Thank you for all of the feedback. For reference, below is the "article" I read that lead me to this question and also caused some confusion. It's basically stating that they heard an audible improvement using a balance cable into the PM-3, but running from an unbalanced amp (HA-2)
https://darko.audio/2016/05/get-more-from-your-oppo-pm-3-headphones-with-a-balanced-cable/
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The PM-3 is OPPO Digtial’s most affordable planar magnetic to date – reviewed
here – but perhaps not every owner is aware that their headphone is internally wired for balanced connectivity and therefore has more performance still to give. You just need the right cable.
Smaller third party vendors have already stepped in to soak up some demand, largely from Astell&Kern owners wanting to tap their player’s 2.5mm TRSS socket, but Kono has had three differently terminated versions commissioned with the full approval of OPPO Digital HQ in China: a 2.5mm TRSS for A&Ks, a 3.5mm TRSS for the OPPO HA-2 and XLR for desktop headphone amplifiers.
Each cables features a 6N-OFC core and is made in Japan. Samples are already in Russia, Singapore and Australia but readers are advised to discuss availability with their local OPPO Digital distributor.
And yes, with a pair of PM-3 lassoed to an HA-2, the balanced cable sounds more micro-dynamically vibrant than the standard single-ended cable.
No, the HA-2 doesn’t offer a balanced circuit. Think of its output as quasi-balanced. According to Emilai, the four pole 3.5mm socket is used to separate each channel’s signal grounding, which the tech wizards at OPPO HQ believe is more important to channel separation than the doubling up of amplifiers.
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