Noob here, just want to know if there's a particular design that indicates a good amp, that's all.

I just bought the RX3 online, should have it early next week, I'll see (hear) how the single ended sounds versus the balanced.

Maybe this is why that ALO unit sounds so good, but it literally is the size and weight of a brick.

The L3 is heavier and with both you need another brick for your source too, so they aren't all light. I am impressed with the RX3 though. It's only a touch behind my Phoenix in resolution and dymamics and a touch less smooth in the treble listening at moderate volumes.

I wish I'd thought of it back then, but I wonder what the Audiovalve RKV II I owned would have been like using a balanced output transformer box (it came with an SE one).

Please provide your insights about the differences between balanced vs single ended headphone/amp/DAC, both objective and subjective differences...perhaps this topic has been discussed to death in various forums but its difficult to form an opinion as to which is better or worse..

Please forgive me if I break protocol by reviving a dead thread, but as I am new here, I don't really know the community preferences for such things, and I don't really think this was fully answered. That is to say, you have covered the what and the how, but not the why. Ideally, several things are gained by using a balanced connection. Primarily you gain dynamic range and signal to noise ratio, this is due to having a stronger signal vs background noise (interference) and more effective shielding since your shield is not also carrying signal. You can also sometimes gain bandwidth, as shield is prone to skin effect (phase smear) which can limit bandwidth. And on the output side (IE:headphones) you get increased gain, which can be good or bad depending on the efficiency of your headphones. The other consideration is impedance, since the impedance of the headphones is halved amplifiers that have problems with low impedance loads will not perform as well, so as with everything, you are back to testing your specific rig to find which is better, but ideally a balance connection should give you more detail, more dynamics, greater bass control (an aspect of higher current), lower distortion and a lower noise floor.