Can a phono preamp be balanced? I thought that phono by its very architecture was single ended. Am I right or can a phono stage be truly balanced?

I was told by it's very nature all phono amps start out balanced and then go out (usually) single ended...

The output of a phone cartridge is balanced.

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Can a phono preamp be balanced?

Elk has the right answer, as always. A phono cartridge is just a coil, so it is inherently balanced. If you attach one wire to ground it's then unbalanced. If the phono preamp has a balanced input, then the system stays balanced and rejects hum common to both of the coil's wires.

--Ethan

Quoting from scripture ("Noise Reduction Techniques in Electronic Systems" - Henry W. Ott):

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A balanced circuit is a two conductor circuit in which both conductors and all circuits connected to them have the same impedance with respect to ground and to all other conductors.

So yes, a phono catridge output can loosely be considered balanced as the impedance seen by both conductors to ground is undefined. The picture changes though when that output is connected to an amplifier. A single-ended phono amp connects one side to ground and the other side sees the input impedance of the amp. With a differential amp, both conductors see what should be the equal impedances of each input and would, therefore, qualify for being "balanced". As Ethan desribed, a well-designed differential input can deliver much better noise performance over a single-ended design.

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Quoting from scripture...

LOL, now that's my kind of scripture!

--Ethan