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Showing 1 of 30 conversations about:
Van Damme Audio Instrument & HD 6XX Cables
Patpa
0
Jan 18, 2018
Is there any improvement with these cables on the HD 6XX?
elira
222
Jan 19, 2018
PatpaIt mostly depends of the amp, but in general there’s improvement by going balanced.
ElectronicVices
2937
Jan 20, 2018
eliraYes and no.... if you have a situation with a lot of EMI the balanced topology (assuming source to cans) will reject said noise inherently. If you don't have a lot of EMI than yeah it really has to do with one's particular situation. A lot of balanced amplifiers have a rather noticeable drop in performance from their SE output so if one were to own say just about anything from Audio-GD or Schiit with a balanced out AND SE out (Jot is a slight exception) they would find benefit in using this cable over an SE cable with that gear.
lugnut
103
Jan 20, 2018
PatpaThe only way you will ever know is to try one and see. Cables is a love /hate thing so depending who answers your question depends on yes or no. I am not trying to be a smart ass ! It just cables are like trump, love or hate. So the only true answer is to try one in your system.
Uzuzu
1431
Jan 21, 2018
eliraimprovement from going to balanced is that balanced amps have higher outputs, generally speaking. And if an amp has a SE and a balanced out the balanced is going to have more power. Only reason it "sounds" better as a SE or Balanced connection with the same power output will sound the same. Balanced is a meme.
Bheer
23
Jan 21, 2018
UzuzuNot necessarily. For example, I have a Schiit Mjolnir 2 amp on the way. It's inherently balanced (balanced in, balanced out), meaning the single-ended output has a summing circuit which reduces quality (as I understand it). Same thing with some other amplifiers, as ElectronicVices mentioned. I'm fairly new to the hobby, so if you have information otherwise, please let me know.
elira
222
Jan 21, 2018
UzuzuThere are technical benefits by using a balanced design, one of them is that it avoids the direct connection to ground for the drivers, so no sharing ground and both leads are driven by an amplification stage.
Uzuzu
1431
Jan 22, 2018
eliraInaudible benefits even with ToTL planars
elira
222
Jan 22, 2018
UzuzuIt totally depends on what amp are you using.
Uzuzu
1431
Jan 23, 2018
eliraBut we're not talking about what amp, we're talking about if there is any benefit.
I said that if a SE and Balanced Amp both had the same power outputs you cannot hear the difference. Unfortunately this is hard to test because there are little if any amps that do that. Almost all balanced amps have way more power out of their balanced ends and that leads most listeners into the "balanced sounds better" fallacy.
Bheer
23
Jan 23, 2018
UzuzuYou're being obtuse. Whether there is any benefit DEPENDS ON THE AMP. There has already been several amps mentioned (Schiit ones such the Mjolnir 2 or Ragnarok for example) that has other factors than simple power output differentiating the balanced and SE outputs.
Uzuzu
1431
Jan 23, 2018
BheerOn the contrary are you not the one being obtuse? We can talk about amp implementation all day. Every amp sounds different, we all know that. But there are larger sound differences between amps based on the grounds their amplification is done differently rather than their outputs being SE or balanced. And don't even argue about balanced implementation, I know. I'm just saying that balanced meaning better quality sound is a total myth, which it is. You don't need to bust your bank to afford an amp you don't need to upgrade from. Thankfully we are finally seeing some companies begin to sell better amps for cheaper either way and I hope more snake oil goes with it. ;-) I appreciate your love for audio.
Bheer
23
Jan 23, 2018
UzuzuWe seem to have a misunderstanding. I am not saying that a balanced amp will be better than a single-ended amp. I am however saying, that with some manufacturers and their particular implementations, you will see a benefit using the balanced output of your amp rather than the SE one, when it has both. Regardless of relative power output. Schiit (exluding Jotunheim), in particular. But I suspect this conversation will keep going around in circles, similar to the "all DACs are the same" crowd on Reddit. We can agree to disagree.
Uzuzu
1431
Jan 23, 2018
BheerI hate circular arguments myself. I don't subscribe to the DACs being the same idealogy however XD
ElectronicVices
2937
Jan 24, 2018
UzuzuThis is really one of the more civilized discussions on this topic I've ever seen, thank you all for reaffirming some of my faith in humanity :)
RayF
22218
Apr 8, 2018
PatpaIn a word--no!
But I'm only speaking from my experiences with this particular cable and the MD 6XXs, connected to a Jotunheim. I didn't have a way to explicitly A/B them, but the virtual a/b in my head said, no difference and no improvement.
RayF
22218
Apr 8, 2018
BheerWhat was the reason for excluding the Jotunheim, por favor?
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