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CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 10, 2018
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CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 10, 2018
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CEE_TEE4-pin XLR Adapter (not included):
There is also a 2.5mm to 4-pin XLR balanced adapter in-progress.
The additional adapter along with the 2.5mm cable will help you connect to the big amps such as the Massdrop x Cavalli Liquid Carbon X. Here is a pic of the prototype...
gwolf_audio
2
Sep 10, 2018
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CEE_TEEWhen will the 2.5mm to 4-pin XLR balanced adapter be available? I'm quite interested.
Also, will it be sold individually or packaged with some other combo/set? I ask because I'd like to use it for my other headphones as well (e.g., HD6XX). :)
Also, will it be sold individually or packaged with some other combo/set? I ask because I'd like to use it for my other headphones as well (e.g., HD6XX). :)
iatsbohdan
200
Sep 10, 2018
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CEE_TEEI mean, come on, why would anybody in their right mind want to connect a pair of iems to a desktop amp with an XLR? Just out of curiosity?
TheOmegaCarrot
115
Sep 10, 2018
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iatsbohdanI do that. I plug my MD+ into my Audio-GD NFB-1Amp through the XLR with an adapter.
Sometimes it’s too hot for over-ears in the room my setup is in, and my NFB-1Amp honestly does a great job with my MD+, though the volume always stays very low.
CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 11, 2018
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gwolf_audioWe're going to sell it individually...have not set the time yet.
Hopefully in a month or two, but we have a lot happening as you will see soon. ;)
CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 11, 2018
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iatsbohdanHi iatsbohdan,
I especially wish that everyone could use my Kaiser 10 and try both the single-ended and the 4-pin XLR out of the Liquid Carbon X. I dare say night and day...Alex designed the Liquid Carbon as the ultimate IEM amp but only when it is in balanced mode. The Single-ended output is there for convenience only. When I finally did the A/B testing, I was shocked at the difference (in a good way). Since then, I have been working slowly but towards making these pieces available so it is easier for people to put together this system. Today marks one of those pieces.
We want to make it easier for you to use your things together and encourage testing combos to find the right formulas. It's not easy to go to one spot and find all of these things, let alone with decent pricing. Hopefully this is helpful for some people now and for you in the future...thanks for looking!
We want to make it easier for you to use your things together and encourage testing combos to find the right formulas. It's not easy to go to one spot and find all of these things, let alone with decent pricing. Hopefully this is helpful for some people now and for you in the future...thanks for looking!
CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 11, 2018
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TheOmegaCarrotExcellent. Thanks for sharing, OmegaCarrot.
I'm also happy to hear that you enjoy the MD+! :)
ElectronicVices
2937
Sep 11, 2018
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iatsbohdanI do it for my Noble K10u as the SE output of my Cayin is 10 ohms, the XLR output .3 ohms. I can't say they get use daily in this configuration but the K10 deserves to be played on the main rig from time to time. This would also be handy for people who use a 2.5mm TRRS cable with their full-sized cans.
Gianni85
31
Sep 12, 2018
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CEE_TEEThis is a great collab, keep up the good work. Insta-join...
CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 14, 2018
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gemmoglockSome measurements of this balanced cable came in at ~1.2-1.5 with the DMM that was on hand...
gemmoglock
63
Sep 14, 2018
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CEE_TEEWow if you have official measurements adding them to the listing will drive more interest ;) That's similar to the Linum BaX at 1.5ohms. Or send some to reviewers 🙃
SpeleoFool
675
Sep 20, 2018
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CEE_TEEHi, CEE_TEE. I've seen you mention the K10 / CTX pairing a couple times, and will be checking that out soon myself. I just jumped on the CTX drop yesterday, and am excited to try it in balanced mode using an adapter like the one shown here.
Meanwhile, I thought I'd share some related thoughts from my own listening experiences....
Not long ago I finally received my K10 customs (thanks, Massdrop!), which I've been listening to extensively on an AK380 DAP (thanks, Massdrop!). I started out with the standard 3.5mm SE cable so I could try listening to a variety of sources, but after a couple weeks I switched to the 2.5mm balanced cable. The improvement was striking! Focus is better and everything just sounds cleaner through the balanced output.
I wasn't expecting such a dramatic difference, especially because I've also been listening to Focal Utopias (sorry, Massdrop!) on the AK380. Those came with a very long 1/4" SE cable, which I later swapped out for a shorter silver cable with a 2.5mm balanced connector. To be honest, the differences between SE and balanced from the AK380 to the Utopias is subtle at best. Both sound sublime; balanced didn't impart a sense of any drastic improvements.
I wonder if, because the K10s are so easy to drive and offer such an intimate listening experience, whether otherwise minor improvements in crosstalk elimination / noise reduction are simply more apparent with IEMs than with full size headphones? Might the same be true with other IEMs?
In any case, I'm sold on using balanced sources with my K10s whenever possible. I also pretty much need an adapter like the one above for the Utopias--beats yet another pricy cable to use those with a balanced headphone amp.
Meanwhile, I thought I'd share some related thoughts from my own listening experiences....
Not long ago I finally received my K10 customs (thanks, Massdrop!), which I've been listening to extensively on an AK380 DAP (thanks, Massdrop!). I started out with the standard 3.5mm SE cable so I could try listening to a variety of sources, but after a couple weeks I switched to the 2.5mm balanced cable. The improvement was striking! Focus is better and everything just sounds cleaner through the balanced output.
I wasn't expecting such a dramatic difference, especially because I've also been listening to Focal Utopias (sorry, Massdrop!) on the AK380. Those came with a very long 1/4" SE cable, which I later swapped out for a shorter silver cable with a 2.5mm balanced connector. To be honest, the differences between SE and balanced from the AK380 to the Utopias is subtle at best. Both sound sublime; balanced didn't impart a sense of any drastic improvements.
I wonder if, because the K10s are so easy to drive and offer such an intimate listening experience, whether otherwise minor improvements in crosstalk elimination / noise reduction are simply more apparent with IEMs than with full size headphones? Might the same be true with other IEMs?
In any case, I'm sold on using balanced sources with my K10s whenever possible. I also pretty much need an adapter like the one above for the Utopias--beats yet another pricy cable to use those with a balanced headphone amp.
CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 20, 2018
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SpeleoFoolThank you for your interest, SpeleoFool...I'm pushing to try and have them in-stock and available in November or December but the plan is not yet set.
Just to clarify, by CTX do you mean Cavalli Liquid Carbon X? For the Liquid Carbon X, Alex explained to me that his reason for designing an IEM amplifier in balanced mode allowed him to use some specific parts that are very low noise, offering a higher level of clarity. And because it is designed to play so well with IEMs, the low gain is a unity gain and should give you the cleanest signal at a usable range of power...even with sensitive IEMs. I was also quite surprised the first time I went back and forth on the two jacks. As for the greater difference with IEMs, I think you may be onto something and that your theory might be correct. Such sensitive drivers so close to the eardrum with even less in the way. Size and number of drivers may have an impact as well.
I'll feed this up to the team to try and prioritize the adapter sooner. Oh, and congrats on the Utopias, glad you got and are enjoying them- fantastic. Of course, thanks for buying the K10 customs and the amp from us!
Just to clarify, by CTX do you mean Cavalli Liquid Carbon X? For the Liquid Carbon X, Alex explained to me that his reason for designing an IEM amplifier in balanced mode allowed him to use some specific parts that are very low noise, offering a higher level of clarity. And because it is designed to play so well with IEMs, the low gain is a unity gain and should give you the cleanest signal at a usable range of power...even with sensitive IEMs. I was also quite surprised the first time I went back and forth on the two jacks. As for the greater difference with IEMs, I think you may be onto something and that your theory might be correct. Such sensitive drivers so close to the eardrum with even less in the way. Size and number of drivers may have an impact as well.
I'll feed this up to the team to try and prioritize the adapter sooner. Oh, and congrats on the Utopias, glad you got and are enjoying them- fantastic. Of course, thanks for buying the K10 customs and the amp from us!
SpeleoFool
675
Sep 20, 2018
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CEE_TEEOops. Yeah, CTX should have been LCX (Cavalli Liquid Carbon X). I blame your screen name and my acronym-heavy job (I'm writing some technical documentation today--fatigue and TLAs are a bad combo). :-D
Thanks for the insights on Alex's design choices with the Liquid Carbon X. I'm looking forward to another run through my headphone and music collections with my LCX when it shows up. I hadn't put much thought into using a desktop amp for IEMs, but then I hadn't really expected to get so much out of the Utopias from a portable DAP, either. It's fun to experiment.
Thanks also for feeding my comments back to the team. The AK380 has been so much fun that I'm inclined to standardize on ~4' 2.5mm balanced cables for most of my cans and use adapters like those in this drop to connect to other sources. I didn't much care for the 2.5mm form factor at first (seemed a little too tiny to be sturdy), but then again it's much nicer to start at 2.5mm and use an adapter to go bigger than it is to have, say, an XLR-to-anything-else adapter hanging off my headphone cable like a fishing weight. :-)
Thanks for the insights on Alex's design choices with the Liquid Carbon X. I'm looking forward to another run through my headphone and music collections with my LCX when it shows up. I hadn't put much thought into using a desktop amp for IEMs, but then I hadn't really expected to get so much out of the Utopias from a portable DAP, either. It's fun to experiment.
Thanks also for feeding my comments back to the team. The AK380 has been so much fun that I'm inclined to standardize on ~4' 2.5mm balanced cables for most of my cans and use adapters like those in this drop to connect to other sources. I didn't much care for the 2.5mm form factor at first (seemed a little too tiny to be sturdy), but then again it's much nicer to start at 2.5mm and use an adapter to go bigger than it is to have, say, an XLR-to-anything-else adapter hanging off my headphone cable like a fishing weight. :-)
CEE_TEE
3480
Sep 20, 2018
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SpeleoFoolThank you for the feedback and for sharing how you would like to use your gear together!
This is what we hope for and work towards...cheers.
hemtmaker
5
Nov 9, 2018
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CEE_TEE
3480
Nov 9, 2018
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hemtmakerShhh: just between you and I, I saw that they are soon coming...hope you will see the drop before the end of the year!
dleblanc
246
Dec 8, 2018
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CEE_TEEAny update on this?
Also similarly, I have an idea:
Massdrop should try to manufacture a 4 pin xlr female to quarter inch plug adaptor, as well as/or a quarter inch female to 4 pin xlr male adaptor for users with different amps who don't want to have notorious adaptors with cables that change coloration such as these:
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2.5mm TRRS cable: The cable allows you to connect to digital audio players such as the Astell&Kern or FiiO series, which feature fully balanced output jacks for additional power and control with even lower distortion on the signal.
3.5mm TRRS adapter: For balanced output jacks that use 3.5mm. (Please take care to use the correct plug if your device has two different 3.5mm jacks. TRS is for single-ended and TRRS is for balanced.)