Richter Di
1000+ Head-Fier
I have finally switch my XBA-A3 stock cable to a new 8-core copper cable with a 2.5mm balanced jack. I then plug it into a 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm balanced jack before going into the ZX2.
Honestly, my ears is not sensitive enough to differentiate between 3.5mm unbalanced with this new setup, apart from I did noticed wider sound stage on the lows which I believed is due to the new copper cable.
For me the TRRS makes a huge difference, especially with my Mitchel & Johnson MJ2 headphones. While they sound okay with the unbalanced cable, they sound a class better when going for the Sony NW-ZX2 TRRS.