My next power amp will only have single ended rca inputs which means losing my xlr connections.
Two things:
Has anyone noticed a difference between the two outputs? I used to have a Schiit dac and there was a subtle more refined sound from xlr than rca.
I use the attenuator now to lower floor noise but have a bit of a volume boost using balanced connections, which I will likely lose with the new amp. And so, I feel the best way to do this is to build a passive transformer xlr to rca box. Can someone please specify how the balanced connections (pin-out) should be connected in relation to the rca out? I’ve seen xlr to rca cables but this is not the best way to do things, using a transformer is. I just want to ensure the instructions I give to the builder for connections from the DS are as painless as possible.
I just posted a similar reply on another thread. I use this XLR to RCA transformer from Decware (Model ZBIT) with my DSD DAC and cannot recommend it enough.
This I can comment with certainty: I have the same Zu Audio “Event” interconnects, same length, one SE, one XLR going from my PS DSD to a fully balanced FirstWatt J2 amp. The xlr sounds much more detailed, especially at lower volume.
That said, I don’t think the difference is sufficient to do your “step 2”. Why add more stuff in the loop?
I just posted a similar reply on another thread. I use this XLR to RCA transformer from Decware (Model ZBIT) with my DSD DAC and cannot recommend it enough.
The Decware appears to isolate grounds between the source and output, which is nice, and will give the balanced voltage output to the RCAs. The output pot will have a big influence on its sound and, if it is 100Kohms as shown in their schematic, the output impedance will be quite high at half volume, which could be a problem with some amps.
I just posted a similar reply on another thread. I use this XLR to RCA transformer from Decware (Model ZBIT) with my DSD DAC and cannot recommend it enough.
The audio XLR outputs have pin 2 as +, pin 3 as - pin 1 (and the shield) are grounded. If your amp truly has a floating differential RCA input (i.e. neither side of it’s connection is grounded (which is very unlikely)) you can use a simple wired point to point adapter from the XLR to the RCA. Most of the time you’ll need a quality transformer based adapter in the audio interconnects - once you have a transformer you can select just about any output level you want.