[killthrash]

Hi there!

Quick question for the community. I have the Sennheiser HD8XX sticker modded, and I'm trying to get the best connection to my A90 amp, source is an RME ADI-2 DAC FS via XLR balanced. When I hook up my 8XX to my A90 via XLR cable, there's a significant and VERY audible increase in energy, bass slam, dynamics, and soundstage over the stock OEM 4.4mm balanced cable.

Could this be due to the type of connection? Does a straight balanced XLR setup always sound better than going through the 4.4mm pentaconn? Or would this be due to the actual cable quality? My XLR cable is a Bucktown cable, pretty standard but nice. I don't have another set of cables to A/B test this.

 

[PurpleAngel]

For headphones, both jacks (XLR 4-pin & 4.4mm) should sound equal.
(but I'm not the expert)

 

[dunring]

Yep it's the same, but I'd check the cables with a multimeter if they sound different. Even a cheap one can test for shorts and see what ohm resistance is returning when there hooked up. Any cable is transparent if it's not defective. I've seen a lot of cables that worked, but something sounded off and they failed testing with a multimeter.

 

[killthrash]

Thanks so much for the responses. I figured out that it was in fact the cable that was improving the sound. I created a 1/4" adapter for my XLR cable and plugged it directly into my RME ADI-2 and got the same bass slam and more open soundstage. Down the cable rabbit hole I go....