| Author | Message | ||
| wayne
Member Username: wayne Post Number: 53 Registered: 5-2002 |
Question for Ron or Mica or whoever might know: Is the signal between a Series instrument and the DS-5 balanced? I recall Mica making the comment that Stanley sometimes used a 100 foot cable. As I understand, that would normally cause significant signal loss unless the signal is balanced. Thanks!! C-Ya............wayne | ||
| dfung60
Junior Username: dfung60 Post Number: 13 Registered: 5-2002 |
I don't think that the Series electronics are balanced, but they are low impedance and capable of being set cleanly above line level so signal loss is not an issue as it would be with a high-impedance signal. For the circuit to be balanced, it needs to be designed such that you read the signal at the amp input as the difference between the pair of wires that the signal is delivered on. You'd see a transformer or an active circuit in the DS-5 signal path, and there's not one there (the transformer in there is for the DC power supply). In an unbalanced circuit, you read the signal between a hot wire and a ground. That's the way the DS-5 is wired. Having a balanced circuit helps reject hum at any cable length, especially long ones. The loss that's most noticable with long cables and normal electronics is due to capacitance in the cable. The longer you make the cable, the more capacitance. If the bass is high impedance, then that capacitance filters out the highs of the signal. In your Alembic's case, the electronics are low impedance and there's very little treble lost. You can really set the output level high using the trimpots on the back, so you'll have better signal to noise ratio which means a less background noise. I hate to think what a 100 ft cable would cost though! (Did I do OK here Ron?) David Fung |
