Hello all,
The other day I ordered an OFC "upgrade" cable for my IE8s off eBay, from seller Sunricky. They were about £25, and I wasn't expecting anything other than an interesting experiment.
First: The Cable
The cable itself is horrible. Very metallic/stiff and coily. The only way you will get it to keep its shape is by sewing it into your coat or something. Any impact, movement of the cable transmits a horrible metallic noise into the IE8s themselves which is loud and annoying.
Second: Termination
The termination on one end is a Belkin headphone connector. Weighty, (possibly) gold-plated and feels durable. Anyone who owns IE8s knows that a ham and cheese sandwich would make a better headphone jack than the one that comes stock. Thumbs up from me here.
The IE8 ends are shaped plastic that fit pretty snug and secure. I would trust swinging the cable around without the IE8s flying off. I would probably do it in the bathroom with the loo seat up and a full sink of water.
Third: Bonus ear loop thingies
Extra heat-shaped insulation is added atop the ears for the loop-over. This is really good, and the IE8s standard add-on ear things just don't work for me. These fit snug enough that I could go running. I tried and successfully completed a cartwheel without them coming loose.
Fourth: Sound
Firstly, I just plug mine into my laptop or phone. No fancy DAC for my poor IE8s. That being said, to my ears, this cable does no favours for the sound. Take away the metallic rattle everytime the cables touch and you are still left with to me what sounds like a muddying of the bass and low mids. Any source noise also seems more noticeable.
Conclusion:
For £25, a spare cable that I can put on should I be doing anything where there is a risk of cable damage. I nearly cut right through my stock cable opening a packet of bacon with scissors (for example). In comparison, the stock cable seems over engineered with the ear loops, which don't work for me.
In short, if you are looking for a proper cable ... don't bother. If you want an inferior spare for ensuring your stock cable is safe while doing those things you normally don't want to risk your stock cable doing (sword fights, operating heavy machinery, running with scissors, getting a hair cut) then 3/10.
Pictures:
Fairly well shaped connectors
Ear loops that I liked more than the IE8 attachments
Belkin jack, miles better than the stock IE8 in terms of noise ... a bit bulky and weighty, but good.
A general pic
My attempt to show how annoyingly springy this cable is. Untrainable :)
Edited by volted - 8/20/11 at 2:15am
