Aye the Timeless has caused quite a stir thatâs for sure lol
I feel like I should comment on this commentâŠ
Every thread deserves its own fanboy
Weâre just wondering how much they pay you⊠Ha ha ha!
drftr
If you think this is bad, you should see me on the hp-2.
i agree as i have both but if you HAD to choose one, then the Timeless plays better across most genres whilst the P1 does something special for certain types.
Personally, i much prefer the Timeless over my P1 (especially now ive âstraight pipedâ them) though i wont be getting rid of the P1 anytime soon.
^^^ Agree 100% if I was to rec one of those sets to someone who wanted a planar set that worked well with a varied library then it would be the TimelessâŠbut my P1 is a special niche, short bus, machine gun detail, firework and I love it for that
For me P1 is still one of the best for orchestra and jazz. I still cannot believe how the star wars main theme - london symphony orchestra sounds so good on the p1. I will get to try the timeless soon. Maybe if it is to my liking will bought it too.
silly question but 3.5 or 4.4mm?
have no experience with balanced connections. Will there be a difference on this set with the two different terminations?
It depends on the gear you have or intend to have. If you go 3.5 you can connect it to most of the daps, dongles, amps etc. If you have something with a balance out, consider getting an extra balanced cable (2.5 or 4.4, perhaps needing a converter).
Balanced feeds more power to each earpiece individually, it might have slightly better sound. Depends on the gear of course: an example, the little Hiby R3 Pro has both single-ended 3.5 (not balanced) and balanced 2.5 connections. The latter supposedly drives cans better.
I have a 2.5 balanced cable with mmcx I purchased with a balanced dongle, which I use rarely with it, sometimes with the Hiby. My prefered gear has 3.5 so I mostly stick to it, but a couple of cans I got came with an extra 4.4 balanced cable, and I bought a 4.4 female to 2.5 converter so I can connect all my cans/iems to any piece of my gear.
Perhaps pick 3.5 and get yourself a non expensive 2.5 or 4.4 balanced cable only when you have gear that has balanced outputs. Please note you should never try to connect a non balanced cable ontona balanced output.
What would your source be?
Can of worms. So, both single ended and balanced can be implemented and executed very well. The source simply needs the appropriate power and specs.
For me, I always order balanced cables (2.5mm for direct to Qudelix) if I can. The reason for that is balanced cables can be used on single ended sources with a simple converter. You canât go the other direction.
I actually ordered a dedicated 2.5mm cable for timeless since they donât offer one stock.
I also like dunu cables for their modular system. Fiio has one as well.
Nothing wrong with using 3.5 if source matches well.
Held off for as long as I could but the never ending stream of positive reviews for these convinced me that I need to hear them.
thank you for the detailed response, I really appreciate the help.
The only source I have with a balanced output is my Ifi hip dac. However most of the time I just use an apple dongle, I think sticking with the 3.5mm may be the move and a 4.4 cable on the side.
I assume the sound difference on the timeless with the hip dac using a 3.5 or 4.4 may be unnoticeable?
thanks for your response
My source would be my ifi hip dac, would there be a difference in sound between the two connections with this dac?
I have seen a few of those modular cables, really cool. but they can be a little pricey
As a rule, an amp that as balanced will generally perform better balanced than not. (There are exceptions).
For the timeless, I would absolutely go balanced if possible on such an amp.
That amp should be incredible with this headphone.
Time to do some comparisons! To be fair I will probably be enjoying myself first and only later making some actual mental notes. Trying some of the more busy and fast music to go with what people are saying about the technicalities of a planar (this is a first for me). Iâm not very elaborate at talking about the sound in detail so do not expect much from me. I second guess my brain about absolutely everything, and if I hear the things I have read about, I will likely scratch that as a bias due to having read that stuff.
Mele is much easier to get a good seal with. Couldnât get there with 7hz on the stock tips or Xelastecs. Right ear - no problem, left ear, lacking seal. Spinfit CP100 mediumsâŠalmost. Think if I get large versions, it should be better. Interestingly, I had some issues with seal on the Mele on my right ear, but pulling the unit outward just a couple of mm re-established the seal and although it feels counterintuitive, the result is comfortable and good.
I got a 2.5mm terminated nicechk cable with the 7hz and it is lacking earhooks! I donât think that makes much of a difference, just a bit annoying when the cable doesnât stay put and starts hanging on the ear.
Very happy so far!
Not sure. Thereâs so many reviews over on the Head-Fi forum about getting better results with unbalanced that Iâm probably not even going to try. This is mostly for IEMs with a higher impedance, like over 50 Ohm, that can get negatively influenced by the higher power if the impedance is 50 Ohm on average but wildly uneven. You can âplayâ bass and treble performance using this, but Iâm pretty sure it doesnât only influence tonality but technicals all the same.
drftr
I think you are talking about output impedance issues?
Regardless, planar headphones are normally flat in their resistance I think? Need to go look at some info about that.
Planars are among the best for sure. But on planar loudspeakers itâs not unusual to have 20-25% swings in impedance. This could be different for much smaller areas to drive, but theyâre driven by way smaller magnets all the same, so it could also be worse. On top of that big planar speakers are often driven by top class amps and please forgive me but $100 headphone amps may not be in that class, meaning the impedance problem with planar IEMs could be bigger instead of smaller all the same.
You donât need much imagination to see what a 20% impedance swing in the low or top end could mean for tonality (among other things).
drftr
Also (quoted):
"Connecting a low impedance load, when the amplifier is optimized for high impedance, not only reduces power, it also increases distortion. Some amplifiers have multiple outputs or switches that allow them to adapt to multiple impedance loads and remain optimally biased.
The ratio of output impedance and load impedance changes also dramatically at the impedance spikes â those frequencies with the highest impedance for a particular headphone. This can result in poor control of the driver (damping), and possibly audible distortion at those frequencies."
drftr