[WayTooCrazy]

Interesting. Balanced out would be the only reason I would consider doing a Pono. Otherwise, I'm fine with my Galaxy Note 3 feeding into my Cambridge XS.  Would the Pono be a step up in audio quality?

 

[Kerouac]

  Interesting. Balanced out would be the only reason I would consider doing a Pono. Otherwise, I'm fine with my Galaxy Note 3 feeding into my Cambridge XS.  Would the Pono be a step up in audio quality?

 
I also have a Note 3 (don't use it that much for listening to music though) and imo the Pono is quite a step up (even single ended) in sq.
But I don't know how much the Cambridge XS contributes in sq => hard to compare

 

[Koukol]

Anyone else unimpressed with the balanced out? Using it with my noble 4 iems.

Not in the least.
 
Driving my 600's both balanced and non is like night and day.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

So, my only current headphones are as follows:
 
Heir Audio 4.ai
Sennheiser PX200-ii
Klipsch S4
Oppo PM-3
HiFiMan HE-400i
 
and coming: Fostex TH-X00 Purple Hearts
 
Would any of these headphones even benefit from Balanced output if they're not hard to drive?

 

[mohdkhamsya]

Nope, I can hear the difference between se and bal listening with my Z5 quite clearly and with my Z7 headphones I would even call the gap between those 2 HUGE!

Which balanced cable did you order for your N4?

I'm using my moon audio black dragons. Sent them to @Peterek for retermination. Also got him to make me single ended adapters. Haven't had the time to do a proper A/B but was really kinda meh when I heard it balanced. I'll do a proper comparison later in the evening.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

I'm using my moon audio black dragons. Sent them to @Peterek for retermination. Also got him to make me single ended adapters. Haven't had the time to do a proper A/B but was really kinda meh when I heard it balanced. I'll do a proper comparison later in the evening.

Very interested to hear your impressions.

 

[mohdkhamsya]

Very interested to hear your impressions.

Will update by tonight good sir.

 

[doctorjazz]

There can be some compatability issues...got balanced cable for acs Encore, needed special adapter to work with Pono, didn't like it. Sounds great single ended with Audio PFE-232.

 

[barondla]

The balanced mode makes a big dfference. It isn't just the power increase. Most IEMs don't need extra power they are 105 to 110 db efficient. And yet, balanced makes an improvement. The Pono Player designer, Ayre's Charles Hansen, explains it in the tech briefs on the Pono website.

Balanced playback also reduces power supply noise. Besides full range horn speakers, what are the most efficient drivers we have? Earphones, especially IEMs. The balanced advantage is easy to see in the Stereophile Pono Player measurements. In balanced mode the noise dropped, and this increased dynamic range, resolution, and clarity.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

Ok. I just joined the club. I should have mine from Sam Ash in a week or so. I got it for $299. 
 
Now to build a cable. I think I'm going to do something different for that cable though (still deciding). I was thinking of building a balanced cable first for my PM-3. Then use that balanced cable as my "main" section of cable for all my cables. I'd build one for my HE-400i from both cups to a female 4 pin 3.5mm jack. Then attach the PM-3 cable to that. Then build female terminations for it to go to the double 3.5mm balanced for Pono. Single ended 3.5mm and Single ended 6.5mm adapters. I'll call it my transformer cable. LOL.

 

[mohdkhamsya]

There can be some compatability issues...got balanced cable for acs Encore, needed special adapter to work with Pono, didn't like it. Sounds great single ended with Audio PFE-232.

 
It might be because of increased output impedance on balanced mode (read that somewhere ) which doesnt play well with sensitive multi armature driver iems like the noble 4. 

 

[mohdkhamsya]

  Ok. I just joined the club. I should have mine from Sam Ash in a week or so. I got it for $299. 
 
Now to build a cable. I think I'm going to do something different for that cable though (still deciding). I was thinking of building a balanced cable first for my PM-3. Then use that balanced cable as my "main" section of cable for all my cables. I'd build one for my HE-400i from both cups to a female 4 pin 3.5mm jack. Then attach the PM-3 cable to that. Then build female terminations for it to go to the double 3.5mm balanced for Pono. Single ended 3.5mm and Single ended 6.5mm adapters. I'll call it my transformer cable. LOL.

 
 
Alright so I've been listening to my audition playlist and as far as I can tell, the difference between SE and BAL isn't as dramatic as some people here have claimed. I was using my Noble 4 of course. The biggest difference is that on balanced, there is a wider and deeper soundstage. It makes my Noble 4 from the single ended output sound flatter in comparison. It is also noticeably quieter on balanced. Everything else is more or less the same. This is not to say that it's a mediocre pairing. Even on single ended, the Pono player is still one of the best portable players Ive heard so far (heard the N6, DX90, X5ii, AK series up to the 240, like the Pono the best). It's just that the difference between SE and BAL, especially if you're using sensitive IEMs as someone mentioned earlier, might not be as huge as some have built it up to be. It does give you that extra 10% of sonic improvement but you'll end up with extra cables and adapters that might make your whole setup untidy. Not to mention the cost of recabling and purchasing adapters (spent around $125 for mine). I don't think I'll recable my HE560 for the Pono BAL outputs because I already have what I think is a better desktop setup Bimby>Polaris>HE 560 with Focus A and aftermarket cables. 

 

[flatmap]

I'm sure no one is missing this, but it i necessary to go into settings and select the balanced mode option each time you use balanced cables.  Sounds pretty weird if you happen to forget.

 

[_gl]

 
There is a lot of "audiophile" grade equipment that people love because they can hear tons of "details" in the music. Often this turns out to be false detail, added to the music because the circuitry over-emphasizes the leading edges of each sound. While this brings out the "details", it also highlights the flaws of the recordings.

 
Old post but I thought this was interesting.  It's exactly the same as the sharpening used with digital images/video.  Some camera guys, especially those starting out and without refined tastes, are totally addicted to sharpening.  It gives fake detail in the same way, but also makes the image harsh.  This is especially prevalent in the cheaper video cameras, which tend to sharpen their images to kingdom come because they know what their target audience likes.  When you look at most cinema movies, you find that they generally have a fairly soft image - part of what makes it look 'cinematic' (there are exceptions of course).
 
Same with audio, we've all read mod posts where people got something 'bright and detailed', but later regret the added harshness.  I personally like a lively forward sound, but without deviating from flat too much.  That requires precision, but when the gear is right, it's the best you can get and far better (and purer) than overemphasising stuff with tricks. 
 
Kinda like a naturally pretty girl (or boy) vs the heavily made-up one.

 

[barondla]

Flatmap, you only have to set the Pono Player to balanced once. Provided you only use balanced every time. The trick is to never insert or remove earphones while player is on. Once player is off it is fine to unplug earphones for storage, then plug them back in before starting up. If you do this Pono stays in balanced mode.

You are right, balanced headphones sound weird and anemic in single ended mode.