Why Single-Ended?

You could ask the same of Atmasphere. Why don't they offer an SET amp? The reason is they are dedicated to optimizing the topology that they are committed to.

Hm. I think you could be mistaking pragmatism for being dogmatic. Take a look at this:
http://www.atma-sphere.com/Products/#UV-1

I've often defended SET amplifiers on account of they can do something that very few push-pull amps can do: As the output power is decreased, the distortion becomes unmeasurable. The only push-pull amp I know of that does that is our own amps (now you can see why I defend SETs in this regard) although there will be others if the designers take the right steps.

Fact XLR is not better necessarily for common or usual runs of 1/2 meter to 1.5 meter.  

Atmosphere.....great post...thanks.  I have a fully balanced system and wondered why when evaluating cable interconnects....there was such very little difference.....speaker connections much more obvious.

grannyring
Fact XLR is not better necessarily for common or usual runs of 1/2 meter to 1.5 meter.

+1, In fact it’s worse in many cases as I outlined before.

" 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 fake balancing opamp is then not in the signal path."

Cheers George

Thanks Almarg

if you google around you will find debate on whether a cartridge is balanced, as I see it that really doesn't matter. The important thing is how you deal with it. if you transformer couple it with a center tapped secondary then that would definitely be balanced. Of course you could take any SE source and do the same thing.

Thanks for the spell check. My point is that when the air compressions and rarefactions hit the microphone it is equivalent to a single ended source. The diaphragm vibrates back and forth. There is no equivalent diaphragm moving forth and back. Same for a speaker, the cone moves back and forth driven by a balanced or SE amp. At the end of the day does any of that matter? probably not. 

As I see it any "advantages" of balanced are outweighed in the home environment by the simplicity and linearity of an SET amplifier. At least that's what my ears tell me. 

 I will admit the only extended listing I've done to OTL amps were Atmasphere at some dealer I believe in San Jose years ago. Can't remember the name or anything else about the system except they were playing vinyl and it did sound excellent, so I get it that many would prefer it. I do remember the guy had a lot of vinyl for sale, they all smoked cigars so the place smelled foul, and the owner was an arrogant jerk, at least he was to me.