tehsprayer said:

Are there any tutorials on making headphone cables? I have absolutely no knowledge but for only $60 for blue dragon is worth a shot even for the experiment and subtle sound improvement.

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skyyyeman said:

  Sorry, no intention to start a general discussion about cables on the Alpha Dog thread.  I was just giving my experience with the Alpha Dog specifically, which is that the cable upgrade I mentioned, in terms of sound quality improvement, was not subtle IMO and could be considered equivalent to a component upgrade like an amp. 
 
If anyone wants to get into a general discussion about cables, there is the Sound Science thread or other threads on this site.

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skeptic said:

   
If you are going to make affirmative claims about audible improvements brought about by headphone cables, I think you have to be prepared for the inevitable response by those who disagree with your impressions and implicit recommendation that others should invest as you have.  To avoid the possibility of any dissent, this is the place to go and share cable impressions: http://www.head-fi.org/f/21/cables-power-tweaks-speakers-accessories-dbt-free-forum  
 
To the extent you do post it here, it is totally fair game for others to indicate whether they have or have not heard the same, or to comment that there still are no demonstrated measurable differences between well made cables (a fact many reputable cable sellers admit up front, in writing).  That may or may not be due to limitations in conventional audio measurement techniques, but it is still a point worth considering.  I tend to think that I have perceived differences between cables, but I'm still up in the air regarding whether or not its just in my head.  Confirmation bias is a powerful force.  By contrast, different phones, amps, dacs and even tubes or opamps bring about measurable and often easily audible differences.  (Frankly, even differing capacitors have measurable differences in criteria like dissipation factor, but the same cannot be said for cables.)  This is why many of us encourage younger members to spend their hard earned resources on less arcane categories of gear first before digging deeper into the realm of things like cables, isolation stands and, if you're really out there: http://www.lessloss.com/blackbody-p-200.html 
 
Edit - to steer things back on topic, let me say that I am still really loving my AD's, with all varieties of music.  Between these and my hd800's, it is hard to listen to anything else in my collection. 

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ableza said:

  I swapped the cables on my Alpha Dogs and like the lighter weight as the (excellent) OEM cable is quite heavy.
 
My biggest complaint about the AD is the amount of cable noise microphonics they transmit.  I suspect it is an electrical artifact of the original Fostex design.

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byronb said:

  Well said!

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skyyyeman said:

Not exactly. I'll reply to Skeptic's post after the weekend when I have time (though it might be Sun.). 

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teskr said:

  I am of the opinion that cables don't make an audible difference but am just looking to pick up a lighter more flexible cable for better comfort whilst listening to my dogs which costs <100, may have to delve into DIY for it to come out that cheap though

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wildcatsare1 said:

Agreed, I am new to HeadFi, but have been an Audiophile for years. I find these flat earth, absolutists to be rather boorish. I can only assume they haven't had the opportunity to listen to a variety of cables. They do sound very different, maybe not always better (this is area in which I am sure we do agree, >expense does not always = better). GOOD MEASUREMENTS DO NOT EQUAL GOOD SOUND! Not all subjective listening parameters, soundstage, musicality, pace, etcetera, etcetera can be measured. There are many horrible sounding transducers/equipment that have stellar objective measures. Cheers....

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skeptic said:

I'll look forward to your response skyyyeman.  As noted above, I'm open to the possibility that cables can make a positive difference.  I've recabled phones, built cables, built numerous amps of varying degrees of complexity (tubes and ss), rolled tubes, rolled caps, rolled active components.  Hell, I even use cardas solder.  Obviously, I'm far from being a member of the fanatic objectivist camp.  I just think it isn't realistic to open the door to the cable discussion outside of the "cable forum" and assume no one is going to dissent.  Suggesting that anyone who speaks to the contrary should take it to sound science isn't, in my opinion, fair or beneficial to the community here.  

Maybe cables do improve certain aspects of sound.  I think I have actually perceived the same - once even with a crump power cable, which I can't even begin to wrap my mind around given the miles and miles of cheap wire separating my house from the power plant.  Nonetheless, the fact that caps can cause measurable improvements and cables can't bugs me...  That and the fact that certain parts of the popular mythology about cables are demonstrably false.  Probably 25% of head-fi's readers think that copper sounds "warm" and silver sounds "bright"  If true, that would obviously show up in FR measurements, and it doesn't.  So I think it is a given that there is a substantial amount of misinformation that flies around on this topic, and we also have to stop and ask who is propagating that misinformation and why.  For now, I'll remain a cable agnostic from the standpoint of sonics, but that certainly won't stop me from continuing to build my own among other diy projects.  I'm interested in an open, balanced and intelligent discussion on the topic.   

Funny, I find it "rather boorish" when I'm attacked and subjected to name calling by someone who plainly misread, or simply failed to read, the actual text of my post.  If you scroll back up, you will note that I am anything but an absolutist and specifically acknowledged the limitations of current measurement techniques.  Further, I agree that good measurements do not necessarily equal good sound - the flagship bottlehead amp referenced in my signature might have been a tip off on that point if you were paying any attention.  

Good measurements and measurable differences are distinct subjects though.  The latter is what I am interested in and why so many of our perceptions seem at odds with what can be captured in software like diffmaker.  

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pmrcrazzy said:

  How long is the waiting list?

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