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Why is not all audio equipment using "balanced"?

AnalogSteph

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Wireless audio still is a complete mess at this point. Interoperability and reliability have a long way to go. 20 years from now, maybe. Audio over ethernet is well underway in pro audio circles (DANTE), so we may eventually end up using our existing WiFi instead of using cables on a regular basis. That still leaves a whole lot more to go wrong though (I don't know about you, but I have found a regular power cycle of WiFi transceiver chips to be quite beneficial in avoiding strange hiccups of all kinds, say once a week or so). And if the added complexity of balanced connections irks you, going wireless has to be downright Rube Goldberg level.

In smartphones, canning external ports has been driven at least in part by water resistance concerns. In home audio, convenience may be a factor but that's about it. Copper prices thankfully aren't yet at the level where they'd make cables outrageously expensive (and if so, we'd have far bigger problems, e.g. electricians would be cursing).
 

JohnL

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Isn’t this obvious?

It is not used often mainly due to costs. This is the elephant in the room. Most people simply cannot afford it. Expect to pay 2 to 4 times as much to go balanced. It is that simple.

Technically balanced is better and offers electrical and signal advantages, others have mentioned these already. I think most understand it is better but it also is expensive.

The connector size and cables is a big problem too. People hate cables especially bulky ones. Basically the market wants wireless (no cables) when it clearly isn’t as good. Even power cables are an issue, that’s why there is wireless charging. Notice how usb-c includes power with the signals? That’s not an accident and combines two cables into one.

Perception is another factor. When a system doesn’t sound good, do consumers think, did I forget to use balanced cables? No. The average person does not. They think about getting a better amp, preamp, or better speakers. Cables also have a “reputation” for being snake oil, this is another barrier.

Why is this so expensive? Low volume! Consider this… Nothing is very expensive in volume. Take the iPhone when it came out, it used an incredible hi-res display that cost 2 to 3 times the cost of the entire phone at the time. But in volume, that display is 6 or more times less cost. Large fixed costs like molds or custom asics which can run $200k if spread over 20 million people is fractions of pennies but spread over 1000 people and now it adds $200 to costs but with margin can go over $600 per unit. Low volume means much higher prices. Very few CEOs can drive adoption especially if costs are higher. If Steve Jobs however wanted to get rid of RCA cables, he might have a chance if he were still with us. Until then, volume will remain low and costs high.

The comments that the costs are the same is not true. So why hasn’t the market flipped? Well, That extra 2 cent pin or layer for differential signals does add up and in the low end space where consumers are price sensitive could be the difference between a sale or not. That is a factor.

Several topics were listed. Those are the main factors. It has very little to do with the technical benefits
 
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Atanasi

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An extra pin or layer for differential signals does add up in the low end space where consumers are price sensitive. That is a factor.
I don't think extra pins or more complicated controllers mattered that much for USB or HDMI, which replaced previous single-ended connectors, once the new connectors became commodities. Low volume is the relevant barrier.
 

restorer-john

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Why is this so expensive? Low volume!

Hardly low volume. It's a professional staple and has been for many, many decades. Plugs, sockets, chassis mount or line are as cheap as RCAs. XLRs are well under $2 even when bought in small quantities. 2 core shielded cable is under $1/M when bought in 100M rolls.
 

egellings

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A cable for home audio is just not that difficult to get right. No need to think in terms of MHz when all you deal with is a few kHz. As far as such cables go, the race is over. Everyone has crossed the finish line long ago. Stop running!
 

earlevel

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Like I said, if it were important enough, it would have been done decades ago. At minimum, professional keyboard (analog and digital synths, organs, digital pianos, etc., would have balanced outputs. And to be clear, I'm not saying there is no good reason to be balanced, just that it tells you a lot about just how necessary it is, when keyboards that cost thousands of dollars don't add the trivial cost of going balanced. Without going into why, I'm just saying the marketplace never demanded it, even for professional uses. (A Prophet 5 was $3500 in 1978, the equivalent of more than $12k today, and the new ones are $3600 today.) Again, not against the idea, just doubt the market will demand it now in a big and sudden way, decades in.

But here's something funny...I have a Topping DX7 Pro, fed by USB from my computer, with the balanced outs going to balanced in of a pair of ILoud MTM speakers (1m XLR). I noticed very low level noises coming from the left speaker, not long after getting the setup. It was a "I'll troubleshoot that when I get a chance" kind of thing, and it was intermittent. It seemed to not be the speakers, so I figured I'd look at the DAC, loop it back, but it wasn't enough to be a problem. But the other day, the right speaker started making sounds, and it was louder (not loud, but more than "can barely hear it"). Well, it sounded like the old "I set my smartphone on top of some audio electronics", so I instantly realized...it was my monitor (Apple Pro Display XDR). Sure enough, pulled my DX7 Pro forward a few inches, to just barely in front of the display (was under, about three inches below the monitor), it stopped. Some things balanced won't fix ;)
 

Watsonian

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Balanced versus unbalanced cables...hmmm...is there a difference. Yes, there is but for me the differences are always biggest for the following reasons:

Noise because a power cable ran parallel to an audio cable and I hadn't clocked the parallel run.
Mobile phones cause chaos when put in the wrong place.
Accidental ground loops? Check.
Random power supply noise? Check.
inexplicable crap that comes out of nowhere and I didn't have time to track it down? Check.

Long story short, I've always found the biggest gains are keeping things neat and tidy, checking separation between power and audio, making sure that I've got a decent earth and so on. Cable type has a role to play but it can all get wrecked by me doing something utterly daft.

Nine times out of ten, I find that the "I've been utterly daft rule" applies. Wish that it weren't that way but that's how it is for me.

So back to balanced versus unbalanced. I prefer balanced but normally my sound quality gains have nothing to do with the cable I'm using.
 
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