[Luxmancl38]

Are the balanced outputs on this amp fully balanced? Or is it a pseudo balanced amp where you get and unbalanced signal through a balanced output. Are any of the Bryston amps truly balanced. Years ago I had Rotel amps w/balanced outputs and it really wasn't balanced.

[RDavidson]

I think you mean balanced inputs, not outputs.
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure no Bryston amps are fully balanced until you get to the 7B series monoblocks. Unless you live in a studio with a lot of electronics and other noisy equipment, balanced amps are really not necessary. In fact, balanced circuits tend to add more cost and complexity and don't necessarily result in better sound. In home audio, single ended connections are often best. YMMV

[Luxmancl38]

Why then would you have balanced connections if you don't have a fully balanced amp. Just a convenience?

[James Tanner]

Why then would you have balanced connections if you don't have a fully balanced amp. Just a convenience?

Hi Folks,

The Balanced inputs on all Bryston amplifiers are fully balanced differential inputs.  The purpose of differential balanced inputs is to eliminate any electrical noise from getting into the amplifier and being amplified.

Some amplifiers like the 7B are internally balanced as well - which means there are two separate circuit paths inside the amp - one for the positive wave and one for the negative.  This is because the 7B, 14B and 28B are Series amplifiers so the signal path is different than with the 2B,3B and 4B.

james

[RDavidson]

Why then would you have balanced connections if you don't have a fully balanced amp. Just a convenience?

Yes. It is just another way to connect the amp basically, for convenience. One possible advantage is if you need the higher voltage gain that balanced circuits can offer (coming from your balanced preamp or possibly a balanced DAC with volume control). It is rare that this additional gain is necessary. Maybe where very long cable runs are used, this can be helpful. Something to note, however, is that your whole system needs to be balanced in order to take advantage of the noise rejection that a balanced system can provide. I know there are caveats to this that involve transformers or autoformers in the chain, but that's another topic. I'm sure it has been talked about here on AC before.

And thanks for the clarification James, regarding Bryston's models and the circuitry as one goes up the line.