Balanced or Unbalanced Part 2

Astral Fridge Magnet · Tue May 27, 2003 12:50 pm

Thanks to the people who responded to my question in part 1.
My next question is this:
I probably don't need Balanced I/Os, seeing thatI don't really have cables longer than 5m, perhaps I may need to buy some in the not too distant future as my set-up grows.
As I said, I am going to buy another Pulsar 2 card and take advantage of this "loyalty offer." Seeing that the price of a balanced I/O is the same as an unbalanced I/O, should I go for the balanced anyway and if so what would be the drawbacks of doing so under the circumstances that I work under now (cables not longer than 5m).
Sorry if it is a basic question and thanks in advance for your responses.

rodos1979 · Post by **rodos1979** » Tue May 27, 2003 2:10 pm

...I would *definately* go for the balanced option!

Immanuel · Post by **Immanuel** » Tue May 27, 2003 5:39 pm

Balanced connections are the better solution. It does however depend on the equipment, you want to connect to the card.

Does you equipment have XLR, jack or RCA connectors.

Astral Fridge Magnet · Tue May 27, 2003 7:11 pm

Mainly 1/4 inch jacks

Post by **garyb** » Tue May 27, 2003 7:40 pm

if you eventually want to use pro gaer,then balanced.even on short runs they tend to be quieter.the downside is that the signal will be pretty hot for your consumer gear(+4db) that you're interfacing with,possibly to hot for some devices....of course,if you keep the old card,you can still use it's i/o for -20db connections...

if yours will remain a home studio,go for the unbalanced option.connections will be simpler.......

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: garyb on 2003-05-27 20:43 ]</font>

Astral Fridge Magnet · Thu May 29, 2003 10:55 am

Excuse my ignorance once agin GaryB, but what do you mean by too hot?

Immanuel · Post by **Immanuel** » Thu May 29, 2003 11:15 am

Loud - it may distort the -10dBV equipment, that comes after the +4dBu.

Astral Fridge Magnet · Sat May 31, 2003 7:26 am

Hi GaryB,

Just to make sure that you read this (a response to your posting on the creamware forum to Grumpy-which is me by the way), I am also posting it here.

Thanks for responding, but now I don't know what to do again!!!
The main reason I am buying a second card is for more DSP and the good price being offered in the loyalty deal. Ok, I don't have any gear with XLR jacks, so you are probably right with what you said and I don't see myself updating my hardware gear as I am going down the software route anyway. But most responses to my question say to go for balanced as I would have the best of both worlds. So obviously if I need balanced I would have that option. If I need unbalanced I would have that option too.
But now my brain is melting with indecision (I am terribly indecisive and need someone to tell me what to do).

Regards

Post by **hubird** » Sat May 31, 2003 7:49 am

Weirdo, keep it simple, choose for unbalanced.
You have a simple and shortlined setup, don't plan to expand external gear.
Having balanced plugs but using them unbalanced is messy and redundant.
I have unbalanced, works fine.
Don't get unsure about an option you don't need and won't use, life is complicated already.
But this is just me.

Astral Fridge Magnet · Sat May 31, 2003 7:51 am

Actually, I do own gear with balanced jacks. My Pod Pro. So another qusetion. Would hum be reduced if I changed to XLR jacks as an output from my Pod into the Pulsar?

Mr Arkadin · Post by **Mr Arkadin** » Sat May 31, 2003 9:05 am

i only have POD2, but doesn't POD Pro have an SPDIF out that you can use to go straight into Pulsar digitally? To answer your question i would imagine that for the sort of cable lenghths you shouldn't notice much difference in hum if you used balanced (unless you've got some heavy interference from some other gear/mains etc.), but you will have a hotter (louder) signal going to Pulsar which is always good. i'd imagine any POD hum will more likrly to be caused by CRT death rays zapping your guitar's pickups (do you have single-coil or humbuckers?).

Mr A

PS i got the balanced option, i thought it was worth it for the few bits of balanced kit i've got (including POD2). Remember though that the balanced option comes with AES/EBU rather than SPDIF and is a bit of a pain as most gear uses SPDIF, so you may need a converter box.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mr Arkadin on 2003-05-31 10:07 ]</font>

Post by **garyb** » Sat May 31, 2003 12:54 pm

if most of the rest of your gear is unbalanced,get the unbalanced option.it'll work fine.there is no advantage to balanced connections if the other gear is unbalanced and everything is properly connected.

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 6:49 am

why not the z-link plate?
it should add two analog in and out...