Output Voltage (Balanced)
The signal voltage at a DAC’s balanced line output, usually XLR. It feeds an amplifier input; it is not speaker power or balanced-headphone-output voltage.
Voltage across the two signal conductors is differential voltage; a per-leg figure measures just one conductor relative to ground. Keep these bases separate. RMS describes effective voltage; peak describes its highest instantaneous value. Compare like measurements.
Output Voltage (Balanced) — DAC
Check the reference: 0 dBFS means digital full scale. Rated output and the analogue clipping point are different references. Match gain or volume settings and any stated load. For variable outputs, compare the documented maximum at its specified setting.
Check the receiving amplifier’s input limit. Excess voltage can overload it and cause distortion; a lower documented DAC output setting can help. Input sensitivity is not necessarily the overload limit. Balanced does not guarantee twice the RCA voltage or better sound.
Sources
Sources
- Unity Gain and Impedance Matching: Strange Bedfellows — Rane
- RMS Power vs. Average Power — Analog Devices