My understanding is that XLR connectors are used in mostly small signal settings such as mic preamps. I'd prefer something a bit beefier for a large signal application, such as a power supply for a large amplifier or high-powered speakers.
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My cable length and thickness worries me
- Thread starter deadchip12
- Start date
I came into the thread late and missed that. The XLR connector and its cabling would work well for long line level runs.
Yes, indeed. Pretty foolproof by design.
The premap to the mono blocks? It's not passing power, just the signal, right? Would it need a lot bigger wire gauge to do that?
What gauge wire are we talking?
No, just regular XLR cables.
Dunno. Probably 24AWG in there, I guess.
I was assuming something like that. That would actually be a really good project. Man, I really like this idea. Okay, where are the cheap and clean mono-blocks?
Plenty of class D ones with balanced input, described in various threads here.
Mono blocks?
I think I've seen monoblocks. Look at what Buckeye, Boxem etc. offer.
Hypex Nilai500DIY Amplifier Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Hypex Nilai500DIY class D amplifier module with PS500DIY power supply. Parts were provided by the company and member @Rick Sykora was kind enough to assemble it: As indicated, the single channel amplifier is on the left and the power supply on...
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Single-channel amplifiers. Note some two-channel amplifiers can be bridged to create a mono amp as well. There are several mono amps on this page: https://www.buckeyeamp.com/shop
HTH - Don
Do you think this is a good idea?
I can't speak for Don, but some people claim sonic benefits. I'm somewhat skeptical, but it won't hurt anything.
Opinions vary. I like the idea but have rarely done it due to cost and need for electrical outlets near the speakers. Anecdotally in the primordial past I have measured a small difference but cannot say I have ever heard a difference in my systems. Here are the pros and cons off the cuff (not exhaustive):
- The pro argument is that you place the amplifiers near the speakers so you can use a very short cable to the speakers, reducing the driving impedance (increasing the effective damping factor) that would otherwise be raised by longer cables.
- For long speaker cables and/or low-impedance or difficult to drive speakers lower driving impedance can be advantageous.
- Since the amplifier's input impedance is typically very high, preamp output impedance low, and signal levels are small (low voltage, current, power), long line-level cables do not have the loss issue long speaker cables would have.
- Long line-level cables may cost less than long heavy-gauge (low AWG number) speaker cables.
- The con arguments:
- A pair of mono amps means two cases, power supplies, etc. and thus will take more space and cost more than a single stereo amplifier (per-channel).
- You must have AC outlets for the amps near the speakers.
- Potential for ground loops since the amplifiers' power connection is generally "far" from the preamp/processor and may be on a different circuit; usually obviated by balanced/XLR connections or double-insulated (two-prong) amplifier power cords.
- Potential for EMI/RFI noise intrusion into the longer line-level cables (use good cables).
Bottom line is I might consider monoblocks if I had very long runs to difficult-to-drive speakers but is not something I usually think about. If I see a pair of monoblocks close in price to a stereo amp I might get the pair just in case I use them that way in the future, even if for now they are side-by-side on a shelf. All my amps now are stereo or multichannel and I have more boxes than space now (one 2-ch, one 5-ch, one 4-ch amp plus my processor and BD player).
HTH - Don
Speedskater
Major Contributor
Three pin XLR connectors are rated at 16 Amps.
The more pins the connector has the less current.
There are better choices than XLR for power, in any event.