• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Does balanced adapters works?

solderdude

Grand Contributor
Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Messages
15,891
Likes
35,912
Location
The Neitherlands
Depends on the headphone cable that is on the headphone (not 'balanced') currently.
If that is really crappy and has a high resistance there could be audible differences in stereo image.
Otherwise nothing will be audibly 'improved' but your wallet will be emptier.

You could sleep well because you know that regardless how much more money you throw at it buying amps, DACs, cables and what other technical devices you won't get better sound.
Only upgrading the headphone itself will.

Sweet dreams !
 
Last edited:

DonH56

Master Contributor
Technical Expert
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
7,834
Likes
16,496
Location
Monument, CO
I have not really read this thread. I'll just throw out, in case it has not been stated elsewhere, that some headphone cables take advantage of mic cables (or similar) so there is a single ground (shield) and two "hot" signal wires. These are split near the end to send gnd+right to one side and gnd+left to the other. If you have a balanced (actually bridged) headphone amp and happen to grab one of these cables you will at best send the amp into protect mode and at worst fry it. You could potentially have the same problem with a balanced to unbalanced (single-ended) adapter; for those types of amps you may need to use a transformer or active circuit as mentioned previously so that you do not ground the output of the amplifier.

FWIWFM - Don
 
OP
V

Viper Necklampy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2019
Messages
265
Likes
39
Nothing at all. It's a way of getting more money out of gullible audiophiles.

S
Oh please no.. That can't be another myth like burn in or expensive cables.. I swear I read online the improvements are of greater separation (Because it's fully separated in powering left and right channel right), more power (But of course with all his dirty distortion etc. i guess, so no magical benefit [?]) and more soundstage (?) anyway.. it sound like it's overall sounding better without negative affects :p Actually, I could test it because i have Mdr-z7 with Sony Pha-3 balanced amplifier lol
 
OP
V

Viper Necklampy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2019
Messages
265
Likes
39
Depends on the headphone cable that is on the headphone (not 'balanced') currently.
If that is really crappy and has a high resistance there could be audible differences in stereo image.
Otherwise nothing will be audibly 'improved' but your wallet will be emptier.

You could sleep well because you know that regardless how much more money you throw at it buying amps, DACs, cables and what other technical devices you won't get better sound.
Only upgrading the headphone itself will.

Sweet dreams !
And that'ssss where your site will help me AF! ^^ I don't know if those strange lighting to 3.5mm cables from Audeze sounds, i asked them if it's made of copper xD
 

sergeauckland

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
3,440
Likes
9,100
Location
Suffolk UK
Oh please no.. That can't be another myth like burn in or expensive cables.. I swear I read online the improvements are of greater separation (Because it's fully separated in powering left and right channel right), more power (But of course with all his dirty distortion etc. i guess, so no magical benefit [?]) and more soundstage (?) anyway.. it sound like it's overall sounding better without negative affects :p Actually, I could test it because i have Mdr-z7 with Sony Pha-3 balanced amplifier lol
It's a myth! Separation:- Just how much crosstalk is created by the common ground impedance? Hint:- Very very little. Much more is created by mechanical coupling through the headband.

More power:- Why? How? Balanced provides no more power than unbalanced, as it depends on the volts available. That has nothing to do with balanced or unbalanced except for low powered devices like mobile telephones, and even those can provide sufficient power to cause hearing damage.

Soundstage:- On headphones? :facepalm:

S.
 

solderdude

Grand Contributor
Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Messages
15,891
Likes
35,912
Location
The Neitherlands
It seems to me you can do 2 things.
Either take comments and suggestions here at heart... or...
Stop asking questions here (you don't really seem to accept any answers/explanations) and ask the questions at Headfi, SBAF, Reddit or other subjective websites and get full confirmation of your findings.
It's gonna be a very expensive hobby this way though.
 
OP
V

Viper Necklampy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2019
Messages
265
Likes
39
It seems to me you can do 2 things.
Either take comments and suggestions here at heart... or...
Stop asking questions here (you don't really seem to accept any answers/explanations) and ask the questions at Headfi, SBAF, Reddit or other subjective websites and get full confirmation of your findings.
It's gonna be a very expensive hobby this way though.
Who said i don't accept your answers/explanation? Of course i do! As i have no Experience is reveiling hear all these things, that's where comes my reactions, but I accept all your answers as they are.. You are telling me balanced don't add any improvement - - - > I thank you all and i Believe you, and surprised just because before i knew balanced provider more power etc etc.. So, if you like it more this way, i'll take your comments At heart... Really.. One day if I want to pass to balanced i'll inform myself better, but that's a very good start thanks to you all.. :) Anyway i can give it a try with Z7 and Pha-3 with/without balanced, so no problem.. See that facepalm above my answer? Just don't see the necessity, cause soundstage on headphone is real, (or not!?) and can be larger even on closed headphones, i love headphones.. So.. Just that.. :D
 
Last edited:

solderdude

Grand Contributor
Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Messages
15,891
Likes
35,912
Location
The Neitherlands
Let's call it 'headstage' instead of soundstage.
Indeed some headphones have a 'wider' or more 'pinpoint-able' headstage.
The HD800 is a good example versus HD650
Wide versus small.

Balanced connection between a source and amp for instance does not make anything 'louder'.
When using an amplifier with a balanced OUTPUT then you could have anything between 0dB and 6dB moar power.
How much depends on the maximum output currents of the amp in question and impedance of the headphone.
Unless you need the extra dB's (portable equipment paired with inefficient headphones) there is no reason to go balanced.

Channel separation.. you really don't need that much.
60 or 100dB channel separation makes no difference on headphones and on speakers even 30dB of separation is already a lot.
Don't worry about this.
 

AnalogSteph

Major Contributor
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
3,334
Likes
3,278
Location
.de
As a rule of thumb, as long as common ground return resistance in cable + jack + amp does not exceed 1% of nominal driver impedance, it's nothing to worry about. With 4-conductor headphone cables you're generally much lower than that, 3-conductor jobs by contrast may be problematic. As cables need long and thin (light) conductors, they tend to contribute a fair bit of resistance. It is not unusual to measure 1 ohm per conductor on a 3 m job.
 

raif71

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Messages
2,333
Likes
2,535
WhatsApp Image 2019-09-16 at 00.57.25.jpeg


See how the wire of the Sony wmport to the dac/amp micro usb is blocking the 3.5mm SE hp out. Thank god for the balanced 4.4mm hp out. There is a use for you after all. Next to it is the 2.5mm balanced out and not blocked!! Balanced, you save my day!!! :D
 
Top Bottom