Elear + D70

[hatsmer]

Hi guys,

First time poster... Looking for some advice about a headphone stack. I've been reading a LOT the last few days but I could do with some guidance and appreciate whatever help you can give

I have bought a pair of Focal Elears at a good price and I am looking for a dac (and possibly an amp?) for my pc (but I may use it in other situations later so I'm not going to skimp). I also don't want to get something at 2/3rds the price like the D50 and have to upgrade it later to something like a D70 when I want better sound. I mainly listen to music while using the computer/gaming. I would appreciate any help you could give me

I'm in Australia if that helps regarding brands/warranty/product. I was thinking of buying from ShenzenAudio on amazon.com.au

1) I have heard that the D70 is far better through the balanced outputs. This is the 2 XLR L/R ports correct?
2) I have heard that balanced cables use +/- on separate pins to help the drivers move better, is that correct?
3) I have heard of people partnering the D50 (or D70) with the JDS Atom amp. If I take the balanced XLR into an amp like the JDS how does it stay balanced? It seems to use RCA L/R inputs. Are they balanced? I thought only XLR supported balanced signals because it had multiple pins? Can RCA and 1/4" L/R carry balanced signals? They seem to only have 1 pin/2 zones? I thought 1/4" analog plugs are segmented into 2 zones For L, R... but then how is +L, -L, +R, -R carried? I am confused.
4) My elears came with a 1/4" to 2 x 1/8" plug, will I need to change that? What do i need to buy? A D70? New Cables? A headphone amp?

Thanks so much for any light this awesome community can shed.

 

[Veri]

Atom is not balanced. You would need to go D70 RCA to Atom inputs. Or get a balanced amp, like the $299 drop THX 789.

The headphone cable is another matter. Yours is single ended (1/4) so cannot be used with 4-pin XLR output. The Atom only has an 1/4 output though, which is fine.

Finally, balanced does not make your drivers 'move' better. It only gives more power: + and - instead of single ended, so double the power. For connecting devices, the + and - can also cancel out noise (common mode noise) which is why all pro and studio gear is balanced.

For consumer/home audio though, single ended tends to work 'fine' and a whole lot cheaper. You do not need recording studio grade stuff for music/gaming