Just noticed that Linsoul is also offering pre-orders for the Deuce. That’s pretty wild.
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Thank you bro! Enjoy 
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please excuse my lack of knowledge on this, but is it worth upgrading to 4.4? I’ve tried to read up on this 3.5 vs 4.4 before posting, but I still don’t get the difference. Is there a noticeable difference in sound quality? Or is it mainly about power?
Let’s say you have an iem that requires only 5mW to drive. Let’s also say you have a portable phone dac that can easily provide 5mW of power in both 3.5 and 4.4. what would be the advantage of getting that iem with a 4.4 connection?
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None, in fact it could be worse due to the output impedance of the 4.4mm usually being 2x more than the SE (3.5mm) output.
Balanced is only really useful for speakers at home where u have dozens of meters in cable/wiring.
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Just wondering, why is Fatfreq charging a $20.00 up charge for the 4.4mm cable? It’s usually the same price for 3.5mm or 4.4mm terminals.
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This is true statement…keeps the speaker wires from turning into antennas
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Glad others see common sense and understand this too.
I’m purely 3.5mm SE on iem’s these days.
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Only case where going 4.4mm is beneficial would be if the source is focused so much on the 4.4mm that the 3.5mm is barely working.
(The case with my Ibasso DX160, the 3.5mm has CPU noise in it…)
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I’ve seen it tested and proved that Balanced can have better crosstalk performance leading to, albeit minor, imaging and staging improvements.
Not sure if there’s any validity in that but whatever, I’ll take my placebo and enjoy it lol
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I would as well but I use them to also plug into work computers 
so it would have to be really worth it
I am of the opinion, like many others, that unless you are having an issue with power delivery, the benefits of a balanced connection (or chain) for headphones is placebo-tier regarding any actual gain in performance. The only other tangible benefit is that if you started with everything 4.4 or XLR, then you can keep parity between units/connections without needing a bunch of adapters. 3.5mm SE is already ubiquitous unless you have amps with a 1/4" connector, in which case it’s just a single adapter.
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If you mean you are connecting to the motherboard on the pc directly, that is definitely not recommended. get a cheap/small dongle and you are set.
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Good to know. Def have only been using it on the work computers when I have to listen to modules or meetings. Zoom and things like that. Not for music purposes.
Is it bad for the iem to connect to a computer?
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If you have a darker, gentler tuned IEM (or planar) with moderate bass extension, I find that balanced 4.4mm output usually sounds better. It seems to boost extension and really straightens out the legs of the drivers.
If not, then 3.5mm virtually always sounds smoother and more delicately dynamic.
I think I’ll go with 3.5mm on the Deuce, extension seems to be more than adequate already and I don’t want in any way exacerbate or excite the 3kHz vocal peak.
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Its recommended to avoid connecting it directly to the motherboard as their dac/amp tends to suck (and u might get a lot of noise).
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Thanks for the heads up. I will use my phone dac and plug that to the computer from now on.
or u can just get an apple dongle or a jcally ja3 or one of their other cx31993 based dongles.
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Also worth noting that @hawaiibadboy 's old 2DD, Kailua seems to be on clearance. It has been $30 for over a month. The Kailua is still one of my favorites in the under $100 bracket, it does everything well, has nearly ideal bass for classic and prog rock, plus some 80s pop.
YMMV, I have a Lenovo that has the same Realtek DAC chip that Periodic Audio Rhodium uses, and it is wired, and grounded, correctly. I think the circuit isolation is more important than anything else. I know my work Macbook competes with most entry level DAC/Amp combos.
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Most modern motherboards are likely to have some decent dac/amps in them compared to stuff over a decade ago tbf.
ALC5686, thats quite overpriced for a 50 usd dongle…(thats slightly below the CX31993 tier which is found on pretty much all 5-15 usd dongles).
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