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What to think of when picking headphone cable? - Page 2

post #16 of 20
8/4/11 at 11:23am
Thread Starter 

Nice finds - I'll certainly dive into the references used in the Rane paper also. Thanks!

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post #17 of 20
8/12/11 at 3:53am
Thread Starter 

Just an update: 

 

For fun, I'm most likely going to be testing how things turn out with a Sommer Grindycop Twin Beast cable for my K702's. It's fairly recently that Sommer started making this (supposedly high-quality) mono guitar cable as two separately isolated cables for stereo use, and I'm basically testing it for the separately isolated cables (inspired by the replies I got to the OP).

 

Sommer's own description of the cable is at http://tinyurl.com/grindycop-twin but they don't provide full details. I thus dug out some additional buzzword info on the cables from http://www.lavacable.com/grindycop.html and put into the quote below. (EDIT: As you can see at http://tinyurl.com/grindycop it's not Lava Cable who make these claims, but rather the Sommer info on the mono cable that Lava Cable speak of. I didn't think that Sommer would have less info on the Twin than on the mono cable, but I guess they do...)

 

Quote:
This is Sommer's Newest and most advanced Instrument Cable!
 
This professional high end cable with the unique design is made of polished copper - the same as is used on industrial transformers. To further increase conductivity, the copper surface (OFC Class 6, purity level 99.9999 %) receives a final polish and a conductor insulation made of a special, surface-finished electro-insulation lacquer. The jacket is made of an extremely robust, adhesion-free and UV-resistant PVC.
 
The sound advantages of this design are extremely fast transmission capabilities (ideal for attacks), convincing mid ranges, popping deep basses, and an analytical transmission.
 
  • Enormously fast, powerful, and clear sound image for bass, guitar, and keyboard due to the special polished finish and conductor smoothing of the copper (OFC Class 6)
  • Double shielding due to a combination of copper spiral shield and conductive carbon shield
  • Loss-free transmission due to low capacitive values - 27.5 pF/ft Capacitance
  • Very robust and resistant when stepped on due to the special PVC-jacket and dense copper shielding

 

Fancy words from the marketing department. I guess it's nice to see 6N copper in combination with separately (100%) isolated and shielded stereo signals. Here's a picture of the mono guitar cable:
 
grindycop1.jpg
 
As I said earlier, the Twin cable may be spliced and unless the cable looks great as it is, I will do that and fit cotton shoe laces over them + possibly twist them for that SAA'ish classic look:
 
HD800 ENDOR 1 Med 800 Smooth.gif
 
I expect the cable to get heavy from the separate isolation unfortunately, but I like a beefy-looking cable and my parrots tend to stay away from thick cables while they love biting on thin ones as soon as I leave the room...
 
Any comments are welcome, so fire away if you like/dislike my thinking. Remember though, that the basic principle here is to test cables that few (if any) have tested, but may be of good quality. 
 

Edited by Trasselkalle - 8/12/11 at 4:54am
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post #18 of 20
8/12/11 at 6:17am
Are you looking for a balanced cable? I strayed away from Lava because their guitar stuff is overhyped, but they're the only place to get Sommer.
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post #19 of 20
8/12/11 at 6:34am
Thread Starter 

I'm in Europe so I can get it from for instance http://www.thomann.de/ where they are cheaper (for me, i.e. including shipping, toll fees and tax) than most of the cable options available in the US. I was planning to use the shield for ground. 

 

Edit: new avatar? Didn't recognize you first :)


Edited by Trasselkalle - 8/12/11 at 6:59am
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post #20 of 20
8/12/11 at 2:43pm
Thread Starter 

Edit: Removed a question I had on the specific cable I'm testing out and replaced with the text below.

 

To return the thread to the original question(s): Judging by how many views this thread actually has in relation to the number of posts, I think the interest in this topic is certainly there. Please don't be hesitant to keep the thread going and actually answering some of the questions that have been raised. I strongly suspect that there are many who would benefit from sharing experiences and thoughts on this, rather than sit quiet.

 

Once again, for your convenience with a few additional questions added:

  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)?
  6. What made you exited about a new cable last time you saw something you hadn't tried already, and why?
  7. What's your take on strands - how much of a difference does it make with a smaller number of strands vs. a large number?
  8. Is there a relationship between capacitance and the headphones themselves, as well as vs. the amp, and what then do you look for?
  9. What other metrics do you look for when picking a cable to test?

 

The intention of the thread is to be inclusive in terms of opinions. I welcome discussion, but please keep it based on your own experiences of what worked for you and what didn't. If someone else has a different opinion, that's fine too.

 


Edited by Trasselkalle - 8/13/11 at 1:13am
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