You are probably familiar with rca types of inputs. These are unbalanced inputs. A balanced input like the Bose amp has a plus and a negative line coming in (note not ground like the rca). Any noise coming into the system will typically exist on both the plus and negative. The balance reciever is designed to amplify only a difference in a signal. Since the signal on the plus and the negative is out of phase it will be amplified. However since the noise which is also on both the plus and negative is in phase it will not be amplified and therefore is rejected. A typical balance reciever is integrated circuit based and outputs a rca output (not always).

In the typical LOC you will have a set of audio transformers often wound 1:1 primary to secondary. The primary or secondary (or both) will sometimes have a potentiometer for setting the level of the signal. Some additional circuitry may be present but that is the basics. LOCs are often used with a rca input and rca output to isolate grounds to prevent hum from differential grounding.

I mentioned that you want the balance recievers to be as close to the stock Bose amp location as possible. The assumption is that you will convert to an rca output. You want the rca cable to be as short as possilble to prevent noise injection on that cable. Often times if a head unit puts out an rca professional installers will put balance transmitters on the rca out of the head unit converting to balance outputs, sometimes at fairly high voltages to make the signal to noise ratio as high as possible. Then you run the balanced lines to an amp in the back where you convert back to rca outputs using a set of balanced recievers. The stock head unit of the Infiniti outputs a balanced signal so no balance transmitters are necessary.

Some amps or processors may well have non inductor based balanced recievers built in, but I have not seen any that specifically list that as the case, they sort of insinuate that may be the case with words such as 'low level balanced inputs' but don't come right out and state what they really have. If you can find such an animal then your job gets a little bit easier, but then balanced recievers only cost about $30 a set (stereo, 2 channels) to build and are straight forward in construction.

 

Pfarmer, I don't know where you learn this stuff but your posts are extremely informative and helpful so thanks a lot. I'm gonna give this a shot it all seems pretty straight forward now and I have been checking out the wiring on the amp/route for my power source for about a week not and I think it should go smoothly (knock on wood, right). Thanks again for your help.

 

I am looking at these guys carefully. There are not all that far from me to drive up and speak to them sometime.

First off the wording in their write ups have some of the same issues as others which only adds some confusion, but several of these units mention 'balance differential inputs'. Also of note is that in some of the write ups when mentioning the inputs they actually show the typical symbol for the ICs typically used in balanced recievers.

These are ic based differential inputs per the manufacturer response to me:

http://www.audiocontrol.com/t34/1761...Equalizer.html