Cable / Connection Help for JBL LSR 2300 Series !

[grandmike]

Dear All , 

I currently have a set of the JBL LSR 2300 Series that includes:

1) A pair of LSR 2325P Studio Monitors
2) A subwoofer LSR 2310SP
3) MSC 1 Monitor System Controller

They are all hooked on to my DAC/Sound card Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 (70SB109000000). via RCA cable to the MSC 1. As for all the cable between MSC 1 to the speakers I am using the MONO ( One Strip) TRS both Male end / I was told it is actually Mic Cable to connect.

I am using this set mostly for music listening.

Questions:

a) Is there better options such as using TRS cable at the MSC end and connect to the speaker using XLR on the speaker end ?
b) Shall I use a MONO TRS cable currently ? or shall I switch to a stereo for all 3 of the cable ? and what difference will it make ?

Please feel free to give suggestions regarding my setup

Thank You very much in advance

Mike

 

[blazer78]

a) It shouldn't matter too much in a home setting, the output from the X-Fi is not balanced anyhow.
 
b) Mono is classified as TS cable. This is fine for carrying left and right channel (one TS cable for left and one TS cable for right).
 
c) How are you finding the room correction device? Try removing it from your chain and have a listen to your studio monitors.

 

[grandmike]

Quote:

a) It shouldn't matter too much in a home setting, the output from the X-Fi is not balanced anyhow.
 
b) Mono is classified as TS cable. This is fine for carrying left and right channel (one TS cable for left and one TS cable for right).
 
c) How are you finding the room correction device? Try removing it from your chain and have a listen to your studio monitors.

 
First off , Thank you for the advice. For my case the room correction device only works in the studio where it used to be , in a properly controlled environment - Acoustic Walls etc . As for my room/ my home it fails to calibrate due to too much distortion / vibration from windows and doors. Overall I would say it works to certain extent (when it used to work in the studio). I would prefer the woofer to be placed in the middle behind the Table rather than at a corner . 
 
This might be a noob question , Just for music listening enjoyment . Does it make any difference if I use a balance or an unbalanced signal ?

 

[blazer78]

Not a noob question at all. You will however get varying responses to that question. My opinion is yes, there probably will be a difference with a fully balanced setup, mostly within the realm of reduced noise and interference. Is this a really audible difference? My ears say no in a home environment. Usually theres much cleaner power and also less cables clumped up together (as opposed to a studio). As long as your phones are all on a 3G band then interference again is going to be minimal.
 
Often people will say there is a difference and other that say there isn't. What you need to appreciate is that for a relatively objective comparison you will need a DAC and AMP that simultaneously outputs balanced and unbalanced audio that is level matched (same volume). The comparison also needs to be on a select few songs with a direct A/B comparison. You might also want a larger sample size as well. However, obtaining a "relatively" objective comparison is difficult due to the complexities and considerations needed in experimental design. This is where subjective opinions become useful, for surely if 90% of the people agree on a common baseline, they could not be all wrong.. right?

The scientific camp says wrong! you can do a null hypothesis test and record the same passage twice. If the waveform is exactly the same, then theoretically there is no difference right? Again, you need to ask yourself whether the test setup is correct, are the microphones being used accurate and sensitive enough to measure every tiny nuance? positioning of the microphone perhaps?
 

 

[grandmike]

Quote:

Not a noob question at all. You will however get varying responses to that question. My opinion is yes, there probably will be a difference with a fully balanced setup, mostly within the realm of reduced noise and interference. Is this a really audible difference? My ears say no in a home environment. Usually theres much cleaner power and also less cables clumped up together (as opposed to a studio). As long as your phones are all on a 3G band then interference again is going to be minimal.
 
Often people will say there is a difference and other that say there isn't. What you need to appreciate is that for a relatively objective comparison you will need a DAC and AMP that simultaneously outputs balanced and unbalanced audio that is level matched (same volume). The comparison also needs to be on a select few songs with a direct A/B comparison. You might also want a larger sample size as well. However, obtaining a "relatively" objective comparison is difficult due to the complexities and considerations needed in experimental design. This is where subjective opinions become useful, for surely if 90% of the people agree on a common baseline, they could not be all wrong.. right?

The scientific camp says wrong! you can do a null hypothesis test and record the same passage twice. If the waveform is exactly the same, then theoretically there is no difference right? Again, you need to ask yourself whether the test setup is correct, are the microphones being used accurate and sensitive enough to measure every tiny nuance? positioning of the microphone perhaps?
 

 
Thank You for the resourceful answer. Say If I am looking at a DAC to replace and I would like it predominately to sound "NICE" for music listening but coloured its ok . Which soundcard/DAC shall I go for ? Internal or external dosen't matter .

 

[blazer78]

I jumped from a Auzentech Bravura (Cirrus Logic 4xxx) to a Audio GD SA1.32 (TI BB 1704UK) and found a difference in the presentation of music. A bit more details and very smooth. I can't say I enjoy my music anymore then when I had a simple soundcard, but I am still tweaking the settings of the external DAC.
 
The stock X-FI should sound fairly exciting to you, and you may or not get "your money's worth" by upgrading to a external DAC. However, the hot favourites atm appear to be the Rega DAC, Audio GD and Lavry. The "magic" sound as with anything tends to get boring without new music haha
 

 

[grandmike]

Thank you for the feedback , I am thinking of getting the titanium HD for cost reasons . seems that its getting a pretty positive review around here.

 

[blazer78]

titanium HD is the one with stereo RCA output? that should make the cabling easier and also I believe it has a better EMI shield compared to the bare x-fi

 

[grandmike]

 Yes it is the one with the RCA output http://www.head-fi.org/products/creative-labs-x-fi-titanium-hd-pci-e . How's your Auzentech going ?