I'll let the pictures speak for this one:
The circuit magic in the upper right counts the flow across the belts over 7.5 seconds (450 ticks). It should be 200 per red belt, 400 total, but sits at 380 instead. And it gets weirder:
We doubled some splitters, which, by any common sense, shouldn't make a difference. But it does! Suddenly the throughput is where it should be. Don't know how, don't know why, but for some reason a double splitter... does the job a splitter is supposed to do in the first place.
And it gets worse:
Again, doubling the middle splitters solved the issue. But these splitters weren't part of a loop to begin with, they were merely connected to some.
This may not be the biggest issue in the world, but the splitter, for all its merits, is flawed. Not game-breakingly flawed, rather "I accidentally busted every throughput-unlimited balancer out there" flawed. These screenshots were created in an unmodded version of Factorio 0.16.51. I made sure none of the chests got backed up during testing.
Blueprint of my setup:
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
Copy blueprint