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BurritoJustice I see. It's just I paid extra for my Fostex TH900 to come with a balanced cable. Not the end of the world to not use it.
The "Pro"? Does that mean the ADI-2 Pro? That doesn't seem to have a balanced HP output either. Do you use the rear XLR's?
The Pro line has two identical headphone amps, so with a custom adapter (can be found online for reasonably cheap, or just DIY) you can run in balanced mode for twice the voltage, output impedance, I believe twice? the amperage, and a minor increase in SNR.
It should be noted that there isn't an
implicit benefit to running your headphones balanced, as headphones are naturally balanced (no ground) you are really just driving them deferentially (the difference between two inverse signals creates the voltage across the driver). To the headphones (mechanically), this is identical. This of course doesn't account for specific devices where implementation can show marked gains.
Funnily enough the most significant benefits to "balanced" phone configurations are the improved connector (TRS is a mess compared to XLR4, for various reasons), and the reduce in crosstalk and noise from having
separate grounds. As a fun fact, the Benchmark HPA4, though marketed as a balanced amp, is actually run single ended (as opposed to differentially, L-L+) with independent grounds in the XLR4 connector. It is also likely the best measuring amp out right now, given how even stripped back versions can be so potent.
E: I've also now realised I've got quite far off topic, sorry for that