[Sam Spade]

I went for the Burson Conductor 3X, the balanced version, because My Cambridge Audio 840C CD player and Rotel RB1080 200wpc Power Amp all have balanced connectors, and for connecting components balanced is an advantage in rejecting noise in Pro and domestic situations. Plus XLR terminations are much better and easier to use than RCAs IMO, and you can buy Pro microphone XLR cables much cheaper than Audiophile cables of the same quality.

But as a headphone amp Andrew Sparko says this in the review linked below:

Q2: It is clear that Aries targets the ones that are looking only for the best headphone amps out there. Is there a reason you didn’t feel making it a true balanced amplifier with a 4-pin XLR jack on the face plate?

SparkoS Labs: Yes. The design is single ended, so we didn’t want to mislead anyone by putting an XLR output jack which may give the impression that it was balanced when it isn’t. Balanced designs are good when the power supply voltage is limited (such as in car audio) but this was not the case in the Aries since its powered from the AC line. Balanced designs also have 3dB more noise and require 4 amplifiers (two per channel) which would increase costs.

https://soundnews.net/amplifiers/headphone-amps/sparkos-labs-aries-review/

Andrew Sparko has 2 versions of the Aries, a single ended headphone amp US$2500 and a single ended headamp and balanced preamp for US$3000

So why the obsession for balanced at any cost, just for headphones, if it leads to more cost and more noise?

It costs more for cables too. My A&K SP1000M and burson conductor required me to buy 2 extra cables. Now I probably could have got away with the single ended 6.3 mm plug on the conductor 3Xref driving my 200 ohm Audeze LCD4 but the XLR socket has double the power. But my A&K SP1000M does a really decent job of running my LCD4s but only with an expensive 3rd party balanced cable.

People seem to think that balanced headphone amps and cables sound better but that doesn't appear to be the case. In fact you get more noise and pay more for it.

 

[Roseval]

I’m afraid you are one of the many that got confused by the use of the word “balanced” in the headphone world.

Normally a TRS, hence a 3 wire connection is used. L/R + common ground.
An alternative is to connect the headphone with 4 wires, a separate + and – for each driver.
This is called “balanced” in the headphone world.

This has nothing to do with a balanced connection as we know from connecting two pieces of gear e.g. a pre-amp and a power amp using a XLR.
XLR is a 3 wire connection, a hot, a cold and a common ground.
At the receiver there is a differential amp removing all common noise.

In case of a headphone, having 2 wires for the left and 2 for the right, is identical to how we connect our speakers to an amp. Nothing “balanced” about this symmetrical connection but it does allow for amplifier topologies like indeed a balanced amp. That is why this single ended connection is called "balanced" in the headphone world.

The question is do you really benefit from going “balanced”.
Obvious you won’t get more silence (rejection of common noise) as the connection is not balanced.
In fact you might get a bit more distortion as instead of driving each channel with 1 amp, you drive each channel with 2 amps. This will increase distortion.
However as you do use 2 amps for a single driver, it will certainly provide much more power.

Now that you understand that there is nothing “balanced” about connecting a headphone with 2x2 separate wires, you will find voices on the internet saying as there is no earth or any other way current could leak, what goes in a driver, will go out so it is perfectly balanced!

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better

 

[340519]

I have never been able to hear a difference between unbalanced and balanced.

 

[gikigill]

Balanced connections eliminate ground loop and have less noise since the shield in an unbalanced connector also acts as a conductor instead of being separated from the signal ground.

A properly designed and manufactured differential balanced design is expensive but will have objectively and measurably better DR and less noise than a single ended design.

Simply put, it has a separate carrier for each signal route which only has to do one job instead of half assing two jobs (with multiple jobs for each carrier) like a single ended design.

 

[Sam Spade]

I’m afraid you are one of the many that got confused by the use of the word “balanced” in the headphone world.

Normally a TRS, hence a 3 wire connection is used. L/R + common ground.
An alternative is to connect the headphone with 4 wires, a separate + and – for each driver.
This is called “balanced” in the headphone world.

This has nothing to do with a balanced connection as we know from connecting two pieces of gear e.g. a pre-amp and a power amp using a XLR.
XLR is a 3 wire connection, a hot, a cold and a common ground.
At the receiver there is a differential amp removing all common noise.

In case of a headphone, having 2 wires for the left and 2 for the right, is identical to how we connect our speakers to an amp. Nothing “balanced” about this symmetrical connection but it does allow for amplifier topologies like indeed a balanced amp. That is why this single ended connection is called "balanced" in the headphone world.

The question is do you really benefit from going “balanced”.
Obvious you won’t get more silence (rejection of common noise) as the connection is not balanced.
In fact you might get a bit more distortion as instead of driving each channel with 1 amp, you drive each channel with 2 amps. This will increase distortion.
However as you do use 2 amps for a single driver, it will certainly provide much more power.

Now that you understand that there is nothing “balanced” about connecting a headphone with 2x2 separate wires, you will find voices on the internet saying as there is no earth or any other way current could leak, what goes in a driver, will go out so it is perfectly balanced!

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better

I don't mean to sound like a smart ar*se but I do understand your very eloquent explanation of balanced vs (not really ) balanced. Admittedly I probably only worked it out 18 months ago Yours is one of the most coherent explanations I have read. But I think my question is still valid. why is everyone obsessed with what we (incorrectly?) call balanced in headphones when it is noisier and more expensive?

However as you do use 2 amps for a single driver, it will certainly provide much more power.

But you could put all that hardware and energy into building and running a single larger amp?

 

[gikigill]

Instead of making it larger, make it balanced and you get more power plus the benefits I mentioned above.

Unless your definition of larger doesn't refer to power output.

 

[Roseval]

I don't mean to sound like a smart ar*se but I do understand your very eloquent explanation of balanced vs (not really ) balanced.

Sorry, misread your post.

 

[Roseval]

But you could put all that hardware and energy into building and running a single larger amp?

Maybe.
Looking at the spec here: https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/topping-a90-headphone-amplifier
There are small differences in distortion but SE or BAL output, low anyway.
The difference in power is substantial.
I wonder if a "big" amp or 2 small makes such a substantial difference in price.
Cost of components is low.
Wouldn't be surprised if it is most of all marketing.
"Balanced" is the buzz world in the headphone community.
Hence you can ask higher prices for cables and boxes simply because of the magic of "balanced".

Anyway, the Topping offers "all", at $500,- including being a pre-amp.
Excellent measurements: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...topping-a90-headphone-amplifier-review.13592/

 

[castleofargh]

My main hypothesis is that it costs more so people associate it with better. Then they seek reasons why it must be that way and find them or make them up. But deep down, I strongly suspect it's really that simple.
You look at the offers from a given brand, they show models and the balanced one is typically more expensive. Eureka! Balanced is better.

Then there is the "mooooarrr powaaaaAAAA" appeal. But more than what? If you want an amp to have a voltage gain of X, you'll design something that can do it. And for headphone needs, single ended designs can usually handle it. I mean, they can handle passive speakers, but headphone amps must all be balanced for the extra power we need? Also the extra power will be up to +6db, it's not magical of boost and the times this will be a decisive factor might be disappointingly few. Of course the pros use a all lot of balanced stuff. So it must be better. The reason why they do, tends to be about ground loop as they use loads of gears, sometimes from places to places. And for noise cancellation over long cables, neither having anything to do with the coil inside a headphone and the short cable that goes with it. But again, people get more easily sold on ideas than on boring facts saying that it's probably not important.

Finally, maybe there is a naming issue. The balanced term isn't really what's going on here, but it's it's what we use. It's a word with positive associated ideas. We want balance, balance is cool.
Single ended on the other hand... Single, end, what a loser.

I'm getting silly for effect, but sometime a simple name can have some unfortunate impact.

 

[bigshot]

I don’t understand why audiophiles buy into specialty connectors they don’t have any need for. It just limits their choices for other components to plug in. Sometimes I think people are more interested in complexity than sound.