Q. I have the new Axiom A1400-8 digital amp on order. Do you recommend using XLR (balanced) over RCA interconnects when connecting it to a processor? My current processor has only RCA pre-outs, however I may be upgrading it to one with balanced outs. I can buy regular RCA interconnects to use with my current processor and use adapters on the amp side or get balanced interconnects and use adapters on the processor side. The latter option will allow me to use balanced connections with a new processor. The amp will only be few feet away from the processor and there is not much cabling in the vicinity except for the usual nest created by the projector, player, processor, power conditioner, and other hardware. In addition, what would you recommend for balanced interconnects if this is what you advise. You have them, but they are intended for use with subs and come with a trigger wire on each balanced cable and minimum length is 6 feet. Thank you. -- John

A. That's great news that you have an A1400-8 on order. I think you'll be thrilled with its performance. There is no advantage to using balanced connectors if you have to use RCA/XLR adaptors between the interconnected components. However, should you upgrade to a new AV preamp/processor with balanced outputs, then the advantage is the immunity to hum pickup even with long XLR cable runs between your preamp and new Axiom power amp. Given the short distance between your amp and your processor, there really isn't anything to be gained using balanced connectors unless you get hum pickup using unbalanced RCA cables. You can find good-quality and reasonably priced XLR cables at http://www.monoprice.com , http://www.partsexpress.com or http://www.bluejeanscables.com

Alan Lofft,
Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)