[ninetylol]

Hi,

I am trying to use my CMA400i as a dac only with a tube amp (Darkvoice 336se) and it seems to work pretty well but...I cannot see a huge difference compared to when I'm connected directly to my CMA400i as an amp.
Is it because the Questyle, even in dac/preamp mode, does most of the job anyway? Or because my tubes aren't "tubey" enough?
Thanks for your help!

From what Ive read the CMA400i isnt overly warm so a tube amp should make a difference. For me the complete CMA400i dac+amp sounded very close to the dac + arcam rhead as amp, which is pretty neutral but warm in the lower end.

 

[ld100]

It's also telling that I decided to keep the CMA400i and leave the LCD-3 up for sale, though that's partly because I think having one amp with multiple headphones is far more common than the reverse.

I'll say, though, that this damn things pairs SO WELL with the HD-650s.

Agree 100%. I also love how it does with Adueze.

 

[ninetylol]

And me with all my Fostex cans! Id love to hear more headphones with it though, but i had to part with most of them to afford the CMA400i

 

[esauseesaw]

You're a WILD MAN!

I am pretty cautious about where my volume is, but sometimes you just want to turn it up high and punch out your walls in the room, you know what i'm saying? (figuratively and close to literally)

Understanding Balanced, versus single ended
Hey Rutter,

there is a lot of confusion about this topic so its understandable that you cant get concise answers all the time.

-Like the others mentioned, when running a headphone balanced it was my understanding that it will be able to have more power output period. Power isn't everything when it comes to amp design, since control of the driver is immensely important in addition. Some amplifiers that have single ended and balanced headphone outputs could be better utilizing the balanced internals, or the single ended internals more effectively.

-For instance- the Cavalli Liquid Carbon has a very good single ended output, BUT when running cans in the balanced output there was greater separation, and way more power. The balanced output (in my opinion and a lot here) was way better. This is probably because the Liquid Carbon was made to be a balanced amp, and the single ended is near an addition to it.

-Now, you could have an excellent/superb single ended amp that will smoke a good/great balanced amp. It all depends on the build of each, and not just that one is balanced or not.
I know of single ended amps that SMOKE balanced amps and vice versa.

-Since some cans are easier to drive then others, cans like Grado, Focal Clear, Utopia, Elear, ect ect don't need tons of power to get the driver to move back and forth effectively. SO if the amp excels equally in balanced output as much as single ended, I don't see the balanced output being that much of a difference.

My last and BIGGEST take away from all this- Always get your headphones terminated with a balanced cable, and then just get an adaptor that is balanced female to male single ended.
That way regardless of what kind of amp you get in the future you will be able to connect balanced OR single ended and never need to buy separate cables for each. There will be people here that will disagree with me since they don't want to add anything more to the signal chain by adding the adaptor. I think its a small price to performance (Very negligible if the adaptor is made well) for the ease of serious convenience and money.

I hope this helps you and others. and please, feel free everyone if you don't agree with my opinion/understanding on the matter.

ALSO

Who has a clear top for their 400i? I am curious people's opinion on wether they like the look or not. I think it looks DOPE with the clear top personally

The thing I'm yet to get my head fully round is balanced with IEMs. The CMA400i is a good example as it has the 2.5mm balanced out. Balanced offers more power, this is fact. It's easy to see why that benefits harder to drive over-ears. IEMs are always far more sensitive and lower impedance (why the gain switches on the CMA400i are handy). There's certainly more debate about the general sound improvements with balanced. One of the technical guys here was explaining that balanced configuration can potentially lead to higher distortion, which might explain why with some headphone/amp combinations sound better single ended. I'll ask him again when he's back from holiday if anyone wants more detail on why.

It seems to me, as others have said, there's no golden rule here. It really depends on what works for the combination of gear. I'd be interested to hear from anyone using IEMs who has noticed benefits, as they don't stand to gain much from the extra power - that could potentially make S/N ratio worse...

Clear top looks cool BTW. They are proving quite popular here.

 

[Kamurah]

There's certainly more debate about the general sound improvements with balanced. One of the technical guys here was explaining that balanced configuration can potentially lead to higher distortion, which might explain why with some headphone/amp combinations sound better single ended. I'll ask him again when he's back from holiday if anyone wants more detail on why.

It seems to me, as others have said, there's no golden rule here. It really depends on what works for the combination of gear. I'd be interested to hear from anyone using IEMs who has noticed benefits, as they don't stand to gain much from the extra power - that could potentially make S/N ratio worse...

If you have not read already, this article posted on the Benchmark Media website does a pretty good job of explaining the differences between balanced / SE and why they often sound different...to the point that in some cases extra distortion can be desirable...I think your statement above is absolutely true - it really depends on what works for the combination of gear (and source I would add).

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

Also take a look at this article (scroll down about 2/3 for the headphone section):

https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/balanced-vs-unbalanced-analog-interfaces

Cheers

 

[esauseesaw]

The Benchmark articles (generally) are very objective and no-nonsense. Thanks for sharing!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

You're a WILD MAN!

I am pretty cautious about where my volume is, but sometimes you just want to turn it up high and punch out your walls in the room, you know what i'm saying? (figuratively and close to literally)

LMAO the 650 needs the juice! With the LCD-3 it's under 50% but the 650 really needs it to get to full potential, especially for metal like I listen to.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

LMAO the 650 needs the juice! With the LCD-3 it's under 50% but the 650 really needs it to get to full potential, especially for metal like I listen to.

Oh I dig it. There is a can that I feel like needs to be turned up to get up to snuff and I actually never liked it until I realized that...

It was weird. I was like “why are people so in love with this?” Then I cranked it up more and realIzed it just needed more juice to sound good. On a similar but different note, I think the Focals do a fabulous job of giving great detail at low volumes. Much appreciated for the volume conscious consumer!

Btw- some metal you especially need to crank it because it can sound so congested and muddy at lower volumes. That’s where I feel like a cans speed is really important. Get a more clear picture of what your listening to in regards to instruments and whars happening.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Oh I dig it. There is a can that I feel like needs to be turned up to get up to snuff and I actually never liked it until I realized that...

It was weird. I was like “why are people so in love with this?” Then I cranked it up more and realIzed it just needed more juice to sound good. On a similar but different note, I think the Focals do a fabulous job of giving great detail at low volumes. Much appreciated for the volume conscious consumer!

Btw- some metal you especially need to crank it because it can sound so congested and muddy at lower volumes. That’s where I feel like a cans speed is really important. Get a more clear picture of what your listening to in regards to instruments and whars happening.

Good point all around, and I listen to some ridiculously congested and busy metal.

 

[mikewr]

I gotta share: just got this unit used and have been listening for a while via an ether c. For the first time I feel like I'm hearing what those professional reviewers at online blogs go on about - how they can hear details they've never heard before like faint echoes or extra noise behind the music like a shift in a chair or something; or that mumbo jumbo about a "black background" or a "holographic stage". I have to admit I always kind of rolled my eyes when I read stuff like that. i bought a burson conductor virtuoso with sabre dac so I could be sure i could hear that jazz. While it was the best amp/dac I've ever heard I still didn't get to that point... but this is it... I'm finally here fellas...

 

[betula]

For the same price (£799) would you guys buy the 400i or the 800i?
Is the 800i not too old in 2018?

 

[rutter]

How does the 400i pair with HD800S?

 

[Eylrik]

How does the 400i pair with HD800S?

I've read somewhere that the cma800i got its name from the hd800, with which it was supposed to pair extremely well...so I could assume the cma400i would work quite well!

 

[rutter]

You can use DACs with this device, correct? So can't you connect a Schiit Loki in between? Does it run balanced if the DAC isn't balanced? I've been told that the Sennheiser HDVA 600 amplifier converts the signal nonetheless.

 

[Mkoll]

The CMA400i doesn't have analog inputs so you can't run another DAC's analog outputs to it.