[feifan]

Being blown away by my recent move to balanced, I thought I'd be gradually dumping my SE stuff (amps) or upgrading them (HPs) to balanced. But, despite the bliss with balanced, I'm still clinging to my SE equipment and feeling less anxious by the day about going completely balanced. In fact, I find myself returning to my SE setups and really enjoying them. Yet, I'm still blown away by balanced. What gives?

I'm beginning to suspect that each -- balanced and SE -- has something different to offer, and that something would be missed if I went with one or the other exclusively. At this point, the best I can come up with in terms of analysis is that SE is a lot more "comfortable" and balanced is a lot more "intense." Yeah, I know, that's vague as hell. But I haven't worked it out beyond that.

Maybe balanced takes getting used to. It's like having all of your senses turned completely on all the time, and the overload is, yeah, overwhelming. Perhaps, after some time, my ears will begin to relax and ignore some of the info or become better at selecting areas to emphasize? I'm not sure.

But I find myself, for now anyway, returning to SE for a more relaxed listening experience.

Are any of you recent converts experiencing the same thing? What about you guys who've been balanced for a while? Am I just going through a period of transition, or is this a permanent dilemma?

 

[vcoheda]

i suspect the switch has less to do with balanced v. SE and more with getting tired of listening to the hd650 all the time and/or solid state amplification.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Doesn't the Desktop amp have a SE plug inside the balanced plug?

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i suspect the switch has less to do with balanced v. SE and more with getting tired of listening to the hd650 all the time and/or solid state amplification.

"Getting tired" of one setup and turning to the other for relief explains my case. Is this true for you, too? I'm just wondering if this is happening to me only and if it's a temporary phase. If it's "permanent," then balanced vs. SE is not an either/or proposition. Balanced becomes just another dimension of SE (or vice-versa), and most of us will maintain both setups instead of migrating to one or the other.

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Doesn't the Desktop amp have a SE plug inside the balanced plug?

Good point. Yeah, the HRD-B swings both ways. But I also have the HRD-SE with the max mod/DAC so I use that for SE instead of the HRD-B, which has the home module and home balanced DAC. The modules in the unbalanced Desktop are "better" for SE. But that's the problem -- I'm still getting a lot out of the SE stuff and am reluctant to move completely over to balanced. I'm assuming you don't have the same dilemma.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feifan /img/forum/go_quote.gif "Getting tired" of one setup and turning to the other for relief explains my case. Is this true for you, too? I'm just wondering if this is happening to me only and if it's a temporary phase. If it's "permanent," then balanced vs. SE is not an either/or proposition. Balanced becomes just another dimension of SE (or vice-versa), and most of us will maintain both setups instead of migrating to one or the other.

yes. to a certain extent. when i got my mini-dac, i listened to my hd650s balanced straight from the dac. that was all i listened to for a good while. but one day, i just felt like something else. so i went back to my LD2++ and other phones. i think listening to one headphone and one amp all the time will lead to boredom. this is why imo you need a few headphones and probably one good solid state and tube amp, just to keep things fresh. having said that i still think balanced is superior to SE. and my ideal dynamic setup would be about 5-6 balanced headphones (all different types of cables) with one solid state and one tube amp. throw in an electrostatic and K1000 rig as well and you are set for life. but that is serious money and more wishful thinking than anything else.

 

[jamato8]

When I balanced my home system (speakers system) with my own balance type of wiring, which is better imo than the conventional type (higher quality and better separation) the sound took off. People would sit in front of the speakers and just say "wow" and then enjoy the music as they pointed to where everyone was that was playing an intrument or singing (if well recorded).

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif yes. to a certain extent. when i got my mini-dac, i listened to my hd650s balanced straight from the dac. that was all i listened to for a good while. but one day, i just felt like something else. so i went back to my LD2++ and other phones. i think listening to one headphone and one amp all the time will lead to boredom. this is why imo you need a few headphones and probably one good solid state and tube amp, just to keep things fresh. having said that i still think balanced is superior to SE. and my ideal dynamic setup would be about 5-6 balanced headphones (all different types of cables) with one solid state and one tube amp. throw in an electrostatic and K1000 rig as well and you are set for life. but that is serious money and more wishful thinking than anything else.

LOL! "5-6 balanced headphones (all different types of cables)" -- sounds like you pulled that right out of my dreams. I think you may be right. Like good food, maybe too much of it makes you crave Big Macs and fries. I was planning to gradually shift over to all-balanced, but it's up in the air right now. I'll have to live with clutter for a while longer.

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamato8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I balanced my home system (speakers system) with my own balance type of wiring, which is better imo than the conventional type (higher quality and better separation) the sound took off. People would sit in front of the speakers and just say "wow" and then enjoy the music as they pointed to where everyone was that was playing an intrument or singing (if well recorded).

So you've never looked back and craved your old unbalanced setup? I'm curious about your "own balance type of wiring." What did you do?

 

[chesebert]

you will get tired of any set up.....eventually...u know..same goes for other stuff...like cars, cloth, gadgets, ...etc

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif you will get tired of any set up.....eventually...u know..same goes for other stuff...like cars, cloth, gadgets, ...etc

You're probably right. And that's scary. This means that we can and probably will get tired of even the best stuff we've ever heard. Regardless of how close to perfection our current equipment is, we'll eventually grow tired of it and go looking for better or even different headphones, amps, DACs, soundcards, after-market cables, etc. I guess that's what the hunt is all about. Yesterday's game has no value today. It's what we can bag today that counts. I don't know why, but I've suddenly had an epiphany re what Head-Fi is all about.

 

[ldj325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feifan /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're probably right. And that's scary. This means that we can and probably will get tired of even the best stuff we've ever heard. Regardless of how close to perfection our current equipment is, we'll eventually grow tired of it and go looking for better or even different headphones, amps, DACs, soundcards, after-market cables, etc. I guess that's what the hunt is all about. Yesterday's game has no value today. It's what we can bag today that counts. I don't know why, but I've suddenly had an epiphany re what Head-Fi is all about.

I am about to drop a big (for me) investment in a Singlepower Supra balanced amp. This thread concerns me as I can't afford to be adding a lot of other amps at this level. But I am having it built with some extra flexibility for tube rolling. So I am hoping that if this "wanting something different" bug hits, that I'll just be able to roll some new tubes, get a new sound, and thereby maintain the "freshness."

 

[vcoheda]

i think different is often viewed as better because we grow tired of the prior component or setup, but in time realize that different is not better but merely necessary for the sake of variety. i think it is a good idea to invest in a high quality balanced amp, but i also think you will enjoy it more if you own a few balanced headphones, so you are not always listening to the music from the same perspective. i own 6 headphones and my constant switching among them keeps things interesting. having multiple high end amps is taking things a step further, but is not very economical. i think if i ever did purchase another amp, it would have to be something very different to justify the cost, such as an electrostatic one.

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ldj325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am about to drop a big (for me) investment in a Singlepower Supra balanced amp. This thread concerns me as I can't afford to be adding a lot of other amps at this level. But I am having it built with some extra flexibility for tube rolling. So I am hoping that if this "wanting something different" bug hits, that I'll just be able to roll some new tubes, get a new sound, and thereby maintain the "freshness."

I think you're onto something with the idea of built-in "freshness" options. It's like the infinitely customizable Honda or Harley. The aftermarket options have to be as wide open as possible. Build a closed amp, and it's freshness clock starts ticking. Build an open amp, and the freshness clock is almost infinitely resettable. Rollable tube options in an amp is one way for developers to build freshness into their products, and they need to push this concept to accommodate upgrade-itis to the point where more than just the tubes are involved. SS developers need to do the same. Kinda like open architecture for the PC. When PCs (CPUs and OSs) were opened up in the late-'80s to allow for OEMs and aftermarket entrepreneurs, they took off to the point where there's no looking back. I'd like to see some of the Head-Fi sponsors take the lead and create open-architecture amps that will allow for infinite upgrades via OEMs.

EDIT: Congrats, BTW, on the SP! I think we were all licking our chops for that one!

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i think different is often viewed as better because we grow tired of the prior component or setup, but in time realize that different is not better but merely necessary for the sake of variety. i think it is a good idea to invest in a high quality balanced amp, but i also think you will enjoy it more if you own a few balanced headphones, so you are not always listening to the music from the same perspective. i own 6 headphones and my constant switching among them keeps things interesting. having multiple high end amps is taking things a step further, but is not very economical. i think if i ever did purchase another amp, it would have to be something very different to justify the cost, such as an electrostatic one.

I think you speak for a lot of us. The need for variety is a fact of head-life. And you're right about multiple high-end headphones. They're a cost effective way of introducing variety into the lineup without sacrificing quality. The bottom line is that HP-swapping is a fraction of the cost of amp-swapping. I've kept my HPs and don't see selling them for precisely this reason. I'll bet a lot of others are doing the same.

Interesting comment re electrostatics. I keep looking over the fence at that grass, too. I don't know if it's greener, but it's definitely different. In fact, I was following the recent eBay bidding on the Omega II with much interest. But when it drew closer to the $3,000 mark, I decided it was too much.