Balanced Mini XLR to Stereo XLR Cable
The Connect it DS Mini XLR/XLR is a cable with balanced Pro-Ject
On Pro-Ject True Balanced turntables, the balanced signal from any MC cartridge travels through the arm and reaches the balanced mini-XLR output connector. This gives you the option of sending that balanced signal to a phono preamp that has a conventional XLR input.
Balanced transmission of the phono signal is now available in an unprecedented way. It is no longer necessary to spend thousands of euros to achieve the sound quality offered by balanced phono. The signal coming out of your capsule is not much different from the microphone signal: an extremely low level that requires unusually high amplification, making it more susceptible to interference (even more so in the modern era, with the abundance of electronics and with the wireless signals that proliferate). Since the recording industry uses balanced XLR connections to shield the microphone signal, we should also do so with the phono signal, which is equally delicate.
In the early days of music recording and playback, balanced operation was necessary to avoid noise; That's how it started. As demand for easier and more affordable home listening increased, unbalanced (RCA) connections were developed and implemented to reduce costs and facilitate manufacturing. For the same reasons, this is the type of connection that became popular. Few looked back and the balanced connection in music playback became something reserved only for the "high-end". For Pro-Ject , the question became this: why not make it easy for our customers to hear the difference.
To enjoy a truly balanced connection, you need an MC cartridge, a balanced turntable output, a balanced cable and a phono preamp with a corresponding balanced input. MC capsules are intrinsically balanced (signal isolated from ground), while their MM counterparts are configured differently; They are internally grounded and should only be used with a single-ended (RCA) connection for best performance.
A balanced circuit at the input end is a key element. A balanced signal accumulates noise just like an unbalanced one, however, the way it is handled by the circuit is where the magic happens. A balanced signal includes positive (+) and negative (-) conductors, as well as one ground conductor (per channel). In terms of electrical polarity, the positive (+) and negative (-) signals are inverted copies of each other, that inversion makes them electrically different as far as the balanced circuit is concerned. The interference affects the positive (+) and negative (-) conductors identically, so the noise artifacts are the same in the eyes of said circuit. The differential amplifier in the balanced circuit implements "common mode rejection", canceling (rejecting) what is identical (the noise) and leaving the door open for what is different (the inverted positive and negative signals). Then only the negative (-) component is inverted to perfectly match the positive (+), increasing the amplitude of the signal without the noise. The topic, of course, is very technical and goes far beyond what our discussion here allows, but what it means for the listener is more music, less noise. With noise eradicated, you can expect a new degree of depth to the soundstage (allowing more detail to emerge) and incredibly high dynamics. Your favorite records offer so much more than meets the eye, and we're here to give you everything you've been missing.
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