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[Michael Nielsen]

I just got a new amp ADCOM amp that's got unbalanced RCA inputs...I'm coming out of a Presonus Central Station.  Do I need balanced TRS connectors, or would unbalanced be the same since it's ending up at unbalanced RCAs?

[JGreenslade]

http://www.rane.com/note110.html

Depending on whether the Presonus has XLRs or ¼” jacks, figures 4b or 10b should do the job.

Make sure to read and internalise the whole article – invaluable theory to any AE!

Justin

edit: I just realised that you're asking if you can common the ring to the sleeve (in effect) by pushing in an unbalanced 1/4" jack - is that the case?

If so, I would recommend fitting a balanced jack and following the Rane protocol (there's nothing to be gained by connecting cold to ground btw, unless you have CC or transformer outs)

In theory, if you common the inverted side to ground you could load the Presonus' driver amps (assuming they're not cross-coupled or transformer - they're not on the Presonus monitor unit to my knowledge) unnecessarily.

There's more than meets the eye with regards to connection protocol and it's worth spending the time to learn how to determine the optimum solution.

I should add that the Rane methods will work fine, but some experts will dispute all the theory in that link (i.e. theoretical noise penalties for leaving the shield floating one end in some apps).