[PaganDL]

No @SoundMuppet,

I suggest looking at Mod Mics instead, haven't used those...yet but they have a better rep & sound quality.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Meshaboo]

@PaganDL

Hello, and happy holidays if you’re celebrating in the USA!

I’m in need of some insight. I just received my Penon audio 3.5mm balanced male to 4.4mm balanced female adapter to use on my 1am2 to the Cayin N3 DAP. I tested the headphones-adapter-N3 on three different devices and I also had a spare 1am2 balanced stock cable; I initially believed that my Penon adapter is faulty. There is sound playing in the left ear up and distorted sound coming from the right.

I wanted to double check and see if this was an error on my end: was I NOT supposed to buy the 3.5 mm balanced and instead purchased the apparently different 3.5mm audio adapter? All of the variations are listed on this page for purchase https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-adapters/penon-hifi-balanced-adapter-cable.html

Some months ago, I purchased that 3.5mm audio adapter and everything was fine until the wires tore. So, in need of a new one, I went back to order and realized they offered the 3.5mm balanced and thought it was a much better option.

I appreciate any discussion. Thank you!

 

[egg1111115]

@PaganDL

Hello, and happy holidays if you’re celebrating in the USA!

I’m in need of some insight. I just received my Penon audio 3.5mm balanced male to 4.4mm balanced female adapter to use on my 1am2 to the Cayin N3 DAP. I tested the headphones-adapter-N3 on three different devices and I also had a spare 1am2 balanced stock cable; I initially believed that my Penon adapter is faulty. There is sound playing in the left ear up and distorted sound coming from the right.

I wanted to double check and see if this was an error on my end: was I NOT supposed to buy the 3.5 mm balanced and instead purchased the apparently different 3.5mm audio adapter? All of the variations are listed on this page for purchase https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-adapters/penon-hifi-balanced-adapter-cable.html

Some months ago, I purchased that 3.5mm audio adapter and everything was fine until the wires tore. So, in need of a new one, I went back to order and realized they offered the 3.5mm balanced and thought it was a much better option.

I appreciate any discussion. Thank you!

I'm not the expert on this, but my understanding is that to use the balanced cable you need something with a balanced output. You can't just use an adapter to convert the 3.5 to 4.4 mm. After a quick google search it seems like the N3 is not capable of balanced output so you should just stick to the included 3.5 mm cable. If you had a DAP or DAC/amp with a balanced output you'd be able to use the 4.4 mm balanced cable.

 

[Mhog55]

@PaganDL

Hello, and happy holidays if you’re celebrating in the USA!

I’m in need of some insight. I just received my Penon audio 3.5mm balanced male to 4.4mm balanced female adapter to use on my 1am2 to the Cayin N3 DAP. I tested the headphones-adapter-N3 on three different devices and I also had a spare 1am2 balanced stock cable; I initially believed that my Penon adapter is faulty. There is sound playing in the left ear up and distorted sound coming from the right.

I wanted to double check and see if this was an error on my end: was I NOT supposed to buy the 3.5 mm balanced and instead purchased the apparently different 3.5mm audio adapter? All of the variations are listed on this page for purchase https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-adapters/penon-hifi-balanced-adapter-cable.html

Some months ago, I purchased that 3.5mm audio adapter and everything was fine until the wires tore. So, in need of a new one, I went back to order and realized they offered the 3.5mm balanced and thought it was a much better option.

I appreciate any discussion. Thank you!

The N3 doesn't have a balanced circuit. That 3.5 is for single ended use only. I would use that balanced adapter any more. It could potentially damage your dap.

 

[superuser1]

@PaganDL

Hello, and happy holidays if you’re celebrating in the USA!

I’m in need of some insight. I just received my Penon audio 3.5mm balanced male to 4.4mm balanced female adapter to use on my 1am2 to the Cayin N3 DAP. I tested the headphones-adapter-N3 on three different devices and I also had a spare 1am2 balanced stock cable; I initially believed that my Penon adapter is faulty. There is sound playing in the left ear up and distorted sound coming from the right.

I wanted to double check and see if this was an error on my end: was I NOT supposed to buy the 3.5 mm balanced and instead purchased the apparently different 3.5mm audio adapter? All of the variations are listed on this page for purchase https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-adapters/penon-hifi-balanced-adapter-cable.html

Some months ago, I purchased that 3.5mm audio adapter and everything was fine until the wires tore. So, in need of a new one, I went back to order and realized they offered the 3.5mm balanced and thought it was a much better option.

I appreciate any discussion. Thank you!

Let me get this right... you are trying to plug the 4.4mm end of the 1AM2 to the 4.4mm female of the adapter which has a 3.5mm balanced male?
I reckon you need the 3.5mm (non- balanced) male to 4.4mm female to achieve that.

 

[Meshaboo]

Yes @superuser1 that is correct. Thank you all so much for explaining this @egg1111115 @Mhog55

 

[xeizo]

Well, these where on a limited sale for 120$ here in Sweden, only in Silver. Couldn't resist. Will be interesting to hear how Sony does these days.

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

The first thing that strikes me on my 2hour old 1am2 is how engaging it sounded when it comes to vocals.

My unit probably will need more burn in time to get rid of the warmish sound but I am already quite amazed by how much intimacy it has when it is paired to ZX507.

Also my unit still has un-natural(metalic like) sounding hand claps.. let's hope burn in will help get rid of this.

 

[xeizo]

Mine will arrive on Thursday, will be interesting, I don't expect it to beat my HD600 or K612 Pro on like anything but it's way more portable and if it reaches a reasonably close ballpark - I will be happy.

I have the WH-H900N which is very similar, but it's a BT can and I would like a simple can without DSP. WH-H900N sounds surprisingly good in it's right environment, that is on the go.

 

[Fickle-Friend]

Just bought one in black. Would you say it’s an upgrade from the M50X?

 

[PaganDL]

@PaganDL

Hello, and happy holidays if you’re celebrating in the USA!

I’m in need of some insight. I just received my Penon audio 3.5mm balanced male to 4.4mm balanced female adapter to use on my 1am2 to the Cayin N3 DAP. I tested the headphones-adapter-N3 on three different devices and I also had a spare 1am2 balanced stock cable; I initially believed that my Penon adapter is faulty. There is sound playing in the left ear up and distorted sound coming from the right.

I wanted to double check and see if this was an error on my end: was I NOT supposed to buy the 3.5 mm balanced and instead purchased the apparently different 3.5mm audio adapter? All of the variations are listed on this page for purchase https://penonaudio.com/accessories/earphone-adapters/penon-hifi-balanced-adapter-cable.html

Some months ago, I purchased that 3.5mm audio adapter and everything was fine until the wires tore. So, in need of a new one, I went back to order and realized they offered the 3.5mm balanced and thought it was a much better option.

I appreciate any discussion. Thank you!

Hi @Meshaboo,

Happy Holidays to you as well though I am not in the US.

Anyway, the others who already answered have it right, unless your DAP supports a 3.5 mm Balanced, the plug will not work properly so regular or unbalanced 3.5 mm is recommended.

Contrary to popular belief, 3.5 mm Balanced won't necesarily harm anything unless there is an improper ground in the cable &/or source device has high voltage & current.
The distorted sound you hear is due to the audio signal being misaligned by the extra pole or ring on the plug by high voltage &/or current, this is a definite no no as you will ruin your headphones & DAP by creating an electrical short.
Under normal circumstances, depending on how a 3.5 mm balanced adapter or cable is wired, if plugged into an unbalanced 3.5 mm socket, only one side should be audible, not the other, this is usually the left though sometimes it is the right.

As a final note, if unsure in future, just use an unbalanced 3.5 mm in future.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[xeizo]

So I received my silver MDR 1AM2, can't use it on anything but my LG G7 at the moment as I don't have a proper adapter to 6.35mm. Using a normal adapter I get mono or out of phase because of Sonys choice to supply a cable with a built in microphone(probably why it is discounted, that mic is a discomfort for those interested only in the SQ).

I will try to find a solution for a adapter so I can use other sources.

Anyway, back to the LG G7 which is no slouch thanks to it's ESS DAC with a built in high power amp.

Using Tidal Masters on the "Master" setting, no eq and a slow digital filter it sounds silky smooth and with impact/slam. Really good sound. There is no big soundstage, it's a intimate but very detailed sound with great separation. It's definetely less colored than my WH-H900N but the sound signature is similar. WH-H900N uses a 40mm Titanium coated driver, 1AM2 uses a 40mm Aluminium coated driver, it's not the exact same driver while It's the same house sound, but 1AM2 is less boxy. The bass is very deep and very clean, but the mid bass misses some texture sounding a bit too smooth. Drums hits hard, it's a fun sound. Midrange is also smooth, not too aggressive, heavy metal fares well as the distorted guitars doesn't gets too in the face. It's not a totally natural sound, but rather painted in some flattering colors. These will not do as monitor cans, but they seem to do very well with Rock and Roll! Bass is clearly too heavy to be of reference quality, but it's not totally off the mark as when visiting live concerts the bass is often way too heavy as well. These sound much like a large rock PA. Very comfortable as far as I can tell, I have large ears and a large head but no problems. Gets a lot hotter than velour pads though.

Oh, and the Treble, it's fine grained but geared too much towards higher frequencies, Cymbals doesn't reach down in the upper midrange as they should and so misses some meat. Probably great for EDM but not natural.

Overall a great addition to the stable, the latest incarnation of MDR-V6 if you like. I have the MDR-ZX700 as well, which also sounds nice, ZX700 has more reference like bass levels but both midrange and treble is a bit more harsh and there is some resonance from the cups while MDR 1AM2 sounds way better damped.

It's easy to drive, the LG G7 can get to absolutely ear deafining levels.

Any advice on how/where to get a proper adapter for a normal 6.35 mm(1/4") out?

 

[Sonywalkmanuser]

Pair NW-ZX507 to MDR-A1M2 in balanced mode and you will fall in love with these two.

Impactful Bass presentation with texture(this is toned down using DC Linearizer Type B)

Throaty male vocals with lush female vocal that is super engaging to listen to as it is presented very intimately forward in the soundstage.

Pretty High level of coherency (for dynamic driver setup which tends to get congested easily)

Excellent power and loudness handling (doesn't get shouty or distorts from diaphragm breakup)

Relaxed Treble that isn't simbliant but yet still have enough microdetail. Tonality and Timbre is spot on.

Soundstage is pretty intimate like a private recording studio.

Overall I would say this is warmish headphone pairing that works pretty well for long listening as it presents a very smooth analog(not so hyperdetailed) like sound out of the zx507.

This is impressions from a relatively new A1M2. Will update once the headphone has gone through 200hours and beyond.

 

[xeizo]

Already starting to open up after just a few hours, listened to Yes "Heart of The Sunrise" on Tidal. It sounded very attractive, seems like 70s Classic Rock is what these cans really like. The bass is way too powerful though, these are loudness cans for sure but sometimes that can be just right.

 

[xeizo]

I was very lucky I have the MDR-ZX700 already, as it's extension chord did the exact right conversion to use the MDR-1AM2 with a normal 6.35mm adapter!

So, instead of the LG G7 I'm now listening to Tidal Masters on the desktop with:

Steinberg UR22C > Fully balanced cables > Presonus HP4 > ZX700 extension chord > MDR-1AM2

It tightened up the sond A LOT! Plenty of more texture in all registers, bass much more balanced, treble now extends down in freq making cymbals much better, echoes and reverbs are much more easily heard, handclaps sounds like handclaps, less congestion, soundstage is bigger, really big difference, now the only remaining clear complaint is bass is still a bit too much but it will be easier to eq out with good quality on the PC. Still inferior to K612 Pro or HD600, but much closer. A lot more HiFi on the PC, while it's more Rock and Roll on the LG G7.