[fuhransahis]

Ok that was really noob question. Obviously there are no problems with the headphones going from balanced to unbalanced so shouldn't be here. The other way around is not possible.

KEF has it own amplifier right ? And the Dx312 LO can differentiate itself into SingleEnded ? Was this ever confirmed by Ibasso ? I would assume it is, but I always play it safe that balanced should be to balanced

Not a noob question at all, I spent weeks looking this up and got confirmation from iBasso.

You can only go from balanced LO on the DX312 to single ended inputs, whether 3.5mm or RCA/Dual RCA if the cable you're using is wired so that the negatives are not being used.

You have 3 options for this:

DD HiFi DJ30A
Built specifically to turn a DAP's 4.4mm LO into a 3.5mm LO (assuming the DAP doesn't also have a 3.5mm LO, as they mention on their site)


iBasso 4.4mm to 3.5mm cable
This is a directional cable (i.e. you can't use it from a 3.5mm output to a 4.4mm input) that they include with their DX220 Max and DX300 Max. You can only get this by buying one of the aforementioned DAPs or contacting Paul at iBasso and see if they have one you can buy (I got lucky and bought one for $10 or so from them).


Have a custom cable made.
I contacted Norne Audio and DHC and neither were taking orders for that kind of cable because of the potential risk.
LQi has a 4.4mm to 3.5mm/Dual RCA cable listed on their website but I asked them how it was wired and it was wrong. Do NOT buy that.

My recommendation is the DD HiFi DJ30A as it is widely available and compact, with great build quality.

Edit: I now realize you might be intending to go from 4.4mm LO to balanced input on the amp, then single ended output from the amp, I think? In which case I am not sure, sorry lol. But usually better to keep all single ended or all balanced.

 

[RIGATIO]

Not a noob question at all, I spent weeks looking this up and got confirmation from iBasso.

You can only go from balanced LO on the DX312 to single ended inputs, whether 3.5mm or RCA/Dual RCA if the cable you're using is wired so that the negatives are not being used.

You have 3 options for this:

DD HiFi DJ30A
Built specifically to turn a DAP's 4.4mm LO into a 3.5mm LO (assuming the DAP doesn't also have a 3.5mm LO, as they mention on their site)


iBasso 4.4mm to 3.5mm cable
This is a directional cable (i.e. you can't use it from a 3.5mm output to a 4.4mm input) that they include with their DX220 Max and DX300 Max. You can only get this by buying one of the aforementioned DAPs or contacting Paul at iBasso and see if they have one you can buy (I got lucky and bought one for $10 or so from them).


Have a custom cable made.
I contacted Norne Audio and DHC and neither were taking orders for that kind of cable because of the potential risk.
LQi has a 4.4mm to 3.5mm/Dual RCA cable listed on their website but I asked them how it was wired and it was wrong. Do NOT buy that.

My recommendation is the DD HiFi DJ30A as it is widely available and compact, with great build quality.

Edit: I now realize you might be intending to go from 4.4mm LO to balanced input on the amp, then single ended output from the amp, I think? In which case I am not sure, sorry lol. But usually better to keep all single ended or all balanced.

Wow thank you for the answer, it's very helpful. So it seems that this transition from balanced input to unbalanced output cannot happen on the Singxer amp level. It should be maintained already on the cable connected to the dx312.

 

[fuhransahis]

Wow thank you for the answer, it's very helpful. So it seems that this transition from balanced input to unbalanced output cannot happen on the Singxer amp level. It should be maintained already on the cable connected to the dx312.

Sorry, I edited my post at the end, realizing afterwards that you were going balanced to balanced from the DX300 to the Singxer, which is good.

As to then using the balanced input and then going to the single ended output from the Singxer, I don't know since I'm not familiar with the amp, so I would reach out to them to confirm or check the manuals etc. The Cayin C9 for example can support this, but this is clearly noted on their materials, though still preferable to keep it all balanced or single ended if possible for best results.

 

[Whitigir]

The Max had differential LO buffer stage. So any 4.4 to 3.5 cables will work. The only thing is that it isn’t commonly used this way. Because it is always safer and also better to go from Balanced to Balanced. Unless a very sophisticated differential stage are implemented, otherwise the sound will suffer a bit, that would render the usage almost useless since you will have both problems : sound degradation and risk of damages

Even if you use the Singxer and it support such, you are still double amping ? Hmm

 

[RIGATIO]

Sorry, I edited my post at the end, realizing afterwards that you were going balanced to balanced from the DX300 to the Singxer, which is good.

As to then using the balanced input and then going to the single ended output from the Singxer, I don't know since I'm not familiar with the amp, so I would reach out to them to confirm or check the manuals etc. The Cayin C9 for example can support this, but this is clearly noted on their materials, though still preferable to keep it all balanced or single ended if possible for best results.

Thank you. Yes i will approach someone there to be 100% sure, won't be making more mess here. Thank you guys again for your time.

 

[RIGATIO]

The Max had differential LO buffer stage. So any 4.4 to 3.5 cables will work. The only thing is that it isn’t commonly used this way. Because it is always safer and also better to go from Balanced to Balanced. Unless a very sophisticated differential stage are implemented, otherwise the sound will suffer a bit, that would render the usage almost useless since you will have both problems : sound degradation and risk of damages

Even if you use the Singxer and it support such, you are still double amping ? Hmm

I'm not sure how the amping works going to aux input. I've tried this but only single ended directly from LO on the 11.2 amp and the sound was more dynamic and clean than from my pc-> optical to kefs. Overall more engaging and the difference was very noticeable. Only the soundstage width decreased slightly. Have no idea what happened but seems like the dx300's dac is superior to the kef lxs's. The amp section would be kef's then, knowing that the signal from LO bypasses Amp section on the iBasso.

 

[samandhi]

Ok that was really noob question. Obviously there are no problems with the headphones going from balanced to unbalanced so shouldn't be here. The other way around is not possible.

I would look really hard before doing this. In this statement you have it backwards (and not a noob question at all, it can get pretty confusing sometimes). If you come from balanced from your amp to unbalanced cable, or headphones, this is a no no... If you come from unbalanced output to a balanced cable or headphones, that is ok.... Use this to remember it SEB (single ended to balanced)= yes. BSE (balanced to single ended) =no way... Or, SE can do anything (SE, BAL) Bal only does BAL....

Edit: This is mostly why (up until recently) LO has been 3.5 SE. It avoids any such limitations with amping separately (for instance).

 

[samandhi]

I'm not sure how the amping works going to aux input. I've tried this but only single ended directly from LO on the 11.2 amp and the sound was more dynamic and clean than from my pc-> optical to kefs. Overall more engaging and the difference was very noticeable. Only the soundstage width decreased slightly. Have no idea what happened but seems like the dx300's dac is superior to the kef lxs's. The amp section would be kef's then, knowing that the signal from LO bypasses Amp section on the iBasso.

It works just as you described. Any time you come from LO you are using the DAC of the device, whether you are going to Aux in, or Line in, therefore bypassing the amp section. This would also hold true for SPDIF. The only time you would bypass the DAC section of the DX is if you went wireless transmission, or through USB. You got it right...

Edit: Oh, you were asking about the aux input on the KEF, not in general.... Disregard the previous paragraph then...

 

[xand]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah that's the question. Obviously wouldn't be a problem driving balanced passive speakers. Could be same question for the single ended phone out. Is it possible to listen from single ended PO in the Singxer feeding it with the dx312.

FYI, the KEF LSX not only has an amplifier (i.e. are active speakers), but also forces all analog input through a ADC, then back through it's own DAC.

Any analog audio input will be converted to digital then back again.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1571428/Kef-Lsx.html?page=33#manual

 

[samandhi]

FYI, the KEF LSX not only has an amplifier (i.e. are active speakers), but also forces all analog input through a ADC, then back through it's own DAC.

Any analog audio input will be converted to digital then back again.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1571428/Kef-Lsx.html?page=33#manual

It looks like there is no way to run the KEF passively, which means you are indeed double amping the signal (unless the Singxer has LO that I didn't see). If it does indeed have LO, then the Singxer is doing nothing in the chain other than providing some interconnect that you might need (a transport). With your current setup, you need to either eliminate the Singxer, or get some passive speakers, unless you don't mind double amping.

 

[TonyStarks]

I think the best and cheapest option is to run DX312 to KEF via DJ30A since those are active speakers.

 

[RIGATIO]

Thank you guys for your responses! You are very helpful. I read somewhere that the kefs lsx would transform the signal again even from analog input. But honestly i wouldn't mind this or double amping scenario. If it would give me better sound. As i mentioned, the sound quality improved when paired with the dx311.2. the sound was cleaner, more dynamic and the vocals were so present, like the vocalist stood just in front of me. So whatever happened inside the lsx was very welcomed

 

[Whitigir]

Thank you guys for your responses! You are very helpful. I read somewhere that the kefs lsx would transform the signal again even from analog input. But honestly i wouldn't mind this or double amping scenario. If it would give me better sound. As i mentioned, the sound quality improved when paired with the dx311.2. the sound was cleaner, more dynamic and the vocals were so present, like the vocalist stood just in front of me. So whatever happened inside the lsx was very welcomed

If your KEF has Coax in, you better use that from the Dx300 instead than the analog out.

 

[samandhi]

If your KEF has Coax in, you better use that from the Dx300 instead than the analog out.

From the pictures, it looks like it only has optical, and aux in (for our purposes here), but not coax.

 

[Dobrescu George]

IF you're a happy camper using a DX300 Music Player from IBasso Audio, then I have awesome news for you!!

They launched the AMP 12 module for it, keeping their promise to add subsequent modules to further enhance and refine the sound of an already pretty awesome DAP! I made a list of comparisons and descriptions of the new module, hoping it will come in handy to you ~

Also, if you haven't gotten your own DX300 yet, don't worry, it is never too late to look into it, especially if you're into high end portable Audio Players!!

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2...-for-dx300-accelerate-towards-the-future.html