XLR to RCA Adapter Dilemma

Agree with Elizabeth's point, actual use (practical application) is the final determinant. Rlb61 you were right to trust what you heard and not what theory would predict as the outcome. In general I subscribe to "simpler is better" but readily acknowledge there are situational exceptions .
Charles,

Peter (Pbnaudio), thanks very much for your comment, which I reciprocate :-)

11-30-13: Rlb61
Also, to Elizabeth ... thanks for validating that practical application can trump theory. For a minute there, I was beginning to doubt myself because the theorists maintained that what I was hearing was simply impossible.

12-01-13: Charles1dad
Agree with Elizabeth's point, actual use (practical application) is the final determinant. Rlb61 you were right to trust what you heard and not what theory would predict as the outcome.

While I certainly agree that in general actual use is the ultimate determinant, and supersedes theory if the two are in conflict, in this case it seems to me that it is not theory that is wrong, it is the THEORISTS that are being referred to who are wrong, or perhaps are being misinterpreted.

Specifically, it would appear that the alleged theory overlooks the fact that using the adapter may call into play a significantly different output stage design in the preamp. Which in addition to having different intrinsic sonic characteristics may also be interacting differently with the power amp's input impedance.

As I said in my earlier post, the OP's findings are certainly plausible from a technical standpoint, but a precise explanation cannot be provided without knowing more about the specific designs.

12-01-13: Cerrot
It is not uncommon to see different output voltages for the different outputs in specs.

Although often the difference in the two output voltages will be a factor of two, and that difference will be negated when an adapter is used, since as I indicated earlier the use of an adapter results in only one of the two signals in the balanced signal pair being utilized.

Regards,
-- Al

XLR adapters will work and in most cases should work quite well, but you might want to experiment with Jensen transformers for a true balanced to single ended conversion. Their downside is that you will need two pairs of interconnects to go between the components. The upside is potentially better sound.

You are simply not gaining the real benefits from an XLR balanced connection. It is certainly possible that you still prefer the sound using the XLR output. If it is due to the gain, I think what you are hearing has more to do with a relative volume shift than an actual quality difference.

Are you able to use the connections in parallel and then switch back and forth and then use a dB meter to check the relative volumes. People generally prefer the louder source.

You might be seeing a impedance issue. It would be difficult to say which configuration is seeing frequency loss or gain.

Run a test sweep cd and use sound meter to see if you have any frequency dips or rises between the two to decide which is correct. After all that, use the one you like better.