[cjpinner]

Hmmm Is it a big difference between true balanced out or not? I know you haven't heard it yet, but in theory should there be much of a difference?

Also dumb question, but if I go with a balanced cable, is there anyway I can use it on things like my MacBook or iPhone anymore, is there a adapter I can put on the end of it to treat it like a normal plug, or will it be doomed to be used forever only with balanced outs?

Might just go with a standard plug, idk but I DO want to order it today so I can hopefully have with my ZX2 arrives

 
I'll have to take the time to listen to it when I get them back. I have a couple of IEM's (much lower in quality) that are terminated with 3.5 TRRS cables and they work just fine with anything I plug them into. I don't believe there's any disadvantage to having it IMHO.
 
It's tough for me to tell if the improvement of the lesser headphones was just because of the ZX2 itself but I had never heard my Sony XBA 4's sound better, the cables aren't removable on those so I can't A/B it. I'll also say that I noticed an improvement with my old B & W C5's, they also have a TRRS connector on them. I feel like it really tightened up the bass and gave them more separation, again it's tough to tell if that's just the player at work, but I never did like the C5's that much. I liked them a lot better on the ZX2 (I bought them by mistake testing them on a source that was eq'd, doh)
 
Of course none of these compare with detail of the Westone W60's, I'll be able to A/B between the stock cable and the aftermarket cables soon. I'll say that the XBA 4's surprised me on the ZX2, I didn't expect them sound as good as they did, it made me nervous about paying so much for the westones, they both have totally different sounds but the XBA's really opened up, I could get a real feel of space with the TRRS connector.
 
I listened to the standard TRS connector quite a bit (stock and aftermarket cables) before deciding to get them re-terminated, if there's a 5-10% improvement I want that.

 

[Whitigir]

Hmmm Is it a big difference between true balanced out or not? I know you haven't heard it yet, but in theory should there be much of a difference?

Also dumb question, but if I go with a balanced cable, is there anyway I can use it on things like my MacBook or iPhone anymore, is there a adapter I can put on the end of it to treat it like a normal plug, or will it be doomed to be used forever only with balanced outs?

Might just go with a standard plug, idk but I DO want to order it today so I can hopefully have with my ZX2 arrives

1/ balanced vs un balanced ? Debatables, but additional grounds make it more efficient.
2/ there will be adaptor to adapt it
3/ zx2 can take TRS or TRRS np.

 

[Dopaminer]

Hmmm Is it a big difference between true balanced out or not? I know you haven't heard it yet, but in theory should there be much of a difference?

Also dumb question, but if I go with a balanced cable, is there anyway I can use it on things like my MacBook or iPhone anymore, is there a adapter I can put on the end of it to treat it like a normal plug, or will it be doomed to be used forever only with balanced outs?

Might just go with a standard plug, idk but I DO want to order it today so I can hopefully have with my ZX2 arrives

Cables terminated for Hifiman 3.5TRRS work with the ZX2, and many vendors sell those.  But note they will not work with regular 3.5mm TRS outputs. You will only hear music on the left side from your PC, or iPod or whatever.   

 

[IaHawkeye]

Cables terminated for Hifiman 3.5TRRS work with the ZX2, and many vendors sell those.  But note they will not work with regular 3.5mm TRS outputs. You will only hear music on the left side from your PC, or iPod or whatever.   

Wait so if I get the cable with the TRRS, it will most likely sound better with my ZX2, but it won't be usable for sound with my MacBook pro/iPad/iPhone anymore ?

 

[essentiale]

Just got my ZX2 and listening using JH Audio UniRox.. My volume level is around the middle mark.. Honestly given this is the case I don't think I'm gonna go out to spend another 300 bucks or so on a balanced cable. I have to say that balanced > unbalanced but in this very lean set up, I think whatever differences for me will be minimal that I can hear

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[wshinji]

Just got my ZX2 and listening using JH Audio UniRox.. My volume level is around the middle mark.. Honestly given this is the case I don't think I'm gonna go out to spend another 300 bucks or so on a balanced cable. I have to say that balanced > unbalanced but in this very lean set up, I think whatever differences for me will be minimal that I can hear

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 
Yea i would agree too but then again there are those here who cant even stand using standard microSD cards as they can apparently hear the difference.
 
Surprised they are okay with ZX2 not being true balanced. 

 

[jamato8]

Wait so if I get the cable with the TRRS, it will most likely sound better with my ZX2, but it won't be usable for sound with my MacBook pro/iPad/iPhone anymore ?

All you need is an adapter that will made the TRRS a TRS. The RE600 even come with one. 

 

[djricekcn]

All you need is an adapter that will made the TRRS a TRS. The RE600 even come with one. 

adapter will only make it a trs since Te trrs is plugged to a trs..no?

 

[EDWARIS]

my ZX2 plays fine both TRRS and TRS. just checked it. 2ring and 3ring 3.5 mm - right? it plays them all. 
iphone and ipod plays them both too. 

 

[Dopaminer]

Wait so if I get the cable with the TRRS, it will most likely sound better with my ZX2, but it won't be usable for sound with my MacBook pro/iPad/iPhone anymore ?

 
Correct, not without an adaptor, as Jamato said. 

  my ZX2 plays fine both TRRS and TRS. just checked it. 2ring and 3ring 3.5 mm - right? it plays them all. 
iphone and ipod plays them both too. 

Yes, but the cables are dedicated.  
Just so everyone has a visual of this, here is the 3.5 TRRS balanced connector of the Moon Audio Fitear cable I am selling : you can see there are 4 separate connections points on this plug, while a standard 3.5 plug has only 3. Hence TRRS vs TRS (Tip-ring-ring-sleeve VS tip-ring-sleeve)
 


  This cable was made for a Hifiman player; I tested it with a ZX2 yesterday and got stereo.  In the 3.5 output of my AK player I got only the left channel.  
 
d

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

I'm actually surprised Sony doesn't offer a Kimber TRRS upgrade option for the ZX2.  They did offer several of those options for the launches of the Z7 and Z5....

 

[Whitigir]

Guys....I just found out that my cable is OCC and not OFC :rolleyes:

The differences are

http://www.doublehelixcables.com/store/index.php?main_page=page_3

 

[nantuar]

Hey guys,

Took delivery of my ZX2, very impressed except for one MASSIVE elephant in the room. Leading into a track when it supposed to be silent or a slight hiss, I'm actually getting intermittent squealing. This is also evident if a track has a silent part. I've reset the unit, turned it off and on, it got a full charge as soon as it left the packaging. It's SO annoying. I can even hear when I turn the volume all the way down (mute) and I press the skip track buttons. It happens right after, for up to two seconds then randomly occurs during playback of the entire track. It occurs irrespective of which album I play, bit depth/sample rate. I'm using JH16 CIEMS.
ANY help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
I'm going to continue to have the unit play 24/7 and charge it how ever many times are required. If the problem persists, I'm going to send it back for a replacement under warranty. First ZX2 fail maybe? Typical of me to end up with the dud.

 

[nantuar]

One other thing, I don't get this problem when I use the JH16's with my iPhone 6 so it can't be the CIEM's.

 

[Conext]

Hey guys,

Took delivery of my ZX2, very impressed except for one MASSIVE elephant in the room. Leading into a track when it supposed to be silent or a slight hiss, I'm actually getting intermittent squealing. This is also evident if a track has a silent part. I've reset the unit, turned it off and on, it got a full charge as soon as it left the packaging. It's SO annoying. I can even hear when I turn the volume all the way down (mute) and I press the skip track buttons. It happens right after, for up to two seconds then randomly occurs during playback of the entire track. It occurs irrespective of which album I play, bit depth/sample rate. I'm using JH16 CIEMS.
ANY help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
I'm going to continue to have the unit play 24/7 and charge it how ever many times are required. If the problem persists, I'm going to send it back for a replacement under warranty. First ZX2 fail maybe? Typical of me to end up with the dud.

Wow. If you're hearing something that persists even when the volume is turned all the way down, then yes, I think it would be safe to assume something is physically defective. I've never heard anything of the sort on my ZX2.
 
The only thing that comes to mind is something similar that happens on phones. Typically, if you're using a phone as a music playback device, and you leave the cell radio on, you will hear noise/crosstalk, etc. during music playback.
 
Maybe your unit has a faulty or poorly shielded wifi, Bluetooth or NFC radio? You can try putting it in airplane mode to see if that eliminates the noise.