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
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
Ralph,

"Please note that balanced and single-ended are inherently incompatible! You can’t be both at the same time- its either one or the other."  

You can feed a single ended signal into a fully balanced preamplifier, ground the negative (inverting) amplifiers positive input - connect the two negative inputs of both amplifiers (non inverting and inverting) together and a balanced signal will appear at the output of the preamplifier and the signal would be fully balanced from here on.

 Don,

"I have always wondered why "almost nobody" buys (or even tries) inexpensive "pro" balanced cables, on the "true fully balanced" audio equipment, such as Pass Labs and ARC. They sound the same as the expensive ones IMO!"

Me too,  the Canare L-4E6S  wire offered by Bluejeans cable and other makes for a nice set of interconnects.

Good Listening

Peter

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dbphd
1,630 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 dbphd@cox.net.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57 OP
5,417 posts
 
why do reviewers not "call out" the equipment manufacturers, with "fake" balanced connections?

That’s true.  We know from the review that the unit is not a balanced design. They could say "this amp has RCA and XLR inputs."




pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
BD,

Probably not, would there be a way to use the KUBE between your source and the Preamp?  of course with several sources this is a problematic solution. Alternatively could you get a second KUBE ?  would require some fancy wiring but the signal would then be balanced, however probably more effort required than it is worth.


Good Listening

Peter
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Also why do reviewers not "call out" the equipment manufacturers, with "fake" balanced connections?
Many amps, preamps, and sources have fake balanced inputs and outputs In that they just put in an extra opamp in the signal path to create a balanced input or output.
Where their single ended input/output is better as that opamp is then not in the signal path.

Cheers George
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