Fed Ex royally screwed up an urgent delivery I paid a small fortune to have delivered by a specific deadline. The person who was looking for the package found it a week later, taped to a wall in her lobby. None of the services are perfect, although that’s the first time Fed Ex let me down. I try always to avoid UPS.
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I tried to call Fed Ex and complain, or get them to fix it, but the hold was too long I gave up. Because of COVID, I didn’t feel like going back to the shipping center to complain in person and when I called they deflected to the 1-800 number so … eh. I don’t know. USPS??
Do they make headphone mods?
Not sure, You can msg them 
congrats Henrik!
I ordered today a Claire HPC Mk2 - good to read now about another happy Forza owner
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cable maker local to me. Have not tried it yet though. Just throwing out other suggestions.
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Hello,
I would like my seating position to be further away form my equipment than it is currently. The new preferred position would be 6.3m from the equipment.
May I ask what length of headphone cable is considered in the range for best sound.
Is 6.3m just too long?
Is there a brand/quality needed that would make this 6.3m length possible?
Thank you, Bob
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I have two long Cardas Cross extension cables for my living room system. A twenty (20) foot XLR and a fiftten (15) foot single ended 6.3 extension cable. Both work great. I also have a Canare twenty (20) XLR extension cable purchased from Arctic Cables (eBay-) who does excellent work. i’ve also bought XLR to single ended adapter cables from Arctic.
You can frequently find long cables on the used market. If you see a longer Cardas headphone cable being sold used for any brand headphone, you can sent it into Cardas in Bandon, Oregon for retermination.
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Hello @rrwwss52
Thank you for your comment.
My headphone equipment: PSAudio Stellar P/plant 3; Innous Zen mk3; Mytek Brooklyn Dac+; Hifiman Ananda H/phones with their stock cable.
Your comment is very encouraging! I will look for a 6.5m cable of high quality. My h/p jack is 6.3mm and not an XLR.
Thank you, Bob
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I think you would have to get into several tens of meters before a good cable’s capacitance or impedance started doing anything to the signal. Probably a lot more than that before you could hear it. I’m no EE so…
I think RF/EMI would be more of a threat than anything.
Something like Canare Star Quad cable, shield properly soldered to ground on the amp side, would take care of that.
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The rule of thumb I follow for speaker wire was always less than the 50ft and the smallest gauge that is workable. Not sure if there is a similar “rule” for speaker cables.
Isnt this supposed to be the one area where balanced cables rule supreme over SE: delivering power over distance? Cant remember if it is something intrinsic to the nature of balanced cables (I am not a subscriber to the whole balanced is better philosophy so I dont hold it in my memory as well as I should) or that power outputs ratings are usually higher for balanced over SE.
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I guess this forks into two areas, completely independent to each other:
(a) balanced cables transporting line level signals;
(b) balanced headphone cables transporting amplified signals;
The benefit over distance is for (a) only, AFAIK… On (b), signal is still subject to RF/EMI – 2 grounds + 2 hots.
Totally off-topic, I have a Fuzz guitar pedal that every time I engage it, some AM radio tune in. I still need to narrow down which station it is though. And signal length is really short – 3ft from guitar to fuzz pedal, the very first one in the chain.
But I have never caught any interference in amplified signals. Not my reality though, as my cables always run short (< 10ft).
If you need a custom cable Arctic Cables does good work. I try to pluck used Cardas from eBay and audio sales forums and get them reterminated at Cardas’ HQ. Done several that way. I just split a 4.5 meter headphone cable into two 2.25m cables. Cost was $265 for the cable and retermination work. Each retermination is $60. If it’s a dual headphone end, that’s also $60.
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When I working further away from my desk, I have 8 m (25 ft) between my headphones and amp. The extension I use is the Cordial CFM 5 VK. It is a baefy cable with 0.22mm² conductors (≈ AWG 24).
To pick up EMI, your headphones (and ears) would have to be VERY sensetive. About the same as your amplifier actually.
I would still advise against wrapping your headphone cable arround your WiFi router or the like 
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2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Wireless headphones, Yay or Nay?
Preface…this is a review about headphone cable…and I’ve never felt the need write one about a cable before. But the Danacable Nirvana is truly something so revolutionary, that it feels like your headphones disappear as you listen. The impact is immediate, and I would go far as to say reality altering. If you ever wanted to feel the music, the vocals pour into your ears as if you’re on stage with the musician…the Danacable Nirvana accomplishes it. (will cover technical details further down)
And yes, I realize there is much skepticism on whether cables make an audible difference in sound. I WAS THE ULTIMATE SKEPTIC…especially around digital cables (zeros, ones), but I promise you…they all make a difference. I love music…and I’m not the traditional audiophile trying to analyze my music…I listen for pure pleasure. This cable brings that pleasure, delight, and sheer surprise, WOW factor every time you put on your headphones.
Now, I have the Focal Utopia and Stellia headphones. In my opinion…they are the best sounding open and closed back headphones I’ve ever heard. I know there are many fans of Audeze, Hifiman, etc… all are excellent, but Focal top tier is where I landed for their crystal clarity, detail, low end bass you can feel (now MUCH more thanks to the Danacable Nirvana), and all while delivering a gorgeous sound stage, which again, thanks to the Nirvana, expanded and makes me feel like I’m on stage with every musician. I can’t emphasize enough how much it makes you feel the singer is right next to you…borders on butterflies in your stomach. And this effect occurs for anyone I’ve asked to listen to my Focals with Nirvana.
So how did it sound before the Danacable Nirvana? The stock cable sounded good…I ran it through the Chord Dave, Focal Arche, SPL Phonitor XE and ADI2DAC combo, Hugo 2, Mojo. But honestly, after starting on this “audiophile” journey, and buying all this top tier equipment, I expected more. I’ve loved music all my life, but always went mid-level products thinking the top tier wouldn’t be worthwhile or noticeable unless I was an ultra music geek. Well…it absolutely is…but something was still missing in my setup. I kept reading about cables making a difference, and got fed up guessing and reading the debates…so I bought them all to trial. For headphones, tried all top models from each: Kimber Axios (silver and hybrid), Nordost, Cardas, and Danacable of course. (btw, I also tried Shunyata Sigma and Audioquest Diamond cables for power/sources…and those also shockingly made a big difference, but that’s for another review). (Btw, a big thanks to @taronlissimore for opening my eyes to the difference cables can make…how the varietes of Audioquest cables change the sound and brightness. Thanks to headphones.com and his advice I have my dream setup now! His descriptions, guidance and support are always spot on, and have been invaluable! Headphones.com sells the entire catalog of Audioquest, and I highly recommend you order all AQ products through headphones.com. I should mention everything I have I happily brought from Headphones.com except these headphone cables, only because they don’t sell them)
So after trying Kimber, Nordost, Cardas…some took the sounds of my Focals in the wrong direction, or they had very marginal impact. The Danacable Reference cable (the lower-end model), was the best among them for a good, clean sound, that beat the stock cable, and all the top tiers from the big guys. Then we get to Dana’s Nirvana…and my god, it is like my Focals finally sounded like I always expected them to. Even BEYOND my wildest dreams. I have all the latest tech toys, and I work with many tech companies…but nothing wows me anymore these days. iPads, OLED TVs, laptops, VR glasses, iPhones, Airpods…are all the same every year…with marginal improvements. Granted…all excellent, but the wow factor is already there years ago. The same product every year with cool enhancements. I have them all, I love them all, but nothing that makes my jaw drop anymore. I must tell you, the Nirvana, made my jaw drop (still do every time I listen!). I never knew music could sound so gorgeous, enthralling, and immersive. I also love to go to concerts and clubs…this cable and my Focals have ruined those experiences for me. I can actually achieve a far superior and immersive sound as if I am the concert from the luxury of my own home. And lets face it…during this quarantine…home music setup is the best gift to ever come around. It’s as if MTV unPlugged is in my room sitting on top of me.
I know my statements are very bold, and maybe even extreme, so it’s hard to believe. But no matter how much I talk up Dana’s cable…when they try it in their setup, they are still blown away with a huge WOW. I bought 2…one for my Utopia and one for Stellia. The price is so hard to swallow…$3,500 per cable. Spending $7,000 on 2 headphone cables sounds insane…and I thought I was insane. I desperately wanted to not like it, but after hearing it…it was like I was ignorant to the true potential of music and my headphones, my DAC, Amp, etc… Nirvana releases the TRUE potential of what your headphones are meant to do. It’s that simple. And there is simply no going back to anything else. I honestly felt cheated by my stock cable and all the other high-end cables I demoed. Nothing compared. As I type this…I’m listening to my Utopias with the Nirvana…I am in pure awe ever minute…its been months, and it doesn’t get old, it doesn’t get stale, you don’t become desensitized. Also…the break-in period of the cable is 200 hours…and it only gets better with time. (I know also lots of skepticism on burning in cables, but for high quality and thick gauge cables, it is truly a must…again, don’t listen to me, listen your ears when you try it). I thought it was all BS, until I tried it first hand. I’m so grateful I did…because I spend thousands $$$ and was moderately satisfied until finally trying the Nirvana. So that little bit more and the time to test everything has educated me and shown me what I was missing.
Danacable is hand crafted by Dana Robbins and hand built by him. I honestly almost overlooked their site, www.danacables.com because they were so much smaller than the big guys like Kimber, Cardas, etc… Again, so lucky and grateful I found Dana because it transformed everything for me. My level of pleasure on a daily basis from my setup is priceless at this point. These cables will last me a lifetime.
Danacable is a boutique operation, and if I was Focal I would partner with Dana to bundle the cable with each Utopia/Stellia. They are not doing their stellar headphones justice by providing that stock cable…and everyone that has tried Nirvana on their headphones says…“My god…if I never heard this, I would have been ignorant and missing out on this experience”. That is what the Nirvana provides…it provides a true musical experience so that you are not listening to your headphones but to the true sound of the music as intended, uninhibited. It teleports you to the stage so you can be part of the music.
Side note…the craftsmanship of each cable is also beyond gorgeous. Dana’s workmanship rivals on art. The chrome, the carbon fiber, the Furutech connectors, the intricate weave with the thousands of copper and silver wires that create this formula for ultimate Nirvana harmony. Everyone that sees my setup, the first thing they ask about is the cable just because of how massive it is, stunning, and incredibly flexible and comfortable. I honestly look on them as a collectors items and art. They are stunning!
The service is also stellar. The cables are sold by Gingko Audio, Inc (run by Vinh Vu) who personally discusses your setup and needs in intricate detail. He knows music and knows audiophile level expectations. Between Vinh and Dana, their background speaks for itself ( http://danacables.com/about-us/ ), but I learned so much, and frankly they opened my eyes to the potential music can have. Truly been a pleasure since the start, and every single day I use my setup, I think of them and smile…because they changed everything for me. I have never listened to music for this many hours per day before…it’s so addicting that I am staying up till 5am many nights lol. I know it all sounds too good to be true, but I again recommend trying (they offer a 30 day trial, no questions asked), and you will hopefully see what I’m describing. No words can do it justice…you have to hear it.
The ultimate test was also sharing with my parents who barely care about this stuff…and listen at low volumes Bose and Beats. They were also floored, and had no idea how it was done. They asked if the headphones had some holographic module installed into them LOL. I had shown them some VR and AR stuff lately, so they assumed it was related. I said no guys…just my Focals and a new cable. They shockingly didn’t yell at me once I told them the price of each cable…they were already hooked
It’s so rare these days to find true mastery and skill, and discovering something so special like this just doesn’t exist in our society anymore. Everything is mass manufactured and quality is secondary. So when you find a craftsman like Dana Robbins that truly has a gift for music, and an ear for it like no one else (since there is NO OTHER PRODUCT on the market that compares)…you have to give the ultimate respect and support. Not to mention, the sheer joy he brings to people’s lives who love music.
Sincerely,
Henry
Other reviews from true audiophile pros:
http://danacables.com/2019/04/03/lazuli-nirvana-reviews/
The Lazuli cable story:
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The DanaCable Nirvana works very nicely with my Abyss Phi.
I also had the DanaCable Ultra before the Nirvana and if the Nirvana had not come along I’d still be using the Ultra. The only possible issue for some would be the weight of these cables, but its all that metal and quality connectors (dictated in part I think by the amount of wire used) that can make a difference in the sound.
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At that price Id expect to hear God talking to me. Im glad you feel they were that transformative. They definitely are an aesthetically pleasing cable at the very least.
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Your right, most cables are extremely overpriced but that goes hand in hand with the concept of hi-end.