It isn't. It does not take twice as many components. That is a popular myth.so you should explain those benefits in the context of ''full
symmetrical phono-pre'' which is much more expensive to make
because on need twice as many components than by single
ended phono-pre. If this is correct than...[snip]
What one may save on cables one will lose on the amp.Its hard to put a value on that if performance and the best sound is your goal so I regard this as a bit of red herring. We simply did the balanced phono section because it sounds better.
I don't think there is room for 'belief' when it comes to the advantages of balanced operation. The benefits have been well-documented and understood for decades. IOW its not a matter of belief. Its a matter of knowledge. If someone tries running balanced and does not get superior results, there are some variables- chief amongst them in high end audio is the simple lack of understanding among many designers that there is actually a balanced standard.
Correct (I added that part); my intention was in correcting statements which did not seem factual:Dover deed not comment on my question about possible benefit of the symmetrical connection.
Nandric - for all phono both balanced and unbalanced the arm earth ( 5th pin ) should be a separate wire which you connect to preamp chassis.In this case above, a balanced system does not employ the ground wire as its built-in to the XLR connection. It becomes a separate wire when the cartridge (which is a balanced source) is operated single-ended. You have to do something with the ground (the tone arm itself, which is shielding only) and so it gets connected to the chassis.
-and in the same post, above:
XLR's have a separate -ve signal and earth/ground in a balanced system. Therefore you only need to ensure the shield is connected to the earth/ground pin which is already separated from the -ve signal. The tonearm end is left floating ( not connected ).The problem I had here is the tone arm ground should be tied to the shield of the interconnect and then to pin 1 of the XLRs. Its not common practice to leave the arm tube floating as is suggested in this quote.
I suspect that this was not what he mean to say, but that is what was written.