balanced vs unbalanced output

Martin Colloms has tested large numbers of both balanced and unbalanced and has found that in 95% of the cases the unbalanced sounds better. See current thread in the HIFICRITIC forum.

Sonically I agree with Stanwall, but the connectino is better with XLR connectors due to the size variation in RCA connectors. Thus, I like to use pin 1, the gnd, and pin 2(+) and avoid pin 3 (-) and connect with XLR, and avoid the problems with RCA connectors, and get the benefits of an XLR. A hybrid of sorts with RCA sound and XLR connections....works for me. I use balanced for long runs if noise is an issue. JALLEN

I certainly have a lot of respect for Martin Colloms, but there is a problem with such a generalized comparison.

If you are comparing the balanced vs unbalanced inputs on the same piece of equipment, you've got a very high probability that the unbalanced circuit is already disadvantaged with the extra circuit complexity needed for the balanced design. Not many designers are going to build two separate inputs circuits on a device.

If you are comparing a piece of equipment with balanced inputs against a different piece of equipment that has only an unbalanced input, you are comparing a myriad of other variables besides that one factor.

When I searched for the article, the very first sentence of the very first comment that came up said: "I found this article too full of caveats to make the argument for balanced connections" and it then referred to the cheap integrated circuits some equipment uses to make a balanced connection but keep cost down.

So we are back to how the circuit is implemented in a specific design. If you love the sound of your favorite preamp or amp and it lacks balanced inputs, I'd say it is not worth obsessing about.

I'm trying hard not to have a debate about this subject, but rather to point out that a balanced design is not the end-all, be-all for home equipment. There are designers who prefer unbalanced; it took only a few clicks to find that the designer for the pricey Manley Labs equipment prefers unbalanced design as do Conrad Johnson and some others.

There are other designers who prefer balanced and still others who just go with the flow since balanced home equipment is more popular these days than in the past.

I've had equipment that runs both ways. I'd much rather have my current unbalanced amp than say a $200 Behringer with balanced inputs.

My only point? Absent a specific need for the common mode rejection capabilities of balanced circuitry, this spec is toward the bottom of the list of concerns for a typical audiophile when picking a piece of equipment. T'ain't no more complicated than that.