2. amps-preamps
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balanced connection, better than single ended?

If you have gear that can do balanced & unbalanced connections which is preferable and why? I have read that balanced connections are better for long runs of cable otherwise a single ended connections are fine but not sure of this since I have yet to use this sort of connection. Also I read that some gear is not truly balanced in their circuitry thus this gear may not benefit from a balanced connection. I ask only because I'm recently buying an amp that has true balanced circuitry but now must find a preamp of the same.
phd

Showing 4 responses by rwwear

rwwear
2,847 posts
 
I prefer balanced because of the noise rejection and the 6db increase in volume doesn't hurt either.
rwwear
2,847 posts
 
I don't necessarily think balanced sounds better except for the lower noise floor which constitutes to better audio to me. I also prefer the better connections XLR's offer.
rwwear
2,847 posts
 
I guess I wasn't clear to all in my statement Tvad.
rwwear
2,847 posts
 
Some such as Rowland Research claim balancing transformers perform better than differentially balanced circuits and simply use Jensen Transformers to attain a balanced output. Audio Research has also done the same thing with some of their preamps and line stages. Audio Research's Ref Phono Stage is an example. Anyone with a little know how can add Jensen's balancing transformers to a components outputs.
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