Which Balanced Mains Unit?



We are often asked: "which Balanced Mains Unit should I opt for?" We have two Balanced Mains Units (BMUs) for you to choose from - one rated at 1500 volt amps (VA) and one rated at 3000VA. The ratings indicate the amount of power the Balanced Mains Unit can supply and needs to be matched to the total power consumption of your system.

The most important thing to remember is to choose the most appropriate sized BMU for your system - if you select the wrong one, your system won't sound as good as it could.

Matching your system

You should always have more than enough power on tap. You can never have too much power but you can have too little, so a BMU that is over-specified is never a bad thing - in fact quite the reverse; it means you'll have enough power in reserve for when your set-up is reproducing particularly dynamic music or there's lots of bass. If you choose a Balanced Mains Unit that's not up to the job, the music will sound flatter, less dynamic and not as engaging.

The different Balanced Mains Units

Balanced Mains Unit 1500


The Balanced Mains Unit 1500 has five output sockets, fed by a 1500VA transformer.  This means that you can connect a medium-powered power amp or integrated amp (of, for example up to about 250W per channel), your preamp and sources. 

An example system suitable for use with the BMU 1500 would be a Cyrus CD i CD player and a Naim ND5 XS 2 music streamer, connected to a Roksan Caspian M2 integrated amp (used as a preamp) and a Roksan Caspian M2 power amp. 


Balanced Mains Unit 3000



The Balanced Mains Unit 3000 is suitable for almost all domestic Hi-Fi or Home Cinema Systems. We powered both Russ's Hi-Fi and his separate Home Cinema System from one with a significant upgrade in performance.



Complex systems with multiple sources and bigger power amps (and more than one power amp) can be powered by the Balanced Mains Unit 3000. It's our biggest and best performing Balanced Mains Unit, and it's the one to opt for if you want the very best performance - even if you have a modest system. 
 
A More Detailed Guide

If you want to confirm which Balanced Mains Unit is suitable for your system and want to check the figures at home, you need to find out the power consumption for your equipment and add them together.

Maximum power consumption is the figure you are looking for; this might be expressed in watts (W) or Volt Amps (VA), but for the purposes of this guide, these can be considered as one and the same. Add together all of the figures for your kit to see what the maximum power requirement is; once you have done this, we recommend the total is no more than 80% of the rating of the Balanced Mains Unit you are looking at.

For the BMU 1500 which has a 1500VA transformer, your power amp, preamp and sources should not have a power consumption of more than 1200W when connected to the BMU 1500.




As an example,  the Cyrus CD XT Signature CD player has a power requirement of about 10W, the Naim
ND5 XS 2 streamer has a maximum consumption of about 11W, the Roksan Caspian M2 integrated amp (used as a preamp) has a power consumption of a maximum of 230W and the M2 power amp has a maximum consumption of about 550W. The CD player, streamer and preamp and power amp's power requirement is 803W which, when plugged into the Balanced Mains Unit 1500 equates to about 54% of the power available, leaving plenty of headroom.

When working out your consumption figures, don't confuse the output power of your amplifier with its power consumption. One amplifier we looked at was capable of outputting 220W per channel, totalling 440W - yet its maximum consumption was nearer 700W. They are related, but maximum consumption is the figure you need to be looking at.

The above figures are used as a guide. It's worth knowing that the calculations refer to conventional amplifiers; Class D amplifiers behave rather differently when calculating power consumption - in this case contact us for more information.

If at any point you need help or guidance when selecting your Balanced Mains Unit, contact us and we'll be happy to help.

Ultimately, if you want the very best performance you should always opt for the 3000VA unit. BMU3000 supplies more than enough power for almost any Hi-fi and Home Cinema system we've come across. It's also our very best performing unit, so if your object is to achieve uncompromising performance , no matter how big or small your system, you should opt for this model.