We work so hard to build a perfect audio equipment chain. It pains us to think about breaking that chain.
I am often asked about the best means of interconnecting a chain of equipment. My answer rarely varies. Balanced. Yup, I am a big proponent of balanced audio.
I've many times sung the praises of balanced audio: lower noise, distortion, and increased sound quality. But what happens when we insert a single ended device in our perfectly balanced chain?
Well, it all depends on where you insert the single ended product.
If it's at the beginning or the end of the chain, then I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
Our problems with breaking the balanced chain really only come if we were to insert a single ended piece of equipment into the middle of the chain. Shucks, almighty. When that happens we lose the benefits of the preceding equipment. Balanced outputs perform their magic only when connected to a balanced input.
The input and output of the chain can be whatever works best.
In the middle of the chain, you want to do your best to keep it balanced if at all possible.
