always been afraid to ask...

[eknuds01]

Can someone explain to me what balanced connections are? Is this same thing as XLR?

 

[Huey]

yeah ...I'd be interested in that as well

 

[Kenscollick]

http://www.ofsoundmind.com/OSM2/tech/equipment/balanced.html

Here is a good place to start.

 

[Huey]

Started, finished, thank-you

 

[Beat_Dominator]

Yeah balanced cables are VERY beneficial when using long lengths of wire because the longer wires start to act like antennas and pick up all kinds of distortion.

 

[MiTT]

Yes, but...

I've posted this a million times here (well ok, maybe only 4 or 5). Just because a component has balanced connections it may still only be tranferring single ended signals via an XLR jack. True balanced operation requires fully differential circuits within the components in order to reap the actual benefits of balanced operation.

Most of the "High End" companies (remember your ABC's - Audio Research, Balanced Audio Technology (note the word "Balanced" in the name), Conrad Johnson etc.) offer fully balanced differential circuit topographies, but some other companies - I won't name names - only offer balanced connections to let you use balanced cables sort of like a fashion statement. I'd be sure to check your component's capabilities before investing in balanced cables.

 

[Beat_Dominator]

I've posted this a million times here (well ok, maybe only 4 or 5). Just because a component has balanced connections it may still only be transferring single ended signals via an XLR jack. True balanced operation requires fully differential circuits within the components in order to reap the actual benefits of balanced operation.

Most of the "High End" companies (remember your ABC's - Audio Research, Balanced Audio Technology (note the word "Balanced" in the name), Conrad Johnson etc.) offer fully balanced differential circuit topographies, but some other companies - I won't name names - only offer balanced connections to let you use balanced cables sort of like a fashion statement. I'd be sure to check your component's capabilities before investing in balanced cables.

Yes good point. There are a lot of components out there that aren't fully balanced, and to make matters worse, finding out the status (fully differential or not) of a device can be difficult.

 

[amey01]

I've posted this a million times here (well ok, maybe only 4 or 5). Just because a component has balanced connections it may still only be tranferring single ended signals via an XLR jack. True balanced operation requires fully differential circuits within the components in order to reap the actual benefits of balanced operation.

Most of the "High End" companies (remember your ABC's - Audio Research, Balanced Audio Technology (note the word "Balanced" in the name), Conrad Johnson etc.) offer fully balanced differential circuit topographies, but some other companies - I won't name names - only offer balanced connections to let you use balanced cables sort of like a fashion statement. I'd be sure to check your component's capabilities before investing in balanced cables.

AND.....the conversion to SE can actually mean the SE inputs sound better than the balanced ones.

 

[eknuds01]

I've posted this a million times here (well ok, maybe only 4 or 5). Just because a component has balanced connections it may still only be tranferring single ended signals via an XLR jack. True balanced operation requires fully differential circuits within the components in order to reap the actual benefits of balanced operation.

Most of the "High End" companies (remember your ABC's - Audio Research, Balanced Audio Technology (note the word "Balanced" in the name), Conrad Johnson etc.) offer fully balanced differential circuit topographies, but some other companies - I won't name names - only offer balanced connections to let you use balanced cables sort of like a fashion statement. I'd be sure to check your component's capabilities before investing in balanced cables.

This is an outstanding post.

Thanks for the advice, MiTT.

Erik

 

[Beat_Dominator]

Most of the "High End" companies (remember your ABC's - Audio Research, Balanced Audio Technology (note the word "Balanced" in the name), Conrad Johnson etc.) offer fully balanced differential circuit topographies, but some other companies - I won't name names - only offer balanced connections to let you use balanced cables sort of like a fashion statement. I'd be sure to check your component's capabilities before investing in balanced cables.

You know, maybe we should name names. At least that way some people could save $$ by knowing that they're better off with the single-ended connections on some equipment.

 

[amey01]

You know, maybe we should name names. At least that way some people could save $$ by knowing that they're better off with the single-ended connections on some equipment.

People could always listen for themselves!

EDIT: Sorry - I take that back. Buying balanced cables (just to try) is an expensive experiment if it sounds no better or sounds worse!