Moon Audio Blue Dragon Ver. 2 - the Best Yet

[Ross]

A little while ago, I did a little review of all of the Sennheiser cables I've heard. I concluded that the Moon Audio Blue Dragon was my personal favourite, but other cables also performed strongly, notably the Zu Mobius for those with a taste for a brighter sound from their Sennheisers, and the Equinox for those looking for a more balanced sound. The strengths of the Blue Dragon included a rich, substantial, warm, three dimensional sound with deep bass.

Moon Audio have now issued a new version of the Blue Dragon, which is quite different and deserves a new review. I have been running the Ver 2 in continuously for a few days, but unlike the previous version this cable sounds great right of the box, and has not changed its sound significantly over that time.

The construction of the cable is also different to the first version: it is much thinner and more flexible, and comes in black rather than the blue of the previous one (although I rather liked the blue).

As you can probably tell from the name of this thread, I like the Blue Dragon V2 very much. The changes over the previous version are not all improvements, but on balance I think it is the best Sennheiser cable yet to appear, and addresses some of the issues that made some people prefer the alternatives, particularly the Equinox. One strength of the old cable was a very substantial sound, with instruments and vocals given real solidity and three dimensional presence, as well as deep bass. The trade off, however, was a slightly heavy sound, with the bass a shade over-emphasised, and a slight loss of focus compared to other cables. This was a trade off I was happy to make, but the new cable has addressed these issues. The V2 sounds less substantial, and less weighty, particularly in the bass. However, it is much more focussed, with a faster, tighter sound, and is much quieter, with a totally black background and excellent resolution of low level detail. Although the bass is a little reduced, it is probably now more accurate. The cable is still a touch dark compared to others (especially bright cables like the Zu), but it is much closer to the balance of the stock cable, which for many of us represents an ideal tonal balance (even if the performance of the stock cable fails on other criteria).

The previous Blue Dragon was a slightly idiosyncratic cable which some loved, but some preferred the more balanced approach of the Equinox and others. I now think that those who preferred the Equinox might think again if they heard the Blue Dragon V2. The Equinox is a superb cable, and very well balanced, but I still think it sounds a little hashy in the background and just a shade too light - possibly the effects of its spliced connectors, which I still consider to be a limiting factor. The Blue Dragon V2 is now a much more balanced cable, with similar strengths to the Equinox, but with better resolution of detail and less hash, as well as a tonal balance that is, for me, slightly preferable. In other words, I suspect that those who heard both the Blue Dragon V1 and Equinox and preferred the Equinox, would be converted back the other way by the Blue Dragon V2.

There will remain those who prefer the sound of silver or silver-copper (though I've never understood why), and for many the bright, fast sound of the Zu suits their tastes with the Sennheiser 650s (which I acknowledge can sound a little sedate for some people). However, for those who prefer the warmth of copper cables, and a tonal balance that is closest to what the Sennheiser engineers designed for these headphones, I think the Moon Audio Blue Dragon V2 is the best Sennheiser 650 cable yet to appear.

[DrOctagon]

Thanks for a great read, Ross. I'm finding my Zu to be far too bright and top heavy for my tastes, so I'm looking into getting an alternative aftermarket cable for my HD650s. My system is pretty new (SO level 3+ Music Hall CD-25 >> Audiogeek Nitrogens >> Gilmore GS-1 >> Senn HD650/Zu Mobius), so things are still breaking/burning in, but I can already tell things are too bright for my tastes and right now I'm laying blame on the Zu based on what I've read of other people's impressions of the cable (I don't have much to compare with, given my limited experience). So, I think I want to try a copper based cord, that will help retain all the bass (more would be nice, actually) I get with the Zu, yet elminate the harshness sound up high (warm and smooth with ample bass is what I'm after). It's kind of a shame really, since the Zu is suberb the rest of the way across the spectrum as far as I can tell, but I do kind of feel the treble to be somewhat exaggerated and piercing making it really hard to listen to for extended periods of time. Think the Blue Dragon V.2 is my best bet? After reading your review, I certainly am tempted to give it a shot...

[tanfenton]

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I had been wondering when you would get ahold of the updated cable.

NGF

[saturnine]

It is definately a good cable, at a very reasonable price. Far better than the ZU IMO, I actually preferred the stock over the Zu.

[Star65]

Thanks, Ross! How you think, it will be by one of the best variants for listening chamber music, jazz, vocal, organ with the lamp amplifier and HD650? Whether there will be a sound too warm?

[Ross]

Originally Posted by DrOctagon

Think the Blue Dragon V.2 is my best bet?

Yes. That's the short answer; the longer answer is that it is always a question of personal taste and system balance, but my expectation is that the Blue Dragon V2 should solve the brightness problem in your system.

How you think, it will be by one of the best variants for listening chamber music, jazz, vocal, organ with the lamp amplifier and HD650? Whether there will be a sound too warm?

I listen to a lot of chamber music, jazz, opera, and vocal music with the 650s, occasionally on my tubed HD 83 amp (and I assume by "lamp" amplifier you mean "tubes") and I find the combination to be perfect. A little dark, certainly - which I like - but not overly warm. Again, of course, it is a question of taste and system balance, and what is perfect for me may be unpleasantly warm and dark to you. However, I do think the 650/Blue Dragon V2/tube amp combination - depending on the tube amp - can sound spectacular.

[tone]

Hey Ross,

Thanks for the great review. it convinced me to try out the blue dragon v2 instead of picking up an equinox. hopefully it'll work well with my hd600 as well as it did with your hd650s. with a 30day return policy i figure i'd give it a shot.

i used to have the silver dragon cable and it was great but i did miss the rich sound of a copper cable so i sold it and went back to the stock cable. hopefully the blue dragon will work out.

[Star65]

Originally Posted by Ross

(and I assume by "lamp" amplifier you mean "tubes")

Yes, certainly! I am sorry for bad English of my electronic interpreter!

Originally Posted by Ross

However, I do think the 650/Blue Dragon V2/tube amp combination - depending on the tube amp - can sound spectacular.

Thanks for the answer, Ross! I hope, that a combination Eddie Current HD25 / Moon Audio Blue Dragon v2 / Senn HD650 will be perfect. And the personal nuances can be corrected by interblock (interconnets) cables, which choice is huge.

[rogues08]

Originally Posted by Ross

I listen to a lot of chamber music, jazz, opera, and vocal music with the 650s, occasionally on my tubed HD 83 amp (and I assume by "lamp" amplifier you mean "tubes") and I find the combination to be perfect. A little dark, certainly - which I like - but not overly warm. Again, of course, it is a question of taste and system balance, and what is perfect for me may be unpleasantly warm and dark to you. However, I do think the 650/Blue Dragon V2/tube amp combination - depending on the tube amp - can sound spectacular.

On the homepage of Moon-Audio, they say the Blue Dragon suits best with Rock, Techno etc.
"If you listen to Rock, Alternative, Rap or Techno etc, then this is the cable for you."
But I never listen to these kind of music.
Do you think the Blue Dragon can handle classic, orchestral & vocal music well?

[Zorander]

Originally Posted by rogues08

On the homepage of Moon-Audio, they say the Blue Dragon suits best with Rock, Techno etc.
"If you listen to Rock, Alternative, Rap or Techno etc, then this is the cable for you."
But I never listen to these kind of music.
Do you think the Blue Dragon can handle classic, orchestral & vocal music well?

The BD should work fine with any genres you throw at it. Moon Audio's statement is implying that the BD shows its stuff best with Rock, Techno, etc, but it does not mean it is any slouch in any other genres. As much as I believe in cable differences, I have yet to hear (and accept) that a cable can be bad/unsuitable/lousy/etc with a particular genre.

Cheers!

p.s. Way to go on resurrecting this old thread.

[rogues08]

Originally Posted by Zorander

The BD should work fine with any genres you throw at it. Moon Audio's statement is implying that the BD shows its stuff best with Rock, Techno, etc, but it does not mean it is any slouch in any other genres. As much as I believe in cable differences, I have yet to hear (and accept) that a cable can be bad/unsuitable/lousy/etc with a particular genre.

Cheers!

p.s. Way to go on resurrecting this old thread.

Thanks for the fast reply!
It's a pity that there is no way for me to test the different cables here in Austria. I would like to try out the SD, because I've never heard a silver cable. Maybe it suits me better than the BD.
By the way, does anyone know what kind of sound signature the Black Dragon has? Is it more like the Blue D or the SD? My guess would be the BD, because it's made out of copper, too. But who knows...

[Zorander]

Originally Posted by rogues08

Thanks for the fast reply!
It's a pity that there is no way for me to test the different cables here in Austria. I would like to try out the SD, because I've never heard a silver cable. Maybe it suits me better than the BD.
By the way, does anyone know what kind of sound signature the Black Dragon has? Is it more like the Blue D or the SD? My guess would be the BD, because it's made out of copper, too. But who knows...

I'd suggest getting a used one from this forum, if one ever pops up. It allows you to get them cheaper and you can resell them at little loss if you decide against them. Have you also considered cables from other manufacturers like Oehlbach, Headphile, etc?

[ManAtWork]

Regarding the difference between Blue Dragon and Black Dragon, here below was the reply from Drew:

"The Blue Dragon is a little more flexible. The Black has a little warmer
detailed sound. The Blue is more neutral sounding."

I final ordered a Black Dragon because I prefer warmer sound with my iPod + Xenos. It sounds good when I listen with the DT880 with the combo.

[penger]

Yeah. I would have to agree with you. The Black Dragons are much better than the standard cables and make my HD650's sound much better.

[kool bubba ice]

you should try Alex's balanced cables.. They are very popular here.. You can see his work in the links in my sig..