ARC Ref3 Bal-SE button..what for?

The REF3 is a truly balanced preamp with differential circuitry. When set to SE instead of BAL, the additional signal path required for balanced sources is shorted to ground, which prevents it from picking up unwanted noise. You will still get sound when you have the switch in the wrong position, but for optimal results and the lowest noise, the switch should be used as intended.

With a balanced source, running the switch in the SE position will defeat the balanced circuit and its noise cancelling benefits. It will also reduce the output level by 6 db. When using an unbalanced source and having the switch in the BAL position, the output level will be the same as it would be in the SE position, but more noise can be picked up by the additional unused circuitry.

There is nothing that will cause damage when having the switch set wrong either way.

It is supposed to optimize the sound for single ended vs balanced cables. I use balanced cables for by cd player also...but I found when I switched the button from balanced to SE, the sound was waaay to thin. When I used RCA terminated cables on the cd player, the sound was just fine when switched to SE.

It's for your outputs not the inputs.

Thanks for clarifying. I was wondering about that as well.

The BAL/SE switch is NOT for the outputs, but specifically for optimizing the circuit to match your INPUT. The output selection is made automatically by the type of cables you have connected to your amplifier.

Thanks everyone...

What does the owner's manual say?

From the LS26 owners maual:

"BAL/SE: Select as appropriate for each input. For source components having balanced (XLR) connections to the LS26, select BAL. For single-ended (RCA) sources, select SE. Once selected for an input source, the setting is memorized."

Come on Jim...let's see those photos.

Maybe that's why I thought the Ref 3 sounded thin in my system.... I had a dealer loan without a manual...

Thanks for the corrections!
Chris

Mitch - after looking at your system - I'm afraid my photo's would be quite boring in comparison!! :)