RCA To XLR

Nothing better than the simplest solution like a cable adapter.

I have such converters, Henry Matchboxes, to be precise, but I only use them where necessary, e.g. if the source has relatively low output. One such situation for me is using a portable media player to power amp directly. It can barely muster 1V out which just isn't enough sometimes. Preamps though rarely have such limitations.
 
Gigantic said:
^^^^This.
The Cleanbox fixes voltage and impedance imbalances from the single ended signal, can lower the noise floor and create more headroom.
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+1 on this.

Wish that both of my XLR-only-input amps had a balanced/unbalanced switch though. Only one of them has this.
 
whoaru99 said:
Actually, one wants as little gain as possible to achieve the goal.

And, adding more electronics into the signal path is going to add more noise than a cable.
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until that lack of gain creates distortion in the primary amplifier.
 
chris35745 said:
Why not just get a line balancer such as the ART CLEANBoxPro? It offers unbalanced input to balanced output and balanced input to unbalanced output. Problem solved. No need to attempt to make some weird cables or use RCA to XLR cables. Trust me, I went there once before. Not worth the time or effort. I have 3 Crown XLS 402 power amps that are balanced being fed input from my Surround receiver. I have three line balancers, one for each amp. RCA out from preamp to line balancer, XLR out to balanced amp input. Front channel, surround channel and surround back channel. Been using them since 2008. No issues whatsoever of distortion nor any negative audio issues ever. When I tried RCA to XLR cables straight from preamp into amps, I had to turn up the amp volume to max and turn up my preamp to near max volume just to get decent sound levels. When I went with the line balancers, I have my amps at half volume and my preamp set at about -50dB and get perfect sound levels. Keep in mind that my preamp volume levels go from +10dB at full volume to -80dB for no sound. With the balancers and my main amps set to half volume, I have a MASSIVE amount of headroom.
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That's a good idea, I've seen this done in professional installations & forgot about it
 
chris35745 said:
When I tried RCA to XLR cables straight from preamp into amps, I had to turn up the amp volume to max and turn up my preamp to near max volume just to get decent sound levels.
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There must have been something seriously wrong with the cables, because you should not experience a dramatic drop in volume.

Interfacing balanced and unbalanced gear is complex. Simple solutions can work, but thinking that a cable with an XLR on one end and an RCA on the other is all it takes in every instance is a mistake, as is thinking that it will never work at all without introducing noise. Besides, how is that cabled wired? There are three contacts at one end and only two at the other. Is every off-the-shelf cable wired the same? Unlikely.
Personally, I'd recommend sidestepping the problem altogether by not buying gear that has different connectors. Of course, that doesn't really help the OP.
The wiring scheme in post #4 is the one I'd try first.
 
rothwellaudio said:
There must have been something seriously wrong with the cables, because you should not experience a dramatic drop in volume.

Interfacing balanced and unbalanced gear is complex. Simple solutions can work, but thinking that a cable with an XLR on one end and an RCA on the other is all it takes in every instance is a mistake, as is thinking that it will never work at all without introducing noise. Besides, how is that cabled wired? There are three contacts at one end and only two at the other. Is every off-the-shelf cable wired the same? Unlikely.
Personally, I'd recommend sidestepping the problem altogether by not buying gear that has different connectors. Of course, that doesn't really help the OP.
The wiring scheme in post #4 is the one I'd try first.
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it's been my experience with pro audio, that balanced signals run hotter than single ended, hence the multiple recommendations for the ART Cleanbox Pro, which matches impedance and gain from single ended to balanced and vice versa.
 
The adaptor cable of post #4 should work fine if cable runs are not too long.

The best solution is to use quality transformers such as the RDL TX-AFC1M. They are rather expensive but if you keep looking you can find them for sale at reasonable prices. I use them on the input of my Digigram sound card as well as the RDL TX-AFC1F on the outputs. I tried an electronic convertor but found that it added a bit of noise, so it had no real advantage over the simple passive cable solution. Transformers provide galvanic isolation as well which is very desirable feature.
 
par4ken said:
The adaptor cable of post #4 should work fine if cable runs are not too long.

The best solution is to use quality transformers such as the RDL TX-AFC1M. They are rather expensive but if you keep looking you can find them for sale at reasonable prices. I use them on the input of my Digigram sound card as well as the RDL TX-AFC1F on the outputs. I tried an electronic convertor but found that it added a bit of noise, so it had no real advantage over the simple passive cable solution. Transformers provide galvanic isolation as well which is very desirable feature.
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Sescom (sescom.com) manufactures excellent attractively priced solutions, as well.
I`ve used both RDL, & Sescom various audio products/adaptors many times since 2011, and their both excellent, although RDL products are always higher priced for the similar/equivalent audio adaptor(s) device.

Jensentransformers.com offerings are another high reputation HQ audio adaptor company to consider checking out.
I go to the manufacture`s web site find what I desire, then go to Amazon and search for that manufacture & model # of the device I`m interested in, so I can get the best price, free shipping, & returns with Prime account, + 30 days to check out & return if the device doesn`t fulfill my requirements, then I try another manufacture`s same type device, and so on until I get what electronic results I desire.

FWIW, HQ audio transformers in the bal. to unbal. or the reverse
 
Just an opposing opinion Bill:

Once I find something on amazon, I check the manufacturer’s website and a couple of other sources, 50% of the time I find amazon to be the highest price.

The convenience is there (although my prime usually means 3 days or a “we’re sorry” telling me it’ll be late, let them know in a week if it doesn’t arrive, getting worse).

My daughter finds better service and price with walmart’s member service, and just like amazon some is direct/warehoused and other items are 3rd-party.

Ymmv
 
paronaram said:
Hello Everybody,

Purchased a Power Amp that has only Blanced (XLR) input, and my preamp has only RCA out.
What is the best way to convert an audio signal from RCA to XLR without causing much of a distortion?

I see kits based on NE5532 to convert XLR to RCA, but I need to make thisother way around

Thank you.
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Which two pieces of gear are you attempting to connect?

I do have some pro and pro-sumer gear where the pin locations and input voltage can be outside of current standard or manually changed.
 
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SaturationPt said:
Just an opposing opinion Bill:

Once I find something on amazon, I check the manufacturer’s website and a couple of other sources, 50% of the time I find amazon to be the highest price.

The convenience is there (although my prime usually means 3 days or a “we’re sorry” telling me it’ll be late, let them know in a week if it doesn’t arrive, getting worse).

My daughter finds better service and price with walmart’s member service, and just like amazon some is direct/warehoused and other items are 3rd-party.

Ymmv
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Ok, I`m already maintaining a Prime subscription anyway for over 8 yrs., and I do check around for other vender`s offering`s prices, but I have usually been getting Amazon ordered items faster (there is a Amazon warehouse located in nearby Jacksonville FL.) than any other purchasing methods, and if a few dollars if higher on Amazon than elsewhere, all the purchasing Prime perks I use more than offset a few dollars difference, if found

This God Damn forum`s corrupt ed software just stripped off several detail written paragraphs from this reply as I attempted to post my reply !

I`ve had enough of A/Ks many months of f`d up forum`s software, maybe check back this coming summer, maybe not !
 
Thank you for all your feedback!

I purchased Kopul RCA Phono Female to 3-Pin XLR Male Barrel Adapters, and they have the correct wiring mentioned in the previous post by whoaru99. The amplifier sounds very nice. Since this is a temporary solution until I get a proper preamp with XLR outputs, I will continue using these adapters for now.

The power amp is a BAT VK-55, and the preamp is an Audio Research SP-9. I got a great deal on the preamp, but it has some issues and lacks XLR outputs.
Will need to start troubleshooting AR SP-9, and when it's fixed (hopefully) I will flip to get a matching BAT preamp or I was thinking about SCHIIT AUDIO Freya+F

Thanks again!
 
paronaram said:
Thank you for all your feedback!

I purchased Kopul RCA Phono Female to 3-Pin XLR Male Barrel Adapters, and they have the correct wiring mentioned in the previous post by whoaru99. The amplifier sounds very nice. Since this is a temporary solution until I get a proper preamp with XLR outputs, I will continue using these adapters for now.

The power amp is a BAT VK-55, and the preamp is an Audio Research SP-9. I got a great deal on the preamp, but it has some issues and lacks XLR outputs.
Will need to start troubleshooting AR SP-9, and when it's fixed (hopefully) I will flip to get a matching BAT preamp or I was thinking about SCHIIT AUDIO Freya+F

Thanks again!
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I had a look at the VK-55 owners manual & it says this:

"Connecting the VK-55 to Your System:


For Balanced Preamplifiers:

Use balanced XLR interconnects. The left and right channel input connectors are clearly
marked on the back panel of the VK-55.
Note: The VK-55 XLR inputs are wired as follows:
Pin 1: common/ground
Pin 2: positive
Pin 3: negative

For Single-Ended Preamplifiers:

Single-ended preamplifiers have RCA connectors. The VK-55 power amplifier is
designed to work with either balanced or single-ended preamplifiers connected to its inputs.
All that is required to connect a single-ended preamplifier with RCA connectors to the
VK-55’s inputs is the optional balanced to single-ended adapters. These adapters are
available from Balanced Audio Technology at a nominal charge"

So according to the mfr you'll be fine with RCA's & those adaptors

With no knowledge of what the gear was, lots of other possiblities had to be considered
 
If it was XLR to RCA I might be inclined to agree there are more considerations, but RCA to XLR not really a lot going on there.
 
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