[roach7]

Wondering if I should be investing in some balanced cables... Thanks

 

[PurpleAngel]

Do you have headphone what works with a balanced cable and a head amp with a balanced output jack?

 

[roach7]

yes, i have the senn hd660s & an ifi zen dac & schiit jotunheim 1

 

[roach7]

 

[PurpleAngel]

I bought a balanced cable for my Sennheiser/Massdrop HD58X, did I notice a difference? Not really sure.
(same cable would (should) work with your HD660s)
(Both are 150-Ohm headphones, but guessing different diaphragms)
Never went back and fourth with the cables, for comparison, just switch cables and never went back.
As it's only about $60 (or more) for the cable, I say give it a shot.

 

[roach7]

I bought a balanced cable for my Sennheiser/Massdrop HD58X, did I notice a difference? Not really sure.
(same cable would (should) work with your HD660s)
(Both are 150-Ohm headphones, but guessing different diaphragms)
Never went back and fourth with the cables, for comparison, just switch cables and never went back.
As it's only about $60 (or more) for the cable, I say give it a shot.

thanks! i'll give it a shot

 

[iFi audio]

That setup is awesome for many reasons

 

[claud W]

Balanced connections always make a big difference connecting earphones/IEMs to an amp/DAP. If you check the output power of your amp/DAP, it is always twice as powerful balanced.

 

[roach7]

Balanced connections always make a big difference connecting earphones/IEMs to an amp/DAP. If you check the output power of your amp/DAP, it is always twice as powerful balanced.

thanks! so with balanced cables you can drive power-hungry headphones but does it improve sound quality any?

 

[claud W]

thanks! so with balanced cables you can drive power-hungry headphones but does it improve sound quality any?

Yes. DAP/amp does not have to struggle to power some inefficient IEMs and headphones.

 

[PurpleAngel]

thanks! so with balanced cables you can drive power-hungry headphones but does it improve sound quality any?

I really doubt it's more then a minor improvement, but it also might depend on the headphone used.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The 660s are not power hungry. You'll get more volume from a truly balanced amp but it won't sound any better.

Balanced cables are about noise rejection in studios where they have a lot of devices and a lot of cables and wiring all over the place. On paper it's definitely better. In your house, it just depends. One thing is almost certain. Good balanced cables out of a good balanced amp is extremely unlikely to be worse than what you had before

 

[iFi audio]

thanks! so with balanced cables you can drive power-hungry headphones but does it improve sound quality any?

It's all about how a circuit was designed. There are many single-ended amps that sound awesome, so I wouldn't go as far as saying that every balanced amp is better than a SE amp.

Good balanced cables out of a good balanced amp is extremely unlikely to be worse than what you had before

I agree, of course assuming they're good