Now is the odd part. I will call this a tale of 3 cables. I usually never use stock cables as I am a full on Hart Cables guy. I plugged in my cable with dual 3.5mm ends. Uh oh, no sound on the right side. I use this cable direct in to my 4-pin XLR interconnect in my IFi Pro iCAN. Check connections, hook ups, etc. Weird.
I then try something else as I have a Hart Cable for my T60 Argons. I plug that in and boom! Big volume and big bass. Works awesome!! Kinda weird.
Then I go to my R9 box and pull out the stock cable and plug it in. I am now 1/4" in to my iCAN. Boom it is awesome! Just normal I guess.
Now I go back to the Hart 3.5mm’s and I get diluted sound, mostly/all from the left side. Hmmmm.
Here is a pic of all the cables. Icthink the Hart 3.5mm’ are mono? Only one ring around the pin. The 3.5mm’ s with two rings are the stock cable. The three ring cable is the balanced cable for the T60 Argons.
I use those Hart 3.5’s with my Elex’s, Elegia’s, HE6se V2’s and LSA HP-2’s all the time. And by default I just use them into the 4-pin XLR.
After posting my R9 review I noticed a similar issue. I’m wondering if the switch between TRRS and dual 3.5mm is a fail point. I’ve reached out to Hifiman and will keep you posted.
I also sent them an email. I think they just don’t work with mono pins (one ring around the pin) as the stock pins have two rings around the pin. Luckily I have a Hart T60 Argon cable that works great. Also, a single cable is easier to manage.
But they are the only headphones I have ever had that wouldn’t work with these:
OK, I think I have this figured out. Apologies I didn’t catch this before I finished my review of the R9. I caught it with the Deva Pro and then went back and checked the R9 and it is the same deal.
The HiFiMan stock cable uses TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) connectors on both the amp (single connector) and headphone (dual 3.5 mm connector) ends. On the headphone end the tip of each is the +, the sleeve is the -, and the ring is literally connected to nothing. On the vast majority of dual 3.5 mm headphone connections, the tip is + and BOTH the ring and the sleeve are wired to -. On most dual-entry headphones, this makes no difference because the sleeve portion of the jack touches both the ring and sleeve portion of the plug and the connection is made, no prob. BUT, for the R9 and Deva Pro, the presence of the TRRS jack on the left side means that any 3.5mm connector that connects the ring and sleeve together and then in turn connects that to the return on a single-ended plug on the amp end will short out the right channel - ie little to no signal ever makes it to the driver. BUT (again, lol) if the connector on the amp end is a balanced connector connected to a balanced headphone output, even if the right channel gets shorted out it’s not connected to anything on the amp so nothing happens, and the right channel gets it’s normal signal from the amp. Clear as mud? I’ll post a video on my YT channel explaining more if anyone wants to know more.
Yep, there is some important stuff to discuss about using aftermarket cables with these HiFiMan cans that are compatible with the Bluemini R2R dongle. Watch:
I did watch your video WaveTheory (thank you for taking the time putting that together) and from what I gathered the cable Apos is selling will cause issues. Or is it possible they wired it in a way for things to be ok?
If the picture is right the long sleeve contact on the TRRS side (where the blue mini comes in) would connect L- with R- and cause trouble.
Searched a while for a pre made cable, best I found is this.
Edit: just found out that the balanced Argon has the same pin out (TRRS L+ R+ L- R-) so the periapt cable would work. Unfortunately the Argon uses a 90 degree connector. Guess you could order a cable with a straight plug though. (oh, @ShaneD already mentioned it.)
Edit 2: Saw the video about the cables where You mention this nicer cable
Think the message was when you want single ended you use the stock cable. Didn’t hear a mention that you could use any 3.5mm to 3.5mm TRS cable, like with the Fidelio X2. Means a mod mic will also work on these.
Edit 3: Budget solution for a balanced connection (not dual entry) you could use this adapter and any generic 3.5mm to 3.5mm TRRS cable.
Overall I like this single side balanced connection very much. The sennheiser 500 series uses it too as well as the Sony 1AM2. Problem is just that most people have dual entry 3.5mm balanced cables at home. Guess hifiman should have just stayed with the one 4 pole jack on one side, it supports SE and balanced. This configuration with 2 jacks only caused trouble.
Edit 4: Ah, now where I remembered that the Sony 1am2 uses the same system it’s much easier to find balanced cables.
The picture shows a TS connector. If the picture shows the actual cable the sleeve contact of this TS connector will bridge the R+ L- and R- on the left ear cup.
You mean for a SE or a balanced cable? Even with a TRS connector on both sides and the ring not used a dual 3.5mm TRS cable would still connect L- and R- on the left ear cup with the sleeve contact. For single ended no problem but for balanced…
LOL. Definitely illustrates my point Hifiman needs to be clearer on this cabling issue.
@rottentreats I think @Nr48 makes a good point. It might be worth asking Apos if they have a single-connector option that uses XLR on the amp end and 3.5mm TRRS on the headphone end. Plug that into the TRRS side of R9 and you should be ready to rock and roll (or hip and hop, or jazz, or…)
Ah, on the t60rp the connection is on the bottom, not on the side anymore. Was imagine how silly your cable looks with the plug sticking out to the side, then I saw they moved the jack on the T60. So people could just get an Argon cable.
I am happy to report that the Apos Flow cable is perfect and built properly. (they must just display the traditional dual entry HIFMAN cable on the website, even though you get a single entry)
If anyone is looking to purchase the HE-R9 and wants a different cable Apos is really the best way to go with their “COMBO” option. If I were to buy these on that jungle website (Amazon) with tax it would cost $396.21.
From Apos I was able to get the cans and XLR cable for $429.99 so heck yes. I like the sound too so they are keepers.
I just put these back on today. Man I love the sound! Using my iFi Pro iCAN with no bass boost and no 3D effects. Tube mode and low gain are all that is needed.
And wow do they work great with music from Two Feet. I am enjoying these a lot more than my previous set, which are my LSA HP-2’s. They have a very clean sound, but the R9’s give you a thumpy little bass, which adds fun to a lot of stuff. And at literally half the price.
You never know when you will find that little gem that hits hard for the money.
I recently bought a set of used Grado Hemps. Nice sound, but pales next to my Grado GH2’s and does not do anything markedly different from the GH2’s. A little underwhelming.
I just ordered a set of iBasso SR2’s and am very curious about what they bring to the table. I got them for $487.00US, shipped.
As I couldn’t find any frequency graph on the major sites for the R9 I now found one from a German reviewer. Think it is not a GRAS level of accuracy but better than nothing. EDIT: It’s from miniDSP Ears rig.
My R9 arrived like one week ago from Aliexpress but I was not at home until yesterday. Guess start listening tomorrow. My balanced cable didn’t arrive yet though. The R9 is my first closed back after a long time of only using open backs (tried Meze 99 and Sivga Robin but sold / returned them directly, didn’t like them at all). Hope the R9 stays around a little longer (I am not a collector). Idea was that in case I don’t like them I could sell them easily because the normal price here is 700€ but now the first seller has them for 410€ ( I paid 390€ on Aliexpress because the seller declared the value with 9€. Otherwise the VAT would be additional 80€)
Quick Update: Still loving these cans, the sound, the weight, the fit, honestly my ideal set of cans to date when it comes to closed back. These are great for everything I listen to and even gaming, highs/mids/lows are all what I would expect and the sound stage/separation is crazy.
I also own the Edition XS with the same headband, but those don’t hurt my skull after 2+ hours of listening, the HE-R9 did. In an attempt (successful attempt) to combat this discomfort I invested in a cheap simple zip on pad. Geekria Hook and Loop Headband Cover Non-affiliate link. It goes on a bit snug, so just take your time and make sure the first part of the zipper is fully inserted and stretch the headband shut as you zip.
I should note that this particular type of headband cover has been mentioned in a few other threads, sometimes it is referred to as the " Geekria Large Hook and Loop Headband Cover", notice the word Large. I purchased both and the size wasn’t as relevant (19x4.5 cm vs 21x5 cm) as the gray/grey stripe along the zipper, some might like it one way or the other. These headband cover completely resolved my comfort issues.
/edit: I should also mention that adding the headband cover changed my adjustment from 2-3 dots on the headband to fully extended. My head is what I think would be normal sized
By chance do you know how they wired the headphone? I have aftermarket cable and not able to use it. I’m only able to use Hifiman supplied cable. The aftermarket messes with imbalance on right side. So I’m guessing it has been wired for bluetooth. Thinking be good to unwire that feature. My aftermarket cables use dual pole and mono ends. I’m more interested how they hid the wire.
I installed Dynamat and polly fill. Good improvement. Bass is tighter and bit of solid beef. This gave the R9 better bass head vibes. Everything up top tightened as well. Inside was open completely and no dampening just big square of acoustic foam.
I noticed a similar issue. I’m wondering if the switch between TRRS and dual 3.5mm is a fail point. I’ve reached out to Hifiman and will keep you posted.
