# XLR vs RCA output of DSj

**URL:** <https://forum.psaudio.com/t/xlr-vs-rca-output-of-dsj/15973>\
**Category:** DACs\
**Created:** [March 25, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/xlr-vs-rca-output-of-dsj/15973 "2020-03-25T17:00:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![silo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@silo](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/silo)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/xlr-vs-rca-output-of-dsj/15973/1 "2020-03-25T17:00:14Z")

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Bored out of my skull, my system is keeping me sane.

However, my Bryston headphone amp has both XLR and RCA input and  
is selectable with the flick of a switch. Using Audeze LCD-3. Using LFD  
cables, RCA is silver XLR is copper.

I played Best of Supertramp CD. First thru RCA, it sounded anemic, thin  
and not very engaging at all. Then thru the XLR, night and day, slam, balls  
and foot tapping. Yes, XLR is louder but I tried increasing the volume when  
using the RCA. Still falls behind.

But when I play a close mic Hifi-ish female vocal recording CD. The RCA wins  
with detail and air and just singer in my face experience. I much prefer the RCA  
for this compare to the XLR.

Why? is it silver vs copper thing. Or XLR vs RCA circuitry. Or do we need different  
type of metal cables for different genre of music. Just throwing this out.

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**Author:** ![waymanchen11](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forum.psaudio.com/waymanchen11/32/253241_2.png) [@waymanchen11](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/waymanchen11)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/xlr-vs-rca-output-of-dsj/15973/2 "2020-03-25T17:49:24Z")

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There’s a whole thread on this topic. [RCA vs XLR](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/rca-vs-xlr/14787)  
My experience is the XLR output is clearer, more detailed, and more exciting sounding than RCA, having the levels adjusted of course. This should be the case regardless of headphone or speakers. I also have the Audeze LCD-3’s. Very musical sounding headphones.  
Unless you have the top tier silver cables, silver generally has more upper frequency emphasis. It allows more highs in proportion to the lower frequencies to go through. The more expensive silver cables neutralizes this effect somehow and just makes everything sound smooth and exciting.

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**Author:** ![silo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@silo](https://forum.psaudio.com/u/silo)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://forum.psaudio.com/t/xlr-vs-rca-output-of-dsj/15973/3 "2020-03-25T17:57:16Z")

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I wish I have the silver cables in both XLR and RCA for an easier comparison.