Cables & streamers
Cables matter. I just reconfigured my system to allow for xlr connection instead of rca. Also inserted ps audio integrated to replace battery power 60 watt 5 amp amp,Music was great / engaging before, definitely more depth and tighter/ deeper/ clearer with xlr. Still has body, not fatigued. Just more controlled energy and 3d dimensionality. It’s not all the amp, it does help but its not the whole story. The red wine amp isnt going anywhere, its pretty great within limits. There r aspects with Maggy .6 that I prefer it for. The xlr cable is Heimdal. Modwright oppo dac that the manual states xlr sounds better. Just didn’t have the opportunity to test it out.
if the Q is xlr vs. rca, xlr wins. $:performance is another. In my system, I can hear the electric hum/buzz when my pre is connect via rca. with xlrs, the noise diminishes to a silent hiss. the only issue is the gain in xlrs. i'm not sure whether listening at 20 on the pre using xlrs or 35 on the pre using rca makes a difference, but the gain is a factor.
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@roadcykler "Cables make no objective difference." I absolutely agree with you if you have a crappy system 💩 Misery begats misery We all miss the olden days when we had bell wire screwed into the rear of our components. What innocent times they were |
+1 for lordmelton. lesser systems are less revealing so cables do not mean as much. When I bought my 1st system [Kenwood receiver, Pioneer TT] I had to play it right away but didn't have speaker wire. But I had extra lamp cord and guess what? It worked! Not well, but I used it until I could get back to the dealer. |
"the only issue is the gain in xlrs" XLR's don't have gain. They're just connectors. In order for your "XLR's" to do anything productive, both components you are connecting have to be balanced in some way. If all the requirements for a balanced connection are not met, your "XLR's" turn into RCA's by default because only 2 of the 3 conductors in the cable are being used. A big portion, maybe even half, of the people using XLR cables have no idea that they're doing nothing more than a regular pair of cables. Just having an XLR jack on the back of a component doesn't guarantee anything. You still have to verify that the connection is balanced. For example, you may have an XLR jack on the back of a component labeled balanced. If you check the owners manual it may say something like, "Supports balanced cables". All that means is you have a single ended connection that uses XLR connectors. If you look inside the component, you'll see only 2 of the 3 pins are connected. If you ask the manufacturer, they'll say this option was included so if you only have balanced cables, you can use them and not have to buy new ones. This is true, but the real reason they do it is they hope you don't know the difference, and think its really balanced. |
