I am not an expert in this area, but here's what I know.
In a single-ended setup, there is one wire which caries alle the audio signal, and the hield which is usually tied to ground. The shield is there to keep RF noise out. This solution is not 100% perfect; on longer runs of cable, for example, you could still get some noise on the signal line, with no way to get rid of it.
In a balanced setup, there are a number of signals on the cable. I believe it works something like this: Hot pin carries the signal, and the cold pin carries the inverse of the signal. If there is noise on the line, it will offset the hot and cold evenly, and therefor you can get rid of it on the other end of the line, but I have forgotten exactly how. In essence, the system also does not need a ground, so it helps with ground loops. (Like I said, not an expert ;)
On truly balanced equipment, many people seem to agree that balanced cables work best. I have a Mark Levinson pre and power amp; they are interconnected with balanced cables, and the result sounds a bit more pleasing than when I use single ended cables.
On the other hand, my Sony SCD-1 is connected to the preamp with balanced cables, but it does not sound quite as pleasing as it does with single ended cables. I am told this is because the Sony is internally not truly balanced, rather they use a converter to change the single ended signal to a balanced one.
In my opinion, the best thing to do is to listen to either setup and see what's best. I did not do that with my SCD-1 since I assumed balanced was better. Wrong choice.
Niels.
In a single-ended setup, there is one wire which caries alle the audio signal, and the hield which is usually tied to ground. The shield is there to keep RF noise out. This solution is not 100% perfect; on longer runs of cable, for example, you could still get some noise on the signal line, with no way to get rid of it.
In a balanced setup, there are a number of signals on the cable. I believe it works something like this: Hot pin carries the signal, and the cold pin carries the inverse of the signal. If there is noise on the line, it will offset the hot and cold evenly, and therefor you can get rid of it on the other end of the line, but I have forgotten exactly how. In essence, the system also does not need a ground, so it helps with ground loops. (Like I said, not an expert ;)
On truly balanced equipment, many people seem to agree that balanced cables work best. I have a Mark Levinson pre and power amp; they are interconnected with balanced cables, and the result sounds a bit more pleasing than when I use single ended cables.
On the other hand, my Sony SCD-1 is connected to the preamp with balanced cables, but it does not sound quite as pleasing as it does with single ended cables. I am told this is because the Sony is internally not truly balanced, rather they use a converter to change the single ended signal to a balanced one.
In my opinion, the best thing to do is to listen to either setup and see what's best. I did not do that with my SCD-1 since I assumed balanced was better. Wrong choice.
Niels.