[MacedonianHero]

  I am REALLY skeptical about this. Even 4000$ Utopia can't beat the HD800 in some aspects, it is rather matter of choice when comparing these two. And Focal is really well know name on the speaker side. + it uses beryllium that is toxic and very hard to manufacture in it's design 
 
Also given the fact that Z1R is closed back desing and the fact that Z7 sucked.... If i would be you, i would not sell the HD800S. If your main priority is sound-quality. 
 
Of course you have shown that you are bit of an Sony fanboy, so your placebo might kick in when listening those 

And the dac/amp selection in HD800/S is key to making them sound superb 

 
Then don't eat the beryllium drivers. 

 
The HD800S does cast a more expansive sound stage...but then again, no other headphone can beat the HD800/HD800S in this regard. But to my ears, the Utopias are better at everything else sonically. They get out of the way of the music like no other headphone I've heard...simply amazing presentation. That said, the HD800S are still amazing headphones and still impress me each time I listen to them. I've said this before, but my HD800S ain't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[MacedonianHero]

 
I'm getting delivery of my gsx mk2 today. However my double helix chaperone three interconnects both rca and xlr, are a few weeks, hopefully less away. Now i have c4 balanced and se cables and will be able then, to test using TT, hd800S in a controlled manner, se versus balanced. It is complicated slightly that TT even with balanced out xlr is a se dac to begin with. the designer has inferred that rca se may be better but will it. regardless gsx mk2 is an excellent wire and gain amp with a rca xlr  toggle so, give me a few and some listening time and one more opinion will be on the books in this regard. Personally i don't think it will make a difference, but i will see. 

So running the GS-X Mk2 with unbalanced inputs will only engage 50% of what's on tap and you'll be left with basically a GS-1 instead of a GS-X. In order to get 100% of the amplifier, you're going to need both fully balanced inputs and outputs. I've tried single ended and there's a clear improvement with balanced with the HD800S. This difference is minimized with easy to drive headphones. But with harder to drive headphones like the LCD-4s, this difference certainly becomes more pronounced. 

 

[Whazzzup]

Well then

 

[Whazzzup]

Sorry for the posts as of late, hate to see so much of myself. Update tho, strike the test I have talked about. I have altered my orders and will be receiving only 3 pin xlr interconnects and have subbed in dhc prion 4 xlr 4 pin termination for hd800S. Should be filled in the next two weeks. So the only test will be se direct to TT using c4 cable and balanced to GSX mk2 via prion 4 to hd800S.
Results will be as follows:

Double helix thread thoughts on prion 4 balanced versus stock balanced hd800S

Chord hugo TT thread thoughts on GSX mk2 versus TT direct, balanced pre amp versus SE direct.

Hd800S thread maybe a quick blurb summary on the hp.

 

[pctazhp]

  Even though I have both cables I have not compared them.  The guys I know who have HD 800 and the balanced cable have told me it is noticeably better.  That is plenty good enough for me ....
 
I have read many articles most of which confirm that the balanced amplifier, cable, and headphones is a fairly substantial improvement.

I've never heard my HD800S running balanced, but I'm having trouble understanding what advantage would be achieved using a truly balanced DAC and amp. From what I know, the only possible advantages of balanced in a desktop setting could be additional power and lower crosstalk. I've never had any problem powering my S and running it with my single ended Elise the imaging is spot on, so I suspect the Elise already has pretty low cross talk.
 
Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[Randy Myers]

I am fairly new to this high end headphone world, however from what I have read in certain articles there are rather large differences.  I read one review recently (can't quote the source, sorry) that basically said using SE versus using balanced is only using half your amplifier.
 
Here is an explanation:
"Balanced-drive delivers a significant increase in audio performance due to the doubling of slew rate and voltage swing power, a massive reduction of THD distortion components, and the virtual absence of crosstalk at the headphones due to the elimination of the common ground plane. The end acoustic result lends an extremely expansive, 'open-toned' quality to your headphones, as well as very transparent and refined musical detail, tightly textural low bass, and perfectly pronounced mid-ranges. Many music lovers say its the closest headphones can come to sounding like a 'room speaker' listening experience."
 
Here is the article explaining balanced headphone design and theory...
https://www.headphone.com/pages/balanced-headphones-guide
 
I would also believe that everything is dependent.  Just because an amplifier is fully balanced would not mean in and of itself it is better.  A nice amplifier like your Elise would probably be better than many out there.  All I am saying is if you have a choice, like my DAC-10H, it is better to use the balanced setup.  If someone is buying new then they may consider balanced as a consideration.

 

[Tentacles]

And yet, one can find commentary such as this: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/balanced-vs-single-ended-for-those-who-care.90597/
 
"So, is Balanced the great "Holy Grail" of Audio? Is it the "thing to aim for", the essential ingredient for a "top end" system? The advantages outlined above would seem to give it a huge head start over "Single Ended". Unfortunately, things are not as simple as they look; or to put it another way, "there's no such thing as a free lunch"! The problems lie both in the way the inverted part of the balanced signal pair is generated, and the way it's recombined at the far end. As outlined, both involve extra complication in the circuitry, and this can sometimes mean degraded sound quality. Also, regardless of the exact method used to generate the balanced pair of signals, and to reconstruct the original afterwards, the balancing will only extend up to a certain frequency limit - beyond this limit, the signals will no longer be a mirror image of each other, and asymmetry will set in. This can be quite a high frequency, well above the "audible range", yet can still affect the final audible result. And, obviously, if the balancing/unbalancing no longer works perfectly, neither does the noise cancellation which can break down at ultrasonic frequencies leading, again, to audible results."

 

[Defiant00]

  I've never heard my HD800S running balanced, but I'm having trouble understanding what advantage would be achieved using a truly balanced DAC and amp. From what I know, the only possible advantages of balanced in a desktop setting could be additional power and lower crosstalk. I've never had any problem powering my S and running it with my single ended Elise the imaging is spot on, so I suspect the Elise already has pretty low cross talk.
 
Maybe I'm missing something.

 
Nope, you've got it right, a good amp is a good amp regardless of output type / connector.
 
The only differences are whether a specific amp is better balanced or SE, but if you had an ideal amp that output the same signal through both balanced and SE connections then they should sound identical.
 
The only real differences should come from amps that only use half the amp for SE, or from inherently balanced designs like circlotron (Mjolnir, Ragnarok) where you have to have extra parts in the signal path to sum balanced down to SE.

 

[Rob80b]

  I've never heard my HD800S running balanced, but I'm having trouble understanding what advantage would be achieved..........
 
Maybe I'm missing something.

It really all comes down to the design of the amp and how the balanced has been implemented, for most as you have noted there is the elimination of cross talk and added gain which for many may be enough reason to take a balanced connection into consideration.
Many confuse balanced headphone connections with using a fully balanced connection between the amp, source etc ...... and while headphone listeners may benefit from of the lower noised output signal.... having the headphones wired balanced from the amp does not really add all that much if any further improvements in overall sound/performance.
Same goes for the 3db or 6db volume increase with a balanced connection, sure one hears more detail and base but only because it’s louder, increase the volume on the single ended connections and the results will be the same.
But lets face it a balanced connection looks cooler.

 

[swspiers]

 
I've never heard my HD800S running balanced, but I'm having trouble understanding what advantage would be achieved..........

Maybe I'm missing something.

But lets face it a balanced connection looks cooler.

Ha! My number one reason to use balanced...

 

[fapman]

Ha! My number one reason to use balanced...

And you can always say to your friend who bough's beats that your MSRP 300$ cable costs more than their headphones  

 

But in all honesty, in some amps you do hear the difference (example HDVD-series) 
 

 

[pctazhp]

Ha! My number one reason to use balanced...

Yeah. And I've got the extra XLR cable that came with the S still sitting unopened in the original box. Maybe I should order a Jotunheim so I can look cool 

 

[Energy]

I always recommend balance. Once you go there, you rarely would have any inclination of going back.

 

[swspiers]

Ha! My number one reason to use balanced...

And you can always say to your friend who bough's beats that your MSRP 300$ cable costs more than their headphones    


But in all honesty, in some amps you do hear the difference (example HDVD-series) 

 

Actually, that's not far from the truth. Any friends of mine who are even casually aware that headphones exist in the high-end range, are always baffled by the XLR connection.

"You mean they don't even work with my iPhone?" Is the response I usually get.

 

[BarDash]

  I always recommend balance. Once you go there, you rarely would have any inclination of going back.

I agree, personally I perceive a difference. That's just my perception? 
 
per·cep·tion
pərˈsepSH(ə)n/
noun
noun: perception; plural noun: perceptions

• the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.
  "the normal limits to human perception"