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DoctorX
301
Apr 23, 2018
I'm not fully convinced the benefit of going balanced isn't just because the balanced gear is better built and costs more.
All of those comparisons I see are not comparing the same gear or the same circuit. Has anyone ever done a comparison using the same balanced output using a single ended adapter for the single ended test?
But then again, even if the only benefit of going balanced is because manufacturers puts better circuit behind the balanced output, does that really matter in practice?
At the end of the day, it just costs too damn much going balanced so count me out.
darwin
90
Apr 23, 2018
DoctorXIfi has $200 balanced day/amp. Lots of other examples. I don't think you know what balanced is though.
DoctorX
301
Apr 23, 2018
darwinNo they don't, and please provides those other examples that also don't exist.
I don't think you know what you're talking about.
RayF
22218
Apr 23, 2018
darwinI know...
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OCBob
526
Apr 25, 2018
DoctorXAre you talking a 4 pin to a 1/4" female adapter for your headphones? It seems to me that would be bad for the amp/headphones. I have a an adapter with a 1/4" male plug that allows me to convert my XLR back down to single-ended (works great so I don't have to keep swapping cables).
jerlad
79
May 27, 2018
DoctorX" I'm not fully convinced the benefit of going balanced isn't just because the balanced gear is better built and costs more. "
that's quite a double-negative sentence. Do you mean that any benefit of balanced audio-out is due solely to the fact that gear that features balanced-out is built better? I would have to agree. A truly balanced-out DAC or DAP is going to have separate circuit paths for the left and right audio channels. Then, there is the choice of components used to build those circuits.
If you follow that logic and you are using a DAP or DAC with both balanced and single-ended outputs, then you should not be able to hear the difference between the two.
I hear a difference with the gear that I am using
Rhamnetin
172
Jun 1, 2018
DoctorXNo, there is indeed excellent single ended audio gear. Top quality, just single ended. Some really good products even have separate single ended and balanced versions. The most obvious benefit of balanced is power output.
jerlad
79
Jun 18, 2018
RhamnetinWhat do you consider to be the less-obvious benefits of balanced output?
My first contribution to this thread offered some things to listen for in order to determine whether the gear you are using is delivering everything to your likeing.
I completely agree with you that there are many fine single ended devices. I think there are many whose component list and build quality are state-of-the-art. I am most often listening through SE because of where I am and what I may have with me at the time. I listen to music at work and the setup there is SE. When I come home, I listen through a balanced connection.
Rhamnetin
172
Jun 20, 2018
jerladLike you, I listen to music at work with a single ended setup, and balanced at home. I can speak for two headphones like this, the ZMF Blackwood and ZMF Ori.
The SE setup is just a Chord Hugo 2 (though I've tried this with a Schiit Lyr 3 with excellent NOS tubes, zero improvement), the balanced setup is Chord Hugo 2 + Mjolnir Audio Pure BiPolar (this amp converts SE signal into balanced using Nelson Pass's "Super Symmetry" input). I have also used the Audeze LCD-4 with a Hugo 2 + Schiit Lyr 3, and Hugo 2 + Pure BiPolar but that's just unfair considering the Pure BiPolar is in a completely different class than the Lyr 3.
So the audible improvements with the ZMF headphones are: fuller bass, harder hitting bass, considerably better layering/instrument separation, far more transparent and overall cleaner treble but this isn't just because it's balanced.
A really interesting test though would be if I were to compare the Pure BiPolar amp to a really good single ended amp like a Bottlehead Mainline or an excellent SET speaker amp repurposed for headphones. But that's not gonna happen.
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