Anybody use a single ended component with one that is balanced?


I currently have a single ended pass xa25 amp which is excellent but am looking to upgrade to an arc balanced pre. I was told arc works best balanced but I will have to use the rcas.

Anybody been in a situation like this? Will I really be compromising the sound of the arc using it in single ended mode? I know there are people who prefer single ended.

 

roxy1927

I find fully balanced gear sounds best used balanced, but still quite good SE...a tube pre can sound great with a SS amp...

The last couple of posts make good sense. The first one...not so much. 

Balanced pre & amp will provide 6db additional gain and reject noise. It's a clear advantage. 

Comparing balanced vs. SE pre to SE amp, both can sound good. It depends on the merits of those designs. If you ever move to a balanced amp, then you can take full advantage of balanced preamp's capabilities. There isn't a reason to reject a balanced pre now just because you are currently using a SE amp. Cheers,

Spencer

...Balanced pre & amp will provide 6db additional gain and reject noise. It's a clear advantage... 

Sometimes the added gain will show up as noise in your loudspeakers and you'll need to attenuate the gain. Balanced cables are most useful for long runs in noisy environments. There is nothing inferior about single ended connections.  

Don't put single ended and balanced cables in the same system, unless they are not differentially balanced.   All the benefits are lost if done like that.

Don't put single ended and balanced cables in the same system, unless they are not differentially balanced. 

I'm pretty sure the connection between components with balanced cables still works regardless of what is upstream or downstream.