[realmassy]

First of all I've always been a cable believer, so please take my notes with grain of salt
 
I was looking for a cheap balanced cable for my new HD650s, but I didn't want to spent big money as I really didn't like these headphones. I mean, these are good cans, but I considered the K702 my reference, especially after being balanced with Moon Audio Black Dragon and driven by the Audio-GD Roc.
 
But I've always been told the HD650s are one of the cans that benefit most from balanced operation...basically you've got a balanced setup then you MUST have a pair of HD650.
 
The Silver Dragon was way too expensive for me (almost $250, then there's the shipping and customs). What if I don't like them??
And then I found on Ebay a nice Turkish guy, Bogac, who I've been in contact with before for a different project: 5 feet Mogami Quad with 4 pin connector and shipping for just £80!!
The communication has been always good, he's very responsive, and replied to every single email in few minutes.
 
Yesterday I found the cable in the post, and what a surprise!! The build quality is very good, the cable is very flexible and has a professional look and feel. And the sound is absolutely lovely: been listening to some of my favourite recordings for hours, and these cans sound totally different from the standard cable.
 
I don't know if it's the cable, the kind of connection or the balanced output of the Roc that is far superior to the SE, but I'm impressed by the difference of the sound signature.
They sound better in every single parameter, the sound stage is much more on focus, it's wider, well out of my head, and deeper. But two things strike me most: the lower frequencies detail (double bass notes are transparent and even punchier, though not as punchy as the K702) and the clarity of the music in low level passages, some piano solos for example.
 
They're absolutely perfect with acoustic jazz, I have to say they sound better than the K702 with this music. They're warmer, soft maybe, but they can reproduce very well the atmosphere of a jazz club. 
They're also very very good with the orchestra, again on level with the AKG, though they've a completely different presentation, with more "space" between the listener and the instruments.
 
I'm still wondering how a cable can make so much difference :-O
 

 

[Kees]

Quote:

First of all I've always been a cable believer, so please take my notes with grain of salt
 
I was looking for a cheap balanced cable for my new HD650s, but I didn't want to spent big money as I really didn't like these headphones. I mean, these are good cans, but I considered the K702 my reference, especially after being balanced with Moon Audio Black Dragon and driven by the Audio-GD Roc.
 
But I've always been told the HD650s are one of the cans that benefit most from balanced operation...basically you've got a balanced setup then you MUST have a pair of HD650.
 
The Silver Dragon was way too expensive for me (almost $250, then there's the shipping and customs). What if I don't like them??
And then I found on Ebay a nice Turkish guy, Bogac, who I've been in contact with before for a different project: 5 feet Mogami Quad with 4 pin connector and shipping for just £80!!
The communication has been always good, he's very responsive, and replied to every single email in few minutes.
 
Yesterday I found the cable in the post, and what a surprise!! The build quality is very good, the cable is very flexible and has a professional look and feel. And the sound is absolutely lovely: been listening to some of my favourite recordings for hours, and these cans sound totally different from the standard cable.
 
I don't know if it's the cable, the kind of connection or the balanced output of the Roc that is far superior to the SE, but I'm impressed by the difference of the sound signature.
They sound better in every single parameter, the sound stage is much more on focus, it's wider, well out of my head, and deeper. But two things strike me most: the lower frequencies detail (double bass notes are transparent and even punchier, though not as punchy as the K702) and the clarity of the music in low level passages, some piano solos for example.
 
They're absolutely perfect with acoustic jazz, I have to say they sound better than the K702 with this music. They're warmer, soft maybe, but they can reproduce very well the atmosphere of a jazz club. 
They're also very very good with the orchestra, again on level with the AKG, though they've a completely different presentation, with more "space" between the listener and the instruments.
 
I'm still wondering how a cable can make so much difference :-O
 

Driving the HD650 balanced really makes a big difference.
Enjoy. 

 

 

[Young Spade]

Glad to see you got such great results with your new cable. I'm in the process of having a cable made for my K702s. Hoping (although I know ) that I get the same positive results that you did. 

 

[tim3320070]

You can make this cable for about $30 with standard Senn connectors or about $13 if you solder directly to the pins (I do this with Mogami and my 650's balanced). It's really much easier than people think. I originally bought a pre-built cable but learned how to make these and now I am making all kinds of cables (interconnects, etc.). I did the same with golf clubs BTW. Saves me a lot of money for other things.
It pays to learn.

 

[realmassy]

 
Quote:

You can make this cable for about $30 with standard Senn connectors or about $13 if you solder directly to the pins (I do this with Mogami and my 650's balanced). It's really much easier than people think. I originally bought a pre-built cable but learned how to make these and now I am making all kinds of cables (interconnects, etc.). I did the same with golf clubs BTW. Saves me a lot of money for other things.
It pays to learn.

Unfortunately my DIY skills a zero, so I had to ask someone to build the cable for me, and I think the price was fair.
And then I remember you tim saying to get a cheap balanced cable for the HD650 because these cans really deserve it...
I have to say you were completely right
And as I wrote in the HD650 appreciation thread these cans are now my reference and I put the K702 back in the box...and I paid more than double for them, with an expensive recable by Moon Audio :-O

 

[.Sup]

Thanks for the feedback massy

 

[tim3320070]

Quote:

 

Unfortunately my DIY skills a zero, so I had to ask someone to build the cable for me, and I think the price was fair.
And then I remember you tim saying to get a cheap balanced cable for the HD650 because these cans really deserve it...
I have to say you were completely right
And as I wrote in the HD650 appreciation thread these cans are now my reference and I put the K702 back in the box...and I paid more than double for them, with an expensive recable by Moon Audio :-O

Glad to hear it. Enjoy.