Amaakaams t1_j9xckoz wrote on February 25, 2023 at 6:07 AM

Reply to comment by o7_brother in Should I try balanced output on my new DAP; and if so, what cables/headphones/IEMs do I need? by Ocean898

Well there is some give and take here. Balanced should probably used any chance people get. 1. While the audible effect is low, the science is accurate, balanced should give you a lower noise floor (even if any particular amp has a pretty low noise floor). 2. The implementation results in more power.

So yeah while I would say that assuming decent design matched between the choices, you aren't really going to be able to tell a difference. I think (without getting into silly snake oil about cabling since you can get balanced relatively cheap) there is a comfort in knowing you are cancelling out on noise along with the increase in power, giving you more confidence in your selection.

Note: I am mentioning because it has a Amp with balanced. I wouldn't suggest someone design their whole audio setup around the idea of going balanced. But a think a cable swap for an IEM (specially going with one with interchangeable connectors) is a value + option.

smalg2 t1_j9zuj82 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 8:00 PM

> While the audible effect is low, the science is accurate, balanced should give you a lower noise floor (even if any particular amp has a pretty low noise floor).

While I'm definitely a noob on the matter, I think I've read somewhere that it should be the opposite: since balanced uses two amps per channel instead of one, with each amp introducing its own noise, the noise floor is basically doubled. So unless you're listening to double the volume just because you're using a balanced output, you'd end up with a lower SNR. Does that make sense? Maybe it's a balancing act (pun unintended) between amp and EMI noise?

Again, not pretending I know what I'm talking about, I'm just genuinely curious about this stuff.

Amaakaams t1_j9zvjaj wrote on February 25, 2023 at 8:07 PM

It works like ANC, which is inputting the same noise at an alternating frequency cancelling the original noise out (they use microphones to pick up the noise.

So in this case they use an alternating frequency to cancel out each other's noise leaving just the main audio package. So twice as much noise generated but it eliminated itself. The result is basically an emi shielded signal. Huge over simplification, probably using the wrong wording, and my interpretation of the science is probably a bit wrong. But yeah the two separate signals eliminate each other's noise.