[talan7]

Did you buy a cable made by Audeze? As far as I know the cheapest cable made by Audeze costs $150. If you bought a cable made by somebody else and compatible with Audeze headphones, could you please provide with a link? The cheapest original Audeze cable made of 20 AWG high-purity OCC audio-grade copper wires for low impedance and high current capacity. I doubt that the stock cable made of 20 AWG copper wires. That is why other heddphone users recommended to replace the stock cable as soon as possible. At least nobody who replaced the stock cable with a better one complained about sound deterioration in mentioned aspects.

I bought this cable off Amazon. It’s an Audeze compatible cable

NewFantasia 2.5mm Trrs Male Balanced HiFi Cable Compatible with Audeze LCD-2, LCD-3, LCD-4, LCD-X, LCD-XC Headphone and for Astell&Kern AK240 AK380 onkyo AK320 DP-X1 FIIO 2.1m/6.5ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083DCMX6D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_pFJcGb3KVSHNR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[KaiSc]

I bought this cable off Amazon. It’s an Audeze compatible cable

NewFantasia 2.5mm Trrs Male Balanced HiFi Cable Compatible with Audeze LCD-2, LCD-3, LCD-4, LCD-X, LCD-XC Headphone and for Astell&Kern AK240 AK380 onkyo AK320 DP-X1 FIIO 2.1m/6.5ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083DCMX6D/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_pFJcGb3KVSHNR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

If you can solder:
Unscrew the matte part of both the XLRs and reverse the wires to correct the polarity.

 

[Ruslan Khaladtsou]

I recently made a comparison between the Heddphone single-ended stock cable and the original Audeze balanced cable made of 20 AWG high-purity OCC audio-grade copper wires. The Heddphone sounded better, more articulated with the Audeze balanced cable. The bass was a slightly more emphasized with the Audeze balanced cable as well. Maybe the audible difference in sound was probably due to the fact I used a balanced connection with the Audeze cable, and a single-ended connection with the stock one. In addition to that, with the stock cable I had to increase the volume a little bit to make the equal comparison. Anyway, it's obviously a bad idea to save money on a cable purchase. As for polarity "issues", I couldn't detect any of them in sound. The Heddphone sound really great with the Audeze cable. Moreover, I also checked the balanced HEDD cable description on HEDD official website and found a statement that "mini-XLR connections compatible with the HEDDphone (and other headphones)". Тhis means that even HEDD doesn't consider it necessary to mention difference in the cable wiring. If HEDD Audio neglects difference in the cable wiring, then this is actually not a problem.

 

[KaiSc]

If you have a switch like I have in the RME ADI-2 Pro it’s easy to find out how much difference reversed polarity (reversed “Absolute Phase”) makes.

It’s there, it’s different for different recordings, but with the majority of recordings I prefer correct polarity.


To say it clear:
Reversed polarity, equally on both cups, does not sound like a fault, it’s just a different balance of sub-and mid-bass perception.
Not night and day, but clearly audible in a blind test.

Seems it makes a difference if the first wave of, i.e. a bassdrumm, pushes or pulls on our eardrum.
Might even be the soundwave reception on the skin, but that’s just a guess.

 

[incredulousity]

If you have a switch like I have in the RME ADI-2 Pro it’s easy to find out how much difference reversed polarity (reversed “Absolute Phase”) makes.

It’s there, it’s different for different recordings, but with the majority of recordings I prefer correct polarity.


To say it clear:
Reversed polarity, equally on both cups, does not sound like a fault, it’s just a different balance of sub-and mid-bass perception.
Not night and day, but clearly audible in a blind test.

Seems it makes a difference if the first wave of, i.e. a bassdrumm, pushes or pulls on our eardrum.
Might even be the soundwave reception on the skin, but that’s just a guess.

Interesting. Though I find cable differences to be perceivable, though not always huge, with Heddphone, I really can’t convince myself that there is any difference with polarity backwards, or corrected with either RME ADI-2 FS or Audirvana/FabFilter Pro Q3. That said, I always run it corrected.

What Heddphone really likes (IMHO) is a clean signal, some EQ, and adequate amplification. But then, how is that different from any other good headphone?

 

[Beagle]

Am seeing a slew of the HEDDphone on the used market of late. Wondering if this is indicative of anything.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Am seeing a slew of the HEDDphone on the used market of late. Wondering if this is indicative of anything.

Well, Heddphone has a fairly unique signature. Wouldn’t be surprising if some buyers got sucked in by the FOTM hype but then decided the sig wasn’t for them (like what happened to me w/ Empyrean). Also, numerous commentators have derided the ‘creaky’ build, so some sellers might be reacting to that.

I notice that a lot of the listings shown on HifiShark look like they are businesses trying to move inventory. Perhaps supply has out-stripped demand.

 

[talan7]

Am seeing a slew of the HEDDphone on the used market of late. Wondering if this is indicative of anything.

I think weight and comfort might play a role as well.

 

[incredulousity]

I think weight and comfort might play a role as well.

Weight and comfort will probably be an issue for some. The sound signature out of the box can be a bit brutally honest. Even AutoEQ recommended settings really help. The ASR settings actually warm and enhance the musicality of the Heddphones a lot, at the expense of a little detail, to my ears. At some point, I’ll tweak a profile that gives me what I want from both.

 

[talan7]

Weight and comfort will probably be an issue for some. The sound signature out of the box can be a bit brutally honest. Even AutoEQ recommended settings really help. The ASR settings actually warm and enhance the musicality of the Heddphones a lot, at the expense of a little detail, to my ears. At some point, I’ll tweak a profile that gives me what I want from both.

I really like the signature, just needs a little more bass eq

 

[skor]

I think weight and comfort might play a role as well.

I asked Hedd Audio if there any plans to update/add a suspension headband to better distribute the weight when wearing, he replied that "the problem is the immense weight of the drivers. Our focus in R&D is to get the weight down without compromising the audio quality. We will not make any design changes, may be in the future with a new model or a successor."

 

[Beagle]

I think weight and comfort might play a role as well.

I was thinking about that. After a time, the weight might become a problem and an unnecessary one if the user has another headphone that has a similar signature but is more comfortable.

 

[realmassy]

I’ve found (hopefully) a good deal on the Heddphone and decided to give them a try, they should be with me tomorrow.
Read a lot of reviews, and the sound signature seems exactly what I was looking for, as I wanted to have another headphone to pair with the Hifiman Anandas.
I have two concerns, the usual concerns with the Heddphone, I guess
- the weight/comfort, but maybe this is not gonna be that bad as I don't wear headphones for long hours
- amplification: I'm going to drive them with RME ADI-2 DAC, which does a fantastic job with the Anandas, even using the IEM output. I'd be obviously using the 6.3 output in high power with the HEDD, but I'm not sure if it's going to be good/powerful enough.
I'd really like to stick with a one box solution, sitting nicely on my desk. The RME is a fantastic piece of gear with so many useful features and I'd really to keep it...but we shall see. I have a few alternatives in mind but let's not put the cart before the horse.
Anyway, didn't find many comments on the HEDDphone with classical music, which covers 90% of my listening...any insight?

 

[Bucketron]

I’ve found (hopefully) a good deal on the Heddphone and decided to give them a try, they should be with me tomorrow.
Read a lot of reviews, and the sound signature seems exactly what I was looking for, as I wanted to have another headphone to pair with the Hifiman Anandas.
I have two concerns, the usual concerns with the Heddphone, I guess
- the weight/comfort, but maybe this is not gonna be that bad as I don't wear headphones for long hours
- amplification: I'm going to drive them with RME ADI-2 DAC, which does a fantastic job with the Anandas, even using the IEM output. I'd be obviously using the 6.3 output in high power with the HEDD, but I'm not sure if it's going to be good/powerful enough.
I'd really like to stick with a one box solution, sitting nicely on my desk. The RME is a fantastic piece of gear with so many useful features and I'd really to keep it...but we shall see. I have a few alternatives in mind but let's not put the cart before the horse.
Anyway, didn't find many comments on the HEDDphone with classical music, which covers 90% of my listening...any insight?

HEDDphone need lots of power. I am using C3X balanced with 7.5W per channel. With this power, the subbass is very detail and really really good. Not sure if RME have enough power to drive to this level.

 

[realmassy]

The Burson is exactly one of the one-box solutions I was thinking about. I’m not really liking its look, but if it’s a good partner...
The other possible options are SPL Phonitor (in various flavours) and the Chord Hugo or even the TT2