2. amps-preamps
  3. 128510-2280

Why Single-Ended?

I’ve long wondered why some manufacturers design their components to be SE only. I work in the industry and know that "balanced" audio lines have been the pro standard (for grounding and noise reduction reasons) and home stereo units started out as single-ended designs.

One reason components are not balanced is due to cost, and it’s good to be able to get high quality sound at an affordable price.
But, with so many balanced HiFi components available these days, why have some companies not offered a fully-balanced amp or preamp in their product line?
I’m referring to fine companies such as Conrad Johnson, Consonance, Coincident, and Bob Carver’s tube amps. CJ builds amps that sell for $20-$39K, so their design is not driven by cost.

The reason I’m asking is because in a system you might have a couple of balanced sources, balanced preamp, and then the final stage might be a tube amp or monoblocks which have SE input. How much of the total signal is lost in this type of setup? IOW, are we missing out on sonic bliss by mixing balanced and unbalanced?

128x128lowrider57

Showing 2 responses by dbphd

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dbphd
1,612 posts
 
Al, Peter, Ralph,

I use a KEF 107/2 KUBE between a Parasound JC 2 BP and JC 1 monoblocks.  The KUBE is single ended in and out, so prevents a balanced connection between preamp and amps.  The amps are adjacent to speakers, with over 10' separation .  Is there a way to use a balanced connection?  My email address is [email protected].

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dbphd
1,612 posts
 
almarg, thanks for the advice.

I have a pair of ISO-MAX PI-2xR converters I have used in the past, but it's a bit a kluge.  I hadn't thought to try converting just one side of the KUBE link to balanced -- a half kluge.

An alternative in the manual for the KEF 107/2s is to insert the KUBE in the tape loop of the preamp, but it's not obvious to me how that works.  The JC 2 BP does have a fixed output for recording but no monitoring capability.  I suppose that output could go to KUBE, but where would the output of the KUBE go?  If to one of the JC 2 BP inputs it would become the source.  

The manual for the Ayre phono stage (I use a JC 3) includes diagrams that seem to suggest converting an RCA plug from a turntable to a balanced input, but I may be misreading that.

Finally, the noise level of the system is low enough to be inaudible even with an ear pressed to the mid/HF driver.  My concern is maximizing sound quality of an excellent sounding setup, so maybe it's wild goose chase.

db  
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