The Inside Story

"There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man's lawful prey"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          John Ruskin

This adage is even more pertinent today especially when you see the big differences in quality that a few dollars buys.

You receive significant  increases in quality and performance when you buy from the Balun Designs innovator rather than the Brand X imitator.

Professionally soldered ring terminals for connections                            vs                            the Brand X method of using tabs and solder bridges.                       

        Balun Designs craftmanship like this                               vs                             Brand X soldering work which looks like this.

              Heavy build Polyamideimide (240 C) insulated wire inserted in individual Teflon tubes     vs     Brand X use of bare copper and standard enamel wire with a single Teflon tube  

Attention to detail such as dressed and soldered leads like this            vs                     the Brand X method which is delivered this way.             

                                     A rugged core stabilizing system developed by Balun Designs         vs        the Brand X chunk of foam that traps heat and moisture in the cores.      

            A Balun Designs finished product                                                vs                                 the Brand X sort of finished product.

Additional Benefits

                                  Balun Designs                                                                       Brand X                    

            Expert support,  a Lifetime warranty and 30 day no questions exchange policy          -           one year warranty plus the infamous "trust us"                                

             Published test data of actual performance using AIM-4170c Network Analyzer        -                   broad, unsubstantiated claims of better specs            

Availability of numerous connector types                                    -                                      Not available

No charge customization of enclosure layout                              -                                       Not available

Complete pictures of both outside and inside of each and every model                 -                small internal picture of a single unit

The fact is Brand X copied both the model numbers and enclosure configuration designators developed by Balun Designs! 

Apparently the method used by the Brand X R&D department to "perfect" their baluns relied heavily on the Balun Designs website.  

All photos taken of actual products as delivered by each company.  Other than resizing and cropping, no manipulation or retouching of any type was performed on the photographs.  All units used for photographs are available for inspection.