I bought a JRDG Synergy IIi pre-amp about 4 months ago....and was wondering the same thing. How do I shut off the display ????.....so I called Jeff Rowland and could not for the life of me figure out what the hell the technician was saying. What I did hear was that the crystal in the display was good for 30 years !!! So, I'm 48 almost 49 so the hell with it, I'll be dead. The balance control is a whole new problem. But,what a great piece ( of equipment ) I have owned ''his'' stuff for close to 11 years now and have never looked back on anything else.