Do you NEED 4.4mm BAL? Is it Better?

Join me as I dissect the subject of 3.5mm SE versus 4.4mm BAL.
Sections:
00:00 Intro
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[@XeonX__ASMR__METAL-experiments]

You should do the same video but about HI and LOW gain. Or just a comment ❤

[@donglemadness]

Thanks. It is a simpler subject so I will just reply here and Pin this comment. Hi and Lo gain on most DAC/Amps usually toggles high impedance dampening to achieve Low Gain and the High Gain is without any impedance dampening. But it differs from one implementation to another because some DAC/Amps actually regulate to power feed to achieve lower gain. Perhaps some folks with more insight into this can help to clarify as well?

[@Saitama07]

If the implementation is the impedance dampening one, what effect can we expect from the sound ? Will the Low gain sound warmer ?

[@donglemadness]

@@Saitama07 It depends, some single DD does get "warmer" when subjected to higher impedance, but it is not always the case, it varies from one to another

[@iikatinggangsengii2471]

it is better than the recent ve10

[@STAYCBias]

​@@donglemadness, does the final audio A5000 sound better with 4.4mm on iBasso DC-Elite?

[@coolpoete]

Man, this was such a great and simple explanation. I can't tell you how much forums I've read about this topic and gotten "lost in the sauce" with over-explanations. Thank you so much bro!!

[@donglemadness]

Hey glad you find it useful. And thanks!

[@taidee]

Wonderful explanation Andy, there's too many people who confuse others about the grandness of 4.4mm. Just to add, the part I'm sure you just forgot to mention is that, in a rare cases where there's electric ground noise interference , the common ground as available on Single ended can carry that noise to your earphones, while the advantage of a balanced system is that, the two grounds cause the noise to cancel out. This is usually the issue where there is a lot of other equipment and where very long cables are in use. This is very rare in desktop and in person use where we often use IEMs.

[@donglemadness]

Thanks and you are right. There's a lot more info into this subject but I opted to keep it under 10 mins because normally audience will even still skip here and there on 10 mins videos, let alone a 30 mins video. This subject alone if I really want to go into details can span to two hours, I doubt anyone would want that hahaha. Cheers.

[@syedrehanfida]

@taidee thank you for sharing this information. I do have slight noise issue on my Chu 2, a 4.4 cable might rectify that... I have to try is someday.

[@d0nj03]

Nope, sorry, but this is just a misunderstanding usually posted by old-school audio engineers that have worked with live performance setups with very long cables. That's where the word "balanced" was originally correct to use, but in recent years it has been taken over and redefined for the headphone world, where it means something completely different and has nothing to do with rejecting electromagnetic noise induced into your audio cables by other nearby equipment (headphone cables are never long enough for this to happen at audio frequencies anyway). "Balanced for headphones" (the redefined concept) is about separating the return wires for Left and Right in order to reject as much *crosstalk* as possible, i.e. leakage of Left signal into the Right circuit and Right signal into the Left circuit through the common ground, which compresses the soundstage width and degrades imaging and detail. This problem has the greatest impact for the _lowest_ impedance headphones (or IEMs) because of how the voltage divider math comes out for the SE circuit when the drivers have such low impedance it comes too close to the wire impedance. That's when you need the BAL-out the most, if you want maximum stereo separation and imaging and detail performance. (If the power is too much for your low-impedance IEMs, just make it quieter from software, but anyway the best stereo performance benefit from the BAL-out is seen in low-impedance IEMs - those are the ones that have the most crosstalk when connected to SE. Hundred-ohm headphones don't care about BAL or SE for stereo performance, they always have excellent separation.)

[@syedrehanfida]

Thank you!@@d0nj03

[@etutub]

@@d0nj03 that's correct. in the case of the properly named balanced connection, two phase-opposite copies of the signal are carried, so that any interference, affecting both in the same way, will be canceled out. the ground is common.

[@rambunctious_content]

Thanks andy great vid as always helped me a lot

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@christiharris292]

Excellent video! Clear and concise explanation of an often asked rarely explained subject

[@donglemadness]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!

[@spreston282]

this video is awesome! there should be no more questions after this. class dismissed😄

[@donglemadness]

Thanks!

[@emjayjose4909]

You are the Channel that explain it simpler, first time diving to this hobby and i can understand you very well. Holding the Device on hand made it 100% more comprehensive, thank you for this Excellent Content.

[@donglemadness]

Awesome, thank you! Means a lot to me

[@DarenLee]

Well explained. Thanks for the video Andy.

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure my man

[@asotomayor]

My recently acquired FC6 with only a 3.5mm SE output proved to me that 4.4mm is just nice to have.

[@devdev7600]

Thank you for this video. Im just starting to explore being an audiophile and this video helps me understand more about 4.4mm and 3.5mm.

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure. Glad to help 😁

[@MAR3718]

Thanks Uncle Andy. This is what i was wondering about, 3 standards and you describe it like i basic man could understand. Grets from Poland.

[@donglemadness]

Glad to help :D

[@CoffeeXmusic]

Very well explained, concise! Thanks 🎉

[@donglemadness]

You're welcome!

[@SinjiKazama]

You explain things well, thank you for the information and video sir.

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@nailedit05]

Very informative video Andy 💖

[@donglemadness]

🙏😁

[@arieljimenez6785]

Thanks for the explanation, really appreciate it.

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@kiki_indra]

Thank u uncle andy... It's like in the classroom... I'm the student... You the teacher... Your explanation is very very clear.. so glad to have teacher like you...

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@gwine9087]

Well, after I bought the Moondrop Dawn Pro DAC, I bought the LETSHUOER x GIZAUDIO Galileo IEMs with the 4.4.

[@bri3fcas3]

Well said. Thanks for sharing.

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure!

[@syedrehanfida]

Thank you so much for this video!

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@FATfreq]

planning to buy a Fiio KA17 (although not sure I have to watch your Dongle madness style review) & haven't decided the iem yet but this 3.5 vs 4.4 mm jack video will help me to choose one . thanks again brother Andy...... love you bro ❤❤

[@donglemadness]

Soon we will know once my KA17 arrives

[@syahfiqalarby6175]

Theres ka17 already?

[@user-nz2oc3zn3k]

Damn, Andy, you are right. I have tried in a few DACs; the only difference I saw was power. As always, you are the best, keep rocking!

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@iggy6841]

Nice, well explained vid Andy.👍🏽 Just recently got my Hiby FC6, loving it😊 Will you be reviewing the Simgot ea500LM any time soon?

[@donglemadness]

Thanks. Yes EA500LM is on the way

[@iggy6841]

@@donglemadness 😎

[@VirusForPrez]

I'll have to watch this a couple more times before it finally sinks in for good - 'Saved' thanks

[@donglemadness]

No worries

[@dolvinsujathkumar]

Thank you for helping ❤

[@donglemadness]

You're welcome 😊

[@gaba665]

Love this kind of videos when you explain things in a way we all can understand. Thank you for your content! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@donglemadness]

You are so welcome! Cheers

[@gaba665]

Btw Andy, what you recommend: FIIO KA3 or iBasso DC04 PRO? I want a good dongleDAC but not that expensive.

[@donglemadness]

@@gaba665 Easy, DC04Pro

[@ravirajpawar7734]

Been using Megatron since it came out, wish they'd make a version smaller in size like regular dongles..

[@chaukumlong4436]

thank you so much!😊

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@2121pl1]

Very helpful video thank you

[@wirriwarri]

thank you for the information

[@donglemadness]

You're welcome

[@rogerhuston8287]

4.4mm is my default. It is my main adapter for all my cords. I use adapters to covert to any termination I need.

[@xcr8tive]

thanks bro for the explanation

[@donglemadness]

Always welcome

[@ForeverBlackCat]

Thank you so much. I subscribed

[@donglemadness]

😁

[@Devil1836]

Hello Andy, I like your reviews and comparisons❤️👌🏻✌🏻 great thanks for your videos. Please suggest any budget 4.4 mm to 3.5 mm reducer adapter for my Artti T10 4.4 mm cable.

[@donglemadness]

Thanks!. I personally use my own DIY reducer adapter, but if someone ask for recommendation, then I will always recommend adapters from ddHiFi, you can be rest assured they make the best adapters

[@Devil1836]

@@donglemadness Thank you very much Andy ❤️👌🏻✌🏻 for your reply. Please tell the specific model no.of ddhifi, it will be great and easy for me.

[@GetID]

My curiosity was answered, thanks for explanation Andy

[@donglemadness]

Hey no worries

[@RudeWolfy]

The same pair of IEMs will draw the same amount of power from the dongle if they are driven to identical SPL. That's regardless whether SE or BAL outputs are used. True BAL will have more power into higher impedance loads because of twice the available voltage. The only downside of using BAL is power draw as both DAC stages will have to be used.

[@xsenjhiro]

Thank you sir.

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@rogeliogamboa7644]

Sir, thank you for a very informative video - you explain complicated stuff in simple terms - easy to understand - audiophile Philippines **

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@ANOLE_VX]

Before, I always check the sensitivity and impedance of an IEM to determine if I should use it in balance or not. But there are some IEMs that despite having low impedance and high sensitivity, "demands" balanced/more power from sources, for example, Sennheiser IE200, sounds limp, thin and unengaging when plugged in an unbalanced source, but sounds "grand" punchy and very dynamic when switched to balanced source. It makes the IE200 "alive" . Same goes with Blessing 3, bass sounds limp, dry and thin, but sounds punchy and dynamic when switched to balanced source.

[@donglemadness]

I means your IE200 and B3 are the type that scale well with power, just like Hidizs MS5 which has under 5 Ohm impedance yet sounding amazing when pumped with 3000 mW of power

[@MrGarkin]

Very interested in your opinion on cables, PureSilver / Graphene coated / etc. Are those basically just kind of impedance modding?

[@donglemadness]

No worries, once my review backlogs are cleared, I intend to do video on this subject

[@precsmo]

TQ for explaining

[@donglemadness]

My pleasure

[@razz_v95]

Great content as always.. thank you Andy.. I often use Simgot EW200 which is of 16 ohms i believe with my DC03 Pro. So you mean to say such low impedance iem sound better with 4.4 balanced? Or is it just fine with 3.5 SE? Thank you 😊

[@donglemadness]

Huh? did I said "low impedance iem sound better with 4.4 balanced"? I never said that, watch again please and you would notice I mentioned some highly efficient and sensitive IEMs can get shouty when subjected to more power, so something like 4.4mm BAL can appear overkill for them, but this also depends on the IEM itself, as some highly sensitive IEMs do scale really well with power like B3 or Hidizs MS5. DC03Pro is a 3.5mm SE exclusive so you only have one jack which is 3.5mm SE, so no concerns there between 4.4mm BAL as it don't even exist on that dongle. The difference between 4.4mm BAL and 3.5mm SE pertains to DAC/Amps that offer BOTH at the same time

[@razz_v95]

@@donglemadness oh okk.. will watch it again.. just understanding these things slowly.. sorry my bad.. Thanks for the quick response Andy..

[@rapmeister5242]

Thanks Andy for a very clear explanation. At first I was a little uneasy that the FC6 doesn't have a balanced output. Thanks to you I know better now. Also, I know it is unfair, but how do you compare the FC6 against the Mojo 2? I'm curious about your thoughts. I also owned a mojo 2 before, I just didn't like that it has a battery on it that will be just a dead weight in the future.

[@donglemadness]

Mojo 2 is special, slightly crispier imaging and resolution, but I still prefer F6 a bit more for the texture rendering and transient smoothness. And thanks!

[@angelocorral2108]

Very well explained video Uncle Andy! I just want to ask for recommendation, i am planning to get Hidizs Mp145 and Dc04 pro or Shanling UA4 combo. Since you have both dongles, what is more good for the MP145? And should I get the 4.4mm bal variant of MP145? Will use it for my phone or my Hiby R2 II. Thanks again for these kinds of videos!

[@donglemadness]

Thanks. I personally prefer the more natural open sounding combo of MP145 with DC04Pro, with UA4 you get more energetic synergy, so you decide which one you like more

[@angelocorral2108]

Thanks for your input!

[@choydeliverer7162]

Very informative video and the one that introduced me about the different jack types. I have a questiony andy, I'm purchasing an IEM with a 4.4mm balanced cable. I owned a dongle to pair with it but I also want to use it directly to my phone with 3.5mm port. Is it okay to use a 4.4 to 3.5mm adapter instead of buying another cable dedicated to 3.5mm. Is there any difference/quality loss when using an adapter.

[@donglemadness]

Thanks. Go ahead buy the 4.4mm BAL cable. And then get yourself a good 4.4mm to 3.5mm reducer adapter, I use them all the time since 90% of my cables are 4.4mm terminated, no issues with quality drop for as long as they are made properly

[@choydeliverer7162]

Nice!! Thanks Andy

[@bagaswisnu8737]

That why i still using ibasso dc03pro haha, very nice dac and maybe i will take colorfly cda m1p

[@rafifrizmawan8847]

Nice Mayhem t-shirt!!! 🤘🤘

[@donglemadness]

🤘🤘

[@Nordi1_0745]

Andy you are really great! This was in my mind these days! If I need to buy a 4.4mm balance cable for my HD600, cause I read that gives more power to the headphones. And as my next buy dongle maybe the (Colorfly m1p) will have balance output, to get the best for my Senns. Do you suggest me to have a 4.4mm balance cable? And if yes, can you suggest my any budget balance cable for my HD600? The only issue is my Tanchjim Zero which are only 3.5, but in this case I believe a 4.4mm option is not needed. As I will match them with my Go Link. Do you believe is a good match? Thanks for all!

[@donglemadness]

For HD600 it is a MUST to run it on 4.4mm BAL if you are getting M1P, otherwise it will be a waste to run on 3.5mm and get only 50% of the true potential of M1P power. I don't know which cable to recommend because for my own HD600 I cut the original cable and solder in a 4.4mm BAL plug myself DIY style. But I am sure there's a lot of options available if you search for it. And yes, Tanchjim Zero will pair well with GO Link and you can stay 3.5mm SE, no worries

[@WasuFCA]

Thx krub Uncle Andy.

[@donglemadness]

Any time!

[@arviendomuhammad1213]

thankyou for the explanation🙌 i'd like to ask question, for Moondrop May do you prefer the 3.5 mm or 4.4 mm for the better sound quality? i'm new in IEM thingy and not really sure about "shouty" or "power" in term of sound🙏

[@donglemadness]

I have only tested May with the DSP model, which means it does not even use 3.5mm or 4.4mm BAL. May I suspect will already be optimal with 3.5mm SE

[@arviendomuhammad1213]

@@donglemadness thanku so much for the answer🙏

[@just2share]

i got colorfly cda m1p and i'm very happy with it. i have balanced headphones with 3.5mm, and wondering if they would sound even better on 4.4mm BAL... when you do your reviews of DACs can you mention the difference between 3.5mm and 4.4mm for that particular DAC?

[@donglemadness]

If your headphone is terminated with 3.5mm SE then it is not designed to work in BAL mode, because the L- and R- are permanently soldered together. To change to true BAL you need to swap in for a proper 4.4mm BAL which will have L- and R- on separate soldered connection to the plug. If your headphone is the type that appreciate more power (scalable) then absolutely necessary to run 4.4mm BAL on the CDA-M1P because as mentioned in this video, you get 100%, the 3.5mm SE you get 50%. And yes I mention (though not exhaustively) in my reviews how the power differences work between 3.5 and 4.4

[@ahmedburamis655]

Thanks for great review, i need your advice i have fiio btr7 dac but unfortunatly there is destortion in the audio when i use wire will 😱 i changed 3 type of wires and in 3.5 port with 2 iem but the problem 🤔 still there however no problem in Bluetooth connection

[@donglemadness]

Thanks. It seems you may have a unit that has specific issues when connected via USB and that's odd, if I am you I would reach out to FiiO support already

[@ahmedburamis655]

@@donglemadness thanks alot i will try to reach them

[@DJHaworth]

Got it!

[@IE-Gems]

The Andromeda 2020 certainly works better with 3.5mm. Most dongles are just too loud and noisy on the balanced output side. The balanced output tends to have higher output impedance, which is not appreciated by the Andro. I have so much anxiety watching you handling the gear next to an open balcony though :)) Nice video, and great explanation!

[@donglemadness]

Lol, when I watched back yes I was like, have I lost my mind, what if that signed Mojo 2 flew backwards 3 storey down? Not easy to get founder and designer signature you know hahaha

[@bamskie2024]

when i switched my cable for timeless to 4.4mm, everything changed. in my opinion, 4.4 cables bring next level experience, but for universality, 3.5 is the way to go. anyways, straight to the point explanation on ur analysis!

[@donglemadness]

Thank you!

[@yds1133]

@bamskie2024 do you mind sharing what do you mean by next level experience? I am interested to make the switch like you did. Thanks in advanced

[@bamskie2024]

​@@yds1133maybe for me the true potential of an iem was unleashed when i switched to 4.4 mm, but not all iems does this scenario as some iems are actually better sounding when plugged to a 3.5mm cable. some iems tend to kinda loose its natural characteristic when plugged to 4.4mm cable, some are not and listening experience became better. so for me its a matter of personal pref in the end

[@juansebastianlombeidaurgil7336]

Hello👋, great explanation, sorry English is not my first language and I had a doubt about the planar IEMs., so I need to ask and clarify this please, I bought the Mp145 but with the simple 3.5 output and the Shanling ua4 DAC, do you think I will lose sound quality because of that, or will I just lose power? What do I lose by using the 3.5 cable instead of the 4.4 cable with the hidizs mp145?

[@donglemadness]

You have MP145 and you also have UA4, but you are running 3.5mm SE. While MP145 will still sound great with the 3.5mm SE of UA4, as mentioned in this video you are using only 50% of the power from UA4 and MP145 being a highly scalable magnetic planar, you will get firmer dynamic and resolution with crisper imaging if you run it on the 4.4mm side of UA4

[@juansebastianlombeidaurgil7336]

@@donglemadness Thank you so much! I understand, could you please recommend me the one that you consider the best or one of the best balanced 4.4 cables, in order to connect it to the Mp145, and in this way make better use of them? I see that in terms of cables there are also many things to take into account and I don't want to make a mistake. Oh, I also see that there are adapters from 3.5 to 4.4, I understand well that a 3.5 single end output cannot be converted into a 4.4, but can this adapter allow you to obtain all the power of the side 4.4? Is it better to buy an adapter or a new balanced cable?

[@donglemadness]

@@juansebastianlombeidaurgil7336 I can recommend what I use personally, which is NICEHCK MixPP 6N OFC

[@juansebastianlombeidaurgil7336]

@@donglemadness ok, thank you so much for this kind of video and also for your quick answer. It was a pleasure.👋😄

[@MrColdchillin81]

I would mention that the reason you’re top dongles and chord mojo use single ended is because their designs are single ended. In particular pulse array dac is a single ended design. Adding balanced to any of the top listed dongles and chord mojo could actually degrade the audio quality by introducing extra parts to the circuit. In short single ended designs benefit from single ended connections. Conversely a dac amp designed to be balanced will benefit from a balanced connection.

[@donglemadness]

And that's the whole point, I have no preference either for 3.5mm or 4.4mm or 2.5mm or even if they use paper clips to connect. But it seems that all the best sounding units that I have tested so far are largely SE

[@MrColdchillin81]

@@donglemadness that makes sense. The most popular Old school tube amps SET amps. Single Ended Triode. Better spatial cues - I think it’s due to cross talk which is often frowned upon in measurements. But then we use crossfeed dsp 🤷🏾‍♂️ lol

[@2121pl1]

But because you I feel better now thank you I run a speaker system and I run my iams and my over the head headphones with it and I love it

[@ursaminor9893]

I have a Sony MDR-1AM2 headphone. It has a low impedance of only 16 Ohms. So based on what you explained, it will be better to use the 3.5 mm single ended connection.

[@donglemadness]

Yes, it will be enough. 3.5 has already existed way much longer than anything else and has been successful even for 800 Ohm stuffs. I even use 3.5mm side for anything under 16 Ohm

[@yogiwp_]

Wouldn't balanced circuitry benefit from improved channel separation, which affects imaging? Or the improvement is simply not audible? (SE vs BAL within the same DAC/amp).

[@donglemadness]

It depends, with so many DAC/Amps offering BOTH 4.4mm BAL and 3.5mm SE, you would be surprised to hear that some 3.5mm SE actually sounded cleaner for highly sensitive IEMs and sounded better than it was when driven on 4.4. So it can vary a lot from one make to another, hard to nail down one answer for this

[@petermarangoni]

Hi Andy, I have followed your very interesting videos but I remain confused. I just got a KA5 and am using it with my Beyerdynamic DT 770 250 ohm which has a fixed cable and a 3.5mm jack. Is there ant way I can connect my headphones to the 4.4mm output? From what I understand an adapter would fry the KA5......I could have someone rewire the DT 770 but would it be worth it? Thank you.

[@donglemadness]

Yes there's a risk of heating up your KA5 because if you attempt to use an adapter instead of proper BAL cable, you are creating a short circuit of joined grounds from the DAC that was meant to be separate, that is why they called it BAL, separate grounds for Left/Right, the DT770 is natively wired for traditional stereo of shared ground and if you use the adapter, it will still be shared ground because the Left/Right grounds are soldered permanently together on the 3.5mm plug. You might get away with it but would you risk the change of heating up your KA5?. The proper way is to rewire the headphone to use separated grounds by using proper 4.4mm BAL plug. If the trouble is too much, then you can consider using other headphones which are more flexible with detachable cables

[@petermarangoni]

Thank you so much for your prompt answer!!! Any suggestions? @@donglemadness

[@ericchau1058]

would you take the chord mojo 2 over all the dongle dacs you've tried; price wise it's not fair but size wise if i had to carry something also where would the mojo 2 fit in your analog scale

[@donglemadness]

I like Mojo2 a lot, but I always prefer the sound and performance of HIBY FC6, CEntrance DACport HD and Aune Yuki

[@paoloterraneo3283]

Well…. Technically speaking differential is not having separates grounds… One signal goes up and the other goes down. In fact if you short circuit the two “-“, like some adapters do (don”t use them), you break the output stage of the amp. Never use a 3.5mm hp/iem with the differential output of a dac/amp. Differential is much more immune to noise: as the noise is a sort of a voltage difference applied to both + and -, the differential voltage remains the same (+1/-1 is the same as +1.05/-0.95 this second with an applied +50mV noise, voltage difference is always 2V). Cables are twisted to avoid the noise spreading unevenly across the two signals. In principle differential should also be a little more precise being a little faster, I mean edges are smoothed by the load, so to reach 2V in differential should take less time (one signal goes +1 and the other -1) than in single ended. Of course as you said it is the quality of the circuit that really makes the difference, so it is possible a good SE is better than differential. But in principle, a good differential is better than a good SE. Thank you for all your videos!

[@donglemadness]

Cheers 🍻

[@dusantomic9983]

To make headphones/earphones balanced, can you just use the balanced cable or do they need to be rewired inside as well?

[@donglemadness]

At the very least you can reterminate with 4.4mm provided that there's 4 wires there. But if there's already a shared ground joined at the Y split, then need to replace the entire cable

[@watashi1793]

What about channel crosstalk? Many DACs seem to improve the soundstage, the imaging and the sound separation when used in BAL compared to PO, for example the KA5 goes from ≥72dB in PO to ≥115dB in BAL, and the BTR15 from ≥78dB in PO to ≥114dB in BAL. Personally, I tend to prefer the output from the Balanced port for this reason. Love your videos, keep the good work! :)

[@donglemadness]

I have no insight on crosstalk, is that something you can hear in real life? perhaps my ears are not as acute as some other folks. The thing is I don't care if they are BAL or SE or use paper clips to connect, if they sound good to my ears then I am happy, lol. I have heard some super amazing separation and layering as depth of soundstage even from 3.5mm SE, so it really does not matter to me which one. And thanks for the support!

[@watashi1793]

@@donglemadness ​Yes, the difference is noticeable in my experience. If you switch from 3.5 to 4.4 (or 2.5) on the same DAC with the same IEM (it's easier if you use a cable with interchangeable jacks, like the TRN T2 Pro for example) the sound signature of the IEM stays the same, but the soundstage and the instruments separation seems to improve. It's not a dramatic change over the experience, like it would be changing the ear tips of the IEMs for example, and it also depends if the IEM "scale well" or not, but if you have a spare balanced cable and a DAC/Amp with a BAL port, I think it's better to prefer said port over the PO (unless, like you said, the impedance of the IEM is comically low).

[@SAyar-so9ur]

Thanks to you Andy I bought Aune Yuki and MP145 together! But only with 3.5 cable. Do you think MP145 sounds same good with 3.5 entry on Aune Yuki?

[@donglemadness]

Yes, MP145 is one of the most scalable planar IEM in the market now, get that 100$ power from Yuki by running 4.4mm BAL, at 3.5mm side you only get 50% power, such a waste

[@SAyar-so9ur]

@@donglemadness thanks! is there a good inexpensive cable you can suggest for this? Are they all same for the sound?

[@donglemadness]

@@SAyar-so9ur Get this NICEHCK MixPP 6N OCC, the same one I use: shopee.com.my/NiceHCK-MixPP-6N-OCC-Copper-HiFi-Earphone-IEM-Cable-3.5-2.5-4.4mm-MMCX-2Pin-for-HOLA-Zero-KATO-Winter-Aria-LAN-A5000-Cadenza-i.48959355.21689539269

[@SAyar-so9ur]

@@donglemadness alright I ordered this one now. Thank you! Does it sound better then original MP145's own balanced cable?

[@donglemadness]

@@SAyar-so9ur Yes of course

[@jackfein8914]

Hey can you explain how to find a power output at different ohms? The BTR15 SE is 15mW at 300 ohm while BAL is 50mW at 300ohm and idk why thanks man.

[@donglemadness]

Just check the manufacturer and 90% of the info are provided. I don't have a tool to measure anything and I am not the measurement sort of person. I always use practical real life test to see what makes sense with what combo

[@hevrutah-puckienguyen1511]

Hi Andy, I have Sony WH -1000xm5. ifi hip dac 3 vs iBasso DC04 Pro, which Dac is better to listen clasical music? Thank you.

[@donglemadness]

DC04Pro all the way. You need transparency, resolution and soundstage for classical, which Hip DAC 3 is lacking versus DC04Pro

[@hevrutah-puckienguyen1511]

@@donglemadness Yes, thank you so much for the answer. By the way, Neutron player music (free) same function as USB Audio Players Pro (9 bucks)

[@herbcohenflow7867]

I am using the Fiio BTR 15 Balanced and noticed that it gets really hot. I suppose that is because it transmitting so much power?

[@donglemadness]

Yes that is true, the more powerful they are the hotter it gets, you should try DACport HD or Apogee Groove, they get so hot you can fry eggs on them, lol

[@mike_litoris.]

Hi sir how about Ibasso DC03 Pro with 3.5mm output ? Good enough to drive headphones ?

[@donglemadness]

Yes absolutely, just make sure you run on High Gain. Tested with Sennheiser HD650 and no issues with power

[@psvdnm_new]

Изначально я был убежден, что 4.4мм всегда лучше для наушников из-за мощности и более четкого разделения каналов, но по факту сталкиваюсь с тем, что на недорогих dac (dawn pro, colorfly m1p) по 3.5 звук ощутимо четче и более естественный (вокал по центру, нет звонких высоких) причем не только на DD, но и на Planar (хотя по ним все однозначно говорят о необходимости мощного источника 4.4. У меня обратный опыт с лучшим звучанием по 3.5 на M1P для Hifiman 400SE, KZ PR2 и Nicehck F1 PRO)

[@donglemadness]

Thanks for sharing this

[@mcaik77]

I just brought a sundara pair with ibasso DC 3 it sounded so weak. Should I get a fiio K 11 or other type you can recommend please bro

[@donglemadness]

You mean you have DC03? the older one? How do you run it? on PC? on Android? USB Exclusive mode? But yes KA13 has the power for Sundara, so does many other 4 Vrms dongles I rated 4.5 Stars and above, even many of the 4 Stars rated 4 Vrms dongles will drive Sundara properly, just pick any one of them

[@mcaik77]

@@donglemadness yes Andy I have the older DC03 previously using AT M40X, running on PC. Bought the sundara on shopee last week for RM 1176. Didn't realized planar needs a bit of power to drive it. I'm looking at KA13 / K11 not sure which one I will choose yet. On paper K 11 has double the power but at higher price point

[@ksms8]

Sir I choose Colorfly cda m1p from your 5 star dac list and I am using this with truthear hexa iem 3.5 mm cable. Should I go for 4.4 mm cable ?

[@donglemadness]

No need to worry, HEXA is already an efficient IEM so it will not make much difference at all on the 4.4mm BAL, UA4 SE is already very powerful for anything 32 Ohm and below

[@ksms8]

@@donglemadness Thanks you sir… When you give your opinion regarding iem , dac etc. I feel like a friend or family member is giving true advice . I am very passionate about listening music so I will keep asking questions from you in future also :). 🙏

[@nathz2020]

Hi AndyAudioVault, if i use tanchjim zero, simgot ew200, and tangzu waner. Why sometimes the sound is hurt my ear. I thought it was the iem but when i try the iem without dac its not the iem fault. Maybe i didnt understand that much about audio phile 😂 thank you so much. By the way my device is 2.0 usb otg but the power deliver is 3.0 redmi note 13 pro 5g

[@donglemadness]

What DAC you use? could it be a bit too bright for your taste and sensitivity? it simply means you need something warmer to suit your listening

[@nathz2020]

@@donglemadness i had ibasso dc 04 pro. Do u have a recommendation my friend? Thank you so much.

[@donglemadness]

@@nathz2020 Then try something like Hidizs XO, iFi GO Link or EPZ TP30

[@motivationmore7025]

stupid question: got Blessing 3 from Moondrop, Ibasso dc03pro, works well. Today I got Hiby R3 gen2. Should I use the IBasso with this DAP or would that make confusion, as the Hiby already has a DAC inside?

[@donglemadness]

When you attach an external DAC to a DAP, the external DAC will always take over the audio processing work and the internal DAC of the R3 will be bypassed

[@motivationmore7025]

@@donglemadness in that case, would do that, or rather change EQ settings?

[@donglemadness]

@@motivationmore7025 Nothing to do with EQ. If you use R3 directly, then you are listening to R3 DAC, which has its own sound characteristics, when you attach DC03Pro, and plug your IEMs to DC03Pro, then you are listening to DC03Pro sound characteristics - as simple as that

[@motivationmore7025]

@@donglemadness I mean, in that specific scenario, would you use the ibasso to improve the sound?

[@donglemadness]

@@motivationmore7025 I don't know, I never tried R3. Use whichever one that sounds good to your ears, that's the only thing that matters

[@raynerstuelgalid]

I wonder if manufacturers will soon offer "monobloc" DAC-AMP soon.

[@donglemadness]

If there's a demand and appeal, why not?

[@marvelinosaktihatmahutama2765]

Can I get the same power by using 3.5 female to 4.5 male converter?

[@donglemadness]

You can but you also risk overheating up the DAC. Don't risk it

[@criticactual]

Hi! So basically Planar iems/headphones 4.4 mm and hibrid iems or dynamic headphones 3.5mm?

[@donglemadness]

Yes that would make sense, but some hybrid tend to be high impedance too, like BQEYZ Wind which will perform better with 4.4mm BAL. It is more like you need to see how sensitive the IEMs are regardless of driver type, very sensitive and easy to drive then 3.5mm works just fine

[@criticactual]

@@donglemadness Low sensitivity can be anything below 113? Its an aprox.

[@aeipee13]

4.4 changed my life because I needed I needed to hear more power. Great video, very informative.

[@donglemadness]

You can still get obscene amount of power from 3.5mm devices, it's just that the current trend intentionally set a cap on newer devices to sell more of 4.4mm BAL ideas

[@twittroll]

Can Fiio DAC-AMP Q11 warm an HIFIMAN H400se...if i just want to use it with an phone instead of dedicate sound board... 🤔 in that area were they have trouble...?Thx❤Is that setup good...🤔

[@donglemadness]

Already replied to your question on this on Q11 video

[@twittroll]

@@donglemadness Thank you!❤

[@dharmawiharjo5640]

Please help me uncle 🙏, i have simgot em6l and ibasso dc04 pro, should i choose 4.4 mm or stay in 3.5 mm? Which one is better uncle? Thank's for your help 🙏

[@donglemadness]

Lol, stop calling me uncle, I don't want to die just yet haha. EM6L can scale well with power so if you use the 4.4mm BAL side of DC04Pro, it will benefit with the 100% output, you would notice that it will offer wider sense of soundstage and improved separation

[@dharmawiharjo5640]

@@donglemadness thank u very much Mr. Andy 🙏

[@calvinyip364]

Can you please review the ea500lm? Thanks

[@donglemadness]

Yes I am waiting for my unit to arrive

[@calvinyip364]

@@donglemadness do you know what's the price they are selling in Malaysia? So far I can't seem to find any info about them. Also I would like to know weather is it a step up from the gizaudio galelio. Since I already got the galelio. Hope you can compare them in the video. Thanks.

[@donglemadness]

@@calvinyip364 We have to wait, EA500LM is not available in Malaysia yet

[@nurkoleptik_art]

"Size does not determine the quality of performance. "

[@jimidiga]

Is it correct to say that if I increase the volume of a Dac's 3.5mm output, it will equal the power/performance of its 4.4 output?

[@donglemadness]

In most cases for efficient IEMs, yes the output loudness will be the same once you volume matched them. However on scalable partners or IEMs/Headphones that are designed to handle high mW, the extra mW from the 4.4mm BAL side tend to offer better channel separation and layering, also impression of soundstage will appear wider

[@jimidiga]

Got it. Thank you, Andy. I just got the hiby fc6 for my hidizs mp145, but im thinking they might not have enough synergy because of the fc6's 3.5mm output. The hiby R3 pro saber's 2.5mm output gives more soundstage and clarity. Im confused already 😂

[@donglemadness]

@@jimidiga FC6 is a thoroughbred R2R and being implemented in such small footprint, R2R tend to emit soundstage with near field sort of presentation, more frontal as opposed to most Delta Sigma DAC, thus imparting the impression of not so wide width

[@jimidiga]

@@donglemadness I see. So it is by design to be intimate. Now I know, and further understand the fc6. Again, thank you Andy! :)

[@2121pl1]

I knew that plug did something different

[@damianluna7700]

So does that mean that 2.5 and 4.4 are the exact same thing, Only 2.5 is less reliable overtime?

[@donglemadness]

Yes. Exact same thing, they are just a lot smaller with the jack, so more likely to break first

[@jhtongamer3151]

WHATS BETTER THE 6.35MM JACK FOR GAMING WITH THE 2.5 OR 4.4 i play ffps games also whats the best channel for fps games would you say FL1: (Fixed minimum phase fast roll-off) FL2: (Linear slow roll-off) FL3: (Apodizing Apodization Filter) FL4: (Minimum phase fast roll-off) FL5: (Minimum phase slow roll-off) FL6: (Linear fast roll-off) FL7: (Brickwall Mixing Filte

[@jhtongamer3151]

i also have the smsl c200

[@jhtongamer3151]

i also have the xenns tops

[@donglemadness]

Not really relevant. It largely depends on your IEM and Xenns Top is already super efficient that it will already be optimal with 3.5mm SE from your SMSL C200. As for filters, really this is something you need to try yourself as which one you hear offering the precision you seek. But I suspect that Linear Fast Roll Off would work for you

[@jhtongamer3151]

okay thanks heaps for the reply @@donglemadness

[@tohart5455]

Jadi yang ngaruh tuningan DAC + amp , colokan apapun sama saja kualitasnya

[@donglemadness]

Sorry English please, I am a Malaysian but I don't understand Indonesia Malay - I might interpret your word wrongly

[@tohart5455]

So chip+amp tuning has a big influence on output quality, not because of the influence of the plug jack

[@donglemadness]

@@tohart5455 Yes that is correct, as noted the plug size does not determine the quality, it is the source DAC/Amp tuning aspect that determines how good/bad they are. As you can see, Chord Mojo 1 & 2 proved that for 7 years that they are still the best of the best despite being challenged by tons of 4.4mm BAL competitiors

[@2121pl1]

But I have the fosi sko1

[@faisalfirdausiinn4708]

Salaam, bang.. Currently i have MOONDROP Dawn Pro which i used exclusively to 'age/burn-break in' my IEMs. Considering the 3.5mm port alone is more than sufficient to power the majority of IEMs in the budget segment, i used Y Splitter cable so that i can do the 'aging/burn in' process for 2 IEMs at the same time. i noticed no sound degrading while doing this process, so i ASSUME it is fine. Therefore i plan to do the same for the 4.4mm port but it is difficult to find Y Splitter cable of 4.4mm (and probably too pricey anyway if it is available). So i have been thinking to buy an Adapter which converts 4.4mm BAL to 3.5mm SE, then i will connect the common 3.5mm Y Splitter cable to it. i wish to get your opinion whether this will cause any damage to the IEMs connected.

[@donglemadness]

Yes I can't find a 4.4mm BAL splitter as well, you can absolutely use an adapter from 4.4 to 3.5 (but not the other way round). Should be okay

[@faisalfirdausiinn4708]

@@donglemadnessi appreciate the reply. Thank you.

[@travisryan4959]

mayhem 🤘

[@donglemadness]

🤘

[@ruslanmulyk8601]

Do you know why is 3.5 jack has less power? What is the reason for that? Is it artificial😮?

[@donglemadness]

I did not say 3.5mm has less power per se, they can handle lots of power output as demonstrated by Burson Audio Playmate 2. As I mentioned many times in the video, on a device that has BOTH 4.4mm BAL and 3.5mm SE, the design is intentionally set that 3.5mm uses 50% of the available power from the DAC/Amp - so it is by design. Had they want the 3.5mm SE as powerful as the 4.4mm BAL, they can do that, but then as mentioned also in the video, the 3.5mm SE was designed for sensitive stuffs that sounds better with less power

[@faisalfirdausiinn4708]

​@@donglemadness Even you have mentioned this clearly in the video, after reading it here, i manage to get that points even better. Thanks a lot. So now i understand better that it just a matter of connecting a IEM into a DAC which suits the IEM itself. Which also the reason why some of the DAC has Low Gain and High Gain to give better power versatility.

[@MrYevelnad]

Audio Science Review has a good video about balance. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGLPe3aCarR2rq8si=Tu0W5yNGQGBdQF_Q

[@piperfect]

You made an incorrect statement. The rings are not the "ground" on the balanced plugs. The sleeve is the ground.

[@chefsteve8381]

Thought you would also mention that balanced also reduces ground loops....

[@donglemadness]

Yes that's true, but that sort of info will he harder for the general masses to digest as it will bring the discussion topic to advanced stage and most audio consumer would not want to be burdened with the science behind it, instead I focus only the end state, the actual results

[@DJbernardo1320]

👍👍👍👏👏👏🙌

[@muhamadsyazwan5170]

3.5 mm for the win haha

[@user-mt4ky8hc4o]

People use mojo a lot with a 4.4 balanced gender. What do you think of this?

[@donglemadness]

I don't quite understand how to use a 4.4mm jack on a 3.5mm SE Mojo 2. Do you mean using 4.4mm terminated cable with a reducer adapter to 3.5mm SE? if yes then I do it all the time as 90% of my cables are 4.4mm terminated as I need to test dongles. When I use FC6 or DACport HD, the same 4.4mm cable will then be adapted to 3.5mm using the adapters

[@KrmSnty92]

i switched my ea1000s to 3.5 while watching this lol

[@donglemadness]

😂

[@adven111]

2.5 not very reliable. crunched and broke. in some Balanced they play worse than 3.5, it all depends on the engineer

[@donglemadness]

True, the contact points can be so small and gets easily dirty which can impair quality

[@VladRockko]

Сейчас аудиофилы набегут и докажут обратное)

[@donglemadness]

😂

[@slotracing.digital]

So I 'd like to know what's your favorite dac and headphone to listen mayhem? And 2nd, how much better sounds the playmate 2 compared to an RU7 dongle? ( i use my hifiman R10P, most of the time, really like its relaxed sound).

[@donglemadness]

My utmost favotire listening to Mayhem especially for Death Crush album is Shure KSE1500 with Sony PCM-D100. Alternately I been spending lots of time too with SIVGA Nightingale and FiiO BTR15 for Mayhem and many other Black Metal bands in my playlist. Between Playmate 2 vs RU7, there's no contest when it comes to sheer authority of dynamic transients where Playmate 2 (with stage 1 Opamp Mod) will offer more refined imaging and resolution