19 custom IEM/TF10/Shure/IE8 cables reviewed (Effect Pearl, Apollo, & Odin added 3/20/13)

dragonball · Jun 11, 2012 at 9:21 AM

Arete costs 90$ + 50$ shipping !!??
Any idea how to obtain arete cheaply? How to avoid 50$ shipping? Any other site except Treeoo to buy this?

average_joe · Jun 12, 2012 at 1:41 AM

Null Audio. Currently (with the exchange rate) $82.52 + $9 shipping worldwide.

ChrisSC · Jun 14, 2012 at 1:48 PM

Hey Joe, I was rereading your review on the crystal piccolinos, and it seemed that the only way to justify its cost is if you paired it with the UERM- that made a noticeable improvement. Is that because the UERM has a flat sound sig or is it because of something else in the UERM? I'm not sure if you have the cable anymore, but how do you think it would sound with the nt-6 or another flatly tuned (no bump in highs, mids, lows) monitor? Same results?

average_joe · Jun 18, 2012 at 11:49 PM

I don't have the cable, so I can't say for sure or even speculate about the NT-6 paring. I haven't had the chance to try different cable options as of late since I have been busy with amps and CIEMs, but I did start a project that I haven't had a chance to finish that may shed some additional light on custom IEM cable matching.

For now, the premium cable that used to come with the NT-6 did improve the sound compared with the stock cable.

apollinaris · Jul 2, 2012 at 2:09 PM

Hello!

Is there a way to check and confirm that a given headphone cable is actually a silver one? I've recently purchased on ebay a used upgrade cable for my Sennheiser HD580 and the seller stated it's "Jaben/Hippo Silver Dragon Mk.II cable" worth of $140 as initial retailer price (1.2m). However, the build quality and general exterior of this cable looks almost identical to some cheaper cables like Effect Studio Crystal in your review post. The cable sounds very well, but due to limited alternatives I can't objectively compare the sound quality of this particular cable. Hence, I don't know if any noticable upgrade is still possible and is worth of. Will appreciate any tips in this respect!

drubrew · Jul 2, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Quote:

apollinaris said:
Hello!

Is there a way to check and confirm that a given headphone cable is actually a silver one? I've recently purchased on eBay a used upgrade cable for my Sennheiser HD580 and the seller stated it's "Jaben/Hippo Silver Dragon Mk.II cable" worth of $140 as initial retailer price (1.2m). However, the build quality and general exterior of this cable looks almost identical to some cheaper cables like Effect Studio Crystal in your review post. The cable sounds very well, but due to limited alternatives I can't objectively compare the sound quality of this particular cable. Hence, I don't know if any noticeable upgrade is still possible and is worth of. Will appreciate any tips in this respect!

Because someone just asked me about this, I thought I would post something in this Post on IEM cable.
Be very careful of buying any cable called the Silver Dragon from Zephone. As it is a Moon Audio Silver Dragon V1 IEM knockoff. They have even copied our description word for word as seen here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/220816779304?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_1081wt_1139
Jaben's cable is not a knock off, but for whatever reason they named their cable the same as ours. I emailed them long ago and asked if they would not mind changing the name so it did not cause customer confusion. As we have been using the Silver Dragon Product name since 2003.
We have found a bunch of Asian forum posts stating that the Zephone it is our cable. These are not Moon Audio cables and we will not warranty them. If you ever have a concern about buying a counterfeit Moon Audio Silver Dragon V1 IEM please contact us first and show us what you plan to buy. We have authorized dealers in Asia and can confirm with you real from fake.

Toxic Cables · Jul 2, 2012 at 2:41 PM

It seems a real shame, how some of these manufacturers try to pass of their cables as another brand.

Spike99 · Jul 16, 2012 at 8:31 PM

I have to give a lot of props to AJ for his detailed reviews....

Bit of a noob here.... Basically, for commuting purposes (train/bus) will be getting IEM, most likely Jh16's but will be Checking other JH models at the audiologist.

Since my source will be IPhone/IPad (not sure about portable amp due to portability - but maybe in the future), I've been searching for a cable that has inline mic and skip/pause functions... But I have no luck in finding any. Am I looking in the wrong places ?

average_joe · Jul 17, 2012 at 1:23 AM

Added the AudioSonus UE TF10 cable review in the first post of this thread, and also added two evaluations to the TWag cable, one of which is the Heir Audio 8.A with the Magnus 1 cable, which I will be reviewing at some point.

Quote:

spike99 said:
I have to give a lot of props to AJ for his detailed reviews....
Bit of a noob here.... Basically, for commuting purposes (train/bus) will be getting IEM, most likely Jh16's but will be Checking other JH models at the audiologist.
Since my source will be IPhone/IPad (not sure about portable amp due to portability - but maybe in the future), I've been searching for a cable that has inline mic and skip/pause functions... But I have no luck in finding any. Am I looking in the wrong places ?

Thanks!

I have not seen any aftermarket cables that have inline controls; just a few CIEMs (from Europe) that don't have detachable cables. If anyone knows of any, please let us all know!

dannytang · Jul 17, 2012 at 3:49 AM

Quote:

average_joe said:
I have not seen any aftermarket cables that have inline controls; just a few CIEMs (from Europe) that don't have detachable cables. If anyone knows of any, please let us all know!

Beat Audio used to make "iPhone Specialist" custom IEM cable. Chris_Himself has mentioned that if someone could find him a source/supplier for the mic/remote, he'd be willing to give it a try. At the moment the only place I know that offers a IEM cable with iPhone compatible mic/remote is a little shop in Hong Kong, mentioned by mrAdrian in this thread. I've tried contracting him via email and forums in English and Chinese, but I never head back from him. If anyone else has had better luck, please let us know.

Staal · Jul 17, 2012 at 3:55 AM

Quote:

dannytang said:
Beat Audio used to make "iPhone Specialist" custom IEM cable. Chris_Himself has mentioned that if someone could find him a source/supplier for the mic/remote, he'd be willing to give it a try. At the moment the only place I know that offers a IEM cable with iPhone compatible mic/remote is a little shop in Hong Kong, mentioned by mrAdrian in this thread. I've tried contracting him via email and forums in English and Chinese, but I never head back from him. If anyone else has had better luck, please let us know.

Did you consider the one from Westone? JH Audio has also mentioned that they're working on a cable with a mic.

dannytang · Jul 17, 2012 at 5:58 AM

Westone says that their Epic Mics Cable is not recommended for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

Not recommended for iPhone 4 or 4s. Some users report an echo effect while using this product with the iPhone 4 and 4s.

cogsand gears · Jul 17, 2012 at 6:29 AM

Frank at Toxic Cables does a CIEM cable with controlls and mic. Send him an email or PM Kabelmeister.

Spike99 · Jul 17, 2012 at 9:41 AM

Quote:

cogsand gears said:
Frank at Toxic Cables does a CIEM cable with controlls and mic. Send him an email or PM Kabelmeister.

OK... will do.

It's very surprising that most if not all universal IEM have a inline control for apple products but when it comes to customs... none have it... Since customs are much more expensive... I would expect them to have this... especially when apple products are so popular... Why is this ? Is there a degradation of sound quality due to this inline control ?

scootermafia · Jul 17, 2012 at 10:21 AM

The inline control requires another wire to be braided into the mix, it doesn't degrade sound quality though. It does require the use of a 4 pole (TRRS) mini plug instead of a regular mini plug so stuff like Oyaide mini plugs are out. There's also the issue of figuring out where to stick it and how to integrate it since typically an in line remote is molded onto your typical mass produced cable. Adding one isn't trivial, for sure.

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