Review: JDS Labs O2 (Black edition) + O2/ODAC discussion - Page 12

 

I have all the interconnection of my O2/ODAC desktop combo made of HQ silver ,-) Very cheap in reality since you do not need many feet in order to do them...

Edited by RustA - 1/21/13 at 9:23am

Well at least they wont make the combo sound any worse!

 

lol

 

Alex

Do these cables actually make a difference in sound quality?

When I hear "toxic cables" I'm inclined to not purchase them. XD

Edited by miceblue - 1/21/13 at 11:36am

That's my point. NwAvGuy, the designer of the O2, would reply with a resounding "NO".

Got to get that silver power cord and silver resoldering job to complete the set!

 

Hm... (Click to show)

 

I have quite a lot of upgrades on my O2/ODAC unit because I would like it to last for years as my benchmark tool for listening, composing, and testing/comparing other amps and DACs with it (have inputs and outputs to enable both). That's why I have OCC silver cables inside as well (to maintain the IC's quality over time), not because of SQ improvements.

Edited by RustA - 1/21/13 at 12:04pm

Just because there is not a measurable difference doesn't mean there isn't a slight change in the tone of how a headphone will sound.

Just look at all these amps that sound completely different and measure the same. Yeah, I know it's all how it's designed and everything, but still.

 

Here's a test. Try a K702 or a really bright headphone with the O2 or Magni and silver or a very low capacitance wire. It's not fun. I learned this the hard way when I got my ALO SXC cable for the Q701.

It's just preferences. Sometimes crappy cable is actually better. What warmth the K702 had is kind of lost. Oh and how do you measure warmth? The 598 still measures fairly flat, but it's still warm.

The Clip+ is warm and is ruler flat.

 

To my ears it's all about capacitance. I prefer it to be somewhere in the middle. I guess most store brands are somewhere in the middle. Monoprice is a little higher I imagine.

 

My belief is that the difference is how bright/thin or warm and full sounding the headphone will be. Then it all depends on the equipment too.

The difference isn't huge despite what some want you to believe.

 

Try a silver cable and then Canare. They're total opposite and the biggest difference you could probably hear (due to capacitance).

 

BTW try to guess why people love the HD-650 with silver cables. Do you think they always say "ohh..it's so warm and full sounding". No, it's usually like..."it's so much clearer and it lost it's veil".

 

note: I don't believe in expensive cables, but I do believe in some differences. I prefer to use anything that's cheap and has good shielding. 60 cents/foot Mogami is nice. So is the Monoprice stuff.

 

Ohh and supposedly ultra low capacitance wire is always labeled as the most "transparent" Doesn't mean I have to like it. I'll stick with my Monprice and Mogami.

Edited by tdockweiler - 1/21/13 at 12:06pm

 

I think that is what it means. The O2's designer agrees. If there's a "slight change of tone", the electrical difference will be measurable. Otherwise, there's nothing happening which might make the headphone behave differently.

The Objective 2 was designed precisely to make a point against the usual subjectivist rhetoric. That's why it's so ironic to see it used with silver cables that are supposed to improve the sound quality, by people who claim that what they hear isn't measurable.

If I bought all the stuff that has touted to "lift the veil" for me.....I would have the band or group playing live in my living room....

 

Alex
 

NwAvGuy's reaction:

 

Thank you very much for your contribution here, anything else to add to enlighten us?

 

As I said, quality cable with added silver (along with quality solder) will maintain its ability to properly conduct the signal in a long-term over cheap non-silver one. If it makes you happy, I use the stock Audeze cable and have no plans for change in this regard.

 

"electrical difference"? Of course that would be measurable and much different. Unless you're talking about frequency response measurements. The thing I don't get is why people can't believe there is a difference in tone despite frequency graph measurements being exactly the same. How do you explain the difference between say the Ipod Touch 2G and Clip+? Both sound totally different but both are ruler flat. I guess there's a lot more too it. What is it that makes the Clip+ sound warmer despite measuring the same?

That's a serious question. Maybe it has more distortion.

 

And no, I don't believe in cables offering that big of a difference. I don't really care and don't believe all cables are the same. Lately what's most important to me is it's capacitance and shielding.

 

Right now i'm using Monoprice cables.

Edited by tdockweiler - 1/21/13 at 12:43pm