They are hefty things. Mogami 2893 with jacket still on wrapped in nylon braid / paracord. 4x26awg conductors. Can’t go wrong with Mogami.
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I just got a Pangea AC-14 1.5m for my RebelAmp – yes it’s much more flexible than many thick and unusable audiophile cables. The Pangea also doesn’t create an over filtered bass-heavy tone. Lesson learned.
In the future I expect to stick with basic shielded OFC medium gauge cables, as the wall current comes through standard cables. If I buy a power conditioner or regenerator then it seems there’s not much risk of signal loss in 1 or 2 meters either. I’ll spend my money elsewhere.
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Question for those more experienced than I.
The balanced cable I’ve been using with my Blessing 2 Dusk has developed this weird green tint starting around the ears and going down about half of the y split.
Does this look like oxidation? I think I’ve also been hearing a difference in audio through the Blessing 2’s; mainly subtle artifacting in the lower portions of bassy voices that sounds like peaking.
I chocked it up to just weirdness in the recordings I was listening to, or compression, but this color changing is making me think otherwise.
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Yes, that looks like oxidization.
As to whether there’s a possible audible effect it’ll depend on what material the cable is made from, how extensive and complete the oxidization is and how sensitive to changes in capacitance the transducer is.
“Skin effect” doesn’t really come into play here, since the individual strands are so fine that even a 20 kHz signal will propagate using the entire diameter of each strand. Thus increasing the resistance of the skin of each strand (which is what oxidization does) won’t really change the resistance of the overall wire at audio frequencies.
IF the oxidization is complete enough to act as an insulator around the strands, then it would increase the wire’s capacitance (effectively making it a Litz-like conductor, but with much less separation between strands). Whether it made enough difference to be audible is another matter.
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I would like to share an experience ordering and receiving a beautiful cable from a vendor, Impact Audio Cables. Having just received my Drop DCA Aeon Closed X cans, I had to spend the money I saved on a new 4ft cable to pair with my Mojo and LG v60 for OTG listening. I wanted something light and compact that stores well.
In a search, I located Impact Audio Cables and immediately noticed a well designed web site that had lots of choices of cable styles and materials, 22 cable sleeve colors, and a boatload of Eidolic connectors and splitters to choose from. I chose my custom cable in OCC Copper, with Imperial Red, Black and Charcoal Grey sleeving, and a stunning Eidolic E-SXAM splitter in Black CF with embedded blue filaments.
I noticed at the top of every page that the current build time was posted in a banner that appeared to be updated as orders are filled. I was surprised when a day later, I received a pleasant e-mail from someone named Lindsay, who is the sole proprietor of the company. The email was not only the common thank you for choosing… but also verification of my choices for the Custom Infinity Series Mr. Speakers type cable. The email was dated July 20 and it stated that he was ahead of schedule and my cable would certainly ship by July 26 at the latest. It shipped earlier, I think on the Fri before the promised Monday date. Total cost was 141 dollars and shipping was free.
I should also note that Lindsay also sells a variety of parts for anyone who chooses to build their own cables. I think he must keep a decent inventory to sustain the efficient turn around time. He stated to me in a later email that CS is his priority and that meeting the promised ship by date is of the utmost importance. The build quality and materials in my cable were stunning and a welcomed surprise at the price point. The connectors at both ends were accurately made and fit with precision. The cables themselves are soft and flexible and the round Litz weave was uniform and attractive. It wouldn’t be fair to evaluate the sonic characteristics since both the cans and the cables were new. I did not detect any sonic differences from the factory cables.
Lindsay does try to offer a wide range of customization options for all of the cable types he offers on the web site. Email impactaudiocablesinfo at gmail.com with questions after checking out the website if you don’t see something you are looking for.
Impact Audio Cables is located in Arizona and ships internationally to most countries. Customer service, attention to detail, reasonable turn around, and great communication with clients make this a win win for me and I couldn’t be happier with my new cable. I ordered blindly without knowing anything about this company. I paid full price and have not been rewarded or compensated for my opinion about Impact Audio Cables. I just wish there were more US companies that followed a similar business model. The fair price for quality goods and craftsmanship is a bonus. The nice storage pouch was also a pleasant surprise.
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Thanks for sharing that info.
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Question: I typically have had positive perceptible gains from upgrading to moderately priced interconnects, power cables and headphone cables … but have not had the same positive gains with digital interconnects (i.e. streamer to DAC). I first upgraded to a Moon Audio Black Dragon but even after ~20 hours of use it sounded veiled and lacking in detail compared to the $12 cables I ordered from Amazon. I returned them and ordered the Silver Dragon thinking this might open things up and retrieve more detail. Yes, a bit more detail but decreased the soundstage and sounded more harsh. The $12 cables from Amazon are relaxed, fluid, just the right amount of detail without irritation, etc. Still scratching my head over this difference. My system is: Bluesound Node 2i streamer > Schiit Gungnir DAC > Feliks Audio Euforia 20th Anniversary Special edition amplifier > Meze Empyrean headphones. Any ideas or thoughts are welcome as to this digital interconnect phenomenon.
Just my opinion here, but…
I’m sure there are tons of self-proclaimed expert hobbyists who will opine loudly and often on how everything cable related matters in some great and profusely influential way. Others disagree. There are a great many threads on HeadFi that have already explored this, if you wish to contaminate your brain further. Good luck separating the wheat from the chaff though. It tends to be a very contentious topic. This way madness lies.
Perhaps the best method would just be to use the cables that sound best to you and skip the fool’s errand of exploring it in depth.
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I think the only fools errand aspect of choosing cables is that it’s a crap shoot. They do sound different. I will stand by that side of the argument (contrasted with those that say they don’t). There seems, however, to be no valid or reliable strategy/method to go about trying to make a somewhat informed choice. You can glean useful information about speakers, headphones, amps, DACs, etc. but cables are a very different beast. Again … not that they don’t sound different but rather it is nearly impossible to reliably match descriptions of their “sound” with the user experience. That said … it has only happened to me (so far) with digital cables which is even more mysterious in that I would think those cables would be the least variable in their performance.
I’m looking for a better cable for my Hifiman Susvara. IDK but im not sure how good the quality of the stock cable is. Manufacturers have a reputation for giving cheap cables with their products. I dont really care if the cable is janky or considered ugly. I just want the cable that will give the best sound quality. Also need XLR.
Ive been shopping around looking for the best deal and my eye hit the Moon Audio Dragon cables. In articular the Black Dragon. Since the Susvara is so bright i thought their copper cables would be nice since it seems to be more warm. I’m also impressed with their rhodium-plated Furutech connectors and Mundorf MSolder SUPREME Silver-Gold. For 400$ seems like a good deal. IDK though, are there better cables out there?
Take a look at these:
Arctic Cables Magnus $299 - https://www.arcticcables.com/ac-store/Magnus-Series-p369687656
Norne Drausk Lite $219 - http://www.norneaudio.com/litzheim/Drausk-Lite-Headphone-Cable-hifi-aftermarket-occ-litz-copper-audeze-cu-hifiman-arya-lcd-2-closed-meze-empyrean-3-3f-4-focal-clear-elear-elegia-elex-sennheiser-hd800-hd820-zmf-verite-auteur-atticus-eikon-mr-speakers-ether-2
Double Helix Molecule SE $229 - NEW - DHC Molecule SE Headphone Cable V4 - premium OCC copper litz - Double Helix Cables
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Oh nice! didnt know this thread exists. got a lot of reading to do lol, So these sites you listed, would you say they are better than Moon Audio’s dragon cables or on the same level?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried the Moon Audio cables and I’m in the camp where I think cables don’t make that much of a change. There is some good information here, one is this post which I have bookmarked:
There was another which I found useful, but can’t seem to find it right now.
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I haven’t listened to Moon Audio Dragon cables, but I have a set of Arctic Cuprum (OCC copper) and Double Helix Molecule Elite (OCC silver) and I can say that both Arctic and Double Helix make excellent cables in terms of build quality and looks. They both offer upgraded connectors (Furutech, Oyaide etc).
Note that the Arctic copper cable doesn’t add warmth, and the Double Helix silver cable doesn’t add brightness. They sound remarkably similar to each other, in that they don’t impact the sound at all, as far as I can hear. I’d be wary of buying a cable that is marketed as a tone control.
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Do you notice a improvement in sound quality at all?
Hakugei, Han Sound Audio, DHC. Any of these are better than this (cable included with the HE6se v2):
And better than this (cable included with the Stellia):
(the one of the left being Norne)
I also have an Arctic Cable Magnus on the way (speaker tap).
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When I was auditioning the HE6SE, I didn’t really notice an audible improvement over the stock cable, but the build quality was 1000% better than the medical drainage tubes that came with the HE6SE, which seemed to develop kinks every time I moved them. I also agree with @deafenears’ comment that they are both better build quality than the stock cables that came with my Stellia.
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Well i was told that the Susvara is very sensitive and detailed headphone. And a better cable can help to open it up and make it sound better. If it doesnt do that id rather not bother, i’ll just use the stock cable.
I’ve made a bunch of Black Dragons now.
They are susceptible to microphonics from the split to he cup, rubbing and bumping.
The Furutech XLR are nice. About $25 a piece.
I really like the Artic Cables website. It has a lot of information on their site and tell so much about what youre buying. What the properties of the cable metal means. I also really like the fact you can upgrade to Rhodium plated Furutech connectors for both the 3.5mm to the headphone and the XLR. Rhodium seems to be the ultimate in a plating you can get. I also like that they use such premium solder also. Although i’m not sure what the different options of solder give. I would think the silver/gold was best. The prices seem pretty good too. I was thinking i might get the Signum Series silver cable, with the options it comes out too 600$ lol. not sure yet though