Nobsound 3-IN-1-OUT XLR Audio Switch, Balanced Audio Converter, 3-Way Stereo Passive Audio Selector Switcher (MC103 Pro 3-IN)

Product Information

I run sound for a big band/swing band group with 2 vocalists. The vocalists each use a Shure SM-58S but they are not on stage all of the time; only 30% to 40% of our songs have vocals, so for a good portion of the show the mics are muted using their built-in switch. Now even though the Shures don't need it, phantom power is on because I also have a condenser mic on the piano. In summary, an XLR switch is the ideal way to connect multiple amplifiers to your DAC, and avoids potential issues associated with XLR splitters, or the inconvenience of moving cables yourself.

Many preamplifiers have inferior relay-based input selectors that can potentially degrade overall sound quality. By using a switch-box solution, you can entirely bypass those limitations. And one last one to switch the incoming signal into my EQ (preamp signal VS. mono signal from pro tools (I run my mixes through the EQ)As you can see, absolutely no change in distortion when using the switch. It’s behaving like a normal XLR cable here (as expected). Radial Relay Xo Balanced Remote AB switcher [RELAY-XO] : AVShop.ca - Canada's Pro Audio, Video and DJ Store I try to make sure all of my musics on Audirvana Plus is 16-bit/44.1khz since I've heard that Schiit modi multibit only performs the 'multibit magic' on that bitrate. To get the 'multibit magic' from higher fidelity songs, I've heard that you need to upgrade to Gungnir or Yggdrasil. hey everybody .. facing the same problem with the exact same question. running out of RCA inputs on my amp... so I started looking for a switch and am still asking myself " will I sacrifice quality introducing this thing into the chain?" well well As for performance, in almost all areas, the Nobsound MC103 behaves no differently than a short XLR cable, and should be considered ‘transparent’ other than a slight impact on crosstalk which is beyond the performance of most amplifiers and beyond likely limits of audibility as well.

This gives us a result of 1666 Ohms! Lower than either of the two individually! This means that using a splitter in this setup, our impedance matching ratio would be less than ideal, even though either amplifier connected directly to the DAC would be fine. I attached an image which hopefully helps clarify what I'm going for. I'm hoping to find something with zero tone coloration and really good quality components. I've found these 2 options, but not sure if anyone can recommend something better suited for this:

Option 3 will fix this. By using a switch, we keep the DAC connected to only one amp at a time, avoiding the effect of resistance (input impedance) in parallel, keeping our impedance matching ratio nice and high, and we don’t have to fumble with cables either. The only question is; will the switch degrade audio quality? It’s a passive device and in theory shouldn’t have an effect on audio quality in the way that an active device like a preamplifier might, but does that hold up in practice? Lets find out! Design

Lets say you have two amplifiers. A topping A90 with an input impedance of 2000 Ohms, and an Enleum AMP-23R with an input impedance of 10,000 Ohms. You’re using an SMSL SU-9 which has an output impedance just over 200 Ohms. The MC103 does have a very slight effect on crosstalk, however it’s still incredibly low, and below that of most DACs and amplifiers anyway. A Topping A90D for example has crosstalk of -110dB at 1khz and -86dB at 20khz, meaning the MC103 is close to 20dB lower at any given frequency. Performance was the same regardless of which output was tested. LCR (Capacitance, Inductance, Resistance)

All of these values are consistent with a typical XLR cable. Impedance is slightly higher though as would be expected due to the switch itself. Summary Option 1 is not particularly convenient, no one wants to be fumbling with cables behind their desk each time they want to listen to something different, and also if you’re doing this a lot then there is the risk you may wear out the connectors of the cable or your amplifier over time. All this said, I'd still love to get my hands on one of those goldpoint boxes, if only because their stepped attenuators are gorgeous, but oh-my-god-that-price.