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Estupen1
0
Mar 18, 2018
Which components have to be "Balanced" in order to have a balanced audio setup?
soofgo
1
Mar 18, 2018
Estupen1That depends on the signal chain.
legend: DAP - Digital Audio Player -contains your music in digital format phone, computer, sound card, dedicated device, etc. DAC - Digital to Analog Converter - converts your digital files to an analog audio signal PREAMP - Pre-Amplifier - separates you audio source from your amplifier while enhancing stability and fidelity of the signal. AMP - Amplifier amplifies your signal to power you IEMs / headphones. bal. - Balanced - Each channel is totally separate has its own reference voltage rails
Option #1: DAP -> DAC -> (bal.)PREAMP -> (bal.)AMP -> (bal.)Headphones Option #2: DAP -> DAC -> (bal.)AMP -> (bal.) Headphones Option #3: DAP -> (bal.) DAC/AMP -> (bal.) Headphones Option #4: (bal.) DAP -> (bal.) Headphones.
Heefty
1387
Mar 19, 2018
Estupen1Theoretically, you should only need an amp and cables. Not sure if the standard procedure for amp makers is to create their own inverted copy of the signal, or the invert a SE input to make their own though.
kukkurovaca
323
Mar 19, 2018
Estupen1Entirely arbitrary. If you want your chain to be balanced end to end, then you need a source or DAC that is balanced and an amp that is balanced, and a headphone with compatible cabling.
Note that just because something has balanced outputs does not mean that it is internally a balanced design. But also you don't necessarily need to have an end to end balanced setup to get whatever benefits balanced may or may not offer.
In practice, I'd say find a balanced amp that you like and check reviews for whether or not people find it performs noticeably better with a balanced DAC.
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