Hi all,
I have a computer as my music source. I have usb (type C) out to a fully balanced DAC and Amp. I am using RCA cables.
Question: Will I have a balanced output to my headphones if I connect the headphones to the amp via XLR?
Thanks for your help!
Leo
Technically, yes, assuming the XLR connector on the fully balanced amp is a fully balanced connection. That would be a 4-pin XLR connector, or in old school - two 3-pin XLR connectors.
Purists will say that you're ruining the balanced DAC capability by only using RCA to connect to the amp. That means the DAC -> Amp connection is
not fully balanced. I strongly suspect that if the DAC is fully balanced, it has an optional output with 2 x 3-pin XLR connectors. You might get better performance by connecting to your Amp that way, instead of the RCA jacks.
More practical enthusiasts will tell you that the advantages of balanced drive are really experienced at the headphone, not between the DAC and amp.
Further still, very pure purists will tell you that everything is "balanced" if it allows connection to 4 signal wires in some fashion (2 x 3-pin XLR just have redundant grounds because back in the day, 4-pin XLR connectors were unicorns). The more desired term is "fully differential." That's what really defines the circuit as having two-differential-signal wires per channel. "Balanced" is interpreted by some in the industry as the ability to connect to a fully differential load, even though the circuit inside the box is single-ended, not fully differential.
… and if you understand all of that, you probably no longer care about your original question.
