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Maeb
12
Feb 13, 2018
I think now I'm ready to make a review. First of all, I bought this cable to replace a broken cable for my HD600. Before my cable broke I was skeptical about cables making sound differences on headphones but I got one from ebay for 43 dollars from a brand called venus audio which made my headphone sound less detailed on both ends and more "mid centered", raising the volume of my amp "solved" the issue but I didn't like the quality of the connectors on the cable so when I saw this drop I joined immediately, for curiosity most. And I'm not disappointed this cable looks much better the connectors are much better too, this is also the length I was looking for and the sound.. Oh my.. the sound is just as excellent as the stock cables!! I know this is not what people is looking to read on reviews of this type of products but after hearing a worst than stock cable for me is such a relief as I blind bought this one. But! (and there is a big but haha) How the other cable sounded worse and why this doesn't sound better than the stock cable? Well a cable can make a difference in sound when it changes the total impedance of the headphones, the stock one is already to low, so lower impedance cable doesn't really make an audible difference for most of us but when the impedance is higher it's much more noticeable. On some headphones and IEMs cables can affect the sound in a good way (there are graphics that shows volume changes in specific frequencies without affecting the others) but for the HD600 I don't think it's needed, what this headphone really need is a short and reliable good quality cable. Maybe in the future if a get to try the stock cables again I may hear a very very small difference but for now I'm totally happy with what this cables are.. A robust well constructed nice looking cable. Keep enjoying music!
MaebWell built cables should just allow the sound to move down the copper without affecting the time or frequency domain of the audio. What gets in the way aside from impedance, is that you have several adjacent conductors separated by a small distance, running in parallel. This creates a 2nd passive electronic component, unintentionally. A capacitor. When you have a resistor (impedance) and a capacitor arranged in an electronic circuit a certain way, you get a passive equalizer. This is how electric guitar tone knobs work. Any reasonable quality audio cable uses a special type of insulation to mitigate the formation of capacitance between adjacent wires. Anything beyond that is snake oil.
CalaverasgrandeWhat if conductive metals other than copper (silver, gold, etc.) are used in the wiring? Do they inherently sound different than copper?
mattristhat’s a solid question. Silver is a better conductor than copper, gold is not as good as copper or silver , but doesn’t tarnish. AFAIK there is no inherent time or frequency dependent difference between copper, gold and silve. The impedance difference is only significant at extraordinary lengths.
RayF
22218
Aug 5, 2018
MaebUpgrading for the purpose of a stronger/more durable cable makes sense when and if that need exists. Upgrading for "looks" is a mater of personal taste. However, as you've discovered, upgrading to improve the sound (over the stock cable supplied) turns out to be a fools errand (@tholt).
The fact that Cardas doesn't say their cables make your headphones sound better, it's to their credit!
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