Balanced vs. unbalanced

By the way, the noise immunity of balanced lines can be achieved using active circuitry only in the receiving end of the connection. The HI wire of the balanced connection carries the single-ended signal. The LO wire is simply connected to the single-ended return (usually ground) through a resistor of value equal to the output impedance of the active signal. The LO wire picks up the same noise as the signal wire, and the noise is cancelled by the differential input circuit of the receiver. Clever.

On an electrical circuit way of thinking balanced always seemed "BETTER" to me...Now to the world of sonics brought
to you by your instruments--your ears!! I have been through the balanced/ unbalanced system changes and comparison for 10 years now and must state in all cases
I have found single ended rca to be sonically superior
for home critical listening.......Thats my take...
Ended up with a Quad amp and preamp and can say without
a doubt the quads run with the balanced Quad Links are
flat sounding...lacking definition,drive and richness in tone. Add Cardas golden and neutral reference into the
game and " yes, that sounds great"...
Now, comments such as, the cardas are better cables and that if the Quad Links were of superior construction
balanced would again reign king. Can't buy that because have had similiar results with Krell, BV audio, Cary and
Anthem to name a few. Possibly on stage with long runs
in the concert hall or at the McMansion with a 200 ft. run from Audio Room to the Library it is better. OR--possibly
I like the distortion and "noise " inherent in single ended set ups--
I don't know and I guess no longer care.....
Good Luck spending that Buck--as they say in Gitsonia-
"let your ears do the choosing"

Greetings,

Should you be interested & time permits I'd suggest reading through an older Audiogon thread regarding the use of balanced technology.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&1081820984

In terms of content the posts by the Moniker Atmasphere were a genuine treat to read. Not quite A'gon's version of Mythbusters but close enough ;-)

Cheers,
Bish

The false notion that balanced operation is really only beneficial in studios and for very long cable runs, pops up every time a balanced vs. single ended discussion occurs.

Balanced is beneficial no matter how short your cable runs are. The common mode rejection in a truly balanced differential system will eliminate RF picked up by circuit traces as well as cables, both of which act as antennae. The noise reduction benefits go far beyond the gross example of hearing noise when putting your ear near the speaker.

Noise in audio gets woven into the fabric of the music and reduces our ability to hear subtle details. A properly executed balanced system will remove layers of noise that you didn't know were present. Music emerges from a quieter and "blacker" background with better clarity and resolution as a result.

Are there great sounding single ended systems? Absolutely. Is balanced necessary to achieve superbly musical results? No. But when executed properly, balanced is better. The only catch is that the system will become more revealing or less forgiving, so if there are tendencies in the system toward brightness, sterile sound, or anything else you don't like subjectively, you may hear more of it when running balanced.