Balanced cable for Hifiman 400i headphones

[Sherwood]

I am contemplating buying a new DAC/headphone amp that has balanced headphone outputs alongside the standard unbalanced outputs.

Has anyone here tried out a balanced cable with the Hifiman 400i (or similar) headphones, and was there much of an improvement?

Also, which cable did you use? I have located some cables on the internet, but the prices vary hugely.

[Bourneendboy]

I'm not familiar with your headphones and never used balanced. However, I have had a couple of excellent cables for my Sennheiser HD600's from Forza Audioworks. If you can hang on until Black Friday they usually do a 30% off offer.

[Lawrence001]

I think the 400i's came in 2 versions of connectors, the earlier screw on mini coax and the later plug in mini jack.

I've had both, I can supply an official silver plated OFC Hifiman branded mini coax with bare ends for you to add on the balanced plug of your choice. The mini coax plugs are known to be a pain to fix so it's good to have an original one pre made at the headphone end.

If it's the mini jacks, I bought a Sennheiser HD700 (or 800?) cable off eBay that also fits these but best to double check first.

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[Lawrence001]

Just checked it's only the HD700 cables that fit, the 800 seem to have some sort of mini XLR type connector.

I've only gone and got myself another pair of 400i's after seeing this thread...

[Sherwood]

Just checked it's only the HD700 cables that fit, the 800 send to have some sort of mini XLR type connector.

I've only gone and got myself another pair of 400i's after seeing this thread...

I finally sourced a reasonably priced balanced cable for my 400i headphones. Depending upon your headphone amp output these look decent:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07M64NPMS/?coliid=I1X2YH5XBOCUB&colid=1WRWQY6GZTT8T&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Balanced-Compatible-Hifiman-HE-400I-Headphone/dp/B07MSFF1KY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=ablet+4.4mm+hifiman&qid=1571860130&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUjlUSU85UldNMDNTJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTQxODI2M0tDRkhPOFZPN0U5UiZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTI0MzA0MlZHNVRHRDNIN084QyZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05 vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[Lawrence001]

Looks like great value! Let me know how it sounds and I might get one.

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[Lawrence001]

I bought this one, cheap but looks similar to a momentum cable I bought and liked
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 372663714899

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[Sherwood]

I bought this one, cheap but looks similar to a momentum cable I bought and liked
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 372663714899

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It is a standard unbalanced cable though not a balanced cable.

[Lawrence001]

Oh yes my amp isn't balanced.

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[Sherwood]

Ok.... I did not expect to post this endorsement but here goes. I recently bought an Ifi ZEN DAC. The first unit had many problems and despite a lengthy phone call with Ifi tech support I could not get it to work. I sent it back and now have a replacement unit which worked out of the box. My reason for buying the ZEN was twofold: it was DSD 256 and MQA compliant and it had a balanced output.h I bought a balanced cable for my Hifiman 400i headphones and the SQ is much improved. Deeper bass, finer texture and timbre and hugely better fine detail and dynamics. I have yet to try the XEN DAC in my main hifi, but it had transformed my headphone listening experience.

[Hibster_2000]

What were you using before?

[Sherwood]

What were you using before?

Several devices including a Caiman SEG, Nuforce phono amp, and an M-DAC. The balanced output is around twice the output of a standard unbalanced output. Aside from better separation and lower noise floor, the balanced output just seems to add more weight and presence to the sound. The ZEN DAC is a budget device and I bought it primarily to listen to Tidal on headphones so I am very pleased with the result (notwithstanding the problems with the first unit).

[Hibster_2000]

Have you used the Zen DAC in your main system, and if so how does it compare to the SEG? I am interested in your findings as a SEG and HiFiman Sundara owner.

[Sherwood]

Have you used the Zen DAC in your main system, and if so how does it compare to the SEG? I am interested in your findings as a SEG and HiFiman Sundara owner.

The Ifi ZEN DAC is USB only and the transport in my main system is spdif so I have not tried it in my main system. However, with the balanced cable, the ZEN DAC really gets hold of the Hifiman 400i headphones in a way that the SEG does not.

[Sherwood]

The more I listen the more I impressed with the ZEN DAC and the balanced cable for the Hifiman 400i headphones. The resolution is incredible.

This is the cable I bought https://www.amazon.co.uk/Balanced-Compatible-Hifiman-HE-400I-Headphone/dp/B07MSFF1KY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=ablet+4.4mm+hifiman&qid=1571860130&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUjlUSU85UldNMDNTJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTQxODI2M0tDRkhPOFZPN0U5UiZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTI0MzA0MlZHNVRHRDNIN084QyZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05 vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=