Balanced Turntable?

[SIY]

I saw the adds from Pro-Ject recently and seems like Teac has been building balanced turntables for a while. What advantages do you get from a balanced connection? Extra db? Less noise?

Greater noise pickup immunity. With my balanced MC phono stage, I can actually touch the cartridge pins with my finger with the volume turned up and... nothing. No hum.

 

[Vacceo]

Does the whole setup have to be balanced? I mean, turntable to phono and phono to amp?

 

[charleski]

My phono stage has ballanced outputs that I run in to the balanced input of my Benchmark LA4 preamp. But it's more for convenience (as I'm running the unbalanced outputs to another preamp). My amps don't take balanced connections, so the benefits would be mostly moot.

Wildly off-topic, but you get a like from me for knowing the difference between 'moot' and 'mute'. eek:) I'll go away now.

 

[SIY]

Does the whole setup have to be balanced? I mean, turntable to phono and phono to amp?

The only place you get a real advantage in nearly all setups is from cartridge to preamp.

 

[Vacceo]

The only place you get a real advantage in nearly all setups is from cartridge to preamp.

So if I connected the turntable to a phono stage in balanced and from the phono stage to an amp with RCA's, I'd still get the benefits?

 

[sergeauckland]

So if I connected the turntable to a phono stage in balanced and from the phono stage to an amp with RCA's, I'd still get the benefits?

Yes, because from the phono stage to amp the connection is at line level. The only exception would be if the cables to the amp were long, like >20 metres, then it's possible that a balanced connection would be that bit quieter.

S.

 

[Vacceo]

Thanks for the clarification guys!

 

[Bergante]

A balanced phono input will be noisier than an unbalanced one due to two amplifying devices used in a balanced input as compared to an unbalanced one using just one such device.

I don’t get it. Why can I connect a dynamic microphone to a mixer through a 40 m long cable and despite applying again of 60 dB I don’t get hum?

The problem is, the signal path must be balanced. If you connect one of the signals to the cable screen you have unbalanced it.

And although overkill for a metre long run, there are balanced cables especially suitable to reject low frequency magnetic interference: star-quads.

 

[egellings]

The mic has a very low source impedance which helps limit LF noise. The MM (most common kind) phono cart's is much higher, which allows more hum to seep in. Also, a mic preamp has an essentially flat frequency response, whereas the phone stage has to boost the gain by 20dB at 20Hz, worsening the tendency to hum due to the boost at hum frequencies.

 

[Addi]

Hi
Im using Grado Reference reference 3 high output, i assume it moving iron, would it be better with balanced output? I will be buying pro-ject phono box rs2, balanced riaa

 

[EJasonC]

Does anyone here know of any manufacturer that builds an RCA to XLR cable whereby the XLR ground is NOT connected to the RCA negative? I ask because I have a TT where the cartridge wiring is isolated from ground. There is a ground post on the chassis, but I have verified that it is not connected to the negative pins of the RCA output. Hence, I am able to take advantage of my true balanced phono stage (input & output) if I can find such a cable. I would rather not modify said TT by removing the RCA connectors in favor of XLR outs. Instead, I would rather use a cable that essentially outputs balanced from the RCA connectors; where the negative terminals are not connected to the XLR ground & negative as is the case with virtually all of the RCA-XLR adaptors out there. One exception may be Emotiva's Balanced XLR to Unbalanced RCA Adapter Interconnect. Their description seems to imply a floating ground, but it is somewhat vague from my understanding. The problem is that it is the reverse; namely it is balanced output to an unbalanced input when I need an unbalanced output to a balanced input. At this point, I am tempted to go the DIY route with some Parts Express components to try. Otherwise in the meantime since my phone stage has both SE & Balanced at both input and output, I currently have it connected with unbalanced input and balanced output. My goal is essentially to make the system completely balanced from phono cartridge to phone stage to preamp to power amp. At this juncture, everything in my system is balanced expect for the aforementioned phono output. Thank you all in advance. Cheers!