How critical is balanced to achieving the Ayre magic? I can either go directly from disc player to preamp to amp via balanced, or add an unbalanced Velodyne SMS-1 between the pre and amp to provide high-pass for a pair of KEF LS50s used with a pair of HGS-10. High-passing to the LS50 is said to improve its sound, but that would be at the cost of adding an unbalanced link. Is the trade-off likely to be worth it?
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