APureSound: The Ultimate Cable Manufacturer Introduces The V3 Headphone Cable

[Mher6]

It's a damn shame the super nylon sleeving was offered earlier. Guess I'll have to live with my techflex

[nikongod]

Originally Posted by [AK]Zip

The wire was oxidized so that already says something about the insulation used. The ground is not an actual insulated conductor.

the silk cover is an insulator. not everyone likes teflon coated wire...

I honestly suggest you open up your headphones and have a look yourself at the R10 cable before you start assuming this is some sort of all mighty cable. This cable uses worse conductors than very many other headphones at a much lower price point.

i have. the foam in the headphones was all crumbly and its replacement required disassembly. popping the driver out was an exercise to satisfy my curiosity and is done with a screwdriver in the obvious notch.

for the individual who asked about the inside of the cups, they are stuffed with a fiberous material (perhaps wool, cotton or synthetic batting. i doubt the later) and the actual inner surfaces of the cups are cut in wavy steps. IE they are not smooth on the inside like they are on the outside. a strong light can be seen through the cups (a flashlight in an otherwise dark room) this wood is VERY thin.

i would not be surprised to hear that a violin maker was consulted for advice on the construction and cutting of the wood for the cups.

At the Y split they use zip ties and on the inside of the headphones they just knot the cable.

the knot didnt give away that i have cracked em?

Sony obviously put more thought into the name of the headphone than into such a sad excuse of a cable.

maybe.
it is also possible that they used the shield around the signal cable with the intent of eliminating the possibility of crosstalk. having no doubt opened other sony headphones from the same generation you know that they use the more common cable designs in their other headphones. 2 totally separate wires for signal and ground. its not that they could not have, i am confident they thought this would work better.

[Edwood]

Originally Posted by nikongod

the silk cover is an insulator. not everyone likes teflon coated wire...

Other than being an expert at putting headphones on your crotch, wth are you talking about? The Silk is just a decorative cover over a clear rubber tube with the PVC insulated wires inside Last I checked, there was no silk on the inside of the R10's cable.

So are you talking about an actual pair of Sony MDR-R10's that you, personally, have opened up?

-Ed

[swt61]

Originally Posted by Edwood

Is that your R10?

-Ed

Only in my dreams Ed.

[swt61]

Originally Posted by immtbiker

Does the R-10 sound better with your aftermarket cable than the shoddy Sony OEM cable??

Well of coarse that would be open to interpretation Aaron, but to me the Senn. 580, 600 and 650 I listened to sounded better with APS cables than with Moon Audio and Equinox cables. I also liked Alex's ICs better than everything I tried them against (BMC, Signal Cables, Cobalt & others I don't remember the names of). I'm not saying that anyone who's happy with their R-10s should get APS recables, and I've never heard R-10s stock or otherwise, I'm just saying that all of the APS recabled phones I've heard (many) have sounded better to me than stock, and better than other aftermarket cables.

[kool bubba ice]

Originally Posted by nikongod

i did not know that. repairs are a different story.

yes, i have looked at the R10 cable.
i dont agree with comments made towards cheap copper wire (see below for gauge..) 6n copper is not cheap.
i dont agree with emphasis on differences in conductor impedance mismatch which could easily fall within the margin of error of a meter.
i dont agree with gauge emphasis! how thick of a wire you you realllly need to get all of 300mW through 20ft of cable? you could argue that the absolute max rated power is 1W, but then i could counter it with 300 being more than most people use. still, for ****s and giggles, what wire gauge is required to get 1W across 20ft of wire?

i consider a cable with micro-phonics bad.
a cable made with inpure metal in the wires.
and at the end of the day, Im mostly curious why to risk altering the sound signature of a headphone known for its sound with a totally different cable. i do like your cables, but why not use something closer to stock on a restoration project?

your sensationalism makes this sound like a ksc75 with enamel wire wrapped around a polyester core.

the reality of things is that with the large numbers of people who have had the R10 stock there have been very few re-cables because people like how it sounds regardless of how its made.

I did not know that with the zipties.
Im not sure thats any worse than strain relief done with a knot. LOL.

I doubt thats a main factor.. I think retail value is the number one issue, & many see the R10's as a one in a lifetime treasure to cherish, so don't want to 'taint' it by having the R10's recabled..

[[AK]Zip]

Originally Posted by immtbiker

Does the R-10 sound better with your aftermarket cable than the shoddy Sony OEM cable??

They do sound better with the upgrade cable. The sound signature has not in any way changed, but at the same time everything sounds more refined.

Originally Posted by nikongod

the silk cover is an insulator. not everyone likes teflon coated wire...

i have. the foam in the headphones was all crumbly and its replacement required disassembly. popping the driver out was an exercise to satisfy my curiosity and is done with a screwdriver in the obvious notch.

for the individual who asked about the inside of the cups, they are stuffed with a fiberous material (perhaps wool, cotton or synthetic batting. i doubt the later) and the actual inner surfaces of the cups are cut in wavy steps. IE they are not smooth on the inside like they are on the outside. a strong light can be seen through the cups (a flashlight in an otherwise dark room) this wood is VERY thin.

i would not be surprised to hear that a violin maker was consulted for advice on the construction and cutting of the wood for the cups.

the knot didnt give away that i have cracked em?

maybe.
it is also possible that they used the shield around the signal cable with the intent of eliminating the possibility of crosstalk. having no doubt opened other sony headphones from the same generation you know that they use the more common cable designs in their other headphones. 2 totally separate wires for signal and ground. its not that they could not have, i am confident they thought this would work better.

Like Ed said the "silk" is only on top of the clear rubber tubing for looks and offering no insulation what so ever. The actual wire insulation covering the channel from ground is standard cheap clear PVC. Teflon is a better insulator and I use it to insulate one wire from the other (channel from ground). Each side (left/right) is in its own layer of cotton insulation to prevent crosstalk and lower the capacitance level between the 2 channels.

I have a very good understand of how shielding works and the method they used truly is not the best for this case. This is a great method for a portable type headphone where you are limited in space.

-Alex-

[nikongod]

first off let me say: I have listened to an APS V3 cable on a set of hd-580. I compared it to my cardas v2, and ohlibach cable. The APS held its ground quite well.

I do like the APS cable, and am confident that it is a very good upgrade to most headphones.

my gripe here is mostly to do with the R10 cable being called cheap.

Originally Posted by Edwood

Other than being an expert at putting headphones on your crotch, wth are you talking about? The Silk is just a decorative cover over a clear rubber tube with the PVC insulated wires inside Last I checked, there was no silk on the inside of the R10's cable.

my cable is constructed this way:
inner core of stranded wire
insulator of clear plastic
wrapping of stranded copper wire
layer of woven silk.

as the cable is constructed, with the outer layers of wire (between the plastic insulator, and the silk) there is arguably no real need for the silk there aside from micro-phonics. when run balanced the silk does function as an electrical insulator as well as a device to reduce micro-phonics.

have you ever seen an old tube amp with cotton covered wire? cotton works fairly well as an electrical insulator as long as it stays dry. silk is in the same boat. the advantage to woven insulators is that they are more permeable to EMF than Teflon. when the cable starts to act like a capacitor it does so more "perfectly." wires with woven sheaths are also MUCH less likely to be micro-phonic (or transmit these effects to sensitive components.)

there are advantages to Teflon. It helps the wire resist oxidization where braided insulators dont, is resistant to absurdly high heat levels, generally has better insulation for a given thickness, and is not terribly sensative to water damage.

So are you talking about an actual pair of Sony MDR-R10's that you, personally, have opened up?

yes, I have opened my R10. As I said above, the foam was all crumbly and actually turning to a tarry goop. Having seen the mess inside old AGK and senheissers from old foam, it was an easy choice. A nominal risk to the headphone, VSS having a time-bomb in the cups. It could easily be argued that its irresponsible to leave the foam in, its an easy job to replace it and could save a driver from having a chunk of (effectively) tar stuck to it. Aside from the task of getting crumbly sticky foam out of the headphone without leaving any behind, I was mostly concerned with not scratching the wood. both goals were accomplished.

[tozz]

I just ordered one of these beauties.. Why oh why did I ever start.. my wallet is standing on a rooftop of a very high building right now, just waiting to jump

[[AK]Zip]

Grado RS-1 with a Furutech 1/4in plug.


Click image to enter photo gallery.

-Alex-