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Mshenay
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Mar 15, 2018
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Regarding balanced audio, the idea is to amplifier left and right channels separate and individually, Left Positive, Left Negative, Right Positive and Right Negative.
This supposedly results in a cleaner solution to high powered amplification. This article dives in kinda deep, https://www.headphone.com/pages/balanced-headphones-guide
Non the less, as some one whose collected numerous portable balanced amplifiers and ran an exclusively balanced at home system for a long time... I have to say that balanced is only better when and if your need the power output. Few headphones these days do. Old AKG K240 Sextetts and legacy Hifimans like the HE 4 & 6 also really open up with balanced amplification.
That said, with those inefficient examples aside typically Single End VS Balanced boils down to a matter of design. Some balanced designs are better, some single end'd designs are better. The problem with balanced is the number of components increases due to the topology or design. So more parts means a higher costs and if your concerned about cost more parts equals more cost. So sometimes, a good design might suffer from a low quality parts. An in some cases a Single Ended design with a higher quality components will likely outperform it's balanced competitor.
Now with designs that are free from the restrictions of cost balanced tends to be the go to, but is still not the be all end all. At the end of the day the differences are subtle and now much impact they have will be based on the load they drive or the headphones your using. So as with all things your mileage may vary . Try not to get caught up in the "balanced vs single end" debate and focus on finding amplification that suites your needs and or hearing said amps with headphones you know. A lot of the measurements posted are done in labs with conditions that are not reflective of day to day use in your or my home! So you really need to hear something in your system to get an idea of how well it will pair.
Mar 15, 2018
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