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Author: Admin | 2025-04-27
Essentially shorting to ground 2 legs of the circuit making the amp single-ended. This can also potentially damage your balanced amp depending on the design.” – Moon AudioA 4.4mm Pentaconn connection is a special case, as unlike a 2.5mm or 4-pin XLR balanced connection, it contains 5 conductors rather than 4. The extra conductor is the common ground, making it possible to convert a 4.4mm balanced output to a single-ended connector.Pentaconn L- (first ring from the tip) and R- (third ring from the tip) must not be connected.Pentaconn ground (sleeve) to SE TRS ground (sleeve).Pentaconn L+ (tip) to SE TRS L+ (tip).Pentaconn R+ (second ring from the tip) to SE TRS R+ (ring).Conversely, a balanced headphone cable can easily be converted for use with an unbalanced output. This simply requires a compatible adapter that ties the two negative lines together and has a connector plug to fit the source.It is quite common to find 3.5mm TRRS connectors on unbalanced headphone cables. These cables typically contain a microphone wire. The fourth pole is not used for a balanced connection but as a channel for the mic, or sometimes as a video connection for Apple devices. Single ended TRRS connectors used for a variety of purposes from different manufacturers from Cable Chick. This explains why there were different cables marketed for years for Android and Apple devices due to differing wiring schemes.Balanced headphones and unbalanced headphones are the same things, differing only in the connector at the end of the cable. To convert unbalanced headphones into balanced, simply re-cable with a different connector plug.Types of Balanced Headphone ConnectorsTraditionally 4-pin XLR connectors have been used for the connection between balanced headphone cables and a headphone amplifier. While appropriate in professional audio situations where the larger size and tough construction are prized, XLRs make heavy and clumsy home headphone connectors. For portable devices, they are frankly ridiculous.4-pin XLR and dual (left and right) 3-pin XLR balanced headphone connections from Audiophile Review.Some manufacturers adopt the ‘more is better’ approach and actually use dual 3-pin XLR connections between a balanced headphone and the amplifier. One for each Left and Right channel (the same as is done with line-level balanced interconnects).The Cayin iHA-6 headphone amplifier featuring low and high impedance ¼” single-ended, dual 3-pin XLR balanced and 4-pin XLR balanced headphone outputs from Cayin.2.5mm TRRS connections are fast becoming the norm for portable balanced headphone use. The smaller size not only is ideal for tiny devices, it also prohibits accidental insertion of a single-ended 3.5mm plug, and provides the 4 discrete poles necessary for balanced operation.While not a headphone cable, it should be noted that a potential hum issue can be introduced when connecting a portable source to a non-portable device with a true earth ground. For example, a battery-operated DAC or DAP connected to a home headphone amplifier. While not an issue with unbalanced connections, using a 4-pole balanced connection (such as the 2.5mm TRRS) can produce unwanted noise due to differences between ground references.“There is
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