Balanced IEMs - which ones?

[Al ears]

Help needed here dalethorn and any others out there.

Have just upgraded my digital music player to an Onkyo DP-X1 which has provision for 2.5mm balanced 'phones and, although happy with my unbalanced 1More E1001 in-ear buds, was wondering about upgrading to a set of balanced IEM's but know little about them. Does anyone make them or is this purely a connection for larger over-the head headphones?

Any ideas as to the 'best buys' out there without taking out a second mortgage?

 

[Vladimir]

Balanced as in armature drivers? I remember those always got bad reviews in the bass department.

 

[dalethorn]

Help needed here dalethorn and any others out there.

Have just upgraded my digital music player to an Onkyo DP-X1 which has provision for 2.5mm balanced 'phones and, although happy with my unbalanced 1More E1001 in-ear buds, was wondering about upgrading to a set of balanced IEM's but know little about them. Does anyone make them or is this purely a connection for larger over-the head headphones?

Any ideas as to the 'best buys' out there without taking out a second mortgage?

Presumably balanced out means the left and right channel are completely separate and don't share a common ground. If the earphone has a cable to match, then you'd be good to go. Headphones and earphones are a natural for "balanced" mode, if that's what the player outputs actually provide, so the trick is having the right cable. Wired headphones with single-side cables are the most difficult to rework for balanced listening, but with double-entry detachable cables, it's just a cable swap. In the end, with headphones and earphones, "balanced" listening has complete separation of left and right from the ears back through the player to the digital track, but as a practical matter, the music tracks contain a lot of mixing of sound between left and right. So in the player and the earphone/headphone, instead of getting "70-90 db channel separation" like you see in the player specs, you get total separation.

 

[Al ears]

Balanced as in armature drivers? I remember those always got bad reviews in the bass department.

No not armatures the actual wiring as in a 2.5mm TRRS connection.

 

[Al ears]

Help needed here dalethorn and any others out there.

Have just upgraded my digital music player to an Onkyo DP-X1 which has provision for 2.5mm balanced 'phones and, although happy with my unbalanced 1More E1001 in-ear buds, was wondering about upgrading to a set of balanced IEM's but know little about them. Does anyone make them or is this purely a connection for larger over-the head headphones?

Any ideas as to the 'best buys' out there without taking out a second mortgage?

Presumably balanced out means the left and right channel are completely separate and don't share a common ground. If the earphone has a cable to match, then you'd be good to go. Headphones and earphones are a natural for "balanced" mode, if that's what the player outputs actually provide, so the trick is having the right cable. Wired headphones with single-side cables are the most difficult to rework for balanced listening, but with double-entry detachable cables, it's just a cable swap. In the end, with headphones and earphones, "balanced" listening has complete separation of left and right from the ears back through the player to the digital track, but as a practical matter, the music tracks contain a lot of mixing of sound between left and right. So in the player and the earphone/headphone, instead of getting "70-90 db channel separation" like you see in the player specs, you get total separation.

That's what I thought up to a point. I was looking for particular models of earphones that employ this means of connection. I have found one but they cost £1600..... ;-)

There's plenty of cables but presumably simply employing one as an 'adaptor' for unbalanced earphones is rather defeating the object and I might as well stick with the 3.5mm unbalanced connection that I currently use.

 

[Vladimir]

 

[dalethorn]

Help needed here dalethorn and any others out there.

Have just upgraded my digital music player to an Onkyo DP-X1 which has provision for 2.5mm balanced 'phones and, although happy with my unbalanced 1More E1001 in-ear buds, was wondering about upgrading to a set of balanced IEM's but know little about them. Does anyone make them or is this purely a connection for larger over-the head headphones?

Any ideas as to the 'best buys' out there without taking out a second mortgage?

Presumably balanced out means the left and right channel are completely separate and don't share a common ground. If the earphone has a cable to match, then you'd be good to go. Headphones and earphones are a natural for "balanced" mode, if that's what the player outputs actually provide, so the trick is having the right cable. Wired headphones with single-side cables are the most difficult to rework for balanced listening, but with double-entry detachable cables, it's just a cable swap. In the end, with headphones and earphones, "balanced" listening has complete separation of left and right from the ears back through the player to the digital track, but as a practical matter, the music tracks contain a lot of mixing of sound between left and right. So in the player and the earphone/headphone, instead of getting "70-90 db channel separation" like you see in the player specs, you get total separation.

That's what I thought up to a point. I was looking for particular models of earphones that employ this means of connection. I have found one but they cost £1600..... ;-)

There's plenty of cables but presumably simply employing one as an 'adaptor' for unbalanced earphones is rather defeating the object and I might as well stick with the 3.5mm unbalanced connection that I currently use.

I don't suggest using an adapter - If you have a detachable double-entry connection cable now, you replace it with the balanced cable and you have true balanced sound.

 

[dalethorn]

In other words, all wired headphones and earphones are inherently "balanced", and the only thing that makes them otherwise is the cable they come with that joins the ground wires into a common ground. Replace the cable and you're set.

 

[luckylion100]

soldering iron out and make one, save yourself a bomb. I did and it made my headphone amp sound like it was worth the RRP.

Head and shoulders above the unbalanced output.

I'd never soldered before and managed it and my headphone uses stupidly small 2.5mm mono ts jacks.

 

[Al ears]

In other words, all wired headphones and earphones are inherently "balanced", and the only thing that makes them otherwise is the cable they come with that joins the ground wires into a common ground. Replace the cable and you're set.

Many thanks, that's what I thought. Unfortunately all of my current collection are 'hard wired' so I guess to make any progress I would need to find a different earphone that has removable earpieces and a replacement cable.

Something like a model from the Westone range perhaps.

Can you recommend anything let's say up to £300?

 

[Al ears]

In other words, all wired headphones and earphones are inherently "balanced", and the only thing that makes them otherwise is the cable they come with that joins the ground wires into a common ground. Replace the cable and you're set.

Many thanks, that's what I thought. Unfortunately all of my current collection are 'hard wired' so I guess to make any progress I would need to find a different earphone that has removable earpieces and a replacement cable.

Something like a model from the Westone range perhaps.

Can you recommend anything let's say up to £300?

Note: I will be using the Onkyo only whist travelling and at work so definitely prefer IEMs rather than open-backed headphones.

 

[dalethorn]

In other words, all wired headphones and earphones are inherently "balanced", and the only thing that makes them otherwise is the cable they come with that joins the ground wires into a common ground. Replace the cable and you're set.

Many thanks, that's what I thought. Unfortunately all of my current collection are 'hard wired' so I guess to make any progress I would need to find a different earphone that has removable earpieces and a replacement cable.

Something like a model from the Westone range perhaps.

Can you recommend anything let's say up to £300?

Note: I will be using the Onkyo only whist travelling and at work so definitely prefer IEMs rather than open-backed headphones.

Almost anything you get from Westone or Etymotic for £300 or so will be great, as long as it suits your purposes. The people at HiFiHeadphonesUK have been very helpful to me.

 

[Al ears]

In other words, all wired headphones and earphones are inherently "balanced", and the only thing that makes them otherwise is the cable they come with that joins the ground wires into a common ground. Replace the cable and you're set.

Many thanks, that's what I thought. Unfortunately all of my current collection are 'hard wired' so I guess to make any progress I would need to find a different earphone that has removable earpieces and a replacement cable.

Something like a model from the Westone range perhaps.

Can you recommend anything let's say up to £300?

Note: I will be using the Onkyo only whist travelling and at work so definitely prefer IEMs rather than open-backed headphones.

Almost anything you get from Westone or Etymotic for £300 or so will be great, as long as it suits your purposes. The people at HiFiHeadphonesUK have been very helpful to me.

Thanks. I might give the idea a miss as it is getting increasingly difficult (and expensive) to find a cable that is terminated in a 2.5mm TRRS jack.

 

[Al ears]

allow me to introduce the Dita Audio 'The Dream' ...... as in 'dream on....'

Yours for a mere £1675....

http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/dita-audio-the-dream-balanced-iem-earphones-titanium-black.html

 

[stevee1966]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but i use a Fiio X5 3rd gen player. Fiio have just released a balanced IEM, the F9, at less than £90.

Has anyone had experience of these, or maybe their F5's which are the previous version.

 

[Al ears]

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but i use a Fiio X5 3rd gen player. Fiio have just released a balanced IEM, the F9, at less than £90.

Has anyone had experience of these, or maybe their F5's which are the previous version.

Really good player for the money that Fiio. I had one before I upgraded to my Onkyo.

I have just received my F9 IEMs and although still giving them a good listening session I would say, without hesitation, go buy them.. if you must have a balanced connection, otherwise I am sticking with my quad driver 1More IEMs as they are more neutral

The F9s have a 7khz spike which needs to be cancelled out. Trying that now because at the moment they are way too bright.

EDIT: Don't buy F9s. I have tried to get them to suit however, unless I have a dodgey pair there is no way these are any good across the frequency range, in particular no bass, whichever settings I use I on my Onkyo. Mine will be going on eBay soon.