Looking for preamp which is good at BOTH single-ended AND balanced output

ccheung
Looking for preamp which is good at BOTH single-ended AND balanced output

No voodoo here it all comes down to the design.

First one must ask the manufacturer, is their preamp circuit a "single ended design" with single ended rca output, but also with a "pseudo balanced circuit opamp" tacked on the single ended output to give the optional balanced/xlr??
If so in this case, the single ended rca output should sound better, over 1-3mt runs

If it’s a true balanced design all the way then the balanced should be quieter over very long (>5mts) interconnect runs, if 2mt or less the RCA should sound just as good.

Cheers George

RIP Tim P

This would be hard to find, but an SST Ambrosia is a world class Preamp with 2 single ended and 2 balanced..... You can get the first series for $3000, maybe less.  The series 2 is essentially the same preamp, but the moved a few circuits around to get rid of the fan.  You won't find a series 2 under $3000.  Do a search for the reviews, this is worth hunting down. Good Luck,  Tim

@ccheung  Just so you know, balanced and single-ended are incompatible. So there likely isn't a preamp good at both.

In single-ended circuits, the ground connection is part of the signal. In balanced circuits ground is ignored. The output of a balanced circuit **should** (if its supporting the balanced standard) not have any reference to ground; pin 2 is generated with respect to pin 3 and vice versa; neither signal is generated with respect to ground.

You can convert from one to the other using a line transformer. One of the benefits of balanced operation is no longer having to deal with interconnect cable artifact. You won't get that if the preamp does not support the balanced line standard.

My equipment is Audio Research. It supports both single ended and balanced. The designs are balance, ARC recommends using balanced. I have compared both… the difference is just plain minuscule. The differences between different component brands or models  far exceeds the difference between the outputs on the same ARC component.