squeezebox, bithead, or other dac connects to...
unbalanced line level to balanced mic level
whirlwind pcdi
radial engineering r800
rolls db24
... connects to a long-run of xlr cable (e.g., a 25-foot cable), which connects to...
balanced mic level to balanced line level
hosa mit-176
hosa mit-435
audix t50k
shure a85f
audio technica cp8201
pro co sound 9144pc
... connects to your powered speakers, headphones, or amplifier!
unbalanced line level to balanced mic level
whirlwind pcdi
radial engineering r800
rolls db24
... connects to a long-run of xlr cable (e.g., a 25-foot cable), which connects to...
balanced mic level to balanced line level
hosa mit-176
hosa mit-435
audix t50k
shure a85f
audio technica cp8201
pro co sound 9144pc
... connects to your powered speakers, headphones, or amplifier!
am i right in thinking that a balanced, low-z signal is best for long cable runs?
otherwise, i should just get the whirlwind lm2b, but it doesn't have a ground lift. :(
otherwise, i should just get the whirlwind lm2b, but it doesn't have a ground lift. :(
fuck it, i'm gonna try the lm2b and do long runs of balanced, line-level signal.
i wonder what head-fi thinks. (aw, it's larzman on head-fi!)
well, my krk rp5g2 monitors require a +4 dBu line-level signal for the balanced input. the unbalanced input requires a -10 dBV line-level signal.
now i just need to verify that the squeezebox does indeed output a -10 dBV signal.
now i just need to verify that the squeezebox does indeed output a -10 dBV signal.
apparently blue jeans cables are good interconnects.
So I compared these two cabling options:
* 10-foot Hosa RCA cables
* Whirlwind LM2B and Whirlwind 25-foot XLR cables
The former (the RCA cables) exhibited a fair amount of both high-frequency and low-frequency noise. The latter (the balanced solution) exhibited about the same amount of high-frequency noise, but it exhibited much less low-frequency noise.
As a result, the balanced solution is an improvement over the unbalanced solution at cable lengths of as little as ten feet. I expect that if I required fifty feet of cabling, the improvement would be dramatic.
* 10-foot Hosa RCA cables
* Whirlwind LM2B and Whirlwind 25-foot XLR cables
The former (the RCA cables) exhibited a fair amount of both high-frequency and low-frequency noise. The latter (the balanced solution) exhibited about the same amount of high-frequency noise, but it exhibited much less low-frequency noise.
As a result, the balanced solution is an improvement over the unbalanced solution at cable lengths of as little as ten feet. I expect that if I required fifty feet of cabling, the improvement would be dramatic.