Please explain what balanced out puts are.


Sorry guys but I am not an audiphile and I need to be educated. I just bought an amp that has "balanced outputs" Does it matter whether or not the preamp has them? Also, in laymans terms what are balanced inputs/outputs and how do they affect sound quality when listening to music. Many thanks.
warren2828

Showing 1 response by garfish

........I'd just add to Jfrech's comments that XLR is the type of connector that balanced outputs/inputs uses. RCA connectors (the most common kind) are the kind "single ended" outputs/inputs use.

The XLR inputs you see on your amp would be inputs, not outputs. The amps outputs connect the amp to the speaker and are often "five way" so that you can use many different kinds of speaker cable terminations, ie spades, bananas, bare wire etc. There is no agreement as to which is best sonically, but if you need long inter-connects, ie say more than 20 ft. or so, XLR is considered preferrable. I use (and prefer) RCA. Good Luck. Craig