There's nothing wrong with the audio quality of unbalanced outputs... the only real difference is that balanced cables are less susceptible to interference noise.

Balanced signals (when terminated correctly) will be 3 dB louder ... and can be run for longer lengths (thousands of feet if needed).

If your cable runs are less than 10 feet total (this includes into and out of your patch bay if you use one) then an unbalanced output will work fine. Runs longer that 10 feet will exhibit HF roll off and a greater susceptibility to noise pick up ...

Unbalanced outs over 10 ft.

Ohh I see. Thanks alot. . So are there devices like repeaters kind of like they have in networking? I doubt I'd have to run the outs from the MPC this long but just out of curiousity. Also, is there such a thing as an unbalanced to balanced converter? If so, are the effects of not having something like this noticeable? Thanks for your replies.

Kurt Foster wrote: If your cable runs are less than 10 feet total (this includes into and out of your patch bay if you use one) then an unbalanced output will work fine.

Well, that'd depend on the electrical environment. In a noisy environment like close to a computer you'd probably pick up noise even with a 10 ft cable. Note also that shielding may not help to eliminate the noise, because shields only stop electric fields whereas (especially low-frequency) magnetic fields is difficult to shield. (Low frequency in this scope means electrical frequency compared to the megahertz that also exist inside a computer - not audio low frequency).

So make sure to not run your unbalanced cables near digital equipment or mains supply.

Re: Unbalanced outs over 10 ft.

tofumusic wrote: Ohh I see. Thanks alot. . So are there devices like repeaters kind of like they have in networking? I doubt I'd have to run the outs from the MPC this long but just out of curiousity. Also, is there such a thing as an unbalanced to balanced converter? If so, are the effects of not having something like this noticeable? Thanks for your replies.

If you plug the MPC into a mic pre, EQ, compressor a channel input on any mixer or like device, this will act as a "repeater" and if the output of that device is balanced, it will balance the signal. You can also use transformers to turn an unbalanced signal into a balanced one ...

Re: Unbalanced outs over 10 ft.

tofumusic wrote: Ohh I see. Thanks alot. . So are there devices like repeaters kind of like they have in networking? I doubt I'd have to run the outs from the MPC this long but just out of curiousity. Also, is there such a thing as an unbalanced to balanced converter? If so, are the effects of not having something like this noticeable? Thanks for your replies.

If you plug the MPC into a mic pre, EQ, compressor, a channel input on any mixer or like device, this will act as a "repeater" and if the output of that device is balanced, it will balance the signal. You can also use transformers to turn an unbalanced signal into a balanced one ...

A mixer!

That makes perfect sense! Why didn't I think of that it's so obvious. . Thanks again