In article ,
Eeyore wrote:
PLUS the XLR is an excellent connector compared to the RCA.

I must be unique in not having problems with decent phonos. Apart from on
a Revox which got use a lot elsewhere so was constantly being unplugged.
But then the mains connector on that had to be replaced too. ;-)
They're really for semi permanent installation whereas an XLR is designed
for pro use on things which will be often unplugged.

But the main problem domestically is size - like to guess how many phonos
my AV amp has? ;-)

--
*I was once a millionaire but my mom gave away my baseball cards

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Eeyore wrote:
Nothing wrong with balanced of course - it's the pro standard -
but a bit OTT for domestic use.

Not at all. A balanced input and output can be made for mere pence more
than unbalanced ones and can solve a whole host of problems.

Mere pence when you include decent XLRs? Love to know where you buy them
for that...

--
*Why 'that tie suits you' but 'those shoes suit you'?*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , Eeyore
wrote:
PLUS the XLR is an excellent connector compared to the RCA.

I must be unique in not having problems with decent phonos.

I also rarely have problems with them. However I do buy and fit decent
ones, and avoid unplugging/plugging then when the system is on and this
might cause alarmingly loud transients. :-)

That said, I've also not really had problems with DIN plugs/sockets,
either. Although these days my eyesight probably isn't up to soldering
leads onto them any more!

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , Arny Krueger
scribeth thus

"Iain Churches" wrote in message
...

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...


A thread on another group suggested that these are the norm today.

no way!

Not
being one who avidly reads the Hi-Fi press, is this so? The poster was
adamant it was the *only* way to feed 5.1 speakers etc that have
internal
amps, as unbalanced would cause hum etc. This was from the US, though.

RCA jacks are unfortunately still alive and well in the USA.

That seems to be the situation everywhere, Arny.

Unfortunately so, it seems.

Is it normal in the US to refer to RCA connectors as jacks?

No, just the jacks. We call the plugs, well we call them RCA plugs.

One might think that if RCA jacks are still alive and well, that maybe,
just maybe the plugs are also alive and well. Or not.

It is true that inference is also alive and well in most parts of the
world,
right?

I've never known them to be called anything other than Phono plugs over
here....

You mean you call the jacks plugs?

Over here we call the plugs plugs and the jacks jacks. You mean you Brits
don't?

"Eeyore" wrote in message
...


David Looser wrote:

It's not necessary to go to full balanced to get over earth loop
problems,
differential inputs connected to unbalanced outputs achieves the same
thing.

An unbalanced output with equal value resistors in the hot and cold signal
lines
( the cold going to equipment ground ) and a seperate screen IS balanced.

Balanced in terms of impedance, not balanced in terms of signal voltage (and
hence it's ability to cause crosstalk in adjacent circuits). So I don't
think it correct to say it IS balanced. Having said that it is a perfectly
satisfactory arrangement for short runs and one I have used often.

Normally just called 'impedance balanced' it provides almost all the
advantages
of full-blown active balanced outputs. With a few more resistors it can
even
'ground sense' and overcome hum caused by non-equipotential equipment
grounds.

Not quite sure what you mean by that, a differential input naturally
overcomes hum caused by non-equipotential equipment grounds. This was made
very evident when a piece of video equipment of mine which has a
differential, unbalanced 75R co-ax input was fed from a video line which,
due to confusion about which is the neutral and which the earth pin on an
EP4 mains connector, was referenced to mains neutral, not earth. The
equipment worked fine with but the merest hint of a hum bar on the picture.

A differential ( balanced ) input takes a couple more resistors to make
than an
unbalanced one.

Indeed.

PLUS the XLR is an excellent connector compared to the RCA.

True, though a lot bigger and more expensive.

David.

In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
I've never known them to be called anything other than Phono plugs over
here....

You mean you call the jacks plugs?

Jack plug is commonly used in the pro field (or at least the part of it I
know, before Iain jumps in). It differentiates between jack field or jack
cord, etc.

I don't think an RCA qualifies - it's a co-axial connector. A jack is a
single prong device with the various contacts in line.

--
*How many roads must a man travel down before he admits he is lost? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...



You mean you call the jacks plugs?

Over here we call the plugs plugs and the jacks jacks. You mean you Brits
don't?

There is a difference in terminology between the US and here. You seem to
use the words "jack" and "socket" interchangeably and without regard to the
type of connector referred to. Over here the word "jack" refers specifically
to switchboard type connectors.

David.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
I've never known them to be called anything other than Phono plugs over
here....

You mean you call the jacks plugs?

Jack plug is commonly used in the pro field (or at least the part of it I
know, before Iain jumps in). It differentiates between jack field or jack
cord, etc.

I don't think an RCA qualifies - it's a co-axial connector. A jack is a
single prong device with the various contacts in line.


My 1912 edition of "The Practical Telephone Handbook" (where would I be
without it?) refers to "plugs" and "spring-jacks". The plugs are just the
same as the sort you refer to above, being 1/4" dia and coming in two and
three pole versions, plus the special 3-pole type for CB switchboards (now
known as "B-gauge"). These plugs then plug into the "spring-jacks" which
again come in a variety of flavours: 2 and 3 pole, break jacks and branching
jacks etc., but all conforming to the same general form. Of course in those
days phono connectors, XLRs etc. etc. didn't exist so the opportunity for
confusion was limited.

David.

In article ,
David Looser wrote:
Jack plug is commonly used in the pro field (or at least the part of
it I know, before Iain jumps in). It differentiates between jack field
or jack cord, etc.

I don't think an RCA qualifies - it's a co-axial connector. A jack is
a single prong device with the various contacts in line.


My 1912 edition of "The Practical Telephone Handbook" (where would I be
without it?) refers to "plugs" and "spring-jacks". The plugs are just
the same as the sort you refer to above, being 1/4" dia and coming in
two and three pole versions, plus the special 3-pole type for CB
switchboards (now known as "B-gauge"). These plugs then plug into the
"spring-jacks" which again come in a variety of flavours: 2 and 3 pole,
break jacks and branching jacks etc., but all conforming to the same
general form. Of course in those days phono connectors, XLRs etc. etc.
didn't exist so the opportunity for confusion was limited.

ISTR 'Jack' is another name for male, ie jackrabbit, and refers to the
penis. ;-)

--
*I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...

ISTR 'Jack' is another name for male, ie jackrabbit, and refers to the
penis. ;-)

Except, of course, that the "jack" is the female part of the connector,
which kind of kills that theory!

David.