Balanced Headphones - What is that? Different from Balanced cables?

Today we're looking at what Balanced Headphones are, and why that's a different thing entirely from a "balanced cable". I just got a Schiit Audio Magnius headphone amp (not sponsored, paid full price!) to match with a fancy new cable I got for my HD650s (the old one was in a very poor state).

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#balancedheadphones #balancedaudio #audiophile

[jcjc]

Thank you. That was the clearest, most honest and descriptive explanation that I have heard.
Great job.

[ringingears]

This is the clearest, in laments terms, explanation I've ever heard. Thank you.

[poolepaul]

Mate, I even understood this video and I'm as high as a kite. Cheers bro.

[tomh]

Really interesting the way cables cancel out noise, great explanation. Thanks!

[AlejandroSanchez-xnzz]

Just stumbled upon your channel and I'm already loving it, thank you! ☀️

[colinvannbohemen]

Fantastic explanation of something that's always been a mystery to me. thank you!

[mttrashcan-bgro]

That has got to be the best explanation of Balanced vs Single Ended that I've ever heard. I recently swapped my Schiit Asgard 3 for a Jotunheim 2 and went Balanced for both my Focal Clear MG and Radiance. The Jotunheim sounds noticeably better on either Balanced or SE, but Balanced being double the signal obviously does make it a lot louder and on paper Balanced is superior and it's only drawbacks are it'll likely require a new headphone cable (headphones with a fixed cable don't work in balanced without a mod), it'll only work on an Amplifier and DAC that support it.

[VallartaOffroad]

You explained matters very clearly, thanks, and without a hint of trying to sell something

[Karma_-l]

You know you are audiophile when you reach these videos 😂

[terrygreen]

Thank you mate a friend of mine and i where just discussing this and you clarified a lot we are satisfied

[MillisecondFalcon]

This is one of the most down to earth explanations I've seen, thanks. I just ordered the xDuoo XA-10 DAC, which has a 4 pin XLR output, and now I'm curious about balanced headphones. I picked that one mainly because it has all the inputs I need so I can leave everything plugged in and just select which input I want, and very few DAC\AMPs have both digital and analogue inputs. Anyway, I was doing some searching and it's hard to find headphones that are balanced out of the box. I haven't found any group comparisons or review roundups focusing on them, so I take it it's a fairly new thing. At least now I have a better understanding of what to look out for if I decide to buy balanced headphones in future.

[lvcifer-cloverfield]

So breaking it down electrically, in a balanced signal to a speaker the induction is not from one wire to ground but through the full circuit which means the potential velocity of the driver's magnet is greater. As in you'd be closer to being able to hear what a square wave really sounds like with a balanced headphone than an unbalanced one?

[de]

You can get a balanced setup relatively cheaply. I have a iFi Zen DAC which feeds some HD599 that are balanced and some Behringer speakers that are balanced too. Total cost is under 500 quid with cables.

[ltownandfriends]

great video thanks. correct me if im wrong but you should be able to mod any headphone to take a balanced cable. just unsolder both drivers, drill a hole into each cup, screw a mini xlr connector into each hole, solder each mini xlr connector the the respective driver, put the headphone back together again :D

[sim]

So is there a difference between unbalanced and balanced if the playback volume is matched?

I understand more power is good... But if you have enough head room with a unbalanced amplifier, what's the point?

Some people say crosstalk gets lowered but I'm wondering if they are confused with a balanced DAC that has common noise rejection...

Thanks!

[neilsteadman]

Thanks Adam..!!I can convert my Senheisser 600 headphones then..?

[prioritymaleman]

Very helpful and informative. Thank you!

[headphonecable]

Thanks for your explaination, good video, you are excellent!

[Kopa]

Great video and awesome spot-on explanation, thanks mate👍

[RolandDeschain]

"Hey, what does it sound like?"

"It sounds like Schitt!"