[DannyB]

I currently have a SP MPX SE Extreme as shown below:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs...xtreme-318639/

I am considering a Supra XLR as shown below:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs...ra-xlr-382925/

At this time I don't require the balanced option/advantage for any of my headphones. So, the question is:

Is it worth while going the Supra route given what I already have or is it a small increase on the upgrade ladder?

 

[vcoheda]

if you're not going balanced, i don't see the point.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DannyB /img/forum/go_quote.gif At this time I don't require the balanced option/advantage for any of my headphones.

you just dont think you need it

I could easily be swayed to say that its over-rated hype for a grado, but for a senheiser hd-580/650 totally worth the effort. My D5000 are on loan (and I want to balance them way a lot), and im not (quite) crazy enough to take a soldering-iron to my R10. I guess I cant really say what happens with the really high end low-impedance stuff. My bet is that they improve a bunch though.
Quote:

Is it worth while going the Supra route given what I already have or is it a small increase on the upgrade ladder?

I personally would go for the supra, although personal "priorities" do weigh in.

IME, the (single ended) supra gave slightly better soundstage, and microdetail than my Extreme. The extreme had the advantage of much more power, but I never found the Supra lacking.

 

[DannyB]

I talked with Joe Grado about 2 months ago regarding the advantage of going balanced with his HP2s, which would be my main dynamic headphone. After
thinking about it for a little while, he didn't feel there would be much of an advantage sonically, if any, going balanced. I don't think he ever tried it but you could see the wheels turning in his head and I think the numbers simply didn't justify doing this, as per his opinion. So, I have no burning desire to convert my HP2s.

 

[nikongod]

2 things:
First: My D5000 are back, and my connectors came, and I balanced them, and Im listening to the head-fi compliation "party at neil's", and they sound very good.

Second: If we ever meet up at a meet, you are welcome to listen to my balanced HP-2. Im not 100% sure I would advocate cutting up the cable, but I had special circumstances. When I bought my HP-2 they had a 1/8" radio-shack plug on them (it was gold plated though

) and that could not stay. Although I didnt have a balanced amp at the time I chose to 4-pin them (like the K1000, and all of my headphones since...) for the reason of versatility and only screwing with them once. I used the stock cable which was (and is) in pretty good shape aside from the fact that the previous owner put a **** plug on it.

Im still not 100% sure that there is that large of a difference between balanced and SE on the HP2, but as I said your welcome to listen if we get to a meet together.

 

[DannyB]

Well, come on down to CanFEST and meet the creator of your HP2s and bring a balanced amp also. We'll have some fun.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f24/of...2009-a-360873/

 

[Frihed89]

No, I am with vcoheda, but getting a regular Supra, moded Supra (but not the XLR Supreme), or even an modified MPX3, would indeed provide you with a different sound than your existing rig.

Besides, I don't really buy the idea of splitting the channels after the PS. To go dual mono, you really need separate power supplies, like monoblcks, and even then i think it's probably better practice to get the power transformers a good distance away from each other. I have never seen a mono block head amp in the SP line-up....but what do I know. Mikhail seems to have tried everything to his credit.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Besides, I don't really buy the idea of splitting the channels after the PS. To go dual mono, you really need separate power supplies, like monoblcks, and even then i think it's probably better practice to get the power transformers a good distance away from each other. I have never seen a mono block head amp in the SP line-up....but what do I know. Mikhail seems to have tried everything to his credit.

2 nit-picking points:
the (stupid-good) PSU-noise rejection of a balanced amp gives you QUITE a bit of channel separation "advantage" compared to single-ended with a single supply for both channels.

It is not that hard to duplicate certain parts of the PS so that you get "faux-dual-mono" with many of the benefits of a proper dual-mono design. I think a couple other people do this as a standard feature in a couple of their amps, and mikhail has offered dual regulators in the past.

You can get results VERY close to a dual-mono design on a headphone amp with only 1 transformer.

 

[purk]

Not sure if you have already bought the amp, but I would get the Supra XLR as most balanced SP amps can function as a SE amp. Based on my experience with the SP amps, a stock supra might be less dynamics sounding than the extreme, but it is more refine sounding and has more upgrade possibilities.