The General Advice/Questions Thread

[Nuance]

Here’s a good point of reference to help you better understand the two technologies and hopefully answer your question:

Single Ended, Balanced & Differential - What it Means

One of the most common points of confusion, and questions raised, relates to the differences between, and meanings of, the terms “single ended”, “balanced” and “differential” operation. And, further to that, what the qualifier “fully” (as in “fully balanced”) means in relation to these terms: Single Ended A single-ended configuration uses two signal connections, one for + and one for ground (or signal return). It is the most common connection used to headphones, between components, and in the…

Unless you have a signal noise issue or just want more power, you don’t really need balanced.