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Klipsch X4s now in balanced mode!


DizRotus

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EDIT: 10/29/15

 

Go to post #10. 

 

Klipsch 7 day trial kit was delivered. Included are 3 pairs of "balanced armature" headphones and an adaptor plug I suspect is part of balanced mode operation. No information regarding the adaptor is provided. Can someone point me to information regarding the adaptor and the possibility of using the X4, X7 and X11s in balanced mode with my Pono player?

EDIT: 7/18/15

Balanced mode works, but not with Klipsch "balanced" headphones. Go to post #8 to learn more, if you're interested.

Edited by DizRotus
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Thanks for the replies. I guessed that the adaptor is for airline use, not balanced mode. After speaking with Pono tech support, it's clear the Klipsch phones are not "balanced" in the way needed to play a Pono player in balanced mode.

I've come to the conclusion that I could use two pair of headphones and two 3.5 mm TRS plugs to make a Single pair of "balanced" phones. Each channel would be wired with the positive to the tip of the plug and the ground to the ring of the plug. Nothing would connect to the sleeve of the plugs, which is typically a common ground. One Chanel of each pair of phones would be unused to avoid allowing the balanced Pono player to see a common ground, which would be fatal.

Despite the tech bulletins and schematics supplied by Pono, I'm reluctant to test the validity of my theory, as being wrong would turn the Pono into a paperweight.

Edited by DizRotus
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It worked.

After reading the Pono tech bulletins I decided to take a chance on balanced mode. I purchased a sacrficial pair of the bargain mrice/Baldoor E300 phones http://www.amazon.com/Earphones-Headphones-Resistance-Different-Packaging/dp/B00O0I39GU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1437094275&sr=1-1&keywords=granvela+mrice+baldoor+e300 and sacrificed a new 3.5 mm stereo male to male TRS cable to solder up a set of balanced headphones.

The E300s sound very good in single ended mode, but the balanced mode makes them sound way better. Bass, mid-range & treble are all improved. It sounds crazy when referring to headphones, but the soundstage is wider and more 3D. Percussion is superb.

It sounds so good I'll be doing this to a really good set of headphones yet to be determined. It's hard to imagine how the improvement in balanced mode of more expensive headphones over the E300s can equal the improvement of balanced over single-ended.

I just returned the Klipsch Try On Kit. The X11s were the best of the bunch, but the E300s in balanced mode are seriously better. I'd like to hear the X11s in balanced mode.

Balanced 3.pdf

post-6832-0-96460000-1437565536_thumb.jp

Edited by DizRotus
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  • 3 months later...

I finally got the nerve to put my Klipsch X4s under the knife. They're now balanced in that the left and right channels no longer share a common ground. The difference in separation and sound stage is dramatic. They're now much better than single-ended and better than the bargain E300s in balanced mode.

Soon I'll fabricate a Y adapter to be able to quickly convert back to single-ended for comparisons. I'll also be able to use it to use the balanced phones with single-ended sources.

 

Dire Straits' Ride Across The River is 3 dimensional inside my head as I type this.

post-6832-0-02660000-1446172597_thumb.jp

Edited by DizRotus
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  • 4 weeks later...

I made the adaptor, so I can again use the X4s in single-ended mode. When the belt has been loosened on Thursday and before the tryptophan kicks in, I'll have my son switch back and forth between balanced and single-ended, behind my back, to see if I can accurately identify the mode.

post-6832-0-70620000-1448452666_thumb.jp

Edited by DizRotus
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