Expensive Headphone Cables - A personal investigation

I don't even understand if that means they are for or against cable break-in. Is it relaxing to have 2 volts shot through you for several hours?

 

And what about those no-fur naked weirdo cats? Are they relaxed? Or just cold?

 

Yes, it's $800 a can and only comes in Smurf blue.

 

I KNEW IT!

 

Even more puzzling is when I've had to fix several of those cables now. With the price tags are so high, I expect impeccable levels of craftsmanship. I open them up and inside is... not so great. Cold joints or solder blobs, ill placed heat shrink, strands of wire bridging across gaps (good way to let out the magic smoke), or maybe just a glob of epoxy to hide the mess. The cables I make may not be as pretty on the outside, but cripes I can at least make functional ones that won't accidentally blow your amp.

 

When they start making money from cables I guess it gives them confidence that they can get away with anything....

http://www.cardas.com/clarifier_app.php

I'm at a loss for words.

 

They know their customer.

 

What if it degauesses the magnets and my speakers no longer work? Will Cardas pay the cost?

 

I hate to admit it, but I love the nursery look of that cable- if it was a "value"-priced current cable, I'd be sorely tempted, just for kitsch value.

 

The thing for me is that they are not a value priced current cable but a once expensive bit of audio history. That is the main part of the retro/kitsch cool (along with the color) in my mind. I remember looking at the ads and being curious. Could upgrading to expensive headphone cables really be worth that? The ad copy really talked them up.

If IIRC, they were pictured on the HD580 in the Audio Advisor ads. (That may have been the current Sennheiser TOTL at the time they came out.) And the baby blue, what in the world...?! Anyway, all of that stuff rolls around in my mind when I picture these cables.

And the wacky HD600 paint job is the only headphone that does them justice.

 

I'm surprised the app is "only" a dollar. They could have easily charged a hundred bucks and package it with the $800 cable as a "free upgrade, save 100" scheme.

 

They say a sucker is born every... How often was that again? I am just trying to gauge the sales of this app.

 

Have you got the cable yet? Any difference?

 

Apologies for the delay (work-related). I haven't had much time to do extended comparisons, but spent time Friday night comparing the Smurf to the stock cable. The differences are so minor that it is assuredly not worth it to pay full price (or close to it) for one of these cables. For future market research, I paid ~$80 shipped for mine and was also offered both smurf and grey Cardas Cross cables for $115 shipped (each) this spring. (If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll refer you to the HF seller. He had both cables as of a few weeks ago.)

If one has decided on the HD580/6x0 as their headphone to build a system around and obtains a good used deal*, it may be worth an audition. I noticed the following (very) minor improvements with my HD600:

• Approximately 1-2" more length than the stock cable (the most noticeable);
• Smoothness; and
• Depth/quantity of bass.

The main downside as already pointed out is the ergonomics. Can't curl this cable up around your hand quickly and throw the headphones back in the box.

Cross-referencing a couple impressions from another thread (one, two). I'll listen for these elements over a longer period and post any further relevant impressions.

Agreed. Part of the reason I'll be keeping it around.

I bought the HD600 last year during its 20th anniversary, mostly motivated by its historical significance and a desire to compare against the HD650. I've been pleasantly surprised, again this weekend even, that I prefer it to the HD650 and HD650M. I think it has a better sense of space/reverb and more realistic treble. I've had my "hot midrange woes" moments with it, but think that can be alleviated enough with electronics/tubes/cables. The HD650M has slightly better resolution, especially in the bass, due to the damper, but all I can think about when listening to them is the midbass hump. I don't want to deal with potential channel imbalance from KISS. I'd like to try the stock HD650 with arctic cotton or similar, but am hesitant in case I want to sell them.
__________

* When one considers spending as much or more on a headphone cable than the headphones can be purchased for used, it would be wise to reconsider unless they have upgraded their electronics and even other system cables first. I also wish to emphasize that "audiophile" cables should be purchased used to avoid the disgusting markups. Used Cardas cables are often counterfeited, so ask for the factory certificate and don't buy from Thailand.

 

If anyone is interested in Cardas Cross cables, https://www.headphone.com/collections/cables has pretty deep discounts (from time to time) on random Cross cables. I have been watching and thinking about trying one. They look cool to me anyway (light grey cool rather than baby blue cool ).

Good to know about counterfeits, @zonto . Headphone.com doesn't strike me as a seller that would carry counterfeit cables, but I don't know that for a fact.

 

Sorry for the confusion. Headphone.com is an authorized retailer. I meant be careful of counterfeits on the used market, which concerns can be alleviated by asking for a purchase receipt from the seller and the certificate of authenticity. See http://www.cardas.com/support_counterfeit.php. I've watched market prices on various Cardas models for years on Audiogon and noticed quite a few too-good-to-be-true prices from Thailand.

 

Sorry to reopen a dead thread, but this seemed like the best place...

I have a confession... In all of my years of “high-end audio” I’ve never believed that cables (interconnect or speaker) could even make a noticeable difference in sound quality, so long as they were of adequite gauge for the current, and of reasonable quality.

Last year when I bought a Jotunheim, I ordered a $75 “ZY” balanced cable from Amazon for my Sennheiser HD600. Comparing it to the stock single-ended cable, the balanced cable (and amp) had more punch, better defined bass, and crisper high-end. I attributed all of this to the balanced amp setup, not to the wire.

I’ve ordered a Massdrop Sennheiser HD6xx, so I realized that I would need another balanced cable for it. In the comments on the Fanmusic or Venture balanced cable page, someone mentioned inexpensive custom cables from http://Ursine.audio, a one-man shop in Texas.

Ursine offers lots of options for length, connector and termination at the headphone end, paracord sleeve colors, splitters, etc. The cables are handmade with Canare Starquad L-4E6S. Going with an 8 foot length, Neutrik XLR, single strand (vs. braided) for the HD6xx cost about $80 including the shipping, only a few dollars more than the Chinese “ZY” cable from Amazon. I figured that was worth it just for the choice of color...

I ordered it at the end of August, and it arrived last weekend. Since the Massdrop HD6xx hasn’t been shipped yet, I decided to try it out with the HD600.

From 2011 MacBookPro 17” with Roon -> Jotunheim w/Dac module, I listened to a couple of tracks from the 24/96 “Chicago II” Steven Wilson Remaster, first using the “ZY” cable, then as quickly as I could, I switched to the Ursine cable...

I’ll be damned if it didn’t have better bass extension, and crisper, clearer highs... It seemed like with the “ZY” cable, the cymbals were muted — “tink, tink, tink...” With the Ursine cable it was more like “pingggg, pingggg, pingggg” with a brighter ring and more natural decay.

It is subtle, yes, but noticeable difference, and I would say an improvement, in that it seems to me that it is a more natural, higher-fidelity sound. While there is not a significant difference in the price, it is a better quality cable, which I believe sounds better.

I’ve switched back and forth a few times this week, after listening to a variety of music, and now the “ZY” cable sounds dull and flat.

I hate to admit that I now have to be open to the possibility that cables can make a difference in the sound quality.

No, I did not bake it, or freeze it, or wait for it “relax” or be “burned in.” You have the draw the line somewhere, and I’m not willing to go much further at this point... ;-)

 

If you ever get a chance to go to a big headphone Expo some kind, and the Dana cable exhibit is there, it's very easy to sit down and hear the difference of a quality cable versus not.

The problem becomes what is snake oil, what is good and what is not. Oftentimes what is good and what is snake oil are both more expensive then is worth for the extra little bit of sound quality. And that's why I think building your own cables can often be the best value proposition for anybody in the hobby.

 

Sorry

 

You should read the stickied threads and introduce yourself.

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/what-is-sbaf-must-read-version-2.5555/

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/