[SpEEdyBL]

You can balance before the charge and the charge w/o the balancer to 4.1 volts/cell. Unless the cells are really out of sync with each other, this is the surest way you will not damage your cells, though not the safest.

If you charge with a balancer, you can get the maximum performace out of you pack, because each cell will take the exact amount of charge that it needs. However if the cells in that pack have various capacities, you could risk damaging your pack as the cell with the lowest capacity will dump first, possibly before the entire pack voltage reaches the cut off.

Bottom line: Charge with a balancer and be conservative on the lvc voltage if your cells are matched. OR balance your cells and then charge to 4.1 volts/cell w/o a balancer if your cells aren't so matched anymore.