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24.130.170.250
Need to rewire my cans and can go balanced. Was looking at a balanced amp and already have a balanced source. But then I saw this:
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better
It seems so at odd with what I hear but seems to make some good points but I am not sure
So what is the deal?
Cutting razor sounding violins
Follow Ups:
Well I tried a balanced setup and while the amp is different and I cant narrow down the improvement to balanced solely, i am not going back to single ended!! Sorry benchmark
Cutting razor sounding violins
I have never experienced the various 'Sound Deficiencies' that many seem to experience using 'Unbalanced' HP amplification (even using some fairly inefficient HPs like the Hifiman HE6).
Whether this has anything to do with the music I listen to I'm not sure,but I've always wondered if that using 'Balanced' amplification might just be a 'Band-Aid' for some other Audio System mismatches going on elsewhere.
(Now, whether using an Equi=Tech 1.5Q BPT in front of my listening setup accounts for not experiencing deficiencies, I'm not sure)(There is an extreme amount of "Not so carefully" (& I'm being kind here)Recorded Music out there.... No thanks I can live without Mediocrity)
I would agree somewhat with what I read there, with the exception that much of this doesn't apply when you move away from solid state circuits.
All the follow posts are worthwhile and rational - so those qualities don't apply with tubes? :)
13DoW
The lion's share of balanced tube headphone amps have transformer coupled output, so many of the points no longer apply.
nt
Transducers don't care if they are driven single-ended or balanced. All they see is a voltage difference between two terminals. But what could make a difference is the system/amplifier driving them. On the plus side of balanced is common-mode noise and distortion cancellation but on the down side is doubled complexity and doubled output resistance.
The Benchmark paper is well reasoned - their view is to put all the resources into a single-ended amplifier.
What I have done for my 'phones is terminate them with a 4-pin XLR and then make a 4-pin XLR balanced to 1/4" single-ended adapter and I can use them with any source balanced or not.
Regards
13DoW
"Benchmark does not offer balanced headphone outputs on any of its products."
Read no further.
It costs more to do correctly (Balanced DAC, balanced amplification and balanced output). Maybe as much as twice as much so no, they don't offer it.
Wondering why.
Now, placing a balanced headphone jack on a singled ended headphone amplifier certainly WON'T sound better, but hopefully if the system is balanced through the DAC and audio signal amplification then it certainly should sound better and on my DAC/Headphone amp it does.
Those are good points though what confuses me is they are fans of balanced line level and i am fairly sure they offer balanced ins and outs so isnt that a balanced dac then?
Cutting razor sounding violins
They are ,of course, probably right as far as theory goes . However they overlook reality where the same headphone amplifier may well have different circuits for the SE output and the balanced one. This may include the fact that the connectors to one may be close to the drivers, the other at the end of several centimeters of cheap hook up wire or circuit board track.
So the correct answer is to forget the theory as it is all in the execution. So suck it and see which is best with your particular equipment.
NB: they are not arguing against balanced operation per se. It is used by them as an output to e.g. a preamplifier . Their point is only against its application to drive headphones where they offer single ended jack connectors only.
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