Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
What are the specs on the UE900s cable that make it superior? Even checking their site, no specs are listed.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Earmax-3-5mm-To-MMCX-Audio-Cable-120cm-5N-OFC-Silver-Plated-Upgrade-Earphone-Cable-For/32858389922.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.15.36a94447Snm0KM&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_3_10152_10151_10065_10344_10130_10068_10324_10547_10342_10325_10546_10343_10340_10548_10341_10545_10696_10084_10083_10618_10307_10059_100031_524_10103_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_12,ppcSwitch_5&algo_expid=0a7882d8-0590-47c5-a53a-55fad4162003-2&algo_pvid=0a7882d8-0590-47c5-a53a-55fad4162003&transAbTest=ae803_2&priceBeautifyAB=0
I'd say a handmade one to 6N OFC spec should cost 60-80 dollars depending on level of braid/connector quality use because of labor, but 80 for this? =\
Why would one buy an aftermarket cable? For me, because it is expected to provide higher quality sound, whatever meaning one puts in that. Extra connectors are fine, looks and strength are fine too, I'll put a proposition though that sound is what really counts and all else is superficial.
The only way an aftermarket cable can accomplish this is by incorporating higher quality wire, and there's no indication that this is the case here.
Even looking at Amazon, the cheapest balanced MMCX was a Fiio cable at $20. I have one of these and its contruction is quite frankly, shit. The coating is changing colors and the wires internally are oxidizing. But, you get what you pay for.
All the others balanced cables from Chinese makers are in the $30-$60 range. Not a far cry from what's on offer here sans the tensile strength of the braid and adapter set.
Also, the only time I can honestly say I've noticed a difference in cables is via wire material: pure silver vs pure copper. And that was still negligible to not be that big of a difference.
Since you stated the UE900s cable is superior, can you prove as to why? I checked their website and no specs exist for that model. I'm very curious as to why you made that claim.
Many of us don't believe or care in so called perceived "audio" benefits of cables since it's mostly snake oil in a piece of cable that's ~4 feet. We typically buy them for looks, matieral feel, connectors, etc. which is all subjective and just a matter of personal taste.
At the end of the day, great balanced > great SE but the difference between them is rather small (balanced transmission vs. balanced bridged vs. balanced push-pull vs. SE).
Essentially it boils down to better crosstalk out of balanced and more power on tap (which could attribute to better power/voltage control) and lower noise. How much you care about that is subjective.
It's all about the amp really. Topology should always be one of the last decision factors when choosing gear else you'd miss out on a lot of top-shelf SE gear. Although nowadays, there are a lot of quality balanced amps/DACs these days but they're all pretty pricey for a proper setup.
While they argue the benefit of balanced headphones, it doesn't negate the fact that a balanced system has merit over a SE system. Again, all of which I mentioned above.
The layout is still similar to dual 3-pin XLR but very few amps take that connector layout nowadays.
I noticed you mentioned a 3.5mm plus so I'm assuming you're thinking of this as TRS? In that case, you would be correct since 3.5mm TRS would go to single ended.
You made an outlandish claim that you pulled out of your ass and know good and well there's no basis for it. If it's objective, scientific fact then where's your objective data to back up what you said? Unless, you just made it up on the spot.
The rest of us, not so much. I will pay someone to build this for me (which means I pay for the materials, their time, and their profit markup), and I will pay a premium for the adapters so I don’t have to buy and carry around multiple cables to suit my two different portable DAC/AMPs that have different balanced jacks (before you ask, I do carry multiple because I do much of my listening on the road and in planes, so just carry around my gear).
Now, if you have a suggestion for a better balanced cable I can buy, and adapters, THAT I would be interested in hearing about.
careful, your inner elitist is showing a bit there :-)
also, picture related...
Balanced is more than a gimmick depending on how you entire system is setup. Like I said earlier, my psuedo balanced gear from iFi and Fiio fits what you're talking about. But the higher end balanced gear I've listened to is true to being fully balanced in every sense. The setup also cost closer to $4k which is way too rich for my blood so I only get to sample it at my friend's house.
I honestly implore you to have some seat time with a proper balanced setup and listen for yourself. Not out of something like a Fiio Q1 mk2 or some DAP, but a proper desktop system utilizing the proper interconnects and sources.