2023-08-23 19:02:01
There are two types of cables used in headphones, balanced and unbalanced. A balanced headphone cable uses 4 wires (cores) of equal size, length and impedance to carry the stereo signal. Although the biggest advantage of balanced ones is, in general, the rejection of noise, this is not the point that makes them advantageous in the case of headphones, as you will see below.
What is a balanced cable and what is the advantage for the headset in using it. Source: Vitor Valeri
What are the differences between a balanced cable and a regular cable?
“Unbalanced” cables, also called single-ended (SE), have two negative wires (left and right channel), which also work as a ground wire, and two positive wires (left and right channel). The negative wires are used as a shield against interference involving the positive wires. Shielding not only acts as a stereo signal return, but also protects the signal from noise caused by radio frequency interference (RFI), or IR.
Single-ended (SE) cable structure. Source(source): robrobinette.com
Balanced cables use 4 wires (cores) with equal size, length and impedance to conduct the stereo signal. It is called balanced because the impedance of the 4 wires is balanced. Here there are four independent wires, while in the single-ended the negative part is joined (left and right wire), so we have: Left +, Left -, Right + and Right -. A balanced 4-wire cable naturally isolates noise caused by RFI and fast magnetic interference (RMI) naturally because two wires of equal gauge and length on each channel are picking up the same electrical noise (one positive and one negative). negative), so when the signal from both is combined in the headphone, the noise cancels out.
Balanced cable structure. Source(source): robrobinette.com
How to differentiate a balanced cable from a common cable (single-ended or SE)?
Through the connectors (plugs) of the headphone cables that are connected to the device with headphone output, it is possible to differentiate when a cable is balanced or single-ended (common cable). In SE plugs we find a 3-pole structure (TRS), regardless of whether it is larger (6.35mm or P10) or smaller (3.5m or P2). Using this design means that the ground will be shared and will not work on a balanced output.
TS (mono), TRS (stereo) and TRRS (balanced). Source(source): cablechick.com.au
In balanced cable plugs we find several types of structures, the most common being the 4.4mm (5 poles) currently. The 2.5mm (4 pole) connector is no longer found on newer equipment.
According to FiOChinese manufacturer of audio equipment, balanced outputs (2.5mm, 4.4mm or XLR) cannot be converted to a single-ended output (3.5mm or 6.35mm), as when connecting an unbalanced plug to the connection balanced, the positive and negative wires will cause a short circuit, which may damage the device.
Connectors (plugs) balanced (4.4mm and 2.5mm) and single-ended (3.5mm). Source: FiiO
Is it worth using a balanced cable on my headphones?
For headphone systems, the biggest advantage of using a balanced cable is that you get more power. The reason for this is that manufacturers of DAC/amps, amplifiers and DAPs (Digital Audio Players) have chosen to provide a higher output power through balanced connections. However, this does not mean that using a balanced cable will always bring significant benefits, because depending on the characteristics of the headphone used, the degree of sound improvement when using more robust amplification may vary.
To try to determine whether a headphone will benefit considerably from using a better output power, it is interesting to look at impedance and sensitivity. If the impedance is above 32 Ohms and the sensitivity is below 100 dB, getting a DAC/amp, a DAP (Digital Audio Player) or a dedicated amplifier with balanced outputs will bring a good result in the quality of sound reproduction. This need usually arises when using over-ear (circumaural) headphones, as it is not common to find in-ears and earbuds with low sensitivity and/or high impedance.
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