Jim Hodgson
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2016
- Posts
- 17
- Likes
- 13
I'm in the market for a new headphone amp, and I'm wondering if the opportunity to run a fully balanced system should be the deciding factor in my purchase decision.
My DAC outputs a balanced (as well as an unbalanced) analog signal; and my HD600s can obviously be re-cabled easily. Here's the thing: I've never heard a headphone system running in fully balanced configuration. My research at headphone.com tells me that it's the "ultimate nirvana of headphone listening" and that I'll be "completely flabbergasted and sonically wowed." Really? Something tells me that this might be overstating the case ... but who knows? Educate me, please!
[One other consideration: if I run balanced cables from my DAC to my headphone amp, and unbalanced cables from my DAC to my preamp (which isn't balanced), the cable situation is simple, elegant, efficient -- with no awkward cable swaps, no cable splitters, etc. There's value in that outside of whether or not balanced configuration is so clearly superior.]
Anyway, thanks in advance for your thoughts!
My DAC outputs a balanced (as well as an unbalanced) analog signal; and my HD600s can obviously be re-cabled easily. Here's the thing: I've never heard a headphone system running in fully balanced configuration. My research at headphone.com tells me that it's the "ultimate nirvana of headphone listening" and that I'll be "completely flabbergasted and sonically wowed." Really? Something tells me that this might be overstating the case ... but who knows? Educate me, please!
[One other consideration: if I run balanced cables from my DAC to my headphone amp, and unbalanced cables from my DAC to my preamp (which isn't balanced), the cable situation is simple, elegant, efficient -- with no awkward cable swaps, no cable splitters, etc. There's value in that outside of whether or not balanced configuration is so clearly superior.]
Anyway, thanks in advance for your thoughts!
