Just ordered a balanced cable for my HD800, am I wasting my money?

[mansr]

52 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said:

Please allow me to disagree. I am pretty much for everything balanced.

For headphones I don't really see the point since they don't have a ground reference.

[mansr]

8 minutes ago, rodrigaj said:

This has nothing to do with SQ, but balanced cables provide a much better mechanical connection. Those spring connections on SE sockets loosen up over time. On the back panel, balanced connections lock in place. I've never understood the appeal of RCA.

BNC connectors are quite reliable. Not used much in (consumer) audio, though.

[mansr]

25 minutes ago, #Yoda# said:

In my experience the benefits of balanced headphone cables stand out impressively when you use a DAP with well designed balanced amplification. Not least, the additional power helps, especially with higher impedance headphones like the Sennheiser HD 800 with many headphone amps. 

The power argument is a red herring. Nothing inherently limits the output power of a single-ended amp.

[mansr]

30 minutes ago, #Yoda# said:

In case of a mobile device, the battery runtime limits the output power finally. Is there any reason to use a single ended output if you use an amp with fully balanced design?

The battery life depends only on the power drawn from it. A battery has two terminals. How this single voltage is turned into current through the headphone drivers is irrelevant.

 

A specific amp might of course provide the required power only on the balanced outputs, and then that is what one should use. Now we are, however, talking about implementation details, not inherent properties of single-ended or balanced outputs.

[mansr]

5 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

Why Sennheiser sold him a Sennheiser HD800S balanced cable is the really symmetry-breaking question.

[OP] -> Money -> [Sennheiser]

[mansr]

48 minutes ago, Musicophile said:

The last time I used a soldering iron was at the age of 17. Not sure I'd want to repeat that experience.

You're supposed to hold it by the cold end.