" Nice "
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Those look great Tyler. Hope you enjoy them. I would be interested in hearing your take in using this cable especially as itās balanced. I am a fan of balanced mode. I use balanced mode with my iemās. I hope to get a balanced setup in the future and have been wondering how my HD800 will sound. If I recall correctly you use your HD800 stock same as me donāt you?.
-Paul-
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I did the Super Dupont mod on mine. I have the MCTH but I mostly got these to see for myself if it makes a difference to have fancier cablesā¦ I got the 3ā version so that is already annoying me lol
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I wish people who go on about cables never making any difference would bother to listen to a quality product like the Cardas cables. That type of thinking goes all the way back to Stereo Review people who insisted that amplifiers that measured the same have to sound the same.
Congrats on the great new cabling. And enjoy that sound!
Ed
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Iāve used Cardas cables before and thereās no doubt to my ears, they do make a difference, than the stock cables. I think you will be pleased as they add another flavor to youāre listening.
Enjoy
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I darent mention cables on r/headphones for fear of being chased off the forum. They donāt subscribe to Cables at all. I have only dipped my toe into aftermarket cables but I am a fan. Not to the extent that I will fork out Ā£800 or Ā£1000 on one. But a few hundred quid I can stomach. However I donāt begrudge anyone who buys one that does.
-Paul-
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If you donāt mind me asking Tyler whatās the other end on the cable. Thereās the headphone connects and then the balanced end and what else?
-Paul-
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Itās funny, I have no interest in cables except for convenience factors, but I like the fact that this forum is open and welcoming to peopleās differing experiences and interests. After all itās about enjoyment, and that enjoyment increases when shared with friends.
I think part of what helps us vs Reddit is that a fair bit of the discussion on Reddit involves people seeking advice on how best to spend their money in pursuit of ābetterā sound, which naturally brings out differing opinions.
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You could be right on that one. If I recall arenāt you oxocart on Reddit? I still like Reddit for a read though thereās a lot more gaming related questions that I arenāt particularly interested in. But each to their own. Wireless headphones seems to be a much bigger trend this last 6 months too.
-Paul-
Yeah, Iām āoxtoacartā there, a relic of my work pseudonym. If you look through my posting history on Reddit, youāll probably find that persona a touch more opinionated and a bit more obsessed with measuring rather than experiencing. Despite my being no spring chicken, I like to think that Iām capable of changing, sometimes even for the better!
Regarding finding a healthy balance between objectivism and subjectivism, I credit @I_want_all_the_tacos with providing valuable counsel. Iād sum up my current position as:
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Measurements matter
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Experience matters
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Just because we canāt measure something doesnāt mean we canāt hear it
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It sure would be interesting to better be able to measure and explain those things which we can hear yet current measurements donāt capture, but I donāt have the knowledge or time to make meaningful advances on this myself and would rather just listen to music
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@I_want_all_the_tacos has also been quite the influence on my journey too. He talks a lot of sense is never rude or condescending and is always willing to help. Heās a great guy to have around. Regarding your point about evolving, I think itās something that we all do as we grow and learn, itās something I try to do. I hope that I have become more tolerant to other peoples opinions whether or not I agree with them. This is particularly what I like about this forum. I donāt feel like someone is going to jump on me every time I say something someone doesnāt agree with.
How long have you been taking measurements of headphones and when did you get your measurement rig? What does it consist of?
-Paul-
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Those are the only two endsā¦the splitter looks deceptively like an end piece in my picture. Iāll try and A/B with my other cables this weekend.
Ahhh, It fooled me, but then thatās easy to do. Cardas has a great reputation. Hope you enjoy it.
-Paul-
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The joys of the internet! I find I tweak my persona for Reddit. I think it helps cope with the masses lol.
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I know @I_want_all_the_tacos was moving hopefully they get some time to jump back in the forum. Iām here because of them lol
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Iāve been using one of these since February.
https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/ears-headphone-jig
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I remember that. I also think that they werenāt measuring enough. Like how an amp behaves when it approaches clipping. Linearity. How it responds to actual loads that differ depending on frequency. And what are the components of āTHDā.
As far as cables are concerned, Iām one of those that is not sure I can reliably A/B and discuss differences between the SOUND of quality cables. If there is something WRONG with a cable, or a connector, thatās a different story. I have more problems with discussions of patch cords between components than with headphone cables. However, Iāve made certain that I have good cables particularly between components that output small voltages and that are located near other components. Shielding is certainly important. I have drunk enough of the kool-aid that I have AQ Sydney and Yukon quality patch cords from the turntable to pre-amp to amp.
Headphone cables are a somewhat different story. I find that the non-electrical components are as important as the electrical ones. Most STAX phones donāt let you change cables, and the cables are pretty good. But the 25 foot extension is heavy and stiff and awkward.
I have a custom-made silver coated fancy (Wa-de-do-dah) cable that fits certain headphones. It replaces a factory cable that is flimsy and multi-stranded (not Litz). I THINK I hear a difference when I use it. But I KNOW that if the cable moves or scrapes something, it PHYSICALLY transmits scraping noises that the factory cable does not. On headphones cables can FEEL different when you move your head.
Maybe I just need to be placed in a situation where I hear a comparison that makes the cable light bulb go on. Maybe Iāll make it to CanJam next year. And yeah, I decided to replace speaker cables this year (havenāt hooked up the new ones yet) after moving equipment, and spend about $300 on some cables made with Cardas Litz wire to replace old 65Ā¢ a foot Monster cable with splices.
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Very reasonable price for some pretty invaluable kit.
-Paul-
Absolutely, How much we donāt know about sound (yet). Same as just like man who watched the birds fly and wanted to do it and then he did, or the " Dick Tracy " watch in the comics when I was young. They call it an Apple Watch or Fitbit Watch now. Who would have thunk it?
Which leads me to my own conclusion. Simply because I donāt know if it exist, doesnāt mean it doesnāt nor will it come to be. No doubt in the field of audio and sound there is much more to be revealed down the road and it excites the hell out me.
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I definitely think cables make an improvement, but unlike other things in this hobby they have an ultra diminishing return. A custom cable is going to be better than stock most often, but after that the difference is less and less as you go up the food chain.
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