[Sonic Defender]

 
Really pleased with it, originally I had AKG K451s which I knew I needed to upgrade so was a bit underwhelmed when the Onkyo first arrived but through the KEFs wow! So I'm really interested to know what a balanced pair would add to the mix! But again that's the beauty of this device its superb as a baseline unit with SE but has so much more potential for later upgrades

Sadly you can't do the KEFs balanced, the cup connector and internal wiring isn't designed for it, hence why I went the PM3 route. The M500 is a gorgeous sounding headphone and I'm sure in SE it is amazing so don't torture yourself. If you are getting a sound you love then you're golden.

 

[WCDchee]

Could new owners chime in on whether the fix in the jack secureness is universal across all new units?

 

[boomtube]

Could new owners chime in on whether the fix in the jack secureness is universal across all new units?

I also am wondering about this...

 

[Replicant666]

There doesn't appear to be a noticeable gap on the sockets on mine, I was trying to find the photos of the problem units but the thread is so big now its hard to find anything. Just wondered if the problem units were on the pre yellow X1 logos?

 

[doofalb]

Could new owners chime in on whether the fix in the jack secureness is universal across all new units?

I received mine on Jan 26 from PriceJapan (expedited handling) and it had similar sized gaps for both the SE and the balanced port. Disappointing. The Sugur fix was easy and effective (for now ).
 
BTW, yellow X1

 

[WCDchee]

There doesn't appear to be a noticeable gap on the sockets on mine, I was trying to find the photos of the problem units but the thread is so big now its hard to find anything. Just wondered if the problem units were on the pre yellow X1 logos?

I don't think it has any correlation to the yellow printing. Do the 2.5 and 3.5 jacks shake about when you jiggle them with your fingers?

 

[Sonic Defender]

Mine have the gaps, and I was wrong, I do have the yellow lettering. That said, as of this time I have had no issues with the jacks so at least for me and so far, the gaps are meaningless beyond aesthetics.

 

[WCDchee]

I received mine on Jan 26 from PriceJapan (expedited handling) and it had similar sized gaps for both the SE and the balanced port. Disappointing. The Sugur fix was easy and effective (for now ).

BTW, yellow X1

The jacks were wobbly then? That's strange that in the newer units the build isn't consistent

 

[rrollens]

Can anyone recommend a top notch portable balanced headphone amp?

 

[Mkvenner]

Just chiming in, mine has a noticeable gap around the 2.5mm socket. The 3.5mm looks fine though. Yellow writing as well. 

 

[h8dk97]

   
I used single ended for my Ether (open back) and it is not satisfactory, the sound is not full and really feels lacking. I'm sure balanced will solve all the problem though because when I added an amp on the single ended line, the sound really becomes fuller and textured.

You haven't tried balanced out of Onkyo by any chance? Thanks.

 

[Orky261]

  You haven't tried balanced out of Onkyo by any chance? Thanks.

 
I can't get any 2.5mm balanced cable for it here sadly.

 

[h8dk97]

Could new owners chime in on whether the fix in the jack secureness is universal across all new units?

Mine does have fairly noticeable gaps and yellow writing. After having thought about it I filled the gaps with supper glue because I wanted to minimise the possibility of this problem happening to my unit. I figured having bought it from pricejapan warranty claims would be awkward and my intentions were to keep dpx1 for couple of years until something better comes out, so didn't have much to loose. Anyway, I used the smallest needle I could find to fill the gaps with supper glue and wiped the residue with nail polish removal, here are the photographs of this process:
 

 

[h8dk97]

   
I can't get any 2.5mm balanced cable for it here sadly.

No worries. When I went to demo Ether C they had a 2.5mm adaptor and they sounded very good. I can only imagine what it would be like with a desktop amp.

 

[h8dk97]

Remember that although they are 22 Ohm impedance they only have 92 dB efficiency so you may need a little bit of juice to power them.

 
Thanks. I'll go for another demo and make a decision then. I've read a few reports of people driving Ether C with questyle qp1r which on paper is not as powerful as balanced out of onkyo.