@counterclockwise,
I have used a lot of DAPs & head amps with balanced outputs & more often than not, especially on head amps, I notice a decrease in volume rather than increase on balanced connections & on any balanced DAPs, the sound levels are either the same or if they have independant volume control, either different or the same, depending on what was set before.
Honestly, I find no difference in sound level or volume output from either the 3.5 mm or 2.5 mm & have tested this many times with different head gear so not sure why you think there is a difference in volume or level.
I also listen at lower volumes (Average 40 dB on PD 2 / Average 20 dB on PD) than most people so I am curious how many dB you usually listen at.
So short of using a dedicated dB meter, I stick to whatever sound level I am comfortable with.
As a final note, I am not a fan for 2.5 mm sockets or plugs.
not gonna argue with subjective impressions or try to prove a general case, but in the specific case of the PD2 the balanced output is specced at 4 vrms whereas the single-ended output is specced at 2 vrms. both use the same 140 step volume scale. if the balanced out weren't louder at the same numeric volume setting, then we'd be looking at false advertising or faulty engineering on cowon's part.
when i switch back and forth between the two with the same iems (and same cable, for what it's worth) at the same numeric volume setting, the balanced out is clearly louder. ( -_-)
for the sake of objectivity, i recorded both (iem position fixed relative to mic, 3.5mm and 2.5mm both at a numerical volume of 75, balanced cabling in both cases) and loaded the recording into my DAW.
left is the 3.5mm output, right is the 2.5mm output. spike in the middle is me switching outputs.
2.5 is notably louder, as advertised. not sure why we're arguing over this.
@counterclockwise,
To answer to your questions, I stated
'the single ended output seems wired balanced' as
ALL 3.5 mm Balanced I plug into the PD2 work with no issues whatsoever & since I'm not about to open my unit up to check, this is more than likely the case, hence the word
'seems'.
As more often than not, as standard, nearly all other 3.5 mm connections do not work with 3.5 mm Balanced as most aren't wired for it.
i think you're mixing a few things up here.
the PD2 isn't "wired for balanced". a 3.5mm balanced cable with typical wiring (L+,R+,L-,R- from tip to sleeve) will work just fine in a standard 3-pole single-ended socket. in this case the cable's L- and R- both terminate onto the socket's single ground, establishing a regular single-ended connection. this is what happens when you plug a 3.5mm balanced cable into the PD2's SE out. same for the Zishan Z3, i just noticed (which surely isn't wired balanced...).
however, as you observe, 3.5mm balanced cables often do not work in single-ended 3.5mm outputs. many devices use a 4-pole socket for single-ended output, using the 4th pole (sleeve) for signals from inline remotes and/or mics. when you plug a 3.5mm balanced cable into such a device, R- terminates onto the remote/mic input wire, and thus your right channel fails to ground (result: no sound on the right channel).
so the fact that PD2's SE out works with balanced cable is not a matter of cowon secretly wiring the 3.5mm out balanced and telling no one about it, it's just that they
didn't wire it to accept inline remotes and such. this just happens to be pretty convenient if you have your gear cabled up for 3.5mm balanced.
