2. amps-preamps
  3. 128510-2280

Why Single-Ended?

I’ve long wondered why some manufacturers design their components to be SE only. I work in the industry and know that "balanced" audio lines have been the pro standard (for grounding and noise reduction reasons) and home stereo units started out as single-ended designs.

One reason components are not balanced is due to cost, and it’s good to be able to get high quality sound at an affordable price.
But, with so many balanced HiFi components available these days, why have some companies not offered a fully-balanced amp or preamp in their product line?
I’m referring to fine companies such as Conrad Johnson, Consonance, Coincident, and Bob Carver’s tube amps. CJ builds amps that sell for $20-$39K, so their design is not driven by cost.

The reason I’m asking is because in a system you might have a couple of balanced sources, balanced preamp, and then the final stage might be a tube amp or monoblocks which have SE input. How much of the total signal is lost in this type of setup? IOW, are we missing out on sonic bliss by mixing balanced and unbalanced?

128x128lowrider57

Showing 3 responses by georgehifi

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
grannyring
Fact XLR is not better necessarily for common or usual runs of 1/2 meter to 1.5 meter.
+1, In fact it’s worse in many cases as I outlined before.

" Many amps, preamps, and sources have fake balanced inputs and outputs In that they just put in an extra opamp in the signal path to create a balanced input or output.
Where their single ended input/output is better, as that fake balancing opamp is then not in the signal path."

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Also why do reviewers not "call out" the equipment manufacturers, with "fake" balanced connections?
Many amps, preamps, and sources have fake balanced inputs and outputs In that they just put in an extra opamp in the signal path to create a balanced input or output.
Where their single ended input/output is better as that opamp is then not in the signal path.

Cheers George
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Just to mention if I'm correct, seeing no one has.
  
A totally Single Ended design doesn't have a Phase Splitter (driver) tube, as Push Pull ones have.

Cheers George   
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