[SoNic67]

Basically 16 ohm is a low load for normal (off-the-shelf) headphone chips or op-amps. It disturbs their negative feedback, comes closer to the protection limitation, increases THD at higher volumes, etc.
Balanced mode is achieved most of the time by using two of those amps, in bridge mode, each "pushing" in opposite phase. Now the possible output voltage doubles, quadrupling the max power. But that is not necessary (most of the time), so just operating the two amps at lower output voltages, to achieve the 1x power, adds a margin of voltage feedback for the circuit.
More good news, the even order distortions are now in opposition of phase, almost canceling each other. See page 6 here:

https://www.ti.com/lit/an/sloa054e/sloa054e.pdf

 

[samandhi]

Yep, I know, I have them : ) I was questioning not the jack, but further connectivity between cups, which Sonic67 pretty much answered.

Can you please be more specific, what you mean by "Deva really shines with more power" - does it reveal more details or did you notice other change in sound? While I'm waiting for my cable, I expect that it will increase the control of drivers, because i have no issues with power so far.

They become more lively/energetic, and less flat and boring sounding (comparatively speaking). The tuning is not different, so they have the same amount of detail retrieval and etc (though transient speeds and textures will increase)... They are just driven to their full potential with better amping, or as others would put it; "They scale well with better amping". If your source has enough power to drive them properly, this statement doesn't necessarily apply to you; though synergy still could be a factor.

 

[samandhi]

Hi guys!
Please share your experience if you tried balanced connection for regular DEVA.

The regular DEVA can't be a true balanced headphones while having a single jack and only a single cable that connects left and right parts, so the left and right channels can't be controlled separately. But they use an interesting figure of speech in manual, mentioning balanced "connection" instead, thus I wanted to ask if DEVA will have any benefit from using a balanced cable and balanced source? I mean the balanced part will stop somewhere between jack and drivers, this might slightly improve the control, but will it? Let me know if someone really hears the difference, coz I'm not really sure the investment in cable would worth it. (Or am I missing something?)

DX220 amp1mk2

It is possible to have a true balanced connection with the Deva. On the head gear side of things, the difference between SE and balanced is simply that they don't share the same ground (hence the extra ring). This isolates them from each other and makes a cleaner sound and eliminates crosstalk.

On the amp side of things (portable), balanced is capable of pushing more power over balanced connection than on SE. Currently this is how most, if not all portable DAPs are designed. It is not to say that it isn't possible to have more power though. On desktop solutions, SE can be capable of pushing more power than on a portable; depending on how the amp/DAC is designed.

I am using a hartaudio 4.4mm balanced cable and I do indeed hear a noticeable difference in the sound quality of mine (OG Deva). Whether it is because balanced ouput has more power output (where planar scale well with more power), or because I am using balanced connection (cleaner sound, less crosstalk), or a combination of both is unknown to me. I suspect it is both!

 

[Mouseman]

Yep, I know, I have them : ) I was questioning not the jack, but further connectivity between cups, which Sonic67 pretty much answered.

Can you please be more specific, what you mean by "Deva really shines with more power" - does it reveal more details or did you notice other change in sound? While I'm waiting for my cable, I expect that it will increase the control of drivers, because i have no issues with power so far.

I'd agree with the other comments. The balanced has better separation, more detail, and is more energetic. Whether that's the additional power or the balanced connection is hard to say. I tested on my 5K, switching back and forth from one plug to the other with my Hart cable. On my Burson Playmate (which is on a whole different level power-wise), the Devas sound great single-ended, but it's hard to compare apples to apples with any other amp.

 

[MisterMudd]

I'd agree with the other comments. The balanced has better separation, more detail, and is more energetic. Whether that's the additional power or the balanced connection is hard to say. I tested on my 5K, switching back and forth from one plug to the other with my Hart cable. On my Burson Playmate (which is on a whole different level power-wise), the Devas sound great single-ended, but it's hard to compare apples to apples with any other amp.

I will chime in and say that my OG in wired balanced mode, whether on my 5K, iFi Zen Dac, ES100, or Hidizs AP80 Pro, exhibits an easily detectable and improved sound over SE. Don't care why. Just does. Go with it. The Bluemini sounds almost as good in wireless.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I will chime in and say that my OG in wired balanced mode, whether on my 5K, iFi Zen Dac, ES100, or Hidizs AP80 Pro, exhibits an easily detectable and improved sound over SE. Don't care why. Just does. Go with it. The Bluemini sounds almost as good in wireless.

I run the Deva Pro balanced off of a HiBy R6 2020 and there’s no doubt that the sound is improved over single ended, likely due to the higher output of the balanced section of the R6.

 

[samandhi]

I think that the Bluemini is a work of art. iBasso created this thing to perfectly match the Deva (OG) IMO. Using USB sounds the best to my ears; by quite a bit strangely enough. It is more subtle between wired and BT (LDAC or LHDC) though, which is what makes it strange to me. Either way I have been happy with these for some time, and I suspect I will be for a long time to come.

I wonder how the R2R Bluemini will sound with these, because one day the battery will be dead, and AFAIK I can no longer get a direct replacement for these. Has anyone tried to see if they can replace the battery in this device? I would assume it isn't really possible, but one never knows right?

 

[SoNic67]

Using USB sounds the best to my ears

Direct wired (even a SE connection) sounds slightly better to me. Sadly, the USB connection is limited to 48kHz/16bit.
I guess it depends what DAC you have. Computer on-board sound is usually not good.

 

[samandhi]

Direct wired (even a SE connection) sounds slightly better to me. Sadly, the USB connection is limited to 48kHz/16bit.
I guess it depends what DAC you have. Computer on-board sound is usually not good.

Or it could be a synergy thing also, because in wired mode I use the DX300, and a lot of my files are of a higher resolution.

 

[WaveTheory]

Apologies if this is a repeat topic, but I'm working on a Deva Pro review and came across an oddity in using aftermarket cables with the Deva Pro, HE-R9, and I assume any of these HiFiMans that can be used with the Bluemini R2R dongle AND also powered via wired connection. Long story short, most aftermarket dual-3.5mm cables will short out the right channel and only the left will play, although with some amps you might get some sound on the right with lots of distortion and popping/crackling to go with it. Details in video:

 

[Ichos]

Apologies if this is a repeat topic, but I'm working on a Deva Pro review and came across an oddity in using aftermarket cables with the Deva Pro, HE-R9, and I assume any of these HiFiMans that can be used with the Bluemini R2R dongle AND also powered via wired connection. Long story short, most aftermarket dual-3.5mm cables will short out the right channel and only the left will play, although with some amps you might get some sound on the right with lots of distortion and popping/crackling to go with it. Details in video:

You should post it in the Deva Pro thread.
There are indeed some issues, as en example with the Yulong amp I am testing right now and my Forza Cable (that has regular stereo 3.5mm plug that is shorted) I have to partially pull the plugs out of the headphone sockets to make the cable work.
This is my first time to encounter this issue.

 

[mimi92]

Apologies if this is a repeat topic, but I'm working on a Deva Pro review and came across an oddity in using aftermarket cables with the Deva Pro, HE-R9, and I assume any of these HiFiMans that can be used with the Bluemini R2R dongle AND also powered via wired connection. Long story short, most aftermarket dual-3.5mm cables will short out the right channel and only the left will play, although with some amps you might get some sound on the right with lots of distortion and popping/crackling to go with it. Details in video:

Hi, Thank you for clarifying it. It is REALLY helpful. I am new to the headphones and I asked Hifiman customer service what is the right option for the balanced cable. I didn’t get any answer and I was just told to go to the forum for the advice. I agree that Hifiman should clarify about it. I am not native English speaker myself but even I think they should make an effort. It is an important information!
Thanks again for this information I am sure there are many people like myself who is confused about it.

 

[WaveTheory]

Hi, Thank you for clarifying it. It is REALLY helpful. I am new to the headphones and I asked Hifiman customer service what is the right option for the balanced cable. I didn’t get any answer and I was just told to go to the forum for the advice. I agree that Hifiman should clarify about it. I am not native English speaker myself but even I think they should make an effort. It is an important information!
Thanks again for this information I am sure there are many people like myself who is confused about it.

You're welcome!

I thinks it's important for people to understand what's going on here. The wiring scheme makes sense with the trying for the dual compatibility with the Bluemini and wired connections, but it's a big break from almost the entirety of the rest of HiFiMan's line that happily takes just about any dual 3.5mm cable.

 

[WaveTheory]

You should post it in the Deva Pro thread.

Done! ...I think...a lot of threads lol

This is my first time to encounter this issue.

Same. After thinking about it the issue made perfect sense. But I spun my wheels for quite awhile as every other HiFiMan I've used with dual 3.5mm input has worked just fine with any dual 3.5mm cable I've thrown at it.

 

[samandhi]

I guess I didn't realize that the Deva Pro had connections on both cups. The OG deva does not. So, the question is that: is the R2R dongle a balanced connection into the cup? If it is, then couldn't one simply use a single connection 3.5 mm balanced cable like one can on the OG Deva? If the R2R dongle is capable of playing sound to both drivers, then why not a single cable doing the same? That is, if the R2R is a balanced 3.5mm connection.

I guess I just don't see why they did this, and how they accomplished this (unless the R2R dongle is SE only), unless they simply have two separate connections to the drivers?! The OG Deva comes with a SE cable, but at only one connection into the left cup. The Bluemini is a 3.5mm balanced connection, so the wiring to the drivers is in a balanced configuration, which is feasible going from SE to balanced, just not the other way around......

Edit: After doing some looking around, it looks like if you want balanced, you need a single cable, and you can pretty much ignore my questions from above. The dual cables seems only capable of TRS as seen in the pic from Hifiman website:

Spoiler