[swiego]

I have a set of headphones (Oppo PM-1) that I love that I've long used with the stock unbalanced cables that came with it. So far as I know these are relatively high quality cables -- OCC etc. -- that I presume set a good bar for performance. I've never explored balanced performance since I didn't have a balanced headphone amp to try. Until recently, I was not particularly curious about balanced audio vis-a-vis headphones.

But, that's changing! I've ordered a nice headphone amp that will deliver this week (Topping A70 Pro) so soon I'll be able to experiment! But, the headphone cables...

Oppo's original balanced cable is no longer available for purchase. I see some online / 3rd party options that fall into two categories:

1) The $20-$50 eBay specials, nondescript with probably a $5 bill of material.

2) The $250-$400 OCC/Silver/oh-so-fancy audiophile option. All the bells and whistles at a price tag that is a significant fraction of the cost of the headphone set itself.

[nothing in between]

If this is an experiment more than anything else, to discern whether I'd notice a difference and also to get comfortable with balanced connectors when it comes to headphone listening, would the eBay Special likely highlight the differences between the basic architectural difference between the two signaling formats?

 

[msing539]

[nothing in between]

In between you can find the Corpse Cable for $116. Arctic Cables Core is about that same price. I'm sure there are others.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

customcans.co.uk, and skyaudiocables ebay store

Balanced setups are good in electrically-noisy environments (like studios). Many "balanced" amps today are not, they just have XLR output(s).

Balanced setups can be good for hard-to-drive headphones since they consist of 4 amplifiers and have roughly 2X the power output of SE.