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Balanced versus single ended

From my experience, every situation that had both options, the balanced connection and/or increased gain sounded better, regardless of the bolume knob’s final position. More detail , air, emotional connection etc. The single ended cables used were good, not the bargain or so called high end extreme.

Sometimes using balanced or xlr it involved just the source, but optimally it carried through thd entire chain.

Anyways, my question is: has anyone ever thought that single ended sounded better?given the 2 options. Im only referring to a truly balanced connection.

I ask, because a manufacturer who makes tube amps, recommends single over balanced connection. Is there something else involved in this decision, additional parts or labor complexity? Is the signal path extended?

Thanks in advance

 

recluse
bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,113 posts
 

I am runnning Triode Audio TRX-M845 mono blocks into Acoustic Zen speakers.  The exact set up that has won several "best in show" sound room awards.  So I asked Triode what cable format they use.  They answered they use RCA cables in every situation.  Who am I to argue with them? 

audioman58's avatar
audioman58
3,839 posts
 

True balanced-need to be input to output

on all gear or it’s not truly balanced ,just converted to rca or 2 wire?

 

ghdprentice
6,362 posts
 

@fsonicsmith

“As an owner of an ARC Ref 6 and Ref 80S and Ref 150 SE I know that Warren Gehl and Co strongly suggest running balanced with the very best IC’s you can afford. I conducted listening tests with a wide assortment of balanced IC’s at all price ranges and heard huge differences. I settled on Cardas Clear Beyond. ‘

I just saw this. Very nice system. As an illustration to the forum… I am going to repeat your text with my experiences. This is in no way saying you are incorrect. But I am pointing out no matter how similar your systems the answer can be different.

My experience: As an owner of an ARC Ref 6SE and Ref 160s and Ref 160m monos, I know that Warren Gehl and Co strongly suggest running balanced with the very best IC’s you can afford. I conducted listening tests with a wide assortment of balanced and unbalanced IC’s at all price ranges and heard huge differences. I settled on Transparent Ultra after extensive testing of Cardas Beyond. I found no significant audible difference between single ended and XLR.


There are a lot of similarities in our systems and yet to me in my system Transparent was far superior to Cardas (I tried all kinds). But we definitely agree that there are very large differences in the sound quality among interconnects.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
jji666
441 posts
 

I'd not considered this point before, but given that the signal is duplicated then reversed then transported then recombined, doesn't that mean that any coloration or other effect by the interconnect is simply negated?  So, you don't really need fancy balanced cables?

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,575 posts
 

 This is why XLR is especially good for long runs. The additional line for the single path is also responsible for the 6 dB gain

If your setup supports the balanced standard there will be no 6dB gain difference between balanced and single-ended.

I'd not considered this point before, but given that the signal is duplicated then reversed then transported then recombined, doesn't that mean that any coloration or other effect by the interconnect is simply negated?  So, you don't really need fancy balanced cables?

@jji666 

If your equipment supports the balanced standard then you don't need fancy cables. If it does not support the standard, you'll find yourself auditioning cables to find the one that sounds 'right'. Personally I find this a bit silly, since the balanced line system is a technology that eliminates cable colorations.

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