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Is balanced necessarily better?

Assuming fully balanced equipment that also offers single ended connections, and no RFI problems, is the use of balanced interconnects necessarily the better way to go? My forum search indicates some who say balanced is better because the connectors are inherently better and because of noise cancelling properties associated with the signal flowing in both directions; and others who say for reasonably short runs and no interference problems that rca/single-ended connections sound better in many cases, maybe because the signal has less circuitry to traverse. This has come up for me because I am considering different preamp alternatives, and if I decide not to stay with a fully balanced system, I have more choices. To give things a try I substituted some old AudioTruth rca cables for my Luminous Sychestra Sig balanced cables. Except for the 6db loss in output, I have initially found the rca cables to sound a little smoother, with more rounded images, a little plumper bass, and what initially sounds like a more "musical" presentation. The system is a Muse Model 10 source/Muse Model 3 Sig pre/McCormack DNA 500/Aerial 9's. BTW, Steve McCormack told me the DNA 500 sees the signal the same way whether balanced or single-ended, and didn't seem to think the amp would sound significantly different either way. Therefore, even though many manufacturers are now offering more balanced equipment, especially at the upper end, others such as CJ continue to make only single-ended equipment. What are do you guys think, is balanced necessarily better?
mitch2
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Could not agree more with Eldartford, see this link which gives a "balanced" explanation (forgive the pun)

http://www.earthcurrents.com/london-live/balanced.htm

The article explains that it is all about less external noise pick up in the circuits and wires themselves. This should not be a problem for most audiophile applications. In most cases there will be no difference between balanced and unbalanced in an audiophile environment (provided manufacturers have used similar high quality components and an appropriate design topology).

Pro studio noise problems however, are a common nuisance, which is why pros prefer balanced; studios are jam packed with all kinds of portable gear, including the artist's personal instruments, and preferred rental gear, all of which leads to a much noisier electrical environment that changes on a weekly basis. Pros do not prefer balanced circuit design because the sound is intrinsically better because it isn't....it is simply to reduce electrical noise pick up.
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nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Well, I read Mr. Mackie's article, and for starters, he apparently is unaware that "ground" in a SE circuit is "common ground" or "chassis ground" whereas "signal ground" in a BAL circuit is separate from the common/chassis ground, and therefore presents a different (and quieter) reference for the signal. If you look closely at an XLR connector, you will see it has two separate ground connections: signal ground (usually pin 1) and common/chassis ground provided by the bayonet connection on the barrel of the XLR.

This is another way balanced circuitry provides cleaner signal processing. I'm sorry, but I believe Mr. Mackie's article contains misleading information which in the end compromises his conclusion(s). Just my opinion of course ;~))
serus
93 posts
 
It all depends on the circuits on both ends and the quality of interconnects. Many assume that balanced interconnects bearing a certain "name" will perform the same or better than their single-ended counterparts from the same manufacturer and bearing the same name. All I can say is that they are sharing perhaps materials and design concepts, but electrically the two interconnects are very different. It is not a given that the balanced cables are superior!
Now to the circuits, and the easiest way to demonstrate the incoclusiveness of any such recommendation is by way of a real-life example... The equipment on hand was a $15K Spectral preamp and about the same cost of a dCS DAC. Both units were capable of single-ended or balanced connections (they are fully balanced internally) and both can also invert phase, a fact which will play a role in this story... Have patience...
As it turned out, and that was very consistent, the single-ended interconnects produced the best sound with both units in a non-inverting phase mode. This was odd, so we tried inverting phase on both. Low and behold - now the balanced connection was superior.
The only sane explanation is that the inverting and non-inverting modes in one or both units have enough circuit differences to cause such an anomaly.
This ambiguity took place between a $30K worth of hardware, if that little detail escaped any of you that are still reading... Go figure!
mitch2 OP
3,910 posts
 
Thanks guys, this is the type of interesting discussion from experienced folks I was hoping this thread would generate. I am in the process of moving equipment around which prompted getting some 3m ics so I can shorten speaker cable runs. I am going to try some sonoran single-ended ics, which Robert at Star Sound assures me will not have RF of EMI problems. I am still considering different equipment, which may include a single ended preamp, so I was encouraged with how good the single ended connections sounded on my Muse front end, since the flexibility of not going balanced opens up more preamp possibilities. From what I have researched and heard so far, balanced connectors have their roots in pro audio and are not necessarily better for home audio, and my listening so far has shown that to be true in some ways.
bigtee
803 posts
 
My thoughts are if the equipment is truly balanced and allows for a truly balanced connection, run it that way. Why do you want to go through a process of changing it to SE? It's like going from SE to balanced, why go through the added splitter or whatever to get it when it really want sound a bit better, if as good? My point is, keep things simple.
My Calypso preamp takes anything single ended and converts it to balanced internally. Therefore, why would I not want to run balanced interconnects so it wasn't required to do that.
I definitely think there's more to the picture than noise. The up or down conversion is an issue also. I trust manufacturers like Ayre, Theta, Aesthetix and others who say balanced is better with their equipment. I know they have done their homework.
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