I’m really worried by “if there is any inadvertent connection somehow (through the casing etc)”. Could you give some practical everyday examples of what exactly you mean by this kind of accidental connection?
It's usually caused by bad soldering jobs. Basically if there is a latent connection between balanced negative and single ended ground (such as drop of solder touching what it shouldn't or something touching the case etc), then plugging in both headphones at the same time will complete both circuits and cause a short. No way to know other than to make sure you disable one circuit.I’m really worried by “if there is any inadvertent connection somehow (through the casing etc)”. Could you give some practical everyday examples of what exactly you mean by this kind of accidental connection?