I'm looking at having output from the unbalanced terminals of a Pontus II going into a CSP325, and from there into a pair of UFO25s with a ZROCK thrown in somewhere. 100% unbalanced from the DAC out to the amps.

I do have a fully balanced push-pull preamp from BAT, but would need a ZBIT to go into the amps. I sort of like the idea of an all-SET approach (trying to reach SET Nirvana, maybe).

Because I can't find anyone arguing in FAVOR of unbalanced over balanced, I've been looking at other balanced architectures (ZPRE, ZBIT). But then, I wonder, why aren't ALL DW amps equipped with balanced inputs? I've already decided to go with the UFO25.

I have to say, 100% unbalanced seems like the no fuss, no muss approach. I can't see having a cable run of more than 10 feet.

If I do this, what is the impact sound-wise? If balanced is better, what was the point of the CSP325 with only unbalanced in/out? I feel a bit like I'm chasing my audio tail here.

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Not true. Look on page 11 of UFO25 manual it will show you how to bridge your amps as balanced mono blocks. Basically you just need a custom XLR -> 2xRCA jumper and you use the left and right channel of the stereo amp for the + and - phase of the balanced signal. I'm doing exactly this with my UFOs and it is so good I got back on the waiting list for a pair of UFO25s back in November. A few other posters have done the same thing with excellent results (as far as I know).

Note that a ZBIT (or a balanced input on a Decware amp) converts the balanced signal to single ended. But with the above architecture you maintain the balanced signal all the way to the speakers, which for me at least,  is a much better solution.

Running the Zen's as fully differential balanced mono blocks is popular and recommended when you can afford two amps and are running a fully balanced system. They love it and sound great that way. The transparency and animation is impossible to beat but it will only sound as good as the component driving it.  When you have great components this is often the way to go

On the other hand a our (or any) stereo amp that has only RCA inputs and has an input level control is just asking for a ZBIT. This gives you an adjustable output voltage from zero to the maximum balanced voltage that depending on source or preamp can range from 3.5 to 10 volts or more. With this tool in your belt you can play with gain structure which in turn manipulates dynamics and the overall tilt of the the frequency balance aka weight.

Additionally there is a very desirable coloration with the transformer, made by Jensen here in the USA, that is reminiscent of a good moving coil phono cartridge... More air, better dimensionality, more analog sounding. This magic comes from magnetic coupling which the transformer achieves. The voltage signal of your music, ie the wires transmitting the signal are cut in two and coupled together with magnetism instead of voltage. This is a really amazing tool with digital solid state sources. It can glue together all the dots with extreme resolution and improved layering over not having it at all.

Magnetic coupling is a gift to any signal path and is a small part of why analog records and tapes sound so good.

So that is why when you compare the sound of a balanced XLR component with an XLR to RCA adaptor that  shorts one side of the balanced signal to ground to achieve RCA... to a ZBIT the difference is face melting.  It really is.  Because the balanced signal is still full balanced even after it is converted to RCA.  It is not until you connect to the jack that the RCA becomes single ended.  And in that moment the signal remains fully balanced because of the transformer so you loose nothing and all the air and space and depth remain in tact for your listening pleasure.  Plus as I said you can you adjust the output level without changing the sound.

This device and the ZROCK2 are the most wicked little DECWARE black boxes we make. Secret sauce. Cheating.  It's like racing someone who doesn't know how to remap the fuel curve on an analogue carburetor and you do. It's not even fair. So when a person listens to system A with the magic black boxes and system B without, it's really not even comparable.  Amplifiers in system B can easily be twice as good and system A still easily wins.

It's products like these that lend credibility to the statement "Perpetuating the hifi underground since 1996" - DECWARE.  

Definitely try one or both.

For every system both XLR and SE need to be tried. When I move I’ll try XLR out of my DAC again. It might be better in the new place, only one way to find out.

The case for single ended.

SE is a more pure signal. Balanced will always have a bit of distortion.

What make balanced so good at rejecting noise is also where this distortion comes from. I’m simplifying the process a little. The end result is still the same. Balanced works by sending two identical signals down the cable. When they get to the SE component (or ZBIT) a circuit compares the two signals. Anything that isn’t identical gets thrown away. This is great for getting rid of interference and other noise the cable picks up along the way. However no circuit is perfect, some of the original signal will be thrown away too.

My guess why many people prefer balanced XLR over SE is due to the extra gain.

Galen Gareis cable designer for Belden and ICONOCLAST discusses XLR vs RCA.
https://forum.psaudio.com/t/rca-vs-xlr/14787/19

As for the transformer magic... I love it! That is why I have a transformer based volume control.

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The picture Steve posted was for a prototype IIRC. I don't think they are ready for sale yet.

I’m fascinated with this thread. As a user of balanced lines since the 70s I’m intrigued with the perception that balanced sounds better when all of the input devices to recordings are single ended; that is, they’re all balanced by op amps or transformers to run the signal long distances with maximum noise rejection but the inherent mic elements or direct boxes are single ended at the source. But the thought process and discussion is intriguing to follow and think about.

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There are a couple different things going on. Traditionally balanced connections were used to eliminate the common mode noise on long cable runs. Also, and this is just me personally, but I think XLR connections are about 100 times nicer than RCA, even for single ended connections, and the 3 conductor cable is better than 2 for single ended RCA cables.

But some time ago high end DACs started doing "differential" digital to analog conversion where they convert both the actual signal (+ phase) and a "digital negative" of the signal (- phase) to give 4 channel differential output. The advantage of this is that when the + and - phases are differenced it it averages out noise and numerical artifacts from the conversion process, to give (in theory) a better analog signal. As a bonus it also cancels out the common mode noise but that isn't as big deal for most people.