[SP Wild]

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You are 100% correct on both counts.

Cheers, Kevin.  That second part has been doing my head in for years.

 

[Skylab]

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It would seem that a headphone that is wired for balanced use would receive that positive and negative polarity signal differently as they have discrete grounds. But as I see your point, that would imply that the whole balanced amplifier market segment is a self-propagating myth, that damn near all of the high-end headphone makers are a part of just to avoid losing any of that market share. Too bad we don't have more honest headphone amplifier companies standing up to this fraudulent nonsense! Woo, RSA, Lake People and others (you know who you are), where are your ethics?

I am NOT an expert in amplifier design.  I have no problem with the concept that there may indeed be performance gains to be had from having an amp fully balanced - indeed there may be.  But this comment is the slippery slope:
 
Quote:

It would seem that a headphone that is wired for balanced use would receive that positive and negative polarity signal differently as they have discrete grounds.

 
There is a "ground" in an amplifier.  There is not a ground in a transducer.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

It would seem that a headphone that is wired for balanced use would receive that positive and negative polarity signal differently as they have discrete grounds. But as I see your point, that would imply that the whole balanced amplifier market segment is a self-propagating myth, that damn near all of the high-end headphone makers are a part of just to avoid losing any of that market share. Too bad we don't have more honest headphone amplifier companies standing up to this fraudulent nonsense! Woo, RSA, Lake People and others (you know who you are), where are your ethics?

In at least partial defense of companies in the industry, they are often caught between a rock and a hard place.  Many people stubbornly cling to the "balanced" myth, and the amp manufacturers would loose all those potential customers if they didn't offer something to scratch their itch.  Look at Woo.  Lots of top notch SE gear, with a "balanced" amp (WA22 & WES) thrown in to scratch the itch.
 

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

I am NOT an expert in amplifier design.  I have no problem with the concept that there may indeed be performance gains to be had from having an amp fully balanced - indeed there may be.  But this comment is the slippery slope:
 
There is a "ground" in an amplifier.  There is not a ground in a transducer.

Thanks for the help Sky.  So far, only one person has taken me up on my offer to discuss the realities of "balanced" headphone amps via PM.
 

 

[Seamaster]

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 Look at Woo.  Lots of top notch SE gear, with a "balanced" amp (WA22 & WES) thrown in to scratch the itch.
 

WA22 is the newest dynamic amp from Woo. WA5 has been there for a while. I bet you WA55 will sell like hot cake!

 

 

[grokit]

We need to add Headroom to the top of the deranged amplifier manufacturer list, as they are the first "company to postulate that driving headphones in balanced mode should yield sonic benefits". That was just eight years ago, and more and more amplifier companies are acknowledging the benefits of balanced systems as time to marches on. Even certain high-end headphones come ready for balanced use now, and more and more listeners are modifying theirs after the fact. Too bad they are all chasing a pointless "fad" that "makes no difference" lol.
 
I still don't understand why removing the common circuit (whether you want to call it a "ground" or not is immaterial) between channels on a headphone wouldn't reduce the crosstalk and improve sound quality, and I still don't see why more discrete amplification wouldn't result in increased driver control.
 
So I disagree with all of you naysayers, and will continue to enjoy my superior auditory hallucination[size=x-small]

[/size]

 

[Kurt]

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Originally Posted by kwkarth /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Many people stubbornly cling to the "balanced" myth ...
 

I take it your statement, the LCD-2 would not gain from balanced drive, is not based on actual experience then.
Did you ever compare a HD650 driven balanced vs. SE? The difference is everything else than subtle. And please stop nitpicking about the term "balanced". You know what is meant. The question is: Do you have first hand experience?

 

[Skylab]

The point is that it is not enough to say "The LCD-2 are better balanced" - that cannot be said and have any merit.  What you can absolutely say is "The LCD-2 sound better via the balanced outputs of amplifier X"

 

[grokit]

Or even, "The LCD-2 sound better via the balanced outputs of amplifier X, compared to how they sound via amplifier X's single-ended equivalent"

 

[Skylab]

Right - which, to me, would still indicate that it was a function of the difference in the amplifier's two outputs, rather than the fact that the LCD-2 had been wired differently (although it could also be due to a difference in the sound of the balanced and SE *cables*, assuming they were different, again independently of them being "balanced").

 

[grokit]

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although it could also be due to a difference in the sound of the balanced and SE *cables*, assuming they were different

 
So cables sound different, that's a whole another can of worms for sure!

 

[Skylab]

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So cables sound different, that's a whole another can of worms for sure!

And one we should not bother to derail this thread with

 

[cn11]

Are there any pictures of owners wearing these? I would like to see for scale reference. 

 

[midoo1990]

Can we please stop all this balanced talking?whenever I check my subscriptions I see 30 new posts none of which contains impressions.

 

[Frank I]

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Can we please stop all this balanced talking?whenever I check my subscriptions I see 30 new posts none of which contains impressions.

Should be some new impressions as the next batch goes out in a week or two. Curious to see how many pair are actually out in the marketplace.