Going balanced soon... RIP DT1990s. Sendys instead?

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
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I’m looking at getting a Monolith 124459 (the one with the THX in it) soon, and I want to be able to take advantage of the balancedness. My poor DT 1990s can’t be balanced as I understand it, and I refuse to have a balanced amp on my desktop that I’m not even really using.

TLDR, I’m leaning towards replacing DT 1990 Pros with Sendy Aivas. Would they be a good fit? Keep in mind that I absolutely love my 1990s.

These would not be my first planar, btw. I have m1060s, m560s and the terribad Massdrop T50RP wannabes.

Curveball Monkeywrench: I have Vokyl Erupts on the way.

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Why do you think the DT 1990s need to be balanced? Balanced headphones only increase the voltage going to the headphone. It’s not a like an amp or DAC that have noise filters. So whether your DT 1990 is balanced or not, it will get the same noise from your source. And if your source sufficiently powers them, there is no reason to go balanced.

I say this because the 1990s are a great headphone, probably better overall than the Sendys. In fact, the 1990 is one of the best all-around headphones on the market. It does everything well.

However, if you are set on getting something else, the Audeze LCD-X are a great balanced can that are more neutral than the rest of their lineup. The Focal Elex is also a great all-arounder like the 1990. From everything I have read about the Sendys, they have a very narrow soundstage and are light in the bass department.

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what is the t50rp wanabes? i’m just curious

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I think he is referring to the DROP + FOSTEX T-X0 II. They seem to be a better version of the sock T50 to be honest. Better pads and headband.

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but those aren’t wanabes though and they arent out yet. those are a pair of modded t50 rp’s thats why i’m confused.

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Yeah I agree with @Sherm137’s sentiment on balanced headphone amplification. The only thing that is inherently better about balanced outputs is better power output. Below’s a post on the subject. However there are still many who will argue balanced outputs on most devices sound better. If you “absolutely love” the 1990s, you’ll be sacrificing more than you gain by trading them—unless you know for sure you’ll like your replacement even more.

Benchmark’s take on balanced headphone amplification

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I own the Sendy’s. I do not recommend them. Build and comfort is phenomenal, but the sound is not. I can’t listen to them for very long without my ears ringing from the upper frequencies.

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I was referring to the original drop of the Fostex T-X0s, which are bad Drop should feel bad.

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My twisted thinking was that if I’m going to endgame a DAC/Amp that has a balanced output, by god I’m gonna use it. While it’s true I love my 1990s, I have pretty hard FOMO. Is there anywhere to go from $600 that isn’t $1200+?

Thanks for the input, people. You have me contemplating the RME ADI-2 DAC instead. Much more expensive, but also smaller and much more in line with what I already own.

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didn’t know they did a drop before now. when did this happen?

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damn dude no wonder they are taking a year to release the new ones

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The differences start to get more minuscule the more you keep going up in price. The problem (not really) is, you already have a damn good headphone. If you are looking for a different sound signature, you could try the Audeze line, specifically the LCD2C. It’s much warmer and “fun” compared to the 1990.

I know it’s hard, but I would say to try and not get sucked down the black hole of this hobby chasing a headphone or amp unicorn that doesn’t exist. One of the hardest things is appreciating the gear you have. There is no real “end game.” Something new is always coming out that is different from what you have, and reviewers do a great job of hyping that stuff up because I’m sure it’s good. But is it better than what you already have? That’s subjective.

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Truth.

The thing for me right now is that I am literally stuck with a tube amp as my only headphone amp. I want to test the solid state waters while going “end game” at the same time. Tube amps can always just be AUXed to the shiny solid state things when the mood strikes.

I’ll pump the brakes and pool some money by selling off my lesser headphones (m560, HE350, etc) while I consider my options.

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I know you really want “high-end” so what I’m going to tell you will sound stupid, but buy the JDS Labs Atom for a solid state and forget about the price tag.

I have a Cayin iHA-6 (retails for $1000) now and previously had an Atom. Gun to my head, I couldn’t tell a difference other than power output, and my Atom had sufficient headroom for every headphone I had. Power was never an issue.

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Not even that. For the same price and with the same design goals, an SE amp can produce the same power as a “balanced” amp. Just look at the FiiO Q1 mk1 and mk2: the Bal-out on the mk2 has about the same power as the SE-out on the mk1.

The only thing that is inherently better about balanced outputs is the incomparably better stereo separation because they have no common ground wire between the L and R circuits leaking signal from one to the other. And even that is not an audible benefit in most cases, as the impedances of most headphone drivers are so high relative to the common ground + connectors + wires that the crosstalk introduced by the common ground of the SE design is outside the realm of audibility (the Verum One might be the only exception I know, since the driver has such low impedance and its stock cable also has higher-than-typical wire resistance).

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That or the Monolith THX portable. It is truly endgame even for a desktop setup and is portable with an amazing DAC included. I love mine at work.

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The DT1990 is literally 3 headphones in one for me at the moment. You want bright go with the analytical pads, you want fun go balanced pads, I want something closer to a dark headphone with even more bass- slap Dekoni hybrids on it. I’d try to hold onto it if you can since it is such a benchmark and can do so much…also all the sexy of das Germany :heart_eyes:…

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The whole balanced thing is complicated. There is no singular " balanced configuration " it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and you need to makes very sure the connection style of your desired balanced headphone cable both physically and electronically phase wise, matches what comes with your intended amp…Take the Fostex TH-909Mk2…what makes it the Mk2 is Fostex boasts it is now Balanced CAPABLE…Fine Lawyer speak, but good reson it’s in there…This $ 1400 headset —well, it only comes with a standard NON-Balanced cable…want the balanced one you probably thought it came with…well Sir, thats a proprietory cable, only we make it, and it will cost you another $200…So now you buy the cable, and go to plug it into your new balanced amp, physically it matches, so why isn’t beutiful music comming out of your set up…well think back again to what I said about " Proprietory " hint hint - they only want you buying from them…WTF, the connector says it’s this new 4-Pin XLR style…yea it is, an so is your amp, the 4 Pin XLR, those that know will tell you came out originally by Sennheiser for their ballanced famous HD-800 headphones…yea, who cares…well these 4 Pins of the XLR…are either positive electronically or negative…and the have to match between amp and can…They do in most cases…however - Fostex is also trying to sell Amps…well now they’ve got their hooks in you…you have to buy their Fostex HPA-BA4…cause the balanced positives and negatives are the only way to get your $1,800 headphones and cable finally putting out balanced music…The amp is like $600, and it is truly an absolutely wonderful amp Z has a review on it on his site, and hes all orgasmic about it.

Fostex also has another balanced headphone, I think the woods 60, but it uses yet another balanced type of connector - A 2 pin XLR, again - cable only available from them as well as the only matching 2 Pin XLR Amp…

So look before you leap, ballanced connection types are still the Wild Wild West, and you can be in a whole hell of a lot of more head aches and CC charges than you were originally planning on…if you have to buy adapters to make it work, well than it’s all a pointless exercise, cause a chain is only as strong as its weakest link…So, after spending like $2,500 to get this above system all matched up, what did I think,well I certainly could hear a mild improvement, between listening using the balanced cable, compared to the non balanced cable connecting between headphone and ballanced amp, that also has a standard 3.5 mm connection…but not nearly what I was hoping for…Worn out, I kept it all, but if I had it to do all over again, I would have put the savings into maybe a slightly better headphone, but where I think it would have been most spent, would have been put into upgrading to a better amp catagory, not that Im not spending all this cash to get a balanced matching system…In other words, forget balanced, if you can, spend more on an amp.

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Thanks for the discussion everyone, good talk.

I’ve decided to ebay a bunch of junk I never use and go for the majestic RME ADI-2 DAC.

Word on the street is that it goes toe-to-toe with the THX 789, all while actually having a really good DAC built in.

I’ve always wanted a hardware-based EQ solution with a nice animated SA display, and it’s got everything I need to power my single-ended 1990s and expand to something balanced in the future when I get the urge.

I’ll be getting an SMSL SA100 amp to power my Kanto Bens via the line out, and eventually get the Loxjie P20 tube amp if I ever come across something that is capable of easily going balanced.