[Philco]

It's your money and your time.
I believe in science, you believe in your ears.
To each his own.
Auditory memory is so poor that I don't trust my ears for A/B comparisons anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having ears, I hear the benefit in running balanced.

 

[espire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philco /img/forum/go_quote.gif Exactly. Having a strong electrical engineering background, I see no purpose in running headphones balanced at all.

This isn't the place to bring up such an idea, Philco

This is an audiophile forum, and the effects of different equipment can be very subjective. I haven't heard anything near as high-end as a balanced rig before, and while I share your doubts regarding the improvements that going balanced can give, there are many who swear by it.

You might be interested in the rightmost link in my signature, which discusses several [size=xx-small]myths, er,[/size] [size=medium]FACTS[/size] that are central to the audiophile community.

 

[Philco]

I know, but I couldn't refrain from doing it.
Being on such audiophile forums gets me so angry about this kind of thing that it might explode in anger at any time. I think I'll take a break of this community before it happens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by espire /img/forum/go_quote.gif This isn't the place to bring up such an idea, Philco

 

[Audio-Omega]

Is it necessary to balance the source as well ?

 

[espire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philco /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know, but I couldn't refrain from doing it. Being on such audiophile forums gets me so angry about this kind of thing that it might explode in anger at any time. I think I'll take a break of this community before it happens.

There's going to be an objectivist forum opening here soon titled "I, Objectivist," and it can't open soon enough

I expect to see you there!

 

[Golden Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by espire /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's going to be an objectivist forum opening here soon titled "I, Objectivist," and it can't open soon enough I expect to see you there!

LOL...touche...

@Audio-Omega -you don't HAVE to, but it would make sense to me...CDP with balanced output, all the way down the chain to your phones, or else, why bother?

 

[wavoman]

Almost all professional recording and playback gear with analog interconnects run balanced with XLR connectors.

But I believe this is for immunity to various types of RF interference and electrical noise over long cable runs (as opposed to sound quality).

 

[grawk]

There are lots of good valid theoretical reasons why balanced works in addition to noise reduction. Dismissing something because you don't get it is your right, but also your loss.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it necessary to balance the source as well ?

Yup, if you want all the benefits of true-balanced differential operation. If the source is digital, that means there should be at least 4 discrete DACs in there (2 in each channel, 1 each creating the positive and negative).

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif How was I incorrect, other than trying to give a "simplified" answer? @ the OP - no problem, glad I can help. I know it's all confusing at first, and you get a lot of contradictory and/or non-answers or plain opinion based on nothing...hang in there

Your answer refered to balanced interconnects, not to balanced headphonecabling.
A balanced heaphone cable uses no ground wires and is not used to make the connection "interference immune".

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is it necessary to balance the source as well ?

No.
Most (not all!) balanced amplifiers accept single ended input and create the inverse signal for you.
I tested if I could hear the difference between balanced signal input and single ended input: I could hear no difference.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your answer refered to balanced interconnects, not to balanced headphonecabling. A balanced heaphone cable uses no ground wires and is not used to make the connection "interference immune".

Yeah, I took a broader approach beyond the scope of the actual question...I was thinking he meant "balanced" in a broader sense.

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having ears, I hear the benefit in running balanced.

lol

 

[Philco]

The technical reasons I've read so far about balanced drive (and upgrading cables) on many websites don't hold up at all IMO. All this noise immunity and common ground crosstalk thing especially really don't make sense to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are lots of good valid theoretical reasons why balanced works in addition to noise reduction. Dismissing something because you don't get it is your right, but also your loss.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philco /img/forum/go_quote.gif The technical reasons I've read so far about balanced drive (and upgrading cables) on many websites don't hold up at all IMO. All this noise immunity and common ground crosstalk thing especially really don't make sense to me.

Ignorance is bliss, eh?