@KaranGovil I just happened to have Patrick Cullens’ email from my last order so I asked him about the best way to contact him while the Wyred 4 Sound merger is going on. He confirmed that the merger is still going on, so in the meantime, it’s best to contact him is to email him at patrick_cullen05@hotmail.com and he can let you know what he can do.
I’m not claiming that his cables beat (or don’t beat) $1000 power cables as I haven’t tried those, I just think that he makes good products and he’s a stand up guy who doesn’t try to upsell you if he thinks one of his cheaper cables will do the job.
I have a bunch of cables from many of the popular boutique cable companies and Arctic is my favorite, based on customer service. If you email them with your budget, what headphone you have and what kind of sound you’re looking for, they will advise you on which cable will fit your needs. And it won’t necessarily be the most expensive, at least in my experience with them.
I have a Stellia too, and I like using it with one of their lower cost copper cables (Cuprum, which isn’t sold any more, but maybe the Define is equivalent). The tone is wonderful. If I want a similar tone and want more detail and definition, then I use one of their upper tier cables, the Gladius, which is a copper/silver blend mixed with copper.
But what works for me might not work for you, which is why I recommend emailing them.
I got a couple 16 core occ cables for my HD 6xx, and my HD 800s. I use them on a regular basis and actually love the quality. They are lightweight and sound fantastic. Purchased on Amazon for like 60 dollars. If your interested let me know, i will look up brand.
Hi all, does anyone have a recommdation for a decent third party cable for the QKZ x HBB Khan IEM that has volume up and down and pause control, please?
Bought a custom cable from Sky Audio recently for my Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire.
I had bought a 3m Vivo to replace the standard 1.2 Dummer, but it just wasn’t long enough and was hanging not touching the floor between headphone amp and sofa, dragging on the headphone. The previous 3m cable for a pair of B&W P5 was fine. But Dan Clark Audio don’t take returns on cables.
I looked around, and the Cardas Clear seemed to have good reviews/reports but at a 4m to 5m length are over £1,000 and still only copper wire. The Clear Beyond are over £2,500.
Talking with Reece over Email, he agreed to make me a 5m Dual Mono cable using 8 cores per channel, in Pure Silver cable. I obtained a Cardas headphone jack for the build.
The jacket for the cable is all black with metal dividers to keep the two lengths in check. With the last divider being able to slide.
Great build quality, time to be made and great communication.
The cable burnt in over a couple of weeks of evening/late night use and the touch of sweetness that the Silver brings is just perfect with the DCA, as well as an increased openness over the Vivo.
Driver is presently a Burson Soloist SL.
Feed though a Sim Audio Moon preamp and sources being a Naim NDS with 555DR on digital power and a custom CHC DR3 PSU on the analogue circuits in a Roon based system.
Vinyl is Orbe, SME V, Lyra Skala, Bakoon EQR-11R
Cables are a mixture of Harmonic Technologies, True Signal Audio and JPS Labs.
I wrote a short overview from a cable brand not too many are familiar with. Check it out, if anybody is interested or curious.
Before anyone clicks, my intention isn’t to convince anyone to change their mind on cables. I wrote this to share with other audiophiles who have already experienced cables making an improvement…
I know you were asking @PaisleyUnderground , but I will without hesitation recommend Arctic Cables.
Not sure what price range you are looking for, and I assume the Cuprum is a copper cable from its name. (?) It is a discontinued model now it would seem…
I have 2 of their copper cables, the Aegis (for ZMF Atrium Open) with Furutech connectors, and the Talos v2 (for Utopia). Both are top notch, with first rate materials and craftsmanship. They each sound excellent. Plus they are super helpful if you are unsure on which cable to choose.
I can’t imagine you’d be disappointed with one of their cables.
Anyone know a good choice for a 4-pin XLR cable for the Focal Celestee that would match its colorway? Normally I wouldn’t care too much, but the XLR on my amp definitely sounds better than the 1/4 inch, and the look of the cable that comes with it is oh so sweet. It got me thinking I need to find something to do it justice, not just a black or silver one. The navy jacket and copper-colored hardware on the stock cable is cool, and it would be sweet to match that, but I was thinking it might be easier to get a copper cable with navy hardware. Not sure if anyone has experience with any brands that would do custom colors, or if there is one that others have found that suits this purpose. Google didn’t have any obvious good matches, so I figured I would ask before sliding into another rabbit hole
What would you say is the major difference in sound characteristics of Talos V2 vs. Aegis?
Also, do you happen to have any experience with the Forza cables? I have their copper Noir HPC Mk2 for ZMP Aeolus and Auteur, as well as Focal Clear and Mr Speakers Ether CX, and like them alot. But have heard so many good things about Arctic that I’m thinking to give them a try.
Finally, what do you know about Arctic’s hybrid cables, and do you think they might pair well with the Arya?
Sorry to ask so many questions, but this is a big deal for me and you clearly have good knowledge and judgement.
The Talos is their heaviest and thickest gauge copper cable, with great detail, lush midrange, expansive soundstage, and a slightly warm tonality with tremendous bass slam. It is a rather bulky cable though, but still fairly flexible and beautifully made.
I picked it for the Utopia 2020 after discussions with Roy at Arctic. I had considered a silver/copper hybrid cable, but went with pure copper in the end as I wanted a cable that would warm up the tonality on the Utopia somewhat, as it is already a tremendously detailed and resolving headphone. The copper cable softens the sharp edges slightly.
The Aegis is similar in tonality, but is a less expensive and less bulky cable than the Talos. I have a ZMF Lektrik C 4 strand cable as well for comparison, and the Aegis is thicker gauge than it, with greater detail and resolution compared to the Lektrik C cable. It mostly came down to not wanting to spend quite as much on another cable, though choosing Furutech connectors for both ends somewhat negated the cost savings! (I intend to use the ZMF cable on an Eikon I have coming soon.)
I don’t know your particular Arya, but I am familiar with the previous version and a number of other Hifiman headphones. I think a copper cable would be a good choice for the tonality of the Arya, though others may have differing views. Almost any decent cable upgrade is better than a stock Hifiman cable though!
@Leemore5745 I have very little to add to @robson’s excellent response. Roy and Val from Arctic will help you choose the appropriate cable based on your budget and what kind of sound you’re looking for. They have a lot of different models at different price points, which can be a little overwhelming, but they can narrow it down to one or two, based on your requirements. They’ve never tried to persuade me to buy a more expensive cable, which I’ve found refreshing. There are a lot of boutique cable companies that make good products, but I keep coming back to Arctic because of their customer service.
@Promee - the risk of color coordinating your cable to the headphone is that if/when you get another pair of headphones, the cable probably won’t match the new headphone. But if that’s what you want, then you’ll need to find a cable company that has a lot of different custom sleeve colors. Hart do that (and probably have the biggest selection of colors), as do Arctic. There are probably others, I just can’t think of any more.
(I intend to use the ZMF cable on an Eikon I have coming soon.)