Balanced AMPS VS Non, Opinions Please

[Tuddy]

I will pick up my B&W 804S/Center from the dealer on Saturday and I
have narrowed my AMP choices to the 3 below.

I am leaning toward the Parasound but it is not balanced, and from what I
have read I should go with a balanced AMP.

Is there really a huge difference in performance?

Appreciate any feedback

Oulaw 7500 $1700(balanced)
Power output: 200 watts RMS x 5 (all channels driven simultaneously into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than 0.03% total harmonic distortion). 300 watts RMS x 5 @ 4 ohms

Parasound 5250 $2500 (not balanced, but great reviews)
250 watts rms per channel into 8Ω, all channels driven
385 watts rms per channel into 4Ω, all channels driven
45 amps peak current per channel

RMB-1095 $2k (both Balanced & Single Ended Inputs)
5x330 watts /ch / 4 ohms
5x200 watts /ch / 8 ohms

The Fully Balanced Circuit

Some amplifiers are designed with fully balanced circuitry all the way from input to output. Each channel in the balanced amplifier circuitry consists of two amplifier sections, one amplifying the positive half of the wave (above the zero line), and the other amplifying the negative half of the wave. Both the positive and negative amplifier sections work into the Autoformer where they are magnetically combined. This forces any distortions inherent in the balanced amplifier circuitry to be produced out of phase from each other and cancel out when the two stages are magnetically combined in the Autoformer. To be fully balanced, an amplifier must have balanced inputs; fully balanced complementary circuitry and Autoformer output. This fully balanced circuitry provides you with the very low distortion figures

 

[Swerd]

I have narrowed my AMP choices to the 3 below. I am leaning toward the Parasound but it is not balanced, and from what I have read I should go with a balanced AMP. Is there really a huge difference in performance?

Balanced connections are a benefit in busy professional studios where long cable lengths are used, often in an environment where sources of electromagnetic interference are not controlled. For example, they are common when connecting multiple microphones to mixers.

In a home, you are unlikely to run into this problem and do not require balanced lines. Unless you have an audible EMI problem, you are unlikely to hear any difference at all between balanced and unbalanced connections.

 

[jcPanny]

What pre-pro.

What are you using for a pre-pro? If it only has single ended RCA outputs then there is no point in an amp with balanced inputs unless you are planning to upgrade the pre-pro in the near future.

 

[highfihoney]

I think your confused a bit on the balanced vs non balanced issue.

Of the amplifiers that your thinking of buying NONE are fully balanced amps & only offer balanced connections as a convience,balanced amplifiers & amplifiers with balanced connections are 2 totally different things.

The description you used of a balanced amplifier design is common only to Mcintosh amplifiers,there are other balanced designs as well as the Mcintosh design you posted,some good & some bad but all balanced designs are different from an amplifier that merely offers balanced connections,just beacuse an amp has balanced connections does not make it a balanced amplifier.

There are benefits to running a balanced amp over a non balanced amp but unless your running a balanced preamp the benefits are canceled out,same goes for running a non balanced amp with a balanced preamp,both units must be fully balanced.

Fully balanced gear is very expensive by the nature of its design/build,before you buy anything i'd reccomend reading up on how balanced amplifier designs differ from standard push pull amplifier designs,then after that read up on what balanced connections on non balanced gear have to offer,once you've done that you'll understand the difference between balanced amplifiers & non balanced amplifiers that offer balanced connections.