Balanced vs Unbalanced audio connections

[JaBear]

From what I can gather on my research that unless you are going to run over a long distance you will not know the difference that being said what is the reason for this and what are the other main differences

 

[highfigh]

From what I can gather on my research that unless you are going to run over a long distance you will not know the difference that being said what is the reason for this and what are the other main differences

Generally, that's true. True balanced equipment separates the audio negative from the chassis and these connections don't coincide on either end, with the hot (usually Pin 2)/cold (Pin 3) carrying the signal and the shield being the third conductor (Pin 1).

 

[Swerd]

From what I can gather on my research that unless you are going to run over a long distance you will not know the difference that being said what is the reason for this and what are the other main differences

Balanced connections are used mainly when there is a very low voltage signal level combined with a long cable in an electronically noisy environment. For example, microphones often use balanced connections. They produce signals well under 10 mV, and recording studies may have other complex electrical signals going on that may interfere with these low level signals. Balanced connections are an easy way to deal with that.

If you are using voltage levels higher than that you probably don't need balanced connections. Typical line level voltages (like analog audio connections from a CD player) are about 100-200 mV. The voltage levels from pre-amp outputs are about 10 times stronger than line level. With those stronger signal levels, it is unlikely that electronic interference will be a problem.

The only items in home hifi with a signal level as low as microphones are the pickup cartridges on turntables. I have never seen balanced connections for turntables. If turntables don't need balanced connections, I've always wondered why people think they need them between a pre-amp and an amp?

 

[JaBear]

the crazy thing is the more feedback I get saying that it's kinda pointless to have I still want the damn things. I keep on thinking I just need someone to give me one morsel of detail and say hey you need it for this... because me going to my wife and saying hey I need to spend an extra 500 on the pre/pro because it has xlr output on it and we need that because it just looks super cool and beastly...most likely isn't going to fly

 

[Swerd]

the crazy thing is the more feedback I get saying that it's kinda pointless to have, I still want the damn things.(

Never underestimate the power of suggestion. Advertisers know all about it .

Learn to distinguish between "more is better" and "good enough". RCA (unbalanced) connections are more than likely good enough.

I keep on thinking I just need someone to give me one morsel of detail…

If you crave more detail from your sound system, spend that extra $500 on better speakers. That's where the rubber hits the road.

 

[highfigh]

The only items in home hifi with a signal level as low as microphones are the pickup cartridges on turntables. I have never seen balanced connections for turntables. If turntables don't need balanced connections, I've always wondered why people think they need them between a pre-amp and an amp?

But turntables can't be located too far from the preamp because a phono cartridge is very sensitive to the increased resistance and capacitance of longer cables. 600 Ohm equipment (LowZ) is made to drive the signal over long distances without signal/frequency response losses. It's also capable of better S/N ratio because the audio conductors aren't directly connected to the shielding- it's usually floated about 50 Ohms above chassis ground potential. If a turntable was to be placed far from a preamp/controller, it should have a phono preamp near the turntable and ideally, a LowZ driver with variable gain. That way, the cartridge sees what it should and the audio signal can go where it needs to without being molested by distance.

 

[dem beats]

ballanced is cool because it clicks in place. That's the winner for me.

XLR at least.

 

[mpompey]

You could always send me the extra $500 and just make the click sound with your teeth when you plug in your RCA cables.

Plus XLRs only click once. Once they are plugged in, you'll never need to plug them in again.