Alright, alright, I hate to be contentious. I want this forum to be as congenial as possible. I am not a censor. The only posts I have deleted on this thread were three which were utterly incomprehensible. I also feel repeatedly regurgitated debates are a waste of not only my time, but the readers as well. I also take seriously my responsibility to make this thread as welcoming, fun, and informative as possible.
I have made statements about balanced circuits, specifically as applied to phono sections. It is not the purpose here to provide EE101 data, but here is my last statement on the matter:
1. ANY balanced active gain stage has 6db more noise than the same stage as single ended. This sucks for phono input stages. Fully balanced input to output circuits are 6db noisier than the single ended equivalent.
2. There are no magnetic cartridges with center tapped coils on the market, period. None, nada. A balanced inductive source has a center tap. Period. In the abscense of a center tap, it is possible to quasi-balance and derive a phantom ground, but is different in the nature of source impedances and available current as a function of frequency.
3. Deccas, some Grados, and many variable reluctance cartridges will NOT work with balanced inputs.
Therefore, there is no reason to use a fully balanced phono section for anything other than a custom wound cartridge of which there are none available to enjoy a 6db increase in noise. Got it?
So, here comes the callout: @watchnerd, I have been stating the above in various posts over the last 3 pages and have received 7, yup 7, refuting posts from you. I don't give a flying phuck about how Steve Hoffman and Vinyl Engine fora posters are giving themselves hand jobs wiring up their noisy, quasi-balanced phono sections with whomever's silver cables with yak spooge cores. There comes a time to just ****, particularly if you have nothing more to say other than making someone else wrong, not just me but anyone else here, for that matter. I hope that you have experiences you can share here which are NOT such denials.
After all, we are here to share our audio nature, NOT to tell others how messed up or wrong they are, or what they really meant to say. It's really hard to have fun and learn in that sort of culture. Some of us may perceive very different sonic realities which are perfectly fine to share, but 7 refuting posts is waaaaaaaaaaay over the top. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your support as a client, but pleeeeeeze let's be nice, OK?
So let's all try to enjoy our mutual hobby and broaden our experience base. Let's make this thread a place to share that, for everyone's (especially mine) benefit. Thanks all of you for being here.
