[FullBright1]

Long story but imagine you grew up drinking muddy water. One day some one gives you pure water and you wig saying "this is not water, its too clean and there is no grit..." Sadly I think what we think of as bass is just bloat and we are so used to it that the pure sound is considered lite.

Another analogy is looking with a microscope. When the image is out of focus the image is bigger but when when you get it focused, its smaller...

The person who created the AudioQuest Nighthawks, used similar analogies regarding what he says is happening to the treble freq inside all recent headphones, (last 10 yrs).
He states the treble freq is not real, accurate, or truthful, that its distorted, etched, and false, so, he crated his headphones to resolve this issue, as he believes it exists.
And im not sure if you read my Sendy review i posted here, or other statements i made here on the forum regarding my approach to judging "good sound", and how i think about it.
Most listeners, or and audiophiles, (and nothing wrong with it, ) tend to think about freq response as parts of the freq, as their way to access it.
"well, the 8kHz is etched"....."seems rolled off below 50kHz"..... However, i dont try to hear headphone or speaker sound as "missing notches" or "boosted notches", as i feel that this is mildly misleading criteria posted as a review to the degree that this only truly matters, if everyone hates the same thing (regarding sound), or loves the same thing that you love.
Treble Heads, love crazy treble response, and bassheads love skull rattling bottom end, but these are polar extremes and do not speak a review language that matters to the other 98%
And regarding sound, everyone has a type of musical tone-sound, that they prefer, but that is not going to work for us all.
So, then, how do i listen to sound, and review it so that i can predict whether most will be able to use my review and buy gear, and hopefully not become $$$$$$$$$$$ stung by utter disappointment subsequent to purchase?
I listen differently, and i also will never say any headphone "sounds bad"., as it can only sound like itself.....and if a majority dont like it, but some love it.....HD800, then this is not because the HD800 sounds bad, but its because it only sounds good to LESS hi-fi listeners.
A headphone's sound, is a voice.....similar to a singer. And do any of us like all singer's voices, universally-worldwide? I like Katy Perry's voice, Yasmine Hamdan's voice, Catherine Durand's voice, Freddie Mercury's (younger voice), and i like Elton John's younger voice.
I adore Tom Chaplin's voice, and i like but dont love Sade's voice and i can tolerate Lady GaGa voice and i hate Beyonce's voice, and Alisha Key's voice.. But not everyone feels the same.
I like Karen Carpenter's voice, but not everyone does.
I despise a pop singer's voice that is grossly altered using "Auto -Tune".
So, if i say any of these voices are BAD its because they dont appeal to ME ....or if i say they are great, then that is because i like them....... So, its the same with headphones. No need rate a headphone as bad sound or good sound, as there will alway be many who feel both ways......about all headphones......about all voices.
So, what i do instead, is think of headphone sound as a 3-piece Jazz trio. And im in a cafe, listening carefully......and im listening for clarity.....and im listening for emotional impact within my feelings ....... but what im mostly listening for, is balance between the 3 pieces.
Im hearing the drums, piano, and bass, and what is the most important to hear, is balance and clarity and naturalness ......and if there is an imbalance, if one is louder, then this impacts the other 2 in a negative way.
Same inside a headphone. If the bass player is too loud, then it smothers the frequency revelation regarding the other 2 players....(the mids and the treble are impugned, to a degree).....and this degree can be a lot.
So, when i hear, when i listen to speakers or headphones......i listen for balance, between the 3 as the most important function of their sound. ...... And often when a reviewer of a set of headphones writes.....> etched treble, or too much bass".......then this usually means that, even more then a freq issue, is a lack of balance between the 3 principles that is annoying them.
In the Sendy, i found the bass to be bigger and wider then i expected, but, because the mids are nicely resolved and the treble is nicely engineered, there is a nice 3-part symbiotic relationship going on.
Its not a perfect headphone sound, but then, there is no such thing.
There are only those sounds, those voices, that we love, or don't.

 

[Dawnrazor]

I don't think they're using any special conductor for the stock cable. Even then, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Cables have only a subtle affect at best.

What don't you like about it? The cable has good ergonomics and isn't very microphonic.

Its a long story but I don't use industry standards to run balanced. The whole point is to separate grounds and it makes little sense to jumble them all together in a cable. I have 2 identical amps. Both have 3.5mm output jacks. One handles the left channel and one the right. So any can I get needs to use two 3.5mm to 2.5mm cables or 3.5mm to 3.5mm. So the sendy gets ditched unless I modify it.

Balanced just sounds better for what I listen to.

 

[Whitigir]

Aiva is balanced 4.4mm stock cables with Adaptor into 3.5mm and 1/4” too....

 

[Dawnrazor]

Aiva is balanced 4.4mm stock cables with Adaptor into 3.5mm and 1/4” too....

That wont work for me. As I said I am not using industry connections. Each amp has a 3.5mm jack. One for each channel. So I need 2 cables. 3.5mm to what ever the cans use.

unless you are saying the stock cable has an adapter that goes to TWO 3.5mm plugs??

 

[Whitigir]

That wont work for me. As I said I am not using industry connections. Each amp has a 3.5mm jack. One for each channel. So I need 2 cables. 3.5mm to what ever the cans use.



unless you are saying the stock cable has an adapter that goes to TWO 3.5mm plugs??

No, your picture said it more clearly that you are running mono blocks as 1 amp per channel.

I couldn’t grab what you meant when you mentioned each amp has 3.5mm....I thought you were just a person who has more than 1 amp, and that is typical.

You can Amazon and google search for 4.4mm female to duals 3.5mm male. This connection / adapters are known for people who use Sony stuff that has 4.4mm and connecting to Pha-3 or older Sony devices that offers 3.5mm dual out L-R balanced

 

[Dawnrazor]

No, your picture said it more clearly that you are running mono blocks as 1 amp per channel.

I couldn’t grab what you meant when you mentioned each amp has 3.5mm....I thought you were just a person who has more than 1 amp, and that is typical.

You can Amazon and google search for 4.4mm female to duals 3.5mm male. This connection / adapters are known for people who use Sony stuff that has 4.4mm and connecting to Pha-3 or older Sony devices that offers 3.5mm dual out L-R balanced

Cool. Guess I am using industry standard connections

No worries I can make some cables if needed or just use the ones I have. As long as the Sendy has 2.5mm or 3.5mm at the cups I will be OK.

Thanks

 

[Dawnrazor]

The person who created the AudioQuest Nighthawks, used similar analogies regarding what he says is happening to the treble freq inside all recent headphones, (last 10 yrs).
He states the treble freq is not real, accurate, or truthful, that its distorted, etched, and false, so, he crated his headphones to resolve this issue, as he believes it exists.
And im not sure if you read my Sendy review i posted here, or other statements i made here on the forum regarding my approach to judging "good sound", and how i think about it.
Most listeners, or and audiophiles, (and nothing wrong with it, ) tend to think about freq response as parts of the freq, as their way to access it.
"well, the 8kHz is etched"....."seems rolled off below 50kHz"..... However, i dont try to hear headphone or speaker sound as "missing notches" or "boosted notches", as i feel that this is mildly misleading criteria posted as a review to the degree that this only truly matters, if everyone hates the same thing (regarding sound), or loves the same thing that you love.
Treble Heads, love crazy treble response, and bassheads love skull rattling bottom end, but these are polar extremes and do not speak a review language that matters to the other 98%
And regarding sound, everyone has a type of musical tone-sound, that they prefer, but that is not going to work for us all.
So, then, how do i listen to sound, and review it so that i can predict whether most will be able to use my review and buy gear, and hopefully not become $$$$$$$$$$$ stung by utter disappointment subsequent to purchase?
I listen differently, and i also will never say any headphone "sounds bad"., as it can only sound like itself.....and if a majority dont like it, but some love it.....HD800, then this is not because the HD800 sounds bad, but its because it only sounds good to LESS hi-fi listeners.
A headphone's sound, is a voice.....similar to a singer. And do any of us like all singer's voices, universally-worldwide? I like Katy Perry's voice, Yasmine Hamdan's voice, Catherine Durand's voice, Freddie Mercury's (younger voice), and i like Elton John's younger voice.
I adore Tom Chaplin's voice, and i like but dont love Sade's voice and i can tolerate Lady GaGa voice and i hate Beyonce's voice, and Alisha Key's voice.. But not everyone feels the same.
I like Karen Carpenter's voice, but not everyone does.
I despise a pop singer's voice that is grossly altered using "Auto -Tune".
So, if i say any of these voices are BAD its because they dont appeal to ME ....or if i say they are great, then that is because i like them....... So, its the same with headphones. No need rate a headphone as bad sound or good sound, as there will alway be many who feel both ways......about all headphones......about all voices.
So, what i do instead, is think of headphone sound as a 3-piece Jazz trio. And im in a cafe, listening carefully......and im listening for clarity.....and im listening for emotional impact within my feelings ....... but what im mostly listening for, is balance between the 3 pieces.
Im hearing the drums, piano, and bass, and what is the most important to hear, is balance and clarity and naturalness ......and if there is an imbalance, if one is louder, then this impacts the other 2 in a negative way.
Same inside a headphone. If the bass player is too loud, then it smothers the frequency revelation regarding the other 2 players....(the mids and the treble are impugned, to a degree).....and this degree can be a lot.
So, when i hear, when i listen to speakers or headphones......i listen for balance, between the 3 as the most important function of their sound. ...... And often when a reviewer of a set of headphones writes.....> etched treble, or too much bass".......then this usually means that, even more then a freq issue, is a lack of balance between the 3 principles that is annoying them.
In the Sendy, i found the bass to be bigger and wider then i expected, but, because the mids are nicely resolved and the treble is nicely engineered, there is a nice 3-part symbiotic relationship going on.
Its not a perfect headphone sound, but then, there is no such thing.
There are only those sounds, those voices, that we love, or don't.

Missed the review. Got a link? Only saw whitigir and Drummer Leo's

 

[PinkyPowers]

Its a long story but I don't use industry standards to run balanced. The whole point is to separate grounds and it makes little sense to jumble them all together in a cable. I have 2 identical amps. Both have 3.5mm output jacks. One handles the left channel and one the right. So any can I get needs to use two 3.5mm to 2.5mm cables or 3.5mm to 3.5mm. So the sendy gets ditched unless I modify it.

Balanced just sounds better for what I listen to.

Ah, I gotchya.

I don't necessarily agree with you, though. Balanced Headphone amps are different than traditional balanced audio. Different enough that they shouldn't both be called balanced. In this new way, they don't split the ground, but they don't share the ground, either. There is no ground, in the traditional sense. Just a signal, and an inverse of the signal, which requires whole new circuitry to produce. Its creation was a wild experiment. Nobody knew if it would work, or if there would be any sonic benefit. But it's now a staple of the audiophile industry, because it's awesome.

That said, I would love to hear your setup and compare it to the balanced output of my Audio-GD NFB-28.

 

[stimuz]

you mean making it openback?

Some reviewers where doing that and seem to think it worthwhile. I just like open backs for the most part and that would be my first inclination. But are you saying it sounds better than openbacks? Or that it was designed to be a closed back so that is how it should be used?

they're great closed backs imo, which aren't the most common thing to find. there are many many many good open backs and I personally find having a ton of open backs redundant since you'll usually run for the same pair most of the time.

 

[FullBright1]

Missed the review. Got a link? Only saw whitigir and Drummer Leo's

here you go.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/beautiful-build-beautiful-sound.904276/

 

[SmokeNMirrorz]

That wont work for me. As I said I am not using industry connections. Each amp has a 3.5mm jack. One for each channel. So I need 2 cables. 3.5mm to what ever the cans use.



unless you are saying the stock cable has an adapter that goes to TWO 3.5mm plugs??

Why bother with this setup? Just changing the volume requires calibration and you're driving dual mono single ended not balanced power to the cans. Super power hungry? You'll just want one of those for the Sendy's.

 

[kid vic]

Why bother with this setup? Just changing the volume requires calibration and you're driving dual mono single ended not balanced power to the cans. Super power hungry? You'll just want one of those for the Sendy's.

Agreed, it's not reacting like a dual mono speaker setup does in terms of power delivery or control. It seems like an inefficient way to increase ones electrical bill.

 

[Dawnrazor]

Why bother with this setup? Just changing the volume requires calibration and you're driving dual mono single ended not balanced power to the cans. Super power hungry? You'll just want one of those for the Sendy's.

Maybe I don't get it but how is it single ended output? I thought by definition that if the output is not sharing grounds its balanced. How can two separate amps share grounds? Sure if I ran both left and right off of ONE amp it would be single ended as the channels would share grounds. But I am not doing that and the grounds aren't common.

To answer your question, I bother with this setup for a few reasons:

1. 1st off vc is handled by my dac which has a line out controlled by a nice big volume knob. The amps are set to mono and max volume and never touched, so no calibration needed.
2. It sounds better with 2. The background is blacker and the separation is better. Seems to have more drive.
3. Its battery powered! This helps with the clarity and well having each amp amplifying only one channel means the batteries last longer...
4. Because there are 2 inputs and a balance control between each input, I can connect 2 sources without swapping headphones between amps. If I used one of these, I would just have one source.

No hungry cans here. All can run easily off a phone but sound better off the 2 amps.

 

[Dawnrazor]

Agreed, it's not reacting like a dual mono speaker setup does in terms of power delivery or control. It seems like an inefficient way to increase ones electrical bill.

The amps are powered off a 9v battery. I replaced a 200w amp that was class A to 15w with these 2 battery powered ones....

 

[Dawnrazor]

Ah, I gotchya.

I don't necessarily agree with you, though. Balanced Headphone amps are different than traditional balanced audio. Different enough that they shouldn't both be called balanced. In this new way, they don't split the ground, but they don't share the ground, either. There is no ground, in the traditional sense. Just a signal, and an inverse of the signal, which requires whole new circuitry to produce. Its creation was a wild experiment. Nobody knew if it would work, or if there would be any sonic benefit. But it's now a staple of the audiophile industry, because it's awesome.

That said, I would love to hear your setup and compare it to the balanced output of my Audio-GD NFB-28.

It does seem to be a gray area or some semantics police dream. I found a few contradictory views on what is a balanced headphone amp. Anyhow yes I would like to hear a "real" balanced amp. My amps are $50 each and say behringer on them so no way they can sound good...

Anyhow it would be interesting. If you ever get to florida let me know.