[cjl]

But there's really no point or purpose in making such a comparison.

se

That's definitely a fair point, since you could easily just use higher slew rate/voltage/power components in a single ended amp to get the same specs as a bridged setup.

 

[Steve Eddy]

That's definitely a fair point, since you could easily just use higher slew rate/voltage/power components in a single ended amp to get the same specs as a bridged setup.

And it's just not how people shop for amplifiers. It just misleads people to believe that a balanced amp will inherently deliver more power than all single-ended amps.

Also, I think "doubling the slew rate" is rather specious. There just isn't anything out there that slew limits.

se

 

[eugenius]

You are splitting hairs m.r Eddy. The same amp when doubled has ... more power. What, people don't have eyes to read a spec sheet to find out what's the power of their amplifier now?
 
My CEC HD53n had a 103dB signal to noise ratio on the RCA input and 110dB on the balanced input. 7dB less noise -  that's a lot.

 

[Steve Eddy]

You are splitting hairs m.r Eddy. The same amp when doubled has ... more power. What, people don't have eyes to read a spec sheet to find out what's the power of their amplifier now?

People aren't going out and buying two single-ended amps and bridging them. In the context of how people buy amps, "balanced amps have more power" is meaningless and misleading.

My CEC HD53n had a 103dB signal to noise ratio on the RCA input and 110dB on the balanced input. 7dB less noise -  that's a lot.

First, we're talking about outputs, not inputs.

Second, you're not going to hear any noise that's 103dB below the signal, let alone 110dB. So that 7dB less noise is not "a lot," but rather it's "meaningless."

se

 

[eugenius]

I repeat, people can still read a power spec on an amplifier. And if you want to really split hairs, super high power amps are almost all ... balanced. So - balanced amps have more power.
 
PS: 7dB less noise is meaningless - Steve Eddy

 

[Steve Eddy]

I repeat, people can still read a power spec on an amplifier. And if you want to really split hairs, super high power amps are almost all ... balanced. So - balanced amps have more power.

You just continue to mislead.

PS: 7dB less noise is meaningless - Steve Eddy

Yes, it is when put into the proper context. A 7dB DIFFERENCE in something that's already far far far below our ability to perceive is indeed, meaningless. To say that it is not is just a numbers game being played by disingenuous people whose intent is to deceive.

se

 

[eugenius]

Touchy, touchy ...  If you don't want people to mock you don't use absolutes. 7dB noise difference is not meaningless at any level. Also, there was a - that means it was a joke.
 
PS: Balanced amps have more power.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Touchy, touchy ...  If you don't want people to mock you don't use absolutes. 7dB noise difference is not meaningless at any level.

That sure looks like an absolute to me. Shall I mock you now or wait 'till later?

se

 

[eugenius]

I guess later since you had to ask.

 

[superjawes]

Really, the balanced vs. SE argument is not one for audiophiles to have. It is an argument for amplifier designers. Different design strategies will offer different tools to achieve to the end goal. A balanced design should give the designer more power output given the same voltage rails (IIRC), and it could also be a workaround for other design issues, but it could also make everything more complicated, requiring a massively complex and carefully laid out PCB.

Does any of that matter to the end user? Not really. You should be looking for "enough" power on the output to drive your transducers, or generally be looking at the final specs (noise, FR, THD, output impedance, etc.).

To the original question, there is no harm using a single ended source with a balanced amp, assuming that the amp accepts SE inputs (again, the amp will convert to balanced). Just make sure everything can connect properly (and safely!) and enjoy your music.

 

[crowdedthehouse]

Thankyou Superjawes. That's all I needed to know. I also didn't know the amp can convert the signal to balanced. I just wanted to know if it was detrimental or not. 
 
I got distracted by two people seeing which can piss the furthest without really answering my question. 

 

[cjl]

  I repeat, people can still read a power spec on an amplifier. And if you want to really split hairs, super high power amps are almost all ... balanced. So - balanced amps have more power.

Home stereo amps with hundreds of watts per channel are frequently single ended. There's no real power limitation for single ended headphone amps caused by the single ended design itself - even "super high power" by headphone standards is trivially easy to do in either a single ended or bridged design.
 
(Now, if you're talking multi-kilowatt concert amps, sure, bridged is the way to go)

 

[eugenius]

  Home stereo amps with hundreds of watts per channel are frequently single ended. There's no real power limitation for single ended headphone amps caused by the single ended design itself - even "super high power" by headphone standards is trivially easy to do in either a single ended or bridged design.
 
(Now, if you're talking multi-kilowatt concert amps, sure, bridged is the way to go)

 
Balanced home speakers amps can have thousands of watts not just hundreds. Because balanced amps are more powerful. )

 

[eugenius]

  Thankyou Superjawes. That's all I needed to know. I also didn't know the amp can convert the signal to balanced. I just wanted to know if it was detrimental or not. 
 
I got distracted by two people seeing which can piss the furthest without really answering my question. 

 
Sometimes the conversion to balanced can be detrimental. If it's made with cheap opamp circuit without attention to implementation aka cost cutting. Depends on the amp - in most amps it's not a problem.

 

[cjl]

   
Balanced home speakers amps can have thousands of watts not just hundreds. Because balanced amps are more powerful. )

And as I already said, for multi kilowatt amps, bridging makes sense. Last I checked, this was a headphone forum though, and I am not aware of any multi-kilowatt headphone setups (and no, powering an HE-6 with a multi-kilowatt speaker amp set to a tiny fraction of its full power does not count).