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Differential from source to pre but not amp?

I am researching preamps and wondering if should go with differential connections. I know there are sonic benefits from going fully differential from source to pre to amp, but my amp, an Odyssey Khartago, only has RCA inputs. I have a cd transport and dac that have differential xlr outs, so would there be any benefit to spending the extra money for a preamp with xlr connections even though my amp doesn't have them? One benefit is that it allows me the flexibility to upgrade to an amp with xlr inputs in the future, but this is null since my next upgrade will be to a tube pre and amp, which will definitely be fully differential. The tube system is part of a long term plan, so this SS system will be with me for a while and I'd like to squeeze the best sound out of it I can.

Thanks in advance for your advice.
rischa
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
Yes, there can be plenty of benefit! Differential circuits are not only lower noise, but lower distortion due to distortion cancellation at each stage of gain, compared to single-ended circuits of otherwise similar topology. When you reduce noise or distortion, due to the masking effect of the human ear, detail is revealed.

There is also a simple method of modifying any single-ended amplifier to accept a balanced signal in the differential domain, without using a transformer and not just simply adding an XLR connector. It is also inexpensive to do.
rischa OP
37 posts
 
Sure, I understand the general benefits of balanced connections, but I've heard that these benefits are canceled out if you don't go fully balanced from source to amp. Can anyone tell me if this is true, or is my understanding flawed?

Thanks again.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
Balanced connections will considerably reduce susceptibility to ground loop issues and to noise pickup, regardless of whether the internal signal paths in the components are balanced or not. However, those benefits will be unnecessary in many setups. Also, some components that provide balanced interfaces but have unbalanced internal signal paths implement the conversion between balanced and unbalanced by means of an active stage which may be less than the best sonically, and may in some cases provide inferior results compared to bypassing that stage by using unbalanced connections.

Regards,
-- Al
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