OK, already found and bought the 2.5mm balanced connector.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...1;-1;USD+4.41@salePrice;USD;search-mainSearch
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...1;-1;USD+4.41@salePrice;USD;search-mainSearch
Indeed for headphones that's more useful.About 17 years ago l remember replacing the stk chips in some small 25...30watts japanese amplifiers with bridged tda2040 supplied at around 15v dc...It was convenient for me too as i could find 12v transformers easier than original STK chips...I hear now a lot of people telling about high THD in bridged amplifiers yet every single guy who listened that bridged tda2040 circuit was impressed with the sound and one of them was a musician too...I personally started to care a lot less aboutTHD once I heard it reffers to Harmonic distortions 🙂 .For some reason bridged or bootstrapped amplifiers usualy sound magical.In my youth every single amplifier germanium or silicon was a bootstrapped one...I can't remember the distortions though 🙂Slew is totally moot for headphones.
Doubling-up the amplifiers "can" double the peak output voltage, useful if you can't use a proper battery voltage.
It is made of various plated aluminum alloy. If you do not insist several times with the soldering iron is no problem.
Apologies for not being more clear. I removed them because correcting you did not serve the direct purpose of your HP modification. Others had corrected you previously several times, and yet you continued to assert very strong statements that are incorrect.I had a look and didn't find your comments to my incorrect statements.
Overall, I'd strongly encourage you to learn more about and to understand the differences between and the proper use of: balanced, differential signaling, and bridged. You will often see them used together and sometimes, mistakenly, they are seen as interchangeable. They each have unique meanings, and they may be important to your fundamental understanding.
Balanced =/= Bridged. Not all balanced amps are bridged, and certainly not all amps wired in a bridged configuration are balanced. That is one example of one of an incorrect statement. In addition, stating that amplifiers that are bridged leads to higher THD is misleading at best and patently false at worst. Overall, stick with your passion of learning, but I'd avoid such blanket statements where possible, particularly when your only source may be an article you've read on the internet. I read one while searching to find some information for you that was just awful, in my opinion, but many people may think it to be factual.
Anyway, I did not post to correct you, but only to help you accomplish your goal of modifying your HPs.
Anyway, the drawings and diagrams you included have been very helpful to show what the connections should be for the 2.5mm Fiio socket.
Also found a quite clear video on what connections you might find inside your headphone, that might help others to rewire for balanced interface. Mine are Sony MDR-7506, which I have few of, so I will be able to compare balanced and unbalanced phones. directly.
https://www.google.com/search?clien...y+MDR-7506#kpvalbx=_dtTWYabYOdLD5OUPn5iM6A435
Glad you're making progress. Enjoy.

When did this trend of TRRS 2.5mm connectors start for headphones? I just ordered a pair of Sennheiser that has it, but my older model had the little 2 pin connectors at each ear.
The TRRS connection seems like it would make wiring for the balanced fad fairly easy.
The TRRS connection seems like it would make wiring for the balanced fad fairly easy.
Hey Pano! Funny running into you here. 😀
I can't be sure when it started, but my first encounter was with a A&K DAP in 2014 or so, I think. It's a nice little package. I admit to liking the Pentaconn a bit better, but for size-constrained applications, the 2.5mm is a treat.
Edited to add - I've personally only seen IEMs with the 2.5mm vs. over-ear / on-ear variety "Headphones", but there could be larger HPs with them. They're easily converted to and from other terminations designed to carry a balanced signal.
I can't be sure when it started, but my first encounter was with a A&K DAP in 2014 or so, I think. It's a nice little package. I admit to liking the Pentaconn a bit better, but for size-constrained applications, the 2.5mm is a treat.
Edited to add - I've personally only seen IEMs with the 2.5mm vs. over-ear / on-ear variety "Headphones", but there could be larger HPs with them. They're easily converted to and from other terminations designed to carry a balanced signal.
Hello! The 2.5mm being used across a lot of headphones certainly opens up the aftermarket cable sales!
Indeed...i saw it with my own eyes where some guys selling 3000 $ headphones realized that a japanese company was way smarter selling two pairs of silvery wires for 3000$...so they employed more two guys to replicate the japanese wiring...the guys cost was about 1000$/ month in my country.Each guy would make about 10...12 cables per day...
It's understandable. Headphone suck, so people will spend and spend trying to make them not suck. It's a hobby.
Headphone suck, so people will spend and spend trying to make them not suck.
Awww c'mon. They're pretty wonderful, IMO. 🙂 Sadly, my loudspeaker rig can't fit on a plane, and even if it could, I might be stoned for my music preferences.
It's a hobby.
Absolutely! One of the most tricky parts is when the hobby turns to unbridled (and sometimes uneducated) passion for the consumer/audiophile. Coupled to that unbridled passion are some on the sales/business side with a mind only for profit for profit's sake... they might take advantage.
I mean to each their own re: what sounds good or what makes them happy and what people are willing to pay for the privilege. I don't have a horse in that race. I do find some of the marketing claims disconcerting re: HP cables, which is about the only on-topic part of my post. Off and running to other things.
I hope the OP has some fun! It's a hobby.
Enjoy!
Indeed. But I hate headphones, which is way I own only 10 of them. 😉
The so-called balanced connection is all the rage now, but I've never tried it, not sure I have an amp that is suited to it. But given the right amp, it's easy enough to try. It's just wiring. Seems like a fun thing to try.
The so-called balanced connection is all the rage now, but I've never tried it, not sure I have an amp that is suited to it. But given the right amp, it's easy enough to try. It's just wiring. Seems like a fun thing to try.
Just when I think I'm out 😉
Now, I understand your jest. Same page.
It's nice (for me) to have the option of a balanced out on some of my small, portable DAPs when paired with 300+ ohm HPs (and lower sensitivity HPs) for the extra voltage headroom. I've run a few at full-tilt-boogie. It's also nice (even though the noise in most is imperceptible to these old ears) to have the advantage of common-mode rejection and good shielding for some sensitive IEMs.
Anywho... give it a whirl. It could be fun.
Now, I understand your jest. Same page.
It's nice (for me) to have the option of a balanced out on some of my small, portable DAPs when paired with 300+ ohm HPs (and lower sensitivity HPs) for the extra voltage headroom. I've run a few at full-tilt-boogie. It's also nice (even though the noise in most is imperceptible to these old ears) to have the advantage of common-mode rejection and good shielding for some sensitive IEMs.
Anywho... give it a whirl. It could be fun.
In the end it's just what I thought too. I was trying to find out how folks actually did it.It's just wiring. Seems like a fun thing to try.
Benchmark published an article on the balanced headphone myth.
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better
Just realized Rupert Neve used the same "near zero impedance" expression to market it RNHP amp...At least they acknowledge the fact that balanced amplifiers might help a lot battery operation and noise is not really going to be an issue with battery operation...while balanced amps producing more distortions might very well be Benchmark own branded myth....They probably wanted to say that they couldn't make a peanuts like cheap to manufacture low distortion noiseless balanced amplifier that could easily sell for 1000 more money than the manufacturing costs, but I can understand a company who branded their equipment with the help of thd figures provided by their expensive audio precision equipments while in the real world nobody cares about -120db thd....Before branding anything from other's experience as myths they carefully take care of their own '' usefull ultra low distortion " myths...and it's very useful, i say that again, reading The art of Mastering by Bob Kats who puts an emphasis on the fact that the best recording mastering engineers recorded their best albums in their 60's or70's based on their experience not on their fancy million bucks monitors and headphones that could resurect their deaf ears...Most probably they had to wear some hearing aids in their day to day life...Benchmark published an article on the balanced headphone myth.
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better
By the way , can the RNHP amp be considered a balanced design as long as the ground wire comes from the mid point between two capacitors?
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No. In the headphones world, an amplifier is considered "balanced" when the two sides of the transducer are driven by the same active output circuitry. It can be done with a bridged design, a fully differential design or anything weird and fancy enough to grab attention but two capacitors won't cut it.
Btw, marketing considerations aside, that Benchmark article just repeats what has been known for decades. This being said, most headphones are such easy loads that headphones amplifiers can rather easily be made with extremely low noise, output impedance and distortion, far below the audible. As such having amps even in bridged mode is of little sonic consequence. It makes however life easier for manufacturers who can have more powerful amps using the same power supplies and amp modules.
Btw, marketing considerations aside, that Benchmark article just repeats what has been known for decades. This being said, most headphones are such easy loads that headphones amplifiers can rather easily be made with extremely low noise, output impedance and distortion, far below the audible. As such having amps even in bridged mode is of little sonic consequence. It makes however life easier for manufacturers who can have more powerful amps using the same power supplies and amp modules.
Is there any place I can see the RNHP schematic?By the way , can the RNHP amp be considered a balanced design as long as the ground wire comes from the mid point between two capacitors?
Sorry, what is made of aluminum alloy?It is made of various plated aluminum alloy. If you do not insist several times with the soldering iron is no problem.
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