[Scubadevils]

Yes I have to be cautious switching back to MEST or very occasionally ZEN, I need to ensure volume is back down to in the 30s somewhere - the 50 or so for IE900 would be potentially damaging to my ears on other IEMs.

 

[Scubadevils]

Day 2 with the Brise Audio cable - it certainly looks and feels fantastic but I would not recommend it as a solution for anyone who dislikes the stock cable, the ear hooks are similar in that you need to bend them around your ears and there is an element of microphonics, easily resolved though with the neck slider. It is certainly heavier too but that doesn't bother me. Does it sound different? - I thought at first yesterday there was a volume difference but not the case, I suspect some perception at the time of day when grabbing a quick work break to have a try for a few mins. I need more time to A/B and determine if there are any sound differences.

Anyway, I think it looks great and enjoyed taking a few photos tonight!

 

[Evshrug]

Could somebody answer my question, that is the following: my Sennheiser IE 800 S with the AK Norma is sounding better with the 2.5 mm cable as with the 3.5 mm standard, or not?

Without speaking directly about a particular product, I was going to say that the most significant factor is if the DAP or amplifier was designed with priority to Single Ended or Balanced output. If an amplifier has both output types, then one output is adapted from the primary circuitry designed around the other. With that adaptation, some quality is lost. Most amps with both Single Ended and Balanced outputs are primarily designed around Balanced first, and so that would be the ideal connector in that situation.


However, it looks like fzman provides a much more detailed (and educational) post:

It's not really that simple. Real balanced, aka 'dual differential' requires exactly mirror-imaged circuits, one for the pos side of the music signal, the other for neg. IN single-ended, ground is referenced and hot changes from + to - as the sine wave goes "up and down". getting balanced to be totally-perfect exact mirror-image is quite difficult, and takes twice the number of parts, and more real-estate, which also opens up the possibility of more "parasitics", aka side-effects. So, "balanced" is not automatically better - unl;ess it is properly implemented.

As far as power goes, it's not just about "volume". There are lots of "power" specs that tell less than one would think. Flashlights quote hgh lumen numbers, but that is not always how much light intensity actually comes "out of" the flashlight. Measuring horsepower of a car engine, not actually "ceonnected" to a car is another- gear ratios, weight of the car, aerodynamics etc also play a role in 'how fast' the car can go.

Speakers/headphones/iems are almost always reactive loads, and have back emf (i.e., they are moving targets, and they fight back-- it's like the difference between sitting on a tame horse used for "kiddy rides led by a handler holding the reigns and walking along side, vs a rodeo bucking bronco. So, more power contribnutes to the effortlessness of the sound, espcially if the amp is well designed, does not have its global feedback messed-with by the load's back emf, and can keep the load under control thru various impedance swings, etc... Many manufacturers of portable dacs/daps/amps quote maximum power under quite optimistic circumstances, so some raw numbers do not tell as much as some folks think they do.

Lastly, the quality of an electrical connection is a function of (among other things) contact area and contact pressure - 4.4s are instrinsically better than smaller connectors, So it's not just the 'balanced' part of the situation either.....

 

[singingbee]

I got mine. Bass is addictive. mids has full of body and emotion. It’s true when they say all detail matters. I can hear
every little detail of my music I listened to. fit is amazing I listened for hours and hours with no discomfort. happy listening guys

 

[MarkParity]

Without speaking directly about a particular product, I was going to say that the most significant factor is if the DAP or amplifier was designed with priority to Single Ended or Balanced output. If an amplifier has both output types, then one output is adapted from the primary circuitry designed around the other. With that adaptation, some quality is lost. Most amps with both Single Ended and Balanced outputs are primarily designed around Balanced first, and so that would be the ideal connector in that situation.

Yes, 100% true, if its available for a particular design then always look at the block diagram for the output stage before making a decision on if SE is compromised, eg.

In this design the only difference between balanced and single ended is the addition of a balanced to single ended convertor for the 3.5mm output. The ie900 sounds exceptional using both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs here.

 

[frix]

Ok, I had a weak moment and ordered them as well. Let's see if they are worth it over my EQed IE300.

 

[111MilesToGo]

Yes, 100% true, if its available for a particular design then always look at the block diagram for the output stage before making a decision on if SE is compromised, eg.



In this design the only difference between balanced and single ended is the addition of a balanced to single ended convertor for the 3.5mm output. The ie900 sounds exceptional using both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs here.

What device are showing, and what are you using here? Your ”IE900 sounds exceptional“ looks very promising. Thanks in advance.

 

[MarkParity]

What device are showing, and what are you using here? Your ”IE900 sounds exceptional“ looks very promising. Thanks in advance.

Its the Cayin A02 module which I use with my N6ii. The pre-out is fed into a Periodic Audio Nickel amp which the ie900 is plugged into.

 

[Evshrug]

I got mine. Bass is addictive. mids has full of body and emotion. It’s true when they say all detail matters. I can hear
every little detail of my music I listened to. fit is amazing I listened for hours and hours with no discomfort. happy listening guys

Ok, I had a weak moment and ordered them as well. Let's see if they are worth it over my EQed IE300.

HELLO! We’ve got two new members of the club, how about one #IE900club for Singing bee and another #IE900club for frix!

Welcome to the party

 

[MarkParity]

Just listening to Toto - With a little help from my friends which has appeared on Qobuz today in 24/96K recommended listen with the ie900.

 

[pietcux]

The Sony WM-1A has two completly separated output stages, on balanced 4.4 mm and one single ended 3.5 mm and both sound great.

 

[Scubadevils]

A song I've not really heard since I was a kid but brought back to my attention about 2 years ago by this brilliant cover. A great band too.

 

[feverfive]

It's been ~100 hours since my IE 900 were delivered, and I have ~55 total hours on them (decided after ~30 hrs I'm not going to burn them in anymore; just going to use them going forward). I'm still loving the coherence. I am thinking about a near future cable swap, so for me that means these are a keeper. Just need to wait it out til more cable-makers have compatible offerings that I want and am willing to spend on.

 

[Spektrograf]

It's not really that simple. Real balanced, aka 'dual differential' requires exactly mirror-imaged circuits, one for the pos side of the music signal, the other for neg. IN single-ended, ground is referenced and hot changes from + to - as the sine wave goes "up and down". getting balanced to be totally-perfect exact mirror-image is quite difficult, and takes twice the number of parts, and more real-estate, which also opens up the possibility of more "parasitics", aka side-effects. So, "balanced" is not automatically better - unl;ess it is properly implemented.

As far as power goes, it's not just about "volume". There are lots of "power" specs that tell less than one would think. Flashlights quote hgh lumen numbers, but that is not always how much light intensity actually comes "out of" the flashlight. Measuring horsepower of a car engine, not actually "ceonnected" to a car is another- gear ratios, weight of the car, aerodynamics etc also play a role in 'how fast' the car can go.

Speakers/headphones/iems are almost always reactive loads, and have back emf (i.e., they are moving targets, and they fight back-- it's like the difference between sitting on a tame horse used for "kiddy rides led by a handler holding the reigns and walking along side, vs a rodeo bucking bronco. So, more power contribnutes to the effortlessness of the sound, espcially if the amp is well designed, does not have its global feedback messed-with by the load's back emf, and can keep the load under control thru various impedance swings, etc... Many manufacturers of portable dacs/daps/amps quote maximum power under quite optimistic circumstances, so some raw numbers do not tell as much as some folks think they do.

Lastly, the quality of an electrical connection is a function of (among other things) contact area and contact pressure - 4.4s are instrinsically better than smaller connectors, So it's not just the 'balanced' part of the situation either.....

That’s a really good sum of the whether balanced or unbalanced will make a difference. As usual… it depends.

 

[Scubadevils]

It's not really that simple. Real balanced, aka 'dual differential' requires exactly mirror-imaged circuits, one for the pos side of the music signal, the other for neg. IN single-ended, ground is referenced and hot changes from + to - as the sine wave goes "up and down". getting balanced to be totally-perfect exact mirror-image is quite difficult, and takes twice the number of parts, and more real-estate, which also opens up the possibility of more "parasitics", aka side-effects. So, "balanced" is not automatically better - unl;ess it is properly implemented.

As far as power goes, it's not just about "volume". There are lots of "power" specs that tell less than one would think. Flashlights quote hgh lumen numbers, but that is not always how much light intensity actually comes "out of" the flashlight. Measuring horsepower of a car engine, not actually "ceonnected" to a car is another- gear ratios, weight of the car, aerodynamics etc also play a role in 'how fast' the car can go.

Speakers/headphones/iems are almost always reactive loads, and have back emf (i.e., they are moving targets, and they fight back-- it's like the difference between sitting on a tame horse used for "kiddy rides led by a handler holding the reigns and walking along side, vs a rodeo bucking bronco. So, more power contribnutes to the effortlessness of the sound, espcially if the amp is well designed, does not have its global feedback messed-with by the load's back emf, and can keep the load under control thru various impedance swings, etc... Many manufacturers of portable dacs/daps/amps quote maximum power under quite optimistic circumstances, so some raw numbers do not tell as much as some folks think they do.

Lastly, the quality of an electrical connection is a function of (among other things) contact area and contact pressure - 4.4s are instrinsically better than smaller connectors, So it's not just the 'balanced' part of the situation either.....

That's great insight, I love getting a deeper technical understanding in this hobby

Funny to read your comment on how brands position power ratings. Many moons ago when I worked in electronics retail (mid 90s to early 00s), I remember some brands quoting big PMPO numbers for the power output which made them appear a lot more powerful versus a brand on the shelf beside quoting RMS, the more common/standard power rating. It would be left to young salespeople like myself at the time to explain!

Which reminds me, I found this book a few months ago - we had these in-store as a reference to answer questions on Technics products back then, most of it extended to other separates audio brands too.