Headphones

I may be wrong but I sense that some urgency has evaporated from the trend to adopt balanced drive for headphones. Generally speaking, balanced interconnection is reserved for circumstances in which low signal levels, long cable runs and the presence (or likely presence) of sources of electromagnetic radiation combine to make unbalanced connection prone to interference.

None of these pertain in normal domestic headphone listening, so there has always been a suspicion that balanced headphone drive is a fad – a fad with a price tag – rather than an innovation which truly delivers better sound. Certainly that has been borne out by my subjective experiences, comparing balanced and unbalanced connection between the same amplifier and headphones: typically I've preferred the unbalanced option. But if you want it, MrSpeakers offers a balanced cable for the Ether 2 (pictured above). KH