Help me understand balanced outputs

[jayswizz]

I have a B&K Reference 7250 amp which is running through a Yamaha RX-V2500 as a preamp. I will eventually upgrade to a seperate processor and wanted to know what the benefit of using the balanced output connections is? My amplifier does have balanced inputs so when I upgrade the preamp I want to purchase one with balanced outputs. Will my sound be noticably cleaner. I figure since the amp accepts this I may as well utilize them. Is it worth it? Thanks

 

[t3031999]

If the length of your interconnects from pre-amp to amp are long, then yes you will notice a difference, but if they are only a few feet, then you most likely will not notice a difference.
Balanced connections work by sending the signal across 2 (3 if you count ground) wires, one of the regular signal, and one of a mirror image.

The idea behind this is that if interference does affect the signal, it will affect both at the same time in the same way, so it's not the signal that's important but the difference between the 2 wires (divided by 2).

 

[jayswizz]

Thanks T303, I just realized My amp does not have balanced inputs. My interconnects are 3.5 feet each so I guess this would be considered a short run.