There is no such thing as an XLR to RCA adapter. Well, there is, but the balanced line technology does not convert to unbalanced line, and vise-a-versa. There are adapter thingies available but there is not standard for doing the pin conversion, no way to preserve any part of the balanced line. Might as well just go with unbalanced.
Btw, you are not likely to hear any difference at all. I had an opportunity to play with a Parasound A23 and experimented with the balanced vs. unbalanced inputs. I could not tell any difference at all between the two, not in detail, brightness, volume, nothing…no difference.
My understanding is balanced interconnect becomes important when you have long distances between equipment, or if your source signal is weak (microphone), or if you live in the sweet spot of an AM broadcast antenna…in which case you are likely to have other more significant problems.
The RCA connector used for unbalanced lines is old technology. It was designed to interconnect within a phonograph only, i.e. inside a single chassis. It was never designed to interconnect between two chassis, tho that is by far its most common use today. The XLR connector is designed to carry a signal between two chassis where the chassis may have different ground potential. In theory, the XLR connector should be a better connector, but in reality, that is not necessarily so.
Also, that Parasound amp does not have a true balanced input. Parasound uses what they call a ‘quasi-balanced’ input. Don’t know exactly what that means, just that it isn’t a true balanced input. The Halo mono amp (JC-1) is the only Parasound amp with true balanced inputs. The ground lift switch that is on the back of the Parasound amps opens the connection between the chassis and the XLR pin #1. Ideally, you want the chassis and pin 1 to have the same potential, but not everyone designs amps that way. Hence the ground lift. In the default position (off) those two are connected on your amp.
For more info on grounding and XLR connectors, visit the Rane website. Look for RaneNote #110, ‘Sound System Interconnection’. Also worth reading is RaneNote #151, ‘Grounding and Shielding Audio Devices’. Rane.com
If you decide you just have to have XLR connectors, I suggest making them yourself. You can order everything you need from West Lake Electronic. Cable: Belden 1800F, connectors: Neutrik NC3FX (female) and NC3MX (male).
