Please help me out guys.
If a headphone is in essence a pair of speakers on your head, how are they different than regular speakers. I'm not talking about the types of speakers but the supply to speakers. Those that make and sell aftermarket cords for headphones tout balanced, balanced, balanced and yet I've never heard or seen any push to make bookshelf or tower speakers balanced. Does not speaker cable run the same current as a headphone cable?
Thnks
Don
If a headphone is in essence a pair of speakers on your head, how are they different than regular speakers. I'm not talking about the types of speakers but the supply to speakers. Those that make and sell aftermarket cords for headphones tout balanced, balanced, balanced and yet I've never heard or seen any push to make bookshelf or tower speakers balanced. Does not speaker cable run the same current as a headphone cable?
Thnks
Don
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You are absolutely right, headphones, the dynamic ones, are small speakers. No need for balanced cable.
Converting normal headphones to balanced means splitting the ground wire, and you often need to open the headphones and unsolder the cables. Balaced cable to the headphones assumes you have balanced amplifier, that is double the electronics.
There may be some benefit to it, but mainly to the sellers pocket.
Converting normal headphones to balanced means splitting the ground wire, and you often need to open the headphones and unsolder the cables. Balaced cable to the headphones assumes you have balanced amplifier, that is double the electronics.
There may be some benefit to it, but mainly to the sellers pocket.
The reason for using balanced circuitry is even harmonic distortion cancellation.
Take the F5X power amp as an example.
When measured at each phase, the second harmonics can be up to -90dB.
When measured differentially across the two phases, this reduces to <-110dB, i.e. 10x lower.
F5X -- the EUVL Approach - The Build Thread
Usually third harmonics is quite a bit lower than second on each phase individually.
So the result of 2nd harmonic cancellation is a very measurable distortion reduction.
Of course there are people who love lot of 2nd harmonics and only single ended equipment.
But that is a matter of personal taste, nothing to do with measurable performance.
Patrick
Take the F5X power amp as an example.
When measured at each phase, the second harmonics can be up to -90dB.
When measured differentially across the two phases, this reduces to <-110dB, i.e. 10x lower.
F5X -- the EUVL Approach - The Build Thread
Usually third harmonics is quite a bit lower than second on each phase individually.
So the result of 2nd harmonic cancellation is a very measurable distortion reduction.
Of course there are people who love lot of 2nd harmonics and only single ended equipment.
But that is a matter of personal taste, nothing to do with measurable performance.
Patrick
Here the measurements per phase, and then differential :
F5X -- the EUVL Approach
F5X -- the EUVL Approach
Patrick
F5X -- the EUVL Approach
F5X -- the EUVL Approach
Patrick
My Stax binaural headphones were balanced and they sounded quite awesome with the recordings that were made for them.
Using a balanced cable for my MC system and its quite a lot better than unbalanced systems.
A hype has no objective physical improvements, but this one is physical much better so obviously it's not only a hype but a fact driven improvement.
Using a balanced cable for my MC system and its quite a lot better than unbalanced systems.
A hype has no objective physical improvements, but this one is physical much better so obviously it's not only a hype but a fact driven improvement.
https://www.ti.com/lit/an/slyt737/s...91282&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
But common mode rejection is not why I build balanced.
I build balanced only because of distortion cancellation.
Patrick
But common mode rejection is not why I build balanced.
I build balanced only because of distortion cancellation.
Patrick
The whole balanced thing, as it is relatively common in commercial hifi now (still pretty much a niche though), started on the head-fi and headwize forums. At the origin it was a way to get more powerful amplifiers while still using the same amplifiers parts/modules/power supplies, just like you would bridge speakers amps. You can see that with the original Gilmore amp, the old Headroom stuff. The increase in power, increase in slew rate and decrease in crosstalk were the most talked about points. Distortion cancellation wasn't a big concern as those designs were pretty low distortion to start with.
And then the whole balanced thing kind of took a life of his own. But unless you're in exotic topologies, it doesn't make much sense. You could make a case for rewiring headphones cables for dual mono (to reduce crosstalk) otoh.
And then the whole balanced thing kind of took a life of his own. But unless you're in exotic topologies, it doesn't make much sense. You could make a case for rewiring headphones cables for dual mono (to reduce crosstalk) otoh.
Balanced equipment (preamps, power amps, ....) has existed for decades from the likes of Ayre and Pass Labs.
Pass LabsSuper Symmetric Amplification - Pass Labs
One can build a single ended amplifier with just as much power as balanced.
It is just a matter of design parameters.
The Gilmore is not a balanced amp, as for example John Curl's Blowtorch.
It is just two single ended amplified wired as a bridge amp.
There is no cross coupling between the two, as e.g. in the Pass designs.
Bridged and paralleled amplifiers - Wikipedia
You can rewire your headphone to dual mono to reduce crosstalk even for single ended amps.
Cheers,
Patrick
Pass LabsSuper Symmetric Amplification - Pass Labs
One can build a single ended amplifier with just as much power as balanced.
It is just a matter of design parameters.
The Gilmore is not a balanced amp, as for example John Curl's Blowtorch.
It is just two single ended amplified wired as a bridge amp.
There is no cross coupling between the two, as e.g. in the Pass designs.
Bridged and paralleled amplifiers - Wikipedia
You can rewire your headphone to dual mono to reduce crosstalk even for single ended amps.
Cheers,
Patrick
I'm well aware of the strict definition of balanced designs but most of the "balanced" headphones amps sold are just bridged amps.
It really became a catch all meaningless marketing term in this particular context.
edit: all my posts in the context of headphones amplifiers. Not "balanced" in general.
edit2: it was all made worse by the hype around "3 channels designs" at head-fi and headwize. If 3 is good, 4 must be better, right ?
It really became a catch all meaningless marketing term in this particular context.
edit: all my posts in the context of headphones amplifiers. Not "balanced" in general.
edit2: it was all made worse by the hype around "3 channels designs" at head-fi and headwize. If 3 is good, 4 must be better, right ?
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