[Devon8822]

I guess what I was asking is... what is a balanced source?

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devon8822 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess what I was asking is... what is a balanced source?

A source (CD player, DAC, ...) with balanced outputs. Usually dual 3-pin XLR connectors.
In comparison to unbalanced outputs, which most often use RCA connectors.

3-pin XLR:

RCA:

Edit: Also worth reading -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio

 

[S J]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Devon8822 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess what I was asking is... what is a balanced source?

This is a good read on what a balanced setup is: Art. I- Balanced vs. Unbalanced - HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears
In short, it is a different method of analog signal transmission, from source to amp, and amp to headphones. It requires a balanced headphone cable, and a balanced amp (balanced source is good too, but not strictly necessary in most cases). You do NOT need a balanced source or source to run HD650's, though I think most (myself included) would say that going balanced offers a noticeable, though not necessarily cost efficient, improvement in sound quality in most cases.

Edit: Whoops, krmathis beat me to it. But the headroom article is still worth a read if you want to understand balanced audio

 

[nestacio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif x2 First skip those lossy files, then look into balanced DAC/amplification.

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I think you can get great sound despite using the much-vilified MP3 format out of a mac; I use a 24" iMac as a source for convenience and *gasp* sometimes play the decently-encoded stuff from the iTunes store (formerly known as iTunes Plus) which is set at 256kbps.

Note that I agree with Rurika's recommendation: digital (optical) out from the Mac, into a good (balanced) dac, and into a balanced amp and comparable cans and you'll get a nice taste of balanced flavor. I connect my iMac to a $9K Emm Labs DCC2 dac so my experience may not be typical -- but I will readily admit the codec is not always the weak link. Generally speaking a 128kbps MP3 does, in fact, generally sound terrible and better gear exposes the flaws, but even on my gear I am hard-pressed to hear real differences between a 256kbps file from a great recording, and one at 320kbps or higher, or even lossless. Again, this is with the caveat that if it's a bad recording to begin with, the codec used will not bring vast improvements.

With the Mac as a source, an offboard dac outputting a balanced signal is doing the heavy lifting, of course, in terms of sound signature -- the compression inherent in the 256 bitrate MP3s, to my ears, is less a determinant of the final audio quality than the quality of the actual recording itself. Listen to a snippet of Esperanza Spalding from the iTunes store to hear what I would consider a decent MP3 sample, far superior to some badly recorded SACDs despite the superior resolution. Just because it looks good on paper doesn't mean it will sound good, so let your ears decide.

Now, the bigger question to me is whether balanced is worth it at all. For HD650s I think it is a nice improvement, but the cost of entry overall is fairly steep in relation to the jump in audio bliss.

 

[scootermafia]

256kb aac from the apple store is equal in quality to a 512kb mp3....their stuff is pretty well indistiguishable from flac. I would be fairly confident about it, although flac or an sacd would be ideal.