[oghoter]

Balanced - once more:
Is there an update on how the Owls sound balanced vs unbalanced? I mistakenly thought that the Teac NT-505 streamer/dac that I recently bought and now use in my main system, has balanced headphone output. It does not. However, my Audiotailor Jade OTL amp (used in my home office) has a kind of balanced output. However, it requires a bit of a fix. I have to get a cable that 1) has the right plugs into the Owl, and 2) that I can split on the amp end, so that I can solder the leads into two standard (big) jack size plugs, each with one signal and one ground lead, that go into the two jack outputs on the Jade. I would hate to destroy one of the two AQ cables I have (I would never get the minijack back on). So I would have to get a new cable, cut off the amp plug, and then put on this quite non-standard dual amp connection myself. I did that, with a cable to a former headphone, the Sennheiser 600. Yes, they did sound better. Even though the 600 and I never really became friends.

 

[waveSounds]

If you're convinced that going balanced is going to bring you new aural pleasures, then the fix is probably worth it. You seem to have convinced yourself that balanced is the best and ain't nobody gonna change your expectation bias. Do it and enjoy it. At least you won't be left wondering "what if".

 

[CaptainFantastic]

If you're convinced that going balanced is going to bring you new aural pleasures, then the fix is probably worth it. You seem to have convinced yourself that balanced is the best and ain't nobody gonna change your expectation bias. Do it and enjoy it. At least you won't be left wondering "what if".

Sums up well why I spent 150 euro today on a Lifatec optical cable. It won't make a difference over my QED cable, but I just had to do it.

 

[waveSounds]

Exactly. If you find the same question keeps intruding then just satiate it with the desire it so seeks. When it comes to audio, that is, anyway. Maybe keep those other ones at bay, or for the 'net!

 

[oghoter]

Hi wavesounds - I am not "convinced" of anything, just looking for what could give a sonic benefit. My interest is based on 1) my own experiments with balanced (or, somewhat-balanced) headphones, and 2) at least one review of the Nighthawk that said they sound better balanced. I have no preconceptions. And I have learned, that the term "balanced" is a bit complex. Of course, a single ended conventional "good" headfi amp might outperform a "medium" quality amp running balanced. Such is the world of audio.

 

[waveSounds]

There are a few camps when it comes to balanced from what I've observed during my time in this hobby:

1) Balanced or bust. These are the guys who live or die by balanced, have explicit pictures of cut aways of balanced cables on their walls and will always say that balanced sounds better - even if it really doesn't. There's no changing their minds. Good for them, if they've convinced themselves it sounds better then who is someone to tell them otherwise.

2) Those who can't tell the difference. I'm probably in between this and;

3) Balanced sounds better if the amp's circuitry has been designed around a balanced implementation and the single ended option has been appended on for convenience. The vice versa is true too, if an amp has been designed around a singled ended implementation then that will sound better. Both in theory, anyway. How big, and audible, the difference is most likely a matter of fractions.

So, to sum up: if your gear puts its balanced options front and centre, figuratively speaking, then probably use that output. If not, then enjoy single ended.

If I were you and had an itch to find out then buy an amp designed around that configuration - like the Schiit Magnius.

There's actually so many variables that it will never be a fair comparison on whether one is empirically better than the other.

But to save me from going on and around in logic circles I'll leave you with the above to contemplate!

 

[oghoter]

Thanks WaveSounds. This is the option I may try, since I do have a balanced headphone amp, Audiotailor Jade. It may be somewhat unorthodox in how it achieves "balanced" (check out the Audiotailor Jade thread in this forum), but I know that it sounds good in its balanced operation, at least with the Sennheiser 600, clearly better than single-ended, with that headphone. The Jade has two standard / big jack inputs at the front, two leads to each, for the left and right channel.

 

[oghoter]

So to check it, I need a cable with 1) small jacks fit for the hawk / owl headphone inputs, and 2) either two big jacks on the amp end, or at least, a cable where I can solder these myself. Suggestions welcome. I agree with waveSounds, many variables are at stake, including - in this case - cable quality.

 

[oghoter]

Audiotailor Jade thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/review-audiotailor-“jade”-vacuum-tube-headphone-amplifier.389381/

 

[CaptainFantastic]

There are a few camps when it comes to balanced from what I've observed during my time in this hobby:

1) Balanced or bust. These are the guys who live or die by balanced, have explicit pictures of cut aways of balanced cables on their walls and will always say that balanced sounds better - even if it really doesn't. There's no changing their minds. Good for them, if they've convinced themselves it sounds better then who is someone to tell them otherwise.

2) Those who can't tell the difference. I'm probably in between this and;

3) Balanced sounds better if the amp's circuitry has been designed around a balanced implementation and the single ended option has been appended on for convenience. The vice versa is true too, if an amp has been designed around a singled ended implementation then that will sound better. Both in theory, anyway. How big, and audible, the difference is most likely a matter of fractions.

So, to sum up: if your gear puts its balanced options front and centre, figuratively speaking, then probably use that output. If not, then enjoy single ended.

If I were you and had an itch to find out then buy an amp designed around that configuration - like the Schiit Magnius.

There's actually so many variables that it will never be a fair comparison on whether one is empirically better than the other.

But to save me from going on and around in logic circles I'll leave you with the above to contemplate!

Spot on. And let's not forget that all things being equal: meaning same manufacturer, same expert design, same quality of materials used, SAME PRICE -- then the SE-model will always be better than the balanced model, because it inherently uses less materials, it doesn't have to do double the circuitry.

At least that's my understanding. Hence if a SE-designed Chord Hugo TT2 costs $4k, then the same Chord Hugo TT2 balanced would cost $6k or more and it would sound the same, but have more power. So it would make sense only to the Susvara users out there.

 

[oghoter]

Are you guys uninterested in how the hawks owls would sound balanced, or semi-balanced, from my "lowly" Otl amp?
You know it all, from before - ??

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Are you guys uninterested in how the hawks owls would sound balanced, or semi-balanced, from my "lowly" Otl amp?
You know it all, from before - ??

Don't OTL amps require high impedance headphones?

 

[oghoter]

The Jade works well with Sennheisers, Audioquest hawk and owl, and others - no problem.

 

[kennyb123]

So, to sum up: if your gear puts its balanced options front and centre, figuratively speaking, then probably use that output. If not, then enjoy single ended.

Well said

 

[waveSounds]

Are you guys uninterested in how the hawks owls would sound balanced, or semi-balanced, from my "lowly" Otl amp?
You know it all, from before - ??

I would be interested in hearing what the Owls sound like on a TOTL amp, but whether it's single ended or not wouldn't be part of the decision.

Don't OTL amps require high impedance headphones?

Yeah normally their topology is meant to play nicely with high impedance, hence why they're such a popular option for driving things like the HD6x0s. In my (more) n00by days earlier on I wanted to hear tubes but didn't realise a transformer coupled output would be better for my cans so I ended up with a Little Dot Mk2. It actually works alright with the Owls and my Shure 1540s, but now its permanent home is for TV listening through the Shures. I'm no engineer so don't really understand why low impedance loads aren't supposed to match too well with an OTL, but it hasn't blown up yet!