BAT stuff and Cables

Few more to add to the balanced circuit:
It is certainly more complexed so the manufacturers made pople believe that SE may sound much better.

When you bridge a balanced CKT to a SE input, you lost a few dB of gain. Also balanced CKT has better immunity for common mode noise, you lost it when you bridge it to SE. In other words, it will suffer more distortion from power supply coulping from energy dissipation across the spectrum. As for the sound, it would be less dynamic, less bass, not as accurate to my ears. Running in balanced mode, usually has more punchy bass, extended high, and gives more image/layers because of its lower crosstalk inside the spectrum. This is true for all balanced CKT designs not only for BAT. If you have balanced gears, just use balanced IC's.

4yanx,
Balanced circuit tends to be less-depended on wire quality length and reactance i.e. gives you less options to "play with wires" and/or "audition" them. It's more versatile in all cases whether you're using long or short runs lowers noise floor and increases gain by few dB.

Added unbalanced connectors on newer BAT fully-balanced equipment can only add an extra noise especially if unbalanced cable is used.

If you buy directly from BAT, you can realy request the "old way" with only balanced inputs/outs as well.

4yanx- I wouldn't say it is a poor choice, I think there preamps are a great value in there respected price ranges. It would function better balanced, how ever if running balanced simply isn't an option, what choice do you have, its not as though the unit is not going to work, its just not optimal. In a case like yours the only sure bet would be to try it and see, we could go back and forth but the only way to know if its right for you is to try it and see. Wish I could offer more help for your particular problem.

So, Tireguy, and I appreciate your comments here, would you say that a BAT preamp, for instance, would be a poor choice unless all of your other components were cable of being run with balanced connections (i.e. amp and phonostage)?

Simply put it was designed to be used balanced and using it unbalanced is a compromise for the intendid use. When I tried some single ended cables I noticed, lower dynamics, decreased warmth(it sounded cold and sterile), it lacked the sense of control in particular at lower levels(aka ease of presentation). I am sure there are other changes it is possible it did something better, but to me what ever that may have been was not worth all that was lost so I didn't spend a lot of time trying to make it work.

Ok, I appreciate the "sounds different" response and defer to the users with expereince. Please define "different". Obliged.

Mejames is right on the money I think BAT added RCA connections for ease of use. Having had and still have BAT products, they sound better run balanced.

Not all newer ones are so equipped. I have the 50SE and it only has XLRs.

Regards,

its better balanced because its a fully differential balance Circuit.