In my quest to learn more (and slaver over products I can't afford), I've come across many mentions of "balanced inputs" vs. unbalanced in amps. Though this topic is not directly connected to Axiom speakers, I hope one day to have one of these amps connected to my Axiom speakers!

Can anyone shed any light on what exactly this means, and if it is important?

Hi Chris R,
Balanced connectors apply to a "balanced line", which is an interference-rejecting technique used mainly by broadcasters and professional recording studios in which the audio signal is carried on two out-of-phase conductors with a third shield connection.

Balanced lines and connectors enable studios and broadcasters (as well as soundmen for concert venues and theaters) to run very long cables (hundreds of feet) between preamplifiers and power amps or between microphones and mixing boards while avoiding hum pickup and extraneous electrical and RF inteference.

In most consumer domestic installations, there is seldom, if ever, a need for balanced connectors and lines. They don't make any difference to sound quality--unless you have, for example, your power amplifiers in the basement and your preamp/AV controller upstairs and you need 50 feet or more of interconnecting cable between them.

Of course, balanced connectors are very rugged and secure--unlike the crummy RCA jacks all of us use for our home audio/video connectors. Those are "unbalanced" lines and connectors and use only two conductors--the inner wire carrying the "hot" audio signal and the outer shield, which forms the ground and return path for the AC audio signal from a preamp or CD player to a power amp. They work just fine for distances of 6 feet or a few meters.

Because balanced connectors have a "pro" reputation, lots of builders of consumer audio gear add them as an option to power amps and the like, suggesting to naive audio enthusiasts that the sound will be "improved" by using balanced connectors. It will if you are running cables hundreds of feet long, otherwise, nada.

On the other hand, if you are living somewhere with terrible susceptibility to RF interference and hum pickup from power lines you can't do anything about, balanced connectors are the way to go. And for anyone into home recording using decent microphones, balanced connectors--they're often called "XLR" plugs--are essential. They also have interlocks on the connectors to prevent them from being accidentally pulled out, a necessity in remote and studio applications. You don't want to be laying down (recording) your golden vocal track and have the mike plug accidentally disconnect!

Regards,

Thanks!
An excellent explanation and very helpful. I guess a follow-up question is what do you do if you have an amp with balanced inputs, but don't need balanced connections? Do most of these amps have both RCA type connectors as well? Or do you have to get different (more expensive, I presume!) cables and such?

Just wondering. (It's hypothetical, since I can't afford one of these "upscale" amps just yet.) Thanks again!