What to think of when picking headphone cable?

Hi all,

I've been scouring the forum for DIY re-cabling the last month or so. While it's great with tips on cables from others, I still haven't found anything about what to think about when scouting for new potential cables that people aren't already using. To answer this, both what works and what didn't work is of equal importance.

Some examples of questions: [1] Are we talking microphone cable only, or can other cable work equally well? [2] Are we talking any microphone cable, or are there aspects of them that are most important (in order to for instance avoid micro phonic effects, and to effectively shield them)? [3] Are we talking any cable that is shielded, or do the cables even need shielding? [4] Naturally, thick dimensions = weighty and potentially too stiff, but where are the limits to this? [5] Are thicker cables typically an improvement over thinner, or does the thickness introduce strange effects on the cans (and again - where is the sweet-spot)? 

It would be excellent to tap your experienced brains for help here, but don't feel pressured to answering all questions above. I'd be more than happy to hear answers to only some of these questions, or even... if you have other questions that should be added and asked!

Edit: An updated list of questions is available in http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/565512/what-to-think-of-when-picking-headphone-cable/15#post_7675773 below.

Thanks. Why is it you prefer 8 cables to 4? Feels better and should be a difference, or something you've actually heard a difference from?

Quote:

Originally Posted by enregistree 

If it's for portable use check datasheet so it is designed for low temperatures, some cables loose the flexibility below zero °C.

 

Good point - for myself, my cable needs do not include portability. That would, however, certainly be a factor to look at that I hadn't thought of that others could be interested in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enregistree 

You can go with 2 per channel - i.e. twisted pair for each channel. For further improving noise rejection I suggest starquad cable for each channel - hence 8 wires in total.

Aha - sort of like the Double Helix cables in other words, although I'm not sure if they use a twisted pair for each channel. I see how you mean now.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberspyder 

Personally, two cables per connection, or even 4 is a bit overkill, I like to keep it simple. There are claims about signal smearing when using more than one wire for each connection.

Shielding is good to have, but it's a personal preference, if you use them near electronic devices you may hear interference without shielding, although some types of wire configurations (like twisted par or star quad) minimizes the need for a shield.

Brendan

I've heard those claims from the high-end speaker cable discussions also, but it's inconclusive that this actually happens there. Hypothetically, the point may be valid but I've failed to hear any difference myself when I use my bi-wiring speaker cables from my main stereo on my secondary system which has speakers that aren't for bi-wiring. They're not of the same top notch quality, however, so I do see the point as plausible (as in measurable or audible to some ppl) in specific situations however.

Btw - I hope it's ok for both of you if we leave your different approaches to multiple cables at about where you have them now? I'd like to keep the thread as much as possible open to all different 'possibly', 'maybe', 'theoretically', and 'hypothetically' scenarios and let whoever is interested in this thread make up their own minds on what they take to heart. My intention is for the thread to be more of an 'interview' than a discussion on details, at least until we (hopefully) get all the potential answers on the table. However, if you feel that you want to add some more discussion to better explain why you prefer a certain aspect, by all means go ahead.

Does shielding affect micro phonic effects, or is it purely for electromagnetic interference (EMI)? It's interesting that you say this about twisted cabling, as that was why many in speaker cables started braiding. There seems to be a point where it turns more into art than effect, however, but I understand that you meant within the cable itself and not visible to the user (i.e. a more 'sober' amount of twisting). I'm pretty sure cable manufacturers in general wouldn't have machines twist the cables more than what makes a measurable difference, but it would be interesting if they supplied the shielding percentage or sensitivity to EMI, etc.

Finally, I could add an interesting question to the OP questions: What made you exited about a new cable last time you saw something you hadn't tried already, and why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp 

starquad is designed to produce resistance against emi/rfi interference; all 4 wires should be used for the single channel (signal and ground), if a single starquad is used for stereo, as is, without re-arranging the wires into twisted pairs, it may reduce this effectiveness, but it will contribute to stereo crosstalk. 

Really? I didn't know that about Starquad and twisted cable use. I take it you are positive towards twisted-pair cables (based om your tag)? What aspects make you prefer this solution? Do you have any favorite approaches to twisted cable (for example if you braid them or not, and how many cables you use)?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp 

mods, i've done the best i can with the above post WRT the rules of the diy forum, however it was difficult to avoid at least some specifics.

FWIW - I felt you did a good job explaining how your mindset is without arguing your way as the only way, so I hope the mods are happy. Thanks for explaining how you are thinking so well, qusp. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp 

thanks Trasselkalle, yeah i'm pretty confident i did enough, while still providing useful insight. Without communicating my viewpoint with some counterpoint, i may as well say nothing. For sure my way is not the only way and actually I do still braid stereo iem cables in a way that minimizes the crosstalk; there is really not much else you can do for those, without fabricating a custom lightweight interconnect with optimized stereo geometry, most amps and sources (and recordings for that matter) will have a small amount of crosstalk anyway, but best to add to this as little as possible.

Yeah, IEMs may be great to get rid of outside noice, but they sure don't leave much to work with! My Etymotics are staring at me, asking for a re-cable into something less micro phonic, but I keep telling them that would be too much fiddling without knowing if the results would pan out, plus... I only use them when flying anyways! I have other headphones for my other needs that are much easier to sort out with re-cabling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cyberspyder 

+1 to what qusp said, normally you need to twist together the opposite wires (blue with blue, white with white) and use the shield as your ground.

While hooking up quad cable in a stereo configuration may induce crosstalk, whether that's a measurable or an audible difference I have no idea, nor is that going to stop me from using quad against it's intended purpose.

Brendan

I was wondering about the shield and how to use that one, but had postponed that to a later question (I've got an unlimited supply of questions!). For a 3-pin xlr, would you not use one cable for ground and instead use the shield as ground, or would you use both a cable and the shield, or just the cable? Any difference in this?