[WDitters]

On first thought I would be included to agree .. yet my personal experience is that some headphones are more efficient and some headphones are less efficient.. Planars are a good example as their technology simply makes them less efficient than dynamic headphones. But dynamic headphones also vary in impedance and sensitivity depending on the way they are built … In my experience some headphones therefore actually do benefit from the additional drive they get from a balanced amplifier ..

And in there lies the other (in my experience) perceived difference… Some headphone amplifiers benefit from the silence and lack of channel interference that a fully balanced setup can offer .. which translates into blackness and silent backgrounds … There, headphones, by allowing balanced connections, are mostly an enabler

But .. as often in this hobby, it’s the ears and the brain that determine the experience here … and those two factors are always different from person to person

 

[evhvis]

From the article that you linking:

“Theoretically, the differential drive delivers an increase in audio performance due to the doubling of the amp’s voltage slew rate (how quickly the amp responds to input signals), lower noise, and reduced crosstalk due to the elimination of the shared audio ground between the left and right channels. But you’re highly unlikely to notice much improvement in listening. Actually, the only real tangible benefit from this is that some amplifiers can output a higher drive voltage through their “balanced” output than they can through the single-ended one. This is only really a benefit if you’re not getting sufficient level to your conventionally wired headphones.

So is this basically just another case of specsmanship and audiophile-targeted marketing? You betcha!”

The key parts there are slew rate and lack of shared ground.

Basically a balanced amp can be twice as fast as a single ended amp when both use the same transistors. On less efficient headphones the voltage swing needs to be higher so balanced can offer benefits there. If you have a single ended design that has the same slew rate as a balanced design and everything else being equal then the single ended can be just as good as balanced. It all depends on the amplifier design.

Some companies, such as benchmark, use the 4-pin XLR to avoid shared ground even when their amp is single ended and you also avoid shorting the output on plug insertion/removal with 4-pin XLR. Pentacon has the advantage of being able to ground drain wires and shield, but can cause short circuit on insertion/removal.

 

[angelom]

The key parts there are slew rate and lack of shared ground.

Basically a balanced amp can be twice as fast as a single ended amp when both use the same transistors. On less efficient headphones the voltage swing needs to be higher so balanced can offer benefits there. If you have a single ended design that has the same slew rate as a balanced design and everything else being equal then the single ended can be just as good as balanced. It all depends on the amplifier design.

Some companies, such as benchmark, use the 4-pin XLR to avoid shared ground even when their amp is single ended and you also avoid shorting the output on plug insertion/removal with 4-pin XLR. Pentacon has the advantage of being able to ground drain wires and shield, but can cause short circuit on insertion/removal.

Modern amplifiers for several years, including some that are portable, are easily capable of driving vast majority of headphones. Like happening with several others aspects of audio, the debate of balanced vs unbalanced is very more often a case of snake oil.

 

[evhvis]

Modern amplifiers for several years, including some that are portable, are easily capable of driving vast majority of headphones. Like happening with several others aspects of audio, the debate of balanced vs unbalanced is very more often a case of snake oil.

Can you give me some examples of high-end desktop amps you have compared to portable gear? What balanced vs unbalanced outputs have you compared on high-end amps?

 

[Daniel Johnston]

Some companies, such as benchmark, use the 4-pin XLR to avoid shared ground even when their amp is single ended and you also avoid shorting the output on plug insertion/removal with 4-pin XLR. Pentacon has the advantage of being able to ground drain wires and shield, but can cause short circuit on insertion/removal.

Unless you are using ancient or highly esoteric equipment, causing a short upon insertion of an HP is irrelevant today.

That being said, I like the pentaconn because the jack feels more robust than the 3.5mm. But, it's not as large as the 6.35mm. It's also easier to convert to 4 pin XLR.

 

[WDitters]

Unless you are using ancient or highly esoteric equipment, causing a short upon insertion of an HP is irrelevant today.

That being said, I like the pentaconn because the jack feels more robust than the 3.5mm. But, it's not as large as the 6.35mm. It's also easier to convert to 4 pin XLR.

and not to forget the fact that 4.4mm pentaconn is increasingly allowing cables to be shared between desktop and portable equipment
(plus the fact that cables with 4.4mm pentaconn can easily be converted to single-ended use with the correct adapter / DON'T try this the other way around!!) ...

 

[Daniel Johnston]

(plus the fact that cables with 4.4mm pentaconn can easily be converted to single-ended use with the correct adapter / DON'T try this the other way around!!) ...

I fully agree with your statement.

I recently got into a back and forth with a member about balanced to SE adapters. Apparently, they take one leg of the balanced signal from each channel and route it to SE. The cost of this is obviously a large hit in gain and power output. He claimed an engineer
at iFi pointed this out.

Thar being said, I see zero practical value in doing this when an amp has an SE output. I routinely use a 4.4 to 6.35 adapter so I don't have to swap HP cables.

 

[KindofBluer]

Day three of listening to my new STs. To date my journey has involved a search for hifi sound in a portable package.

Dac/DAP: An unremembered intro FIIO DAP—> Chord Mojo —> Chord Hugo2 —> Hiby R6 2020 —> ALO Audio Pilot dongle —> A&K SE180 with my preferred module being the SEM4.

I liked the Chord products, but the micro usb connector and random blasts of feedback gave me grief, and I decided I wanted a dedicated DAP rather than using my phone (iPhone with CCK). I’ve happy with the size and features of the SE180 for the past two years and feel no need to change or upgrade.

Headphones/IEMs: Sennheiser HD650 —> AKG N5005 IEMs —> Bose QC35 —> Focal Clear originals —> Sony 100MX4 —> Sennheiser IE900 IEMs —> B&W PX8 —> AirPods Pro2 —> Solitaire T.

I’ve learned I really appreciate a reference sound. The PX8s have a lot going for them but to my ears the sound is too warm, and they can’t be used in passive mode. So far the ST is checking all of my boxes. Decent ANC and bluetooth mode, comfortable to wear, and the passive mode is very impressive. The sound stage is not wide, but I can easily and clearly here the separation of instruments/voices. And for my tastes the balance of bass, mids and treble is fantastic.

 

[Lunatic]

Just received my white Solitaire T this morning. Now I've joined the gang! Initial impression: Passive isolation is quite good so I guess I could use HQ mode at home in most cases. I found that the maximum volume is a bit on the low side compared with my Focal Bathys and AirPods Max, when connected to my iPhone or Macbook Pro via Bluetooth. I tried using my Sennheiser BTD600 Bluetooth dongle to pair with the ST and that helped with the volume. Similarly when I connect the ST to my Macbook Pro the maximum volume is a bit low but using Audirvana as the player having exclusive access to the ST's DAC would provide louder volume. One question: When I tried pairing the ST with the BTD600 the CODEC LED on the ST seems to be only in red, which indicates that it's in aptX and not aptX HD mode. I double-checked the BTD600 specs and it supports both aptX Adaptive and aptX HD. Not sure what I need to do to enable aptX HD on the ST. On the other hand, wired passive mode is already quite something and I imagine it will improve after a few days of break-in and upgrading to a better cable. So far the biggest disappointment is the low volume when pairing directly with the phone. I've only read through the first dozen pages of this thread so I still need to catch up on many of your valuable comments.Any suggestions would be wholeheartedly welcome.

Quick update: I just found that with my old Google Pixel 4XL phone I can get aptX HD to work on the ST, the CODEC LED is orange in this mode. It's a shame that the much newer Samsung Z Flip 5 only supports aptX and not aptX HD.

 

[rammstoon]

Just received my white Solitaire T this morning. Now I've joined the gang! Initial impression: Passive isolation is quite good so I guess I could use HQ mode at home in most cases. I've only read through the first dozen pages of this thread and I've also found that the maximum volume is relatively low in HQ mode compared with my Focal Bathys and AirPods Max, especially when directly connected to my iPhone or MacBook Pro. I tried using my Sennheiser BTD600 Bluetooth dongle to pair with the ST and that helped with the volume but the CODEC LED on the ST seems to be only in red, which indicates that it's in aptX and not aptX HD mode. I double-checked the BTD600 specs and it supports both aptX Adaptive and aptX HD. Not sure what I need to do to enable aptX HD on the ST and would love to hear some advice from users in here. Wired mode is already quite something and I imagine it will improve after a few days of break-in and upgrading to a better cable. So far the biggest disappointment is the low volume when pairing directly with the phone. Any suggestions would be wholeheartedly welcome.

Are you on the latest firmware? There was an update to increase the max volume through one of their initial updates.

 

[Lunatic]

Are you on the latest firmware? There was an update to increase the max volume through one of their initial updates.

Yes it ships with the latest firmware. I understand now that the newer firmware now has an increased maximum volume compared with what some of the earliest adopters of the ST got initially...