Question about wiim ultra and fosi v3 mono

[Jiminkent]

Hi, first post here so be gentle.

I have a wiim ultra and fosi v3 months powering some pmc ob1 speakers.

I read on the review of the monoblocks that a balanced input provides much better sinad.

My question is: is it worth me buying an external dac in order to use the balanced inputs on the amps?

It sounds good to me and rarely gets past the 50% mark on the wiim output, but as we all are, im always looking for a way to improve the sound.

Many thanks

Jim.

 

[voodooless]

No, it's not worth it. Just enjoy your equipment.

 

[kyuu]

Going from 93dB SINAD to 100dB SINAD is a nothingburger. If you had a DAC with balanced outputs and some XLR cables already, sure go for it. But absolutely not worth spending money to chase a few dB of SINAD that will make no audible difference whatsoever.

 

[girtab]

I wanted to post something similar to this since I also have fosi v3 monos. Im not sure if I should get the minidsp flex balanced or flex 8 unbalanced. My main priority is not hearing any hiss when putting my ear at the tweeter but I don't know if its worth sacrificing 4 channels for potentially more subwoofers or a seperate 5.3 system. The thing is with the flex eight unbalanced Im afraid long subwoofer cable runs might become problematic?

 

[Jiminkent]

No, it's not worth it. Just enjoy your equipment.

Thanks. That's kind of what I suspected.
Ill spend the money on some diffusers instead.

 

[Jiminkent]

Thanks, I suspected this but was looking for an excuse. I really want something with hardware vu meters on it and was going to buy one of those warmer r2r dacs.

 

[kyuu]

The thing is with the flex eight unbalanced Im afraid long subwoofer cable runs might become problematic?

How long are we talking?

 

[girtab]

How long are we talking?

Depends on where the best location for the sub would be. But very likely 8-10m

 

[kyuu]

Depends on where the best location for the sub would be. But very likely 8-10m

Unless you're going to be running these subwoofer cables directly adjacent to power for most of their length or in a generally noisy environment (which domestic rooms, as a rule, are not), 10m is not likely to be long enough to worry about noise IMO.

 

[girtab]

What about electrical interference? Isnt RCA affected by that? I would hate if my speakers started buzzing all of a sudden

 

[solderdude]

If it happened all of a sudden then something broke or got changed.

When you do not hear weird sounds/noises/hum when nothing is playing then going balanced has NO benefits whatsoever.
When one is always plaqued with hum or 'computer noises' then a possible solution could be a balanced connection but that is not going to be the solution in all cases.

 

[girtab]

If it happened all of a sudden then something broke or got changed.

When you do not hear weird sounds/noises/hum when nothing is playing then going balanced has NO benefits whatsoever.
When one is always plaqued with hum or 'computer noises' then a possible solution could be a balanced connection but that is not going to be the solution in all cases.

So you’re saying unbalanced should be a safe bet? Or should I go for balanced regardless because it’s not like I can go back and return it right?

 

[staticV3]

For RCA Source -> long cable -> XLR sink, pseudo balanced wiring is an effective solution:

Pseudo-balanced RCA to XLR

I've seen some discussion on the forum of cables that can connect RCA outputs to XLR inputs in a "pseudo-balanced" way, including a thread on off-the-shelf options. It's a bit over my head, so I'm starting a noob-oriented thread on the topic. As I read the previous threads, none of the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[girtab]

For RCA Source -> long cable -> XLR sink, pseudo balanced wiring is an effective solution:

Pseudo-balanced RCA to XLR

I've seen some discussion on the forum of cables that can connect RCA outputs to XLR inputs in a "pseudo-balanced" way, including a thread on off-the-shelf options. It's a bit over my head, so I'm starting a noob-oriented thread on the topic. As I read the previous threads, none of the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

How does that work? Also would this be a cable that supports such a topology?

Monoprice cable

Would that also make use of the v3 monos 100db Sinad or am I getting this wrong?

 

[solderdude]

So you’re saying unbalanced should be a safe bet? Or should I go for balanced regardless because it’s not like I can go back and return it right?

If there is no hum, noises or other nasties the way you are using it now there is no reason to NOT use RCA.
Don't worry about SINAD... it is just an unimportant number above 80.

 

[girtab]

If there is no hum, noises or other nasties the way you are using it now there is no reason to NOT use RCA.
Don't worry about SINAD... it is just an unimportant number above 80.

Does RCA have any benefits? You make it sound like it does

 

[girtab]

The problem is I don’t have a dac yet so I don’t know if I require a balanced connection and the cable length would be for a future subwoofer upgrade

 

[Redacted]

Does RCA have any benefits? You make it sound like it does

Nope, not really except cheaper, not that that is a problem either way.
It's the principle of "good enough for your application".

I bought a reel of non-rubbish mono audio cable from Amazon, soldered decent RCA connectors to it, and have a 5-6m run to one of my active subs from the pre-out on my amp. The cable is routed around the back of TV and I have several bends in it that are technically outside the recommended bend radius, that are in conduits. When the sub is turned to full volume and the amp turned right up (no music playing!) I cannot hear any noise of any sort with my ear to the sub, not even mains pickup. OK, it sharply filters at maybe 65Hz (don't ask, it's a long story), so a lot of of what could be picked up is just not fed to the speaker driver. I never hear pops, clicks etc when playing music either.

Bottom line - RCA connectors and long cables in my application are "good enough".

[Edit - and while XLR connectors are great, I'm happy that my RCAs will slip off with no harm done if we vacuum round the skirting boards and bodge the subs]

 

[solderdude]

Does RCA have any benefits? You make it sound like it does

cheaper

 

[girtab]

Arent 10 meter xlr cables like 10 bucks though?

I’m worried because apparently at 10m balanced is supposed to make more sense supposedly which is the distance one of the subs would have

Idk though it’s what AI said

Sorry OP for flooding the post btw