plakat
Headphoneus Supremus
While I share the principal views laid out by @upstateguy regarding cables etc., there is one thing Mr. Gwinn of Benchmark seems to have left out: a generation of headphones that simply needs power. Balanced is a way to achieve that. But yes, SNR and damping are worse (though still in the realm of theoretical influence if done properly).
I did balance my T1 to fit my V281, but more because I wanted to test the V281. Plus its really simple on the T1, which already features a 4-lead cable... Sounds nice, but it does so single ended as well.
Benchmark (and e.g. Violectric) feature XLR in-/output because of their background in pro audio where balanced interconnects are expected / used frequently, often for longer cable runs. That does not necessarily imply the whole circuit layout is balanced though (the V200 has XLR in but is definitely not a balanced amp, neither is the Lake People G109P).
I talked to Fried about his balanced design and he mentioned better isolation between channels (the V281 even has separated power supplies). Still other people use crossfeed to get more natural imaging with recordings mastered for speakers (e.g. Meier Sound, SPL). I think in the end all that matters is whether one likes the sound produced... how that works should not be that important, besides basic compatibility reasoning (e.g. does the amp deliver enough power for my headphones, is the damping factor OK etc.) I really like the Beyerdynamic A2 with the T1... very basic, straight circuit design, nowhere as powerful as the V281. Still a good match. Despite its rather low output power.
A whole industry running mad with output power does not mean its right and/or necessary. Depends very much on the headphones and of course the listening level. Most dynamic headphones reach ear-damaging levels with really low input, that any decent amp has no problem to produce. Which of course does not mean that driving an amp near its limit is doing good things to either the equipment or the listening experience -- headroom is nice to have. But it does not scale further up, i.e. enough is simply enough. Sound quality can't be judged by comparing those output power numbers...
I did balance my T1 to fit my V281, but more because I wanted to test the V281. Plus its really simple on the T1, which already features a 4-lead cable... Sounds nice, but it does so single ended as well.
Benchmark (and e.g. Violectric) feature XLR in-/output because of their background in pro audio where balanced interconnects are expected / used frequently, often for longer cable runs. That does not necessarily imply the whole circuit layout is balanced though (the V200 has XLR in but is definitely not a balanced amp, neither is the Lake People G109P).
I talked to Fried about his balanced design and he mentioned better isolation between channels (the V281 even has separated power supplies). Still other people use crossfeed to get more natural imaging with recordings mastered for speakers (e.g. Meier Sound, SPL). I think in the end all that matters is whether one likes the sound produced... how that works should not be that important, besides basic compatibility reasoning (e.g. does the amp deliver enough power for my headphones, is the damping factor OK etc.) I really like the Beyerdynamic A2 with the T1... very basic, straight circuit design, nowhere as powerful as the V281. Still a good match. Despite its rather low output power.
A whole industry running mad with output power does not mean its right and/or necessary. Depends very much on the headphones and of course the listening level. Most dynamic headphones reach ear-damaging levels with really low input, that any decent amp has no problem to produce. Which of course does not mean that driving an amp near its limit is doing good things to either the equipment or the listening experience -- headroom is nice to have. But it does not scale further up, i.e. enough is simply enough. Sound quality can't be judged by comparing those output power numbers...
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