Kukuk
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2009
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Hoping someone might be able to shed some light on this running issue I've had for a while. I've owned a number of amps and cables with 4.4mm balanced connectors through the years, and I've always had an issue of poor connection between certain amps and cables, and I'm not really sure where the fault lies.
So the two amps I've owned with a 4.4mm connector are the Sony TA-ZH1ES and the Sony PHA-2A. Around the time I owned both of these I also had the Sony MDR-Z1R, and with the 4.4mm cable I had no issues with either of these.
Various other 4.4mm cables have entered my inventory, and consistency has been spotty at best. The first Sendy Aiva I owned at the time worked fine with the TA-ZH1ES, but not with the PHA-2A. I have a 4-pin XLR to 4.4mm adapter that generally worked alright with the TA-ZH1ES (sometimes it seemed to not make a good connection), but did not work well with the PHA-2A.
Other cables I've bought have had no issue with either amp, most notably my Sennheiser HD800 and Hifiman Sundara cables.
Most recently I re-acquired a Sendy Aiva, and again, the 4.4mm connector doesn't work with the PHA-2. (I've since sold the TA-ZH1ES on, so I can't test it, but I'd assume it'd work just the same as before)
The HD800 and Sundara cables are KK Cables from Amazon, the XLR to 4.4mm adapter is from NewFantasia (again, from Amazon), and the Aiva and MDR-Z1R are just the stock cables.
Is this a known issue? I haven't followed cables much here, so I'm kinda in the dark. I can't imagine there's a good solution to this, as even if I bought a new cable for the Sendy there's no guarantee I could get it to work with the portable amp.
So the two amps I've owned with a 4.4mm connector are the Sony TA-ZH1ES and the Sony PHA-2A. Around the time I owned both of these I also had the Sony MDR-Z1R, and with the 4.4mm cable I had no issues with either of these.
Various other 4.4mm cables have entered my inventory, and consistency has been spotty at best. The first Sendy Aiva I owned at the time worked fine with the TA-ZH1ES, but not with the PHA-2A. I have a 4-pin XLR to 4.4mm adapter that generally worked alright with the TA-ZH1ES (sometimes it seemed to not make a good connection), but did not work well with the PHA-2A.
Other cables I've bought have had no issue with either amp, most notably my Sennheiser HD800 and Hifiman Sundara cables.
Most recently I re-acquired a Sendy Aiva, and again, the 4.4mm connector doesn't work with the PHA-2. (I've since sold the TA-ZH1ES on, so I can't test it, but I'd assume it'd work just the same as before)
The HD800 and Sundara cables are KK Cables from Amazon, the XLR to 4.4mm adapter is from NewFantasia (again, from Amazon), and the Aiva and MDR-Z1R are just the stock cables.
Is this a known issue? I haven't followed cables much here, so I'm kinda in the dark. I can't imagine there's a good solution to this, as even if I bought a new cable for the Sendy there's no guarantee I could get it to work with the portable amp.
