[BryceS]

I wonder will this 4.4 to 3.5 Connector work?

I’m not sure what “this” connector is sorry. But if it is a headphone 4.4mm balanced cable to a 3.5mm male plug for a 3.5mm single ended audio out I’d say no, the wiring configuration will be wrong.

You need to use a single ended interconnect cable and an adapter to 4.4mm male.

Using a 4.4mm interconnect cable with a headphone adapter to 3.5mm male creates a significantly different wiring arrangement.

Seems like the same end result but it emphatically isn’t.

As CH23 said, the negatives need to be unconnected, in the 4.4mm cable and adapter to 3.5mm male the negatives short to ground as that is what is needed for a single ended headphone connection but is exactly what you don’t want for an interconnect.

I have two adapters due today. I’ll plug them into a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable and a 3.5mm to 2 x RCA cable, check the resulting wiring set set up with a continuity tester then test them with the Diablo.

I’ll report back when I can confirm definitively that they work.

 

[ljnew]

if you leave R- and L- of the 4.4mm floating, and connect the negative of the 3.5mm to ground, then it should

So what wire would I need with this?

 

[ljnew]

I’m not sure what “this” connector is sorry. But if it is a headphone 4.4mm balanced cable to a 3.5mm male plug for a 3.5mm single ended audio out I’d say no, the wiring configuration will be wrong.

You need to use a single ended interconnect cable and an adapter to 4.4mm male.

Using a 4.4mm interconnect cable with a headphone adapter to 3.5mm male creates a significantly different wiring arrangement.

Seems like the same end result but it emphatically isn’t.

As CH23 said, the negatives need to be unconnected, in the 4.4mm cable and adapter to 3.5mm male the negatives short to ground as that is what is needed for a single ended headphone connection but is exactly what you don’t want for an interconnect.

I have two adapters due today. I’ll plug them into a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable and a 3.5mm to 2 x RCA cable, check the resulting wiring set set up with a continuity tester then test them with the Diablo.

I’ll report back when I can confirm definitively that they work.

Sorry I thought I copied this connector. iFi 3.5mm to 4.4mm Balanced iFi 3.5mm to 4.4mm Balanced Headphone Adapter - Gold Plated https://a.co/d/agyqBxq

 

[BryceS]

Sorry I thought I copied this connector. iFi 3.5mm to 4.4mm Balanced iFi 3.5mm to 4.4mm Balanced Headphone Adapter - Gold Plated https://a.co/d/agyqBxq

I have one of those due today and I can confirm a bit later if it works as I believe it will.

 

[ljnew]

I have one of those due today and I can confirm a bit later if it works as I believe it will.

What 3.5 cable will you connect it with?

 

[CH23]

What 3.5 cable will you connect it with?

any 3.5mm cable would work, and the ifi adapter should be up to standard (so, L- and R- disconnected, and 3.5mm negative connected to 4.4mm ground)

 

[BryceS]

What 3.5 cable will you connect it with?

I just received the same iFi adapter and a ddhifi version of exactly the same thing.

Yes I can confirm both the negatives are unconnected, the positives are connected and the grounds join the grounds, just as CH23 indicated should be the case.

I connected the adapters to a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable and used M11 Plus in line out and a Chord Mojo as the DAC and they worked perfectly.

I also used them with a 3.5mm to 2 x RCA cable and used a Modi Multibit DAC into the Diablo, that of course also worked flawlessly.

A few images for context.

 

[ljnew]

I just received the same iFi adapter and a ddhifi version of exactly the same thing.

Yes I can confirm both the negatives are unconnected, the positives are connected and the grounds join the grounds, just as CH23 indicated should be the case.

I connected the adapters to a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable and used M11 Plus in line out and a Chord Mojo as the DAC and they worked perfectly.

I also used them with a 3.5mm to 2 x RCA cable and used a Modi Multibit DAC into the Diablo, that of course also worked flawlessly.

A few images for context.

You notice a difference in sound between them?

 

[BryceS]

You notice a difference in sound between them?

I have only listened for any length of time with the M11 Plus into the Diablo using the iFi 4.4mm to 4.4mm cable, the others I have connected only to ensure they work.

With the M11 as the DAC it just has a slightly different overall sound, very marginal, not a night and day difference, the sort of thing you notice after listening for a couple of hours then swap over and are aware that it is subtly different. AKM4497 versus Burr Brown.

What is worthwhile with the M11 Plus line in to the Diablo is that it smooths off the highs just a little on some problematic songs with my DCA Aeons so that the sharp steely female vocal sibilance on a couple of songs I use to test are a little softer just enough to not be piercing as they are straight out of the Diablo as DAC/Amp.

Of course the ability to use any balanced or single ended DAC opens up all sorts of options, say an R2R DAC or a tube DAC to really have a more obvious change in the sound. I have a little old school PCM56 R2R DAC ordered from AliExpress after the recommendations of others, the 2x RCA to 3.5mm cable with one of the adapters will allow that to be used with the Diablo if I wished.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[ThyDanMan]

All of the new DAC/amps are exciting! I think they should be able to make what they like to make

 

[ljnew]

I have only listened for any length of time with the M11 Plus into the Diablo using the iFi 4.4mm to 4.4mm cable, the others I have connected only to ensure they work.

With the M11 as the DAC it just has a slightly different overall sound, very marginal, not a night and day difference, the sort of thing you notice after listening for a couple of hours then swap over and are aware that it is subtly different. AKM4497 versus Burr Brown.

What is worthwhile with the M11 Plus line in to the Diablo is that it smooths off the highs just a little on some problematic songs with my DCA Aeons so that the sharp steely female vocal sibilance on a couple of songs I use to test are a little softer just enough to not be piercing as they are straight out of the Diablo as DAC/Amp.

Of course the ability to use any balanced or single ended DAC opens up all sorts of options, say an R2R DAC or a tube DAC to really have a more obvious change in the sound. I have a little old school PCM56 R2R DAC ordered from AliExpress after the recommendations of others, the 2x RCA to 3.5mm cable with one of the adapters will allow that to be used with the Diablo if I wished.

Let us know how you get on.

When connecting the dac with the ifi 4.4, is the bass lighter than the dap?

 

[ljnew]

I have only listened for any length of time with the M11 Plus into the Diablo using the iFi 4.4mm to 4.4mm cable, the others I have connected only to ensure they work.

With the M11 as the DAC it just has a slightly different overall sound, very marginal, not a night and day difference, the sort of thing you notice after listening for a couple of hours then swap over and are aware that it is subtly different. AKM4497 versus Burr Brown.

What is worthwhile with the M11 Plus line in to the Diablo is that it smooths off the highs just a little on some problematic songs with my DCA Aeons so that the sharp steely female vocal sibilance on a couple of songs I use to test are a little softer just enough to not be piercing as they are straight out of the Diablo as DAC/Amp.

Of course the ability to use any balanced or single ended DAC opens up all sorts of options, say an R2R DAC or a tube DAC to really have a more obvious change in the sound. I have a little old school PCM56 R2R DAC ordered from AliExpress after the recommendations of others, the 2x RCA to 3.5mm cable with one of the adapters will allow that to be used with the Diablo if I wished.

Let us know how you get on.

Got the gucraftsman 4.4 to 4.4. The bass is still too light compared to the dap. Don't know if it's supposed to sound like that or not.

 

[BryceS]

Got the gucraftsman 4.4 to 4.4. The bass is still too light compared to the dap. Don't know if it's supposed to sound like that or not.

I have no idea how much lighter bass you are hearing, if it is somewhat minor that might just be the DAP sound signature versus the Diablo DAC. If it is very significantly light on bass there is probably an issue and it is probably the cable.

If you are not hearing humming it sounds like cable is providing proper grounding, if you are it definitely isn't grounded.

The best way is to check with a continuity tester to see if the lower ground sleeves of the plugs are connected to each other through the cable.

I don't have that cable yet so I can't comment specifically.

I can confirm the iFi cable works perfectly.

Oddly I have a non grounded cable and it works fine with the Gryphon but not well with the Diablo .... no idea why.

 

[mekap]

,

 

[mekap]

I have no idea how much lighter bass you are hearing, if it is somewhat minor that might just be the DAP sound signature versus the Diablo DAC. If it is very significantly light on bass there is probably an issue and it is probably the cable.

If you are not hearing humming it sounds like cable is providing proper grounding, if you are it definitely isn't grounded.

The best way is to check with a continuity tester to see if the lower ground sleeves of the plugs are connected to each other through the cable.

I don't have that cable yet so I can't comment specifically.

I can confirm the iFi cable works perfectly.

Oddly I have a non grounded cable and it works fine with the Gryphon but not well with the Diablo .... no idea why.

When you connect the DAP to the Diablo with a 4.4 to 4.4mm Pentacon cable, does the Diablo work purely as an amplifier or is the signal first processed through the DAC Burr Brown, that is, the signal does not bypass the internal Diablo DAC?