines except for
installations with VERY long cables.For the record, most preamps these days uses a simple OP in a unity gain configuration to generate the inverted output.
Whatever type of internal influences that a single-ended cable may exhert upon the signal it is carrying should predictably be the same kinds of internal influences that a balanced cable may inflict.The salesman seems to be allowing that the natural common-mode noise rejection of a differential circuit happens also to erase all other influences that a cable (it's materials, structure, connectors, capacitance, inductance, resistance, impedance, etc) may have upon a signal.
I don't know who told you that, but there is no ground for this opinion.
I don't know who told you that, but there is no ground for this opinion.
:-D
:-D
8-D
Contrary to what you may have heard, capacitance and dielectric absorption and other effects are just as audible in balanced cables as single-ended cables. The primary advantage of balanced cables is common-mode noise rejection (aka hum and hiss from RF or ground loops). Some people are comvinced that balanced are somehow intrinsically better and you can run longer lengths. This notion is primarily fueled by the fact that many balanced output drivers were in the past low-impedance compared to their single-ended counterparts. But this has changed and they are nearly the same output impedance for most modern equipment.
Thanks for the answer. BUT, while, from what little I know, I agree that balanced designs can not be considered intrinsically better (after all it is a technically more difficult circuit to implement and anyway, being in the signal path will by itself add its signature to the sound), the primary reason people use balanced is not because of the RCA's higher impedence but because of what you say earlier:: "The primary advantage of balanced cables is common-mode noise rejection (aka hum and hiss from RF or ground loops)" This advantage would definitely be there in longer runs as then the length of the wire by itself becomes able to attract RFI and other electrical noises.... I agree that the advantages in short runs (one meter etc) is suspect and, if not implemented properly is probably worse.
As for long runs, it turns out that in the typical installation, it is not the long run that creates the noise, but the fact that the components that are connected by the long run are usually plugged into two different AC circuits. This creates a big ground-loop and the associated noise due to two different grounds going back to the panel.At my exhibit at CES, I used a 15-foot unshielded RCA interconnect without any noise whatsoever. This was primarily due to the fact that I was able to use two outlets that were on the same circuit for all components.
Why did You use unshilded RCA-cables?
Is Las Vegas a RF-free zone? :-)
Because Unshielded IC's have much lower capacitance and as a result sound much cleaner and more detailed. If they are not noisy, why not have better sound?BTW - the Las Vegas venue sucked, like most of these show venues. Power outlets are worn-out, rooms acoustically suck and there are plenty of Air Conditioners clicking on and off and lots of cell phones etc....
"Because Unshielded IC's have much lower capacitance and as a result sound much cleaner and more detailed."Do you refer to distortion due to non-linear shunt-cap?
"If they are not noisy, why not have better sound"RF can cause severe problems in some equipment due to the fact that the slewrate is not sufficently high.
A good preamp drives 100 meters of laboratory coaxial cable without problems.
All cables have some sonic signature, but not all are audible on every system.Balanced cables can reduce the signature some, but it is not eliminated.
The Bryston cables are probably OK, but not the best, or the most neutral.
If he thinks so, then that's right IHOO:) and I'd expect his opinion is as valid as anyones. Has nothing to do with what you want to believe.
I'm sorry, but I didn't understand that response as being an answer. Did you mean your truth is not my truth? This point has been brought up in the past and there certainly is a difference. Realize that many manufacturers make many types of balanced interconnects in varying price ranges because people hear a difference.
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