Headphone Cables

rythmdevils, If I may be of assistance. As in most things, you get what you pay for. Its sort of like IEMs, The really good ones cost like a good used car, but sometimes you can buy a really great sounding one cheap or at least reasonable.
The Chinese, as you have found do a pretty good job with IEM cables. They are usually a step up from stock cables on inexpensive IEMs.
Dunu includes decent cables with their IEMs. UM has begun including PW Audio cables with their car priced Mason IEMs. PW is Peter Wong Audio. Located in Hong Kong. They have anniversary entry grade cables and high end ones. These are my latest poison. You can find them at MisicTeck.
Penon Audio sells IEM cables that are of good quality as well as ISN cables that also do a nice job. Both of these companies are reasonably priced with good quality SPC cables going for about $109 to $119. both companies make more interesting higher priced cables but top out as $499 for ISN's Solar and $799 for the Penon Totom.
Penon Audio Online Store

 

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good set of HD650/HD600 connectors? I really want to try building the Mogami star-quad cable. @fraggler Do you know if that will be better than stock HD650 cable?

 

I like these for not much $$:

HD650 Connector / Best Quality / Sennheiser HD650 HD600 HD565 HD580 HD414 Plug | eBay

 

Those look quite a bit easier to solder than the Cardas ones I used last time.

 

@yotacowboy posted a link to my new go-to connectors. One the only sets (possibly the only set) that have proper solder cups instead of just the tubes. I like the old Cardas connectors for their compactness, but otherwise they are a pain in the butt. I'm not sure I have really liked any of the number of ebay/Aliexpress options that I have tried.

The same seller also has some nicely designed HD800 connectors. I don't love the all-black or the giant lettering, but the solder cups and the actual attempt at strain relief are fantastic (as is the price). Only the Eidolic $$$ connectors and a set from Plussoundaudio.com do anything similar (unless you can import some Oyaide connectors).

I am still dreaming of someone simplifying the mini XLR connector some day.

 

The only other ones worth considering for ease of use/soldering would be the Furutech connectors, but they're a bit pricey if you're just using Mogami or Canare cable.

 

Those look really nice, especially with that strain relief. $50 is a bit pricey, but that is Furutech for you and not crazy if you are only building one nice cable for yourself to use for awhile.

 

Thank you @yotacowboy and @fraggler. I'll try the eBay ones out. I had seen the Furutech connectors before but felt they're too pricy at least for a first build.

 

I got a bunch of Lunashops cables and requested Neutrik gold plated connectors because the XLR jacks they use are not gold plated. Apparently they got a bunch of fake/defective jacks or didn’t install them right because they are all loose. The gold metal plug wiggles a little bit in the black housing. See picture below.

how big a deal is this? I’m guessing it’s actually not going to affect sq at all because they are soldered, and it’s just a cosmetic annoyance. Is that true? I’m trying to figure out how to deal with it because of how far away they are. I can’t easily return them all.

 

Did you try tightening the TRS section into the housing by turning clockwise? With some of these Neutrik-style TRS plugs, the TRS section screws into the black section of the metal housing, and some of them the TRS section installs/slides in from the back and the rubber/plastic boot screws into the back of the metal housing and holds everything together.

 

yeah I actually unscrewed it from the butt like you mention and pulled it out and then put it back and screwed with back in. It screws on tight but the metal plug/schvonce is still loose. I don’t know enough about how they work to guess whether that means counterfeit or bad assembly. It’s a bummer though I’ve got 4 cables, 3 of them 4pim XLR with 1/4” pigtails and they 1/4” jacks are all loose. Lotta money for loosely gooses cables.

it would be nice to see Lunashops just offer to replace them. Instead they’re just wanting me to ignore it or they don’t care.

Everything I said about Hart Audio cables, if his happened with them they’d replace them all no questions asked.

 

Could be ideal for electrostats (still need one other wire for the bias though).

 

yotacowboy,
thanks for the info on those connectors, the 'normal' aftermarket ones are total crap, the plastic used melts whenever a soldering iron approaches. I have given up on Senns but have a set of 600s that I want to sell so may make a cable to go with them.

 

I've made my own i/connects, speaker cables for a long time now and around 11 years ago was selling them until I got hit my health problems and bad reactions to various meds.

It's nice to see that commercial companies are using materials and ideas that I developed from empirical research from that time.

I used to buy FEP tubing from a company in the UK - Adtech Engineering but got really pissed off when I put an order in last year and they screwed me for using a UK Visa credit card because my address was a foreign one and put some large gauge FEP for speaker cable on an enormous plastic reel that meant I got screwed for shipping and added a surcharge because it was a 'small order'. Too many UK companies have this mentality, compare that with the Dutch who always want to do business and they make it easy.

So my question is does anyone know of a US company making FEP (I'm not interested in TEFLON) tubing that will accept a 100 metre order re. ID (inside diameter) 1 - 1.10mm with WT (wall thickness) 0.2 - 0.3mm. I mistakenly ordered some with ID of 0.8mm. This is fine for inserting solid core copper or silver of 26AWG/0.4mm wire up to 2 metre, fine for making i/connects but useless for constructing h/phone cables, where I consider 3 metres as a minimum length. This gauge of FEP tubing will be very flexible.

Here's a weird but wonderful material to use as an exterior sheath for h/phone cables - Oxygen tubing, not to be used as dieletcric it would be awful but to hold/sheath the dielectric. It's very soft and flexible and will absorb any airborne vibrations . By using heatshrink to hold 2 pieces (6 metres) together it makes excellent sheathing for speaker cables as well.

Before I attempt to mod my OPPO PM 2 I need to hear them using my air cored design of cable. As with i/connects it's easy to see why commercial cables are made the way they are - easy construction = lower cost = more profit.

 

While ago I bought used Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 that came with extra cable, Atlas Zeno 1:2. For desktop use it is fine but do not buy it for portable use. It is VERY stiff.

I thought I'd share as there is not much information available on Atlas cables and they are quite expensive. Those cost about $500.

 

I had tried few cables throughout my audio journey.
Here is my subjective impression

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With Sennheiser HD800s:
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- Norne Audio Drausk
Sound: Very good detail, quite punchy/forward sounding. Matches HD800s very well.
Ergonomic: Very flexible, No microphonic, Feels quite good, Due to weight, it carries inertia when you move your head

- Customcan
Sound: Similar to stock cable
Ergonomic: Very flexible, Feels very good (smooth), questionable workmanship but excellent customer service (heat shrink became loose after 6 months but customcan fixed it for free and sent it back free-of-charge)

- Moon-Audio Black Dragon
Sound: Good detail, Treble peak which makes HD800s sounds brighter
Ergonomic: Stiff, Doesn't feel nice (it feels like a laptop security cable), Minor microphonic, Had issue in 2nd year where the base of connector and cable cracked due to stiffness. Since it's outside warranty, I have to pay to fix get it fixed. Customer service is quite good though.


-----------------------------------
With Focal Elegia & Elear:
-----------------------------------
- Norne Audio Solvine 3
Sound: Very good detail, more laidback and quite neutral, soundstage feels bigger
Ergonomic: Very flexible, No microphonic, Smoothest cable I have ever had, Due to weight, it carries inertia when you move your head, Excellent workmanship and customer service


- Customcan
Sound: Similar to stock cable
Ergonomic: Very flexible, Feels very good (smooth)


-----------------------------------
With Sennheiser HD6xx:
-----------------------------------
- Lunashop 16core 7N OCC
Sound: Similar to stock cable
Ergonomic: Flexible, No microphonic, Relatively crude workmanship (the braid around the connector became slightly loose after few months)


-----------------------------------
With 64Audio u12t:
-----------------------------------

- CEMA 22AWG 7N
Sound: Good detail, Punchy, Soundstage is so so.
Ergonomic: Very flexible, No Microphonic, Feels very good

- CEMA MS series
Sound: Very good detail, Neutral, Good soundstage
Ergonomic: Flexible, No microphonic, Feels good

- Linsoul HC-08;
Sound: Not that good detail, punchy, Narrow soundstage.
Ergonomic: Very flexible, No microphonic, Light

 

I’m lusting over this DUNU 22awg occ copper cable for my Solaris. But it’s very expensive and I’d need an extension as well.

https://hifigo.com/products/dunu-hulk-pro

 

Are you looking for big fat copper sound? I've got an OC Studio monster 8-core I could loan you - it's MMCX to 2.5 TRRS tho.

 

It is worth it, I built a cable with Mogami an Furutech for TX000, and I replaced Furutech with Cardas, which is crap in my opinion, because I wanted to build nice cable for my "new" HD650. Unsoldering of Furutech was easy and clean. Now I am using them with HD650.

 

I originally posted this question on the general advice thread, but it seems that no one there had an answer. So, I'm asking you guys.

I have a PX-100 IIi that needs a new 3.5 plug—possibly a Neutrik—and a small amount of shielding where the cable will meet the new plug. I'm totally willing to do a full recable, if I can keep/replace the Apple remote.

I shall be grateful if you would kindly recommend a business or a good DIYer for hire, so I can have it repaired.

Is Moon-Audio still good? And, who in America is better?