RCA into XLR or TRS 6.35

[JasonM]

I've some Prodipe Pro 5 V3 studio monitors, the inputs on them are XLR/TRS 6.35 or RCA

http://www.prodipe.co.uk/studio-monitors/2111-pro-5-v3.html

I want to connect them to an Asus Essence ST card - so RCA output only. Tonight I connected one of the speakers just to test via the Essence ST's RCA however the noise floor was higher then I preferred.

Is there any better way of connected these speakers, I've seen RCA to TRS cables, and also RCA to XLR cables. Would these give a better solution that just using single RCA (mono) cable into each speaker.

In a perfect world I should use a DAC with XLR output, however are there any tricks I can use to improve an RCA signal into these speakers.

 

[JasonM]

Thanks for your reply, and fully understand what your saying about balanced output needs to be all the way, including from source.

I will test these speakers on another source, however I think it's these speakers generating the noise.

I was running my Essence ST into a regular stereo amp with RCA only, and there was no noise to mention. My feeling is because these active speakers have been designed around XLR, then they don't favour RCA input very well.

To get around the problem these speakers have a gain control on the back. If I set the speaker gain to lowest level, then set maximum output level from the Asus Essence ST, noise is reduced to the point it can hardly be heard (unless listening close when there is no signal or sound output). I can't help feel these speakers will be better with a proper balanced input into them however.

 

[JasonM]

Just an update on this.

Luid, after your first post I looked again at sources of noise. You won't believe what the main cause was, it was the mid range Maplin RCA cable I was using!

I changed RCA cable to one that was better shielded, and it's reduced the background noise by maybe 80%.

What is strange is I thought these Maplin RCA cables were good, and used them in plenty of other hi-fi gear with no issue. I can only assume these Prodipes are really sensitive to interference.

Did not know DI box's even existing, is there any downside to using these?

I got the Prodipes really cheap second hand. I'm evaluating them, however I might end up returning to my Yamaha / Edifier sub setup that I was using previous. These Prodipes are a bit 'boring' there not very musical! The amp inside them is good quality, and the cabinet is built well, i'm just on the fence to switch out with my existing setup. I'm not a music producer, it's just music / audio for my home office / software dev setup.