Balancing Gadgets

Ground breaking technology.

And for once, that's not hyperbole.

Professional applications use balanced audio for good reason. Balanced circuits offer many performance advantages compared to unbalanced audio, such as increased headroom and reduced noise from radiation and ground differentials. Sometimes, though, unbalanced devices are unavoidable. The Balancing Gadgets were made for those times.

All three Balancing Gadgets feature an internal low-noise linear power supply, direct coupled transformerless analog circuitry and our exclusive input design that suppresses common mode noise. The result is the most sonically-transparent devices available. Never any buzz, hum, hiss or RFI — just pure, clean sound, even with long unbalanced cables or a ground loop between the gadget and the source.

Stereo Balancing Gadget

Converts unbalanced stereo -10dBv audio via two RCA/Phono jacks into professional +4dBu fully balanced lines on two XLR connectors. Ideal for a single playback-only consumer device. State-of-the-art analog circuitry is low-distortion, low-noise, and includes DC offset correction and our exclusive input stage that reduces ground-loop noise.

Dual Stereo Balancing Gadget

We stuffed two Stereo Balancing Gadgets into a single box. Two playback-only consumer devices feed four RCA/Phono jacks at -10dBv. 4 XLR connectors deliver +4dBu balanced audio to your professional equipment. Output amplifiers capable of driving +26dBu into long cables, even low-impedance 600Ω loads.

Bidirectional Balancing Gadget

Converts one stereo pair from unbalanced to balanced and another stereo pair from balanced to unbalanced. Perfect for a recording device or a computer sound-card. All unbalanced and balanced signals are on RCA/Phono jacks and XLR connectors, respectively. Plenty of gain in the unlocked position means even low-level computer sound-cards are no problem.

Groundbreaking Technology

The most common problem when ingesting unbalanced audio is the ground differential (often referred to as a “ground loop”) between source and destination equipment. Unwanted noise appears on both the signal and shield conductors of the connecting cable. Buzz and hum are the usual symptoms, but ground loops are also notorious for creating a path for RFI. Our exclusive active input circuitry dramatically suppresses common-mode noise on unbalanced sources. Though it is similar to an active differential input as used for balanced audio, it is able to maintain high CMRR (common mode rejection ratio) even when the source impedance is mismatched as is the case with unbalanced audio sources. Not only will the balancing gadgets eliminate the hum and buzz of a ground loop, it will also reduce noise from external sources such as power lines and digital noisemakers. You can even run long unbalanced cables between gear. The balancing gadgets make it possible to use unbalanced equipment in professional applications without compromising performance.