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Ianhickler
11
Apr 3, 2018
Ok so.... Balanced is great and all giving all the power and no noise but you have to mod most headphone cables for it to work. Or buy one. There goes all use for balanced unless youre at home. While your normal 1/8 jack works with everything and is universal though with the drawback of more noise --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So I just tried my friends modded akg k7xx 4 pin mini xlr headphone compared it to my stock k7xx and well.... I was disappointing even with a jounteim (I can't spell it). There was no noise on either even if balanced provides basically 0. Though the sound was maybe a little better but no where close to some of the HYPE that people gave balanced. I will say though that headphones and IEMS all seem to get some level of improvement using balanced . Some will benefit more than others. I don't think the k7xx was the right headphone for this test but balanced is fun to mess with if you have the money.
Gh15
3
Apr 3, 2018
IanhicklerYeah I agree. Great headphones and amps and DACs are expensive enough as it is. Going all out for balanced gear definitely has diminishing returns.
Ianhickler
11
Apr 3, 2018
Gh15I agree with you I use to own a jounteim from schitt. Only for the balanced. I ran them with lcd 2 compared it to a dark voice and it made such a small difference that I sold my jounteim and kept the darkvoice.
Though balanced does sound amazing. (Though useless as heck other than at home)
darwin
90
Apr 23, 2018
Gh15Ifi Nano is balanced for $200.
Ianhickler
11
Apr 24, 2018
darwinNo it isn't
Glenneth
0
Apr 24, 2018
IanhicklerYes it is, but they are using a 4 pole 3.5mm jack plug adapter. You can still use a standard 3 pole jack plug. This is a standard that ifi seem to be championing.
benchan2a01
36
May 14, 2018
GlennethIt still has ground so it cannot be called balanced output. IFI calls it "S-balanced" which I believe is the same as the separate grounds just like what ZX2 was using.
Ianhickler
11
May 14, 2018
benchan2a01I see. My mistake!
Ianhickler
11
May 14, 2018
GlennethMy mistake. Now I see it looking into it. You're right!
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