XLR Connections

[g-money]

Perhaps this belongs in the juvenile forum, but I have some basic questions on the relevence of the balanced XLR outputs. I am going to take from first dip in the Emo Kool-aid with separates for I hope my last, final, best home theater set-up.
So as to not get get splattered with under educated audio responses, which many/most of you have far more knowledge than I, I took the time to read the manual on the XPA-5 for baseline information.
My question is what is the relevance of the XLR connections on the AMP? The manual only refers to basic RCA connections from the processor to the amp, and infomation to utilize such as an input/output source.
This is probably showing my ignorance, but the with the UMC-1 having only one such output to (assumption) the subwoofer, why have these on the amp?
My audio life to date has been decidely mid-level at best, and such connectivity is completely foreign to me. Can somebody help me with how they are to be utilized in most "normal" systems?
The Emotiva ultra subs are the only product I have ever seen that has an XLR conection. I have never seen a speaker with such.

What am I missing? Thanks to all in advance.

[Mr. Ben]

The XLR connections on the amplifiers are inputs. They are an alternative to the RCA jacks. Some higher-end equipment uses XLR connections instead of RCA, and the XPA amplifiers offer you the choice of either type of connection. XLR is a balanced connection (the signal is carried on two wires), RCA is unbalanced (the signal is on one wire).

Today Emotiva's only processor is the UMC-1. They will soon be releasing a higher-end processor that has XLR outputs for all channels, named the XMC-1.

[ghebert]

Would there be an advantage for connecting a processor to the amp with balanced vs unbalanced cables if we're talking about 1-2 ft. cable lengths?

[oppman99]

Unless you are getting interference, no real reason to do it. The XPA-5 accepts balanced inputs, but it isn't a true balanced connection. Only the XPA-1 is fully balanced.