Comment on I hate Wireless devices.
glorkon@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I had a Focal Bathys. They sounded great, but the build quality was laughable for such a high priced pair of headphones. Some plastic bit
So I bought some cheaper BT headphones just for home office purposes, calls and such.
And I treated myself to a dedicated USB DAC (iFi Zen DAC v3) plus wired headphones (Hifiman Arya Organic) connected with a balanced cable.
Never going back - I don’t think that kind of sound quality is even possible with Bluetooth.
lime@feddit.nu 3 days ago
it’s absolutely possible, since the signal is digital. you can get bluetooth DACs with balanced output.
glorkon@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Also, might I add, I have tried just about all the highend Bluetooth headphones.
Dali IO-12, Mark Levinson No 5909, Focal Bathys, B&W Px8, T+A Solitaire T, Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100. In a shop which had them all available to try. I’ve compared them with the Arya Organic and the Meze 109 Pro (both wired).
The Bluetooth headphones I liked the most were the Dali. They really came close to the wired ones. But then again, I would advise you to check out the Hifiman Arya Organic at a local dealer if you can. You will definitely know what I’m talking about.
glorkon@lemmy.world 3 days ago
When I mentioned “balanced output” I was referring to the analogue cable I’m using to connect the headphones to the DAC. Balanced means you get separate channels for each ear in your analogue signal path.
With a Bluetooth connected wireless headphone, it’s always balanced by definition. But when I said “that kind of sound quality isn’t possible” with Bluetooth, I was referring to a different problem: Digital to analogue signal conversion.
In my setup, it happens in the DAC which is audiophile quality. Signal path: PC - (digital USB) -> DAC -> Balanced cable (analogue) -> Headphones.
In Bluetooth, it looks like this: PC - Bluetooth (digital) -> Headphones (which do the digital to analogue conversion).
This signal conversion can’t match the quality of a dedicated desktop DAC.
lime@feddit.nu 3 days ago
i know what a balanced output is. i am saying that there are dedicated audiophile-grade, battery powered bluetooth receiver DACs with balanced output, which you can plug any wired headphones into. they usually come with a built-in mic and a lapel clip so you can use them to take calls.
glorkon@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Well, but that wasn’t the use case I was talking about at all.
I was talking DAC + wired headphone vs. Bluetooth headphones.
You’re talking about wired headphones with a Bluetooth DAC. Entirely different thing.