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Sennheiser HD 600 and cabling...

post #1 of 16
6/19/11 at 8:41pm
Thread Starter 

How much improvement are you getting when going with say a Cardas cable over a stock cable?  I'm looking to pick up a pair of these cans as my second pair for classical music and vocals.  I'm just not certain which one to look for.  What's the going price that's acceptable for these cans these days (both stock and cabled)???

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post #2 of 16
6/19/11 at 9:16pm
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Recableing does not make the SQ better, unless your going pure silver with a master's art of soldering

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post #3 of 16
6/20/11 at 6:03am
Thread Starter 

interesting...why do you say that?  Everywhere I'm reading the stock cable is "meh"

 

I'm part of the group that doesn't get all into the "nitty-gritty" with headphones but if that's really the case then that's great I'll shoot for a stock one in the used arena.

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post #4 of 16
6/20/11 at 10:52am
If you believe the measurements taken by very expensive equipment that can detect things humans cannot, the principles of electrical engineering that are responsible for such things as the computer you are using, and the results of blind testing where listeners don't know beforehand what they are listening to, recabling makes a indistinguishably minute difference in sound quality for humans. A different cable may be longer, shorter, prettier, sturdier, or whatever, but...sound quality? That's a stretch, unless you intentionally make an unusual cable that's worse than the stock cable or most any cheapy cable you can find.

If you want a different opinion, you can consult the cables subforum.
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post #5 of 16
6/20/11 at 3:57pm
Thread Starter 

that's good enough for me.  I found two of them on sale...one with Cardas and one with stock cable...about $50 difference in price.  I'll go for the stock cabled one.

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post #6 of 16
6/20/11 at 4:29pm
Thread Starter 

What's a good price for a stock one used?  $225ish?

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post #7 of 16
6/20/11 at 4:32pm

Why not go for some Blue or Silver Dragon cable?  For classical music and vocals, Silver Dragon might be better.  It kind of depends on the weakest link in your set up but it is true that people seem to notice more differences in the HD600/650 versus other headphones?  I can't really say I've heard Silver Dragon but my Silver Dragon cable and special solder come tomorrow, so then I'll know.

 

If you're not worried about it go with stock cable, if you think its the weakest link in your set up, go for some nice cable.

 

Edit: Zu cable has been well accepted as well, there are also other cable companies that have worked well with the 600/650 models so do some research on which would be best for your set up if you plan to go that route.


Edited by wdahm519 - 6/20/11 at 4:35pm
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post #8 of 16
6/20/11 at 5:13pm
Thread Starter 

well I've heard both the 600 and 650 and prefer the 600 for my listening sessions.  I've heard them both on my Audio-GD FUN and it's more than enough power to drive both cans nicely.  I just want a more reference can as opposed to my Denon's when listening to vocals and classical.  Although, I've never heard either one with a stock cable.

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post #9 of 16
6/20/11 at 5:28pm

I didn't mean power.  I meant clarity, transparency, 3-dimensional characteristics, high quality files, etc.  I've never compared an Audio-GD FUN to other amps, so I don't how "how good" it really is is comparison to other set ups like mine for instance, etc.  Its kind of hard to judge things like that online, haha.

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post #10 of 16
6/20/11 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 

oh I knew what you meant.  I was just saying I know at 300 ohm they require some power and I have ample amount.  Is $225 a good deal for the HD 600?

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post #11 of 16
6/20/11 at 7:25pm
$225 sounds like a pretty decent deal but not amazing? If it's lower than other prices you are finding used, then go for it.

On a side note, based on the product description (sorry, I haven't used it myself), I'm not sure if the Audio-gd FUN is what you're looking for if you're aiming for a neutral, more accurate presentation overall. An amp with no feedback is kind of a bold design, to say the least. According to them, "Most people had know the global feedback can offer better specs for the meters, non-feedback can't please the meters but can offer better sound for human's ears ." I'll grant that "better sound" is subjective and such a design may be appreciated by many, but if you're intentionally not pleasing "the meters" then that means you're intentionally adding distortions in the signal chain. That objective maybe clashes with wanting a reference can for listening?

Then again, I'm sure lots of people like wonky DACs/amps with more neutral headphones, or more colored headphones with more neutral sources. Just saying.
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post #12 of 16
6/20/11 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 

Oh yea I like the slightly warm sound.  I was at a head-fi meet over the weekend and demo'ed out the HD 600 on the Audio-GD and it was the sound I was looking for that my Denon's can't do on classical / vocals. 

 

I'm going to listen one last time to my buddy's HD 650 cans before I make the purchase but I'm fairly certain I'm set on the HD 600.

 

How much lower do you think I can haggle from $225?
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeaj View Post

$225 sounds like a pretty decent deal but not amazing? If it's lower than other prices you are finding used, then go for it.

On a side note, based on the product description (sorry, I haven't used it myself), I'm not sure if the Audio-gd FUN is what you're looking for if you're aiming for a neutral, more accurate presentation overall. An amp with no feedback is kind of a bold design, to say the least. According to them, "Most people had know the global feedback can offer better specs for the meters, non-feedback can't please the meters but can offer better sound for human's ears ." I'll grant that "better sound" is subjective and such a design may be appreciated by many, but if you're intentionally not pleasing "the meters" then that means you're intentionally adding distortions in the signal chain. That objective maybe clashes with wanting a reference can for listening?

Then again, I'm sure lots of people like wonky DACs/amps with more neutral headphones, or more colored headphones with more neutral sources. Just saying.


 

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post #13 of 16
6/21/11 at 4:01am

"If you believe the measurements taken by very expensive equipment that can detect things humans cannot, the principles of electrical engineering that are responsible for such things as the computer you are using, and the results of blind testing where listeners don't know beforehand what they are listening to, recabling makes a indistinguishably minute difference in sound quality for humans. A different cable may be longer, shorter, prettier, sturdier, or whatever, but...sound quality? That's a stretch, unless you intentionally make an unusual cable that's worse than the stock cable or most any cheapy cable you can find."

 

 

listen more before making such seemingly logical conclusion.


Edited by arteck - 6/21/11 at 4:04am
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post #14 of 16
6/21/11 at 4:07am

Recabling does make sense, but not the Cardas cable.

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post #15 of 16
6/22/11 at 1:47pm
Thread Starter 

okay well I can either get a completely stock one for $235 or for around $300 one with what the seller describes as a "Milian Acoustics" blue "Cardas" & black Techflex surround with premium "Furutech" connectors & 1/4" plug"

 

Which would you get or is neither a good deal?  How low do you think I can get the guy down from $235 on the stock one?

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