Enigma Audio Oracle cable + HD650s

[HighLife]

Well guys, ive got my hands on one of these to test (maybe to keep if it decide, so far very promising).

To begin with my take on this cable, i will give you a brief overview of the cable itself. The quality of the cable is fantastic to say the least. First thing that caught my eye (and was pointed out by Tyrion at my local coffee shop) that the cable is certainly thinner then most of the others out there. I havent seen a cardas though im guessing its thinner. The plug on this is TOP QUALITY, its a Furutech FP-704. Its got a screw in type connection which exposes the bare wires and the connection. The soldering is, dare i say, perfect. The sheathing is also very nice. Seems extremely durable and resistant to everyday use. To sum it up, the build quality is Top notch. I would say that they certainly do things right at Engima Audio and this cable seems to shows that, 100%. One thing to note is this cable is MUCH stiffer then stock, which you know already and is common with most aftermarket cables. The cable is ever so slightly microphonic, nothing you will notice at all when playing music, you will barely notice it even in quiet..but you can notice it for sure. Its very noticeable when you tap the cable on something, it echos a low thump through the cable into your headphone. This isnt awful as how many people tap the cable when listening. The cable itself is 10ft long..seems longer cause its so thin, but its 10Ft give or take a inch. The connectors on the end are nicely covered with shrink wrap, not like the others out there that keep the connector bare. Something i really love is the cable really matches well with the 650 overall dark color scheme. Not bright blue cardas, not red/black connectors on the end. The joint where the wires meet are wrapped in shrink wrap tightly and would seems tough enough to last a while.

Next is the overall take on the sound. At the moment i only have the stock cable to compare. However, after Canjam this coming weekend, i will have more to test.

First off, please note that this is just a brief take on the cable as ive only had it for 12 hours. I have spent about 4 of those 12 listening and comparing.

The first thing i notice with this cable is the soundstage...omg, it seems to extend it slightly, sometimes it seems more then slightly. To be safe ill say slightly. It almost seems like you are sitting a tad farther away, however the sound just melds together perfectly.

The Highs do seems to lose that overly bright sound which cause my ears to crack. They are still clear, very crisp, but not over the top. The 650s are pretty dark to begin with, however i noticed a tizz type sound with some music. The stock cable really doesnt do a good job in this department. The separation just doesnt seem there with a few cymbals going off at once. Its very smooth overall. It does seem less like it would produce less fatigue over time when listening to music.

Now to the mids...it seems like the mids have been released from their captive hold. The stock cable does NOT do it justice. Its ok mind you, its just not as smooth as the Oracle. Its not quite liquidly mids, its more of a light extended thump to the mid bass that melds nicely into the deep bass. I havent notice any rolloff on the mids which the stock cable seems to do depending on my music selection.

Finally on to the bass/low. This is another shocker to my ears. Its tight, yet extended. It carries slightly to give you almost a sub woofer feel. The bass is indeed improved...its not a SLAM more as a light thump. The 650s are certainly able to deliver nice tight bass. This cable brings the flabbiness into check. There is a a moment or two that i thought the bass was uncontrolled. This was just the music i was playing as i noticed the last time i heard. However the last time i heard i wasnt able to hear each pluck of the bass string. It almost seem to just melted into 1 long pluck. Bass is certainly a delightful upgrade to the stock. Even with my DV336i which is a dark and bassey amp, the oracle keeps the bass in check. This is something i could never do, even with a tube change. I just purchased a DAC to try and tighten the bass up. This did it, almost to much at some point. However, the stock cable just over bloats the bass at certain times.

Also to point out, it does seem to produce a nice natural voice sound. I havent listen to much vocal, but the little i have seem to really produce a nice smooth tone.

This is just a few thoughts and some things i noticed since playing with the cable. I will have some pics soon if anyone would like. I also just got a 2 upgrades at once, which makes it harder to tell if its the cable or the DAC i bought. I have to re-listen to a few of my favorite CDs. Maybe without the DAC to see how much difference my ears can detect.

I say that i really like the improvments this cable makes. Its not subtle in certain areas also, certainly in the bass department. Really gives it a more fun feel to the sound. I want to say it livens them up a bit. This is what Sennheiser should of done in term of R&D if they really want to improve sound. It adds a certain synergy to the 650s which makes it a much more fun headphone to listen to.

Lastly i would like to thank Tyrion (mike) for letting me test this bad boy out before i decide if i would like it. So far it looks like it will be spending its remaining days connected to my 650s.

Please chime in if you have a question or if you have the cable itself, would love to hear your thoughts.

[recstar24]

I love the oracle, sounds great with the 650's and 600's. Very underrated cable which most people don't talk about. But the price is great and the performance is stellar, build quality is pretty insane. Zach is very easy to work with as well. I use a custom senn cable that uses OCC copper wire with the new senn connectors and furutech plug which I love, but if I didnt go the custom route my only choice would be the oracle.

[HighLife]

Do you know what the cable is silver or copper? I wrote to Enigma asking about it.

I cant believe there are not more people with this cable. Seems like a really great piece of gear and very well made. I couldnt imagine a better build on a cable of this price.

The thinness of the cable certainly doesnt represent the sound...its HUGE.

[onform]

Price+ any pics?

[HighLife]

Price is approx 195$ according to their site. Might be able to find one used in the 170$ range or a tad cheaper.

However, its the same price for balanced and single ended..normally balanced is 30-50$ more.

Right now Tyrion got my camera, so i dont have a pic...however i will post the pic from their site. I will be buying a new camera sometime within the next week or so.

[onform]

looks nice. did you say the plugs are cut one's? Doesn't sound too profesional..

[HighLife]

Originally Posted by onform

looks nice. did you say the plugs are cut one's? Doesn't sound too profesional..

Im sorry, i dont understand...do you mean cut from another cable? If so, then CERTAINLY not...the plugs are all black, seem alittle thicker then the normal ones. They are covered in shrink wrap, so i cant tell...its could be a stock 650 cable plugs..but i dont think they would chop them for a cable like this.

[HighLife]

Just got a message back from Zach...awesome that he replied on a sunday..i didnt expect to hear back from him till tomorrow.

According to him its a custom silver alloy that he had made. Gave me a brief explanation-

" Silver was a bit to bright and harsh while copper was a bit too muddy and grainy. With the alloy you get a very detailed cable that still has warmth and body to it. No harshness or gain at all."

Indeed you are correct my friend...A+ work Zach and thank you for the reply.

[Patu]

You can check better pictures of the cable here and here. These pictures are taken by Zach and they're of my cable. It has a Neutrik plug and it's about 210cm long.

I really love this cable with HD650. I now use it with HD600. It works ok with HD600 also but I have this feeling that it's designed mainly for HD650. I liked Cardas better with HD600. I also have compared this cable with Cardas on HD650's. With HD650, Oracle was pretty clear winner to me. It just made the bass even tighter and punchier than Cardas. I also like the fact that Oracle doesn't alter the sound signature of HD650 too much. It's loyal for their original sound signature (for example, RAL totally alters the sound signature IMO).

Sorry for a little advertising, but my cable is most probably up for sale. So if you're interested, PM me. This is just because I'm now with HD600.

[piotr z]

for hd600 You might want to switch to APS - works great with W5000 smoothing highs and adding some body, extending soundstage and being very very clear at same time ( yes I know another hype for APS but I cannot stop myself )