balanced power and ground loops


i've been reading about equi=tech and balanced power and have a few questions:

i'm having some ground loop issues. can balanced power help this?

is balanced power just another form of line conditioning? (something that i refuse to do on my 2-channel rig)

i've read the threads, and there have only been positive posts, but are there any negative effects of balanced power that you know about? (ie constricting dynamic range or effecting sound in a bad way, as some conditioners will do)

any information would be helpful.
lazarus28

Showing 1 response by blueswan

Balanced power eliminates what is called common mode noise. It is the same noise reduction principle used in balanced, XLR, cables. These types of power conditioners are generally transformer based and are recommended for low power devices like the preamp, CD transport, DAC, DVD player, tuner, etc. Unless you purchase a very high power conditioner, balanced power is not really beneficial for power amps because they can restrict dynamic range, or worse, overload the device.

I use a Tara Labs AD-10B. It has non-balanced outlets for high power components where I plug in my Sony Wega and power amp. Everything else goes into the balanced outlets. This also has the advantage of eliminating ground loops because everything in my system is plugged into it. Thus, there is only one plug, and its ground connection, to the wall... the AD-10B itself.