[NA Blur]

I'm a noob regarding use of balanced cables, and Pentaconn 4.4mm jacks etc
Is there a possibility to use that with the X3?

I have used only BT headsets lately, and are a little nerd when it comes to TWS for ex.
But now I want a wired headset, an ok DAC/headphone amplifier connected to my HTPC, where I use Tidal HiFi.

As far as I can tell, due to the cable being detachable and dual entry, you can balance these headphones just fine. You will need a dual 3.5mm cable for headphones like the Sundara and HE-400i to whatever balanced end you need for your device. In your case you need the dual 3.5mm male to 4.4m Pentaconn.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=4.4mm+to+3.5mm+dual

I'm not 100% sure the X3 uses 3.5mm so you may want to double check that before ordering a cable.

 

[BigZ12]

As far as I can tell, due to the cable being detachable and dual entry, you can balance these headphones just fine. You will need a dual 3.5mm cable for headphones like the Sundara and HE-400i to whatever balanced end you need for your device. In your case you need the dual 3.5mm male to 4.4m Pentaconn.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=4.4mm+to+3.5mm+dual

I'm not 100% sure the X3 uses 3.5mm so you may want to double check that before ordering a cable.

Thanks!
I will check/wait to see if the X3 uses dual 3,5mm then, and try to find a 3m cable with 4.4mm Pentaconn in the other end.

 

[BigZ12]

Ref Trusted Reviews's hands-on article:
"When they go on sale, the X3 will come with both a balanced and unbalanced cable.
The balanced version comes with a three-pin mini-jack (MMCX connection), while the unbalanced features a four-pin jack."

This is all "greek" for me
What does that mean for me if I get a iFi Audio Zen Dac/amp with 6,3mm unbalanced output, and a 4.4mm balanced output?

 

[Slater]

Ref Trusted Reviews's hands-on article:
"When they go on sale, the X3 will come with both a balanced and unbalanced cable.
The balanced version comes with a three-pin mini-jack (MMCX connection), while the unbalanced features a four-pin jack."

That doesn’t make sense.

Unbalanced only uses 3 pins, as the grounds are shared (R+, L+, shared gnd).

Balanced requires 4 pins, as it has separate grounds (R+, L+, R gnd, L gnd).

And mmcx?? The X3 doesn’t have anything mmcx related.

And that guy reviews audio gear? Hmmm...

 

[BigZ12]

As far as I can tell, due to the cable being detachable and dual entry, you can balance these headphones just fine. You will need a dual 3.5mm cable for headphones like the Sundara and HE-400i to whatever balanced end you need for your device. In your case you need the dual 3.5mm male to 4.4m Pentaconn.

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/NewFantasia-...=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=4.4mm+to+3.5mm+dual

I'm not 100% sure the X3 uses 3.5mm so you may want to double check that before ordering a cable.

What about using an adapter? 3,5mm jack to 4.4mm? I see these are available.

 

[WildStyle-R11]

That above quote is from an very old article and mostly just rumors.

From what we know it comes with Dual 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack and then a balanced cable that terminates into something small.
Adapter isn't the same thing. You can use it, if power is what you need, but if you actually want to benefit from balanced, then do it the right way.

No offense, but you should probably do your research first and then look at what you need and why. Rather than "Oh, I want balanced... Because." There is no point if you don't understand it. For starters if you have that Zen dac, just get the headphone and listen to them and then if you feel like experimenting, look into the whole balanced business and then decide if it is worth your money investing into a balanced cable.

 

[CTR640]

According to Dutch technews the X3 should be available since August 24th, yesterday. Any ideas for other countries?
So far no store has it yet.

 

[Belialspawn]

Norwegian shop has them on pre-order with shipping date of 2nd Sept. maybe a global stealth launch or its just a "sell when you get stocked units"..

 

[CTR640]

Yeah, for example the technews says "available from 24th of August". So clear as water...

Buying from Alie is not an option.

 

[BigZ12]

That above quote is from an very old article and mostly just rumors.

From what we know it comes with Dual 3.5mm jack to 3.5mm jack and then a balanced cable that terminates into something small.
Adapter isn't the same thing. You can use it, if power is what you need, but if you actually want to benefit from balanced, then do it the right way.

No offense, but you should probably do your research first and then look at what you need and why. Rather than "Oh, I want balanced... Because." There is no point if you don't understand it. For starters if you have that Zen dac, just get the headphone and listen to them and then if you feel like experimenting, look into the whole balanced business and then decide if it is worth your money investing into a balanced cable.

The Zen DAC use a balanced output, that (if I'm right) gives more power, a wider soundstage, less noise (and more?).
If I'm buying that dac, I would like to take advantage of the best way to use it.
So what's the "right way"?

Why is a cable with dual 3,5mm to 4,4mm different than using the included cable but with an 3,5mm to 4,4mm adapter?

I'm posting here, asking some (evidently) stupid questions. Thought that was an ok use of research.
I've helped several people with stupid questions in others forums.

Sorry for bothering you.

 

[CTR640]

If I knew more about the Zen DAC, I would gotten it instead of Fiio K5 Pro... But I'm not gonna have both lol
The Fiio K5 Pro is amazing too for what I want/need.

 

[WildStyle-R11]

The Zen DAC use a balanced output, that (if I'm right) gives more power, a wider soundstage, less noise (and more?).
If I'm buying that dac, I would like to take advantage of the best way to use it.
So what's the "right way"?

Why is a cable with dual 3,5mm to 4,4mm different than using the included cable but with an 3,5mm to 4,4mm adapter?

I'm posting here, asking some (evidently) stupid questions. Thought that was an ok use of research.
I've helped several people with stupid questions in others forums.

Sorry for bothering you.

Didn't mean to come across as rude, it's just that, you are asking questions... Not stupid questions, but wrong questions. Even more so when you have heard of the benefits of Balanced, yet never have asked the question as to why that is? If you want to take advantage of benefits, understand why there are such benefits. Top tip, google "What's the difference between balanced and unbalanced". There is a short answer one could give, or mother google would explain it faster.

The thing is, there is a lot of snake oil around. Some of it is true, some of it is false, some is just placebo or it's one of those 0.1% improvements. There is no point in getting a headphone and straight up getting a new cable, plugging it in and calling it benefits received! How do you know that? That is why I said previously. First and foremost Get your headphone and listen to them, from your phone or wherever. Then get your DAC / AMP, If you are going to get that Zen Dac, just plug it in the unbalanced... LISTEN to them. If you feel like it can get better and you even like the headphones, then invest money into balanced. Some wouldn't even hear the difference between their phone and amp, just because of how little power they need. You cannot buy better ears.

Just trying to get it across, LISTEN first, then decide if it is worth investing more into it. Balanced won't change how your headphone sound like, unless it is retardedly power hungry at which point it depends on the AMP, rather than if it is balanced or not.

 

[Nissemus]

The balanced cable that comes with the X3 has a 2.5mm connector.

 

[oryan_dunn]

Looks like if you need 4.4mm, you can get a 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0751B7PTS

 

[BigZ12]

Didn't mean to come across as rude, it's just that, you are asking questions... Not stupid questions, but wrong questions. Even more so when you have heard of the benefits of Balanced, yet never have asked the question as to why that is? If you want to take advantage of benefits, understand why there are such benefits. Top tip, google "What's the difference between balanced and unbalanced". There is a short answer one could give, or mother google would explain it faster.

The thing is, there is a lot of snake oil around. Some of it is true, some of it is false, some is just placebo or it's one of those 0.1% improvements. There is no point in getting a headphone and straight up getting a new cable, plugging it in and calling it benefits received! How do you know that? That is why I said previously. First and foremost Get your headphone and listen to them, from your phone or wherever. Then get your DAC / AMP, If you are going to get that Zen Dac, just plug it in the unbalanced... LISTEN to them. If you feel like it can get better and you even like the headphones, then invest money into balanced. Some wouldn't even hear the difference between their phone and amp, just because of how little power they need. You cannot buy better ears.

Just trying to get it across, LISTEN first, then decide if it is worth investing more into it. Balanced won't change how your headphone sound like, unless it is retardedly power hungry at which point it depends on the AMP, rather than if it is balanced or not.

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

I've actually googled some about balanced vs unbalanced.
It's just the technical aspect of it (cables, adapters etc) which I wondered about.
How to utilize the balanced output, if I bought the X3s.

But anyway, I see your point, and will start with buying the headphones first