Neither did I, but it seems to be a fairly common complaint. If I listened very carefully at low volume I could just about hear a small difference on my 282, but not enough to consider the need to make any adjustments.
I think that the main use (requirement) for a balance control was to correct the sometimes badly miked performances we often had to put up with 40-50 years back. Sometimes most of the sound was on the left and sometimes on the right, and sometimes a horn player,(for example) would move from left stage to right stage as he inadvertently pointed his horn towards one mic or the other (no control on earth been invented to correct that)! However recording engineers rarely make these kind of mistakes these days, and for my old recordings that suffer in this way, I just accept them for what they are and usually âlisten throughâ the defects. Hence, I can get by just fine with no balance control.
202/200DR is a good amp.
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I dont see any reason why I would need to upgrade my source?.
I suppose a few forum users dont know about Shanling as it is not the norm Brand name. The Shanling ETC CD transport uses a highly regarded Top-loading Philips SAA7824 mechanism & Sanyo HD850 laser. And has been designed for use with a high end DAC.
Its not a bad CD transport by any means and is reviewed positively by Stereophile, compared to a $3299.99 TEACâs VRDS-701T.
In sum
TEACâs VRDS-701T plays neat and martini dry. Itâs my reference transport because it exposes clearly the sound character of whatever DAC itâs connected to. In contrast, Shanlingâs ET3 plays wetter, with florid detail and a little splash-in-the-puddle exuberance, which may or may not be accurate, but I found its punchy vigor, spirited momentum, and carbon arc lighting quite seductive.
Despite what these comparisons may have led you to imagine (I exaggerate comparisons to make them clearer), Shanlingâs ET3 sounded more like TEACâs VRDS-701T than it had any right to at its under-$1k price.
Why is that? Very useful if your room is asymmetrical, or if, as I understand is the case with with many Naim preamps, gain is so great as to require the volume control to be at the very bottom of its range if you play quietly, when balance of the volume control can be imperfect
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The problem with that is that the volume pot is not linear (as you know). If you use the balance pot to attempt to correct for the imbalance at very low volumes, as soon as you want to turn the volume up your balance if off in the other direction. You canât win. When I owned the old preamps, I would disconnect the speaker wire from the speakers, play a test tone through the system, and then measure the voltage at the ends of the speaker cables with a multimeter while adjusting the balance within the normal volume listening range to get both channels as close as possible. Iâd pick the most linear balance pot position (equal voltage) within the normal listening range and then leave it. Thatâs how you get the system as balanced as possible, but you canât correct the low volume imbalance without creating other imbalance issues.
My advice to the OP would be to wait for a used 332 to come up at a good deal. Youâll avoid the imbalance issues, have 1 box instead of 3, less wires, and a much better preamp. You could always sell the XS2 and use an Atom HE in the meantime as well.
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But at least you can adjust for both! I have never felt thar absolute precision in L-R balance is necessary - and unless the room is perfectly L-R symmetrical, including furniture etc, doing by voltage measurement wouldnât get it perfectly balanced sound-wise. If the preamp has a mono button, engaging that and adjusting till sound seems central would be accurate enough and would allow for the room. A better demand than no balance control surely would be a volume control that is in balance for the whole of its range!
Donât overlook the 252/SC option with the 250, an even better option.