New Cable Help-Balanced or Single Ended


Hello all,
I am finally getting my system to a point where it sounds right for me, and need to settle in on some interconnects. Based on the many positive comments I have read, I plan to try HGA Silver Lace. I will be comming out of a SF Assemblage DAC 3.0 to an Adcom GFP 750 then to a Classe DR25. The Classe drives Alon V MkII's with woofer upgrade. The Adcom has also had Stan Warren's black gate cap upgrade. Reviews say the Adcom sounds "slightly" better when run balanced. My question is, will this system sound better with balanced interconnects or single ended? I like hearing the details, but definitely not at the expense of harshness, grain, or a thin sound. Vocals are important, as is solid bass. I listen to rock (not metal), blues, and a bit of jazz. BTY, tri-wired to speakers with 2 individual runs of DH Labs Q10 (to woofer and mids) and a run of T14 to tweeter. Thanks for your help. Tim
mitch2

Showing 1 response by rives

I'm not completely certain on this, but I don't think the Adcom design is a balanced one. It may have balanced connectors, but the internal circuitry I believe is running single ended. If that is correct, I don't think you will have an appreciable difference on the connection from the CD player (or DAC in this case) to the 750, unless perhaps the DAC is a truly balanced design. Some companies, such as BAT use balanced circuit design throughout the product--for these products you should always use balanced cables when possible. However, in your case, from the pre-amp to the amp is a little different issue, particularly if you are using long interconnects or you are in a noisy (RF and EMI) area. If either of these is the case then I would recommend balanced. If it is not the case, then it's going to be tough to know for sure without trying.