Not a problem with mine. A twist of the dial can get the neighbors quite upset.
Ron,
XLR are more complex than RCA, and you have “two” mechanical channels that need to be exactly the same. They aren’t as CUB, Capacitance UnBalance will show. RCA don’t have that issue as it is ONE signal channel plus ground.
The difference is the NOISE immunity between the two designs. Done right, and in the proper LENGTH each is very good. XLR can go farther for two reasons;
-More natural gain with the balanced signal.
- Less noise with common mode noise rejection.
RCA need the shield ground DCR to remain LOW to mitigate hum and the longer the cable, the less that can be achieved. I use TWO heavy copper braids to get that issue as good as I can, but XLR will go 100 feet, easy.
Which to use is the OUTPUT side determined. Use the cable design that the SEND end wants to drive. If you have a XLR out, use a balun (balance to unbalance) adapter. If you use an RCA out, use a XFORMER to convert that to a balanced signal into an XLR.
This usually avoids driver circuit issues on the send end electronics. The adapters aren’t to hard to find.
Best,
Galen Gareis
Thanks Galen
Sound can be different with more gain though, it’s not just a “volume” thang.
I’m sure you’re right, Lon.
But I asked the question because a member of my local hifi group, whom I respect as very knowledgeable (albeit, an amateur like me), believes strongly that all else the same, RCA sounds better.
And that led me to wonder why that might be (about the cable); was it the simpler construction?
Just curiosity.
Cool. I just can’t separate the sound and the construction. I have both RCA and XLR of VooDoo Cable Stradivarius Amati cable. They’re the same wiring and insulation except for the construction. And because the way the gain influences the sound in the receiving component they sound “different” and for my needs the XLR “better.” I have found this to be true with identical cabling from another manufacturer in RCA and XLR, so for my purposes I will always go for balanced if I can use it.
I also default to balanced.
But one of my amps has SE only; hence the RCA’s. (in fact, two of my amps will, when my SE84UFO shows up).
I’m surely not missing anything with my Iconoclast UOCC RCA’s.
Maybe with a given device/pair of devices, but I really don’t think you can make a blanket statement for either.
Though perhaps in the case of long runs and mic cables - there is a reason XLR is used rather than SE.
Agree. My IC’s are 5 feet long.
My amps do too now. That’s why I use the Decware ZBIT, in two systems, so that I can use the full voltage of the balanced output, adjustable. Won’t be without them now!
badbeef
“Generally true” because of circuit linearity inequality with many RCA’s. An RCA is technically “better” ALL CIRCUITS the same QUALITY as it is ONE single channel referenced to GROUND. There is no “unbalance” on signal or common mode noise in an RCA.
OK, here is where RCA can fall apart in some systems; your ground. If the RCA is too long, or your ground is poor you can generate what is called SIN, Shield Induced Noise. Differential ground potential is a killer to add noise to an RCA cable. If you have a weird power supply you can also modulate the ground potential above ZERO, too. Both will ALTER the hot leads voltage to the ground “reference” that is supposed to be ZERO all the time.
Keep RCA short and make sure your shield ground resistance is super low is how RCA like to be used.
XLR float the “ground” so it doesn’t matter if it MOVES at all. All differential mode signals will be exactly opposite to the reference “point”. The issue with XLR is that you DO NOT have two identical differential mode signals in reality. And, you also don’t really have two exact common mode signal, either. The stuff just isn’t perfect. This will impact the signal quality, and how much over an RCA “depends” on the issues in that particular system.
The Pro’s want LOW NOISE over the absolute best “signal” as the noise annoys. And, they can’t mess around with grounds in live events or even complex studio set-ups. XLR are the way to go and they can go 100 feet with no problems. Quiet always eclipses a slight loss in fidelity. I can listen to that, I can’t listen to obvious steady state ground noise.
Try both and see how your systems ground is doing. I can use either design fine in my set-up.
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Galen, any updates on the power cables?
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Hi Ron, I’ll take RCA over XLR anytime and place excepting where the enhance shielding of an XLR is needed. My amps are connected via RCA even though they have XLR outputs as an option. Hang on to and use those RCA’s you already own.
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BJC/BAV Power Cables
Good Morning, Our connectors have arrived. I will try to post pricing and images of our power cables by the end of the week. Anyone interested in power cables should contact me through the bhoward@iconoclastcable.com email address. I have to make contact to the handful of Beta testers as well. These will be a BAV branded product and offered through both the BJC and Iconoclast websites. On the short term, orders need to be placed through me personally until these can be loaded to our websites. The custom built connectors that we had made from Galen’s specs are mated with the finest Belden cord available. The Belden cord is offered in 10/12 and 14 AWG with 15 amp connectors. We are working to define the 20 amp connector but unless you have dedicated 20 amp wiring and outlets you will not need to consider this option. I use the 12 AWG on my mono block amps and all other components. The cable is durable and very flexible.These will be an incredible value.
I feel the same way, Bob. I have the capability to run balanced all the way to my amps, which have both XLR and RCA. I use RCA and feel that it sounds better than the true balanced XLR inputs. The RCAs, avoiding the input transformers, sound different and slightly better to me in my system.
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Good stuff, Galen - thanks!
@rower30, can these be user terminated to Ethernet connectors, or does the special lay add some complexity to this? Would this be the best cable to use for running an Ethernet audio backbone through a house?
Another RCA vs XLR issue is the differential amplification circuits on each end of the XLR chain. Whether they are op-amps or discrete circuits their quality and configuration can affect the sound of your equipment. I think that it is reasonable to assume that the only way to tell if your system sounds better with RCA or XLR is to try both and compare. At least with Iconoclast you can compare apples to apples since the electricals are matched to the same goals throughout the line. This is not the case with many (almost all?) other manufacturers.
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OMG yes you need to use proper connectors! To make thing a little harder, the RJ used for CAT6 patch are really precision with small PC board inside to properly shield and load the pairs for the best NEXT and RL. Don’t use CAT5 as the link will drop to the worst spec wherever it comes from. But, we though of that too…
The Mediatwist is more a horizontal cable, though, meant to a PATCH JACK inside the wall box. You still need to use CAT6 quality PLUG punch-down blocks in the wall box. So Mediatwist is in your wall box, punched down to a PLUG. From there you buy pre-terminated and tested PATCH PS6+ CAT6 cable from Blue Jeans to go to your stuff.
The idea behind Mediatwist is ONE cable for Ethernet and RGB video, both, from the wall plate. If you use VIDEO you would use nano-skew 7987P and 7987R ROUND design with RJ connectors on it from the wall. Again, the Mediatwist is a punch-down design. There are a FEW connectors that JUST fit the oval shape but the profile is better for inside walls as it has a torque preference outside the wall making patch cables act weird. I know, as I have some with RJ’s in shorter lengths. Get the PS6+ cat6 patch, it is way easier to use.
With Ethernet IP camera’s out now, the RGB is easy to switch over from and STILL keep the same Mediatwist horizontal cable and just change the patch to a CAT6 from a zero skew design.
BAV POWER CABLE UPDATE - The image below shows the 12 AWG terminated with our custom connector. The middle cord is 14 AWG and the bottom cord the 10 AWG. Pens are not included… 
I want to remind everyone that unless you have both a 20 amp wall jack and a dedicated 20 amp breaker in your panel that even with the 10 AWG cord you will still receive a 15 amp power cord. we are working on the 20 amp termination but do not offer it at present. I am using all 12 AWG in my system and see no benefit in going with the heavier cord without the wall jack and dedicated line to go with it. Prices are crazy reasonable in my opinion and like all BJC and Iconoclast products represent the best value in audiophile grade cabling in the industry. Like all BJC/Iconoclast products, you may return purchased cables for a full refund within the liberal audition period. No risk here.
Normally I would never want to put a price/ordering page up without Galen’s white paper/design brief. These things will follow as we add the link to the BJC and Iconoclast sites. Guaranteed to please…
How much you ask?? Here is the link.
https://www.iconoclastcable.com/power/index.htm
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