[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I don't think I'll ever believe recabling effects sound unless I hear it myself.

I'm the same way. I just use cheap high quality junk for my speakers and can't hear a difference. I believed the same for headphones until I got into recabling my headphones. The bad news is that every brand of wire sounded different to me?! Some headphones benefit more from recables than others. You know how when you buy a cheap DVD/VHS player they throw in a 20 cent RCA cable? I kind of think of stock headphone cables being just like this. As cheap as possible, but not always. I mean it's always super thin. Like how could that NOT hurt sound quality?
 
Biggest difference I've heard was when I recabled my HD-598 to Mogami.
 
I also was dumb enough to recable my KSC75 with silver. No, I don't suggest it!
 
I wish all wire sounded the same. It'd make my life a whole lot easier. Why can't they just all sound equally good? I'm still not convinced any cable could be worth $80+ for 6 feet. Maybe someday when I get rich. I don't feel like paying a 300% markup on pre-built cables. Mogami is good enough for me. Now with interconnect cables it's nearly impossible to tell the difference at least with my ears.
 
 

 

[tdockweiler]

Well, I've been listening to my HD-668B a lot over the last few days. This new recable was 100% worth it and super cheap. You can buy any cheap Mogami or Canare for less than 60 cents per foot and then buy the plugs for under $2 each. I usually pay extra and get Canare plugs.
 
I don't know if anyone will care about my rambling, but tonight I tried the 668B for gaming. Tonight it felt like it was better than with stock cable, but the mids were just not good enough for me to be usable in gaming (I'm way too picky). I switched to a Belden interconnect cable and somehow I noticed quite a large difference. This makes no sense. Lately it seems like it's easier to tell the difference between interconnects with specific headphones. Lately it was the Sextett and HD-668B only! 9/10 times there's like a 1% difference to my ears. The Belden really does something for the mids. I said it before, but it made the mids on my HD-598 too forward, but this is an interconnect cable.
 
I then opened up the HD-668B and took out the black paper thing covering the vents. This seems to really increase the soundstage size. Not sure how because it looks pretty thin and would not seem to effect much. Strange.
 
I highly suggest trying to remove it if you want a larger soundstage. If you're not comfortable opening it up, please don't do it! Those internal wires are thin.
 
The mid-bass with the Canare seems a bit bloated. It's really kind of annoying. It took me while to figure this out. I might remove my Belden cable from my Sextett and try it on the HD-668B  just to see what happens.
 
You can't do better for a budget headphone. You can buy it for under $50 and then easily recable it for just $5 more. It's nothing too difficult. If you screw up, it's not like you're out of $200. To this day I've never killed any headphone during a recable, but I may just be lucky!
 
Can't get over how better the mids are on the recabled 668B. They're certainly now more forward and not so recessed anymore.
 
Off to recable it with Belden. Probably a waste, but who knows.
 
EDIT: Need to come up with more ways to tame the treble and kill the bass without EQ. Yes, I'm weird and actually WANT to do this

 

[tdockweiler]

Hate to keep bumping this thread but..
 
I just got the Belden 1192A cable attached. It's really thick and was a bit tricky. WOW, this totally transforms the HD-668B. I always felt this was never really possible, but this is yet another headphone where a cable has seemed to really change it's signature. Like a night and day difference here. Most cable I've tried just improved everything while retaining it's stock signature (Canare changes things too much..Mogami not so much, which I want usually).
 
The bloated mid-bass from the Canare is now gone. Best thing I can say is that now these sound MUCH MUCH more balanced. Seriously if you did a blind listening test, you would not be able to tell it's the 668B!! Some may not like this. This made my day because I wanted to try and tweak it to my liking and I did!!
 
Detail, sound clarity and it's soundstage is the best it's ever been. I don't know why, but the Belden has always made the soundstage of a headphone sound more accurate. Not sure how this is possible, but you just have to hear it.
 
Mids are no longer recessed for sure. Treble has smoothed out and the bass is still there, but much better controlled from stock. Zero bleed into the mids at all now. I do still have the grill more open. Female vocals are crystal clear and sound very, very good.
 
Sounds like I just made a very balanced sounding Studio Monitor. Is that a bad thing?

Songs just now sound so much closer to how they were recorded and how they SHOULD sound. I like it..of course who the heck buys an HD-668B to do this?!
 
Off to test them more with gaming. Right now it feels like someone just handed me a new $150 headphone to try out. Seriously, that good now.
 
I also attached my Sextett headband. It improves comfort a LOT. Now it's actually comfortable! Less clamping pressure. The K240 Studio headband should work too, but you can no longer add the caps to make it look nice.
 
So if anyone wants an extremely good headphone for next to nothing, get this and some cheap Mogami or Belden and make yourself a cable for it! Totally worth it.

 

[nick n]

Thanks for posting about this Belden cable. Where'd you pick it up?

 

[proid]

@tdockweiler: I have just try to take off the black cover paper and it's seem like the sound stage is a bit bigger, hard to say and also i think that there are more details and high also better after this mod. And you don't need an solder iron to do this mod, just take out 2 screw then pull the ring upward and take off the black paper, it's already cut like this:

About cable, i have just checked and the Belden 1192A is around 150$, that's 3 times price of a superlux 668B, what type are mogami and canare? OFC shielded?

 

[tdockweiler]

 
Quote:

@tdockweiler: I have just try to take off the black cover paper and it's seem like the sound stage is a bit bigger, hard to say and also i think that there are more details and high also better after this mod. And you don't need an solder iron to do this mod, just take out 2 screw then pull the ring upward and take off the black paper, it's already cut like this:
 
About cable, i have just checked and the Belden 1192A is around 150$, that's 3 times price of a superlux 668B, what type are mogami and canare? OFC shielded?

$150?! Wow, no way I'm paying that! I imagine that's because it's in a large roll. I got mine for $1.35 per foot! It's actually more expensive than Canare and Mogami. The biggest negative is that it makes the headphone less portable and the thicker wire is harder to solder onto the driver. With Mogami it's easy. I believe Belden may make a Mini version. I also made an interconnect cable with the Belden and I always keep going back to it. It's the only one where I felt I heard a difference. I'm never using Monoprice interconnects again!
 
I wonder if you can buy the K240 Studio headband directly from AKG for cheap? Seriously it makes these about twice as comfortable.
 
I should also note that I have the driver exposed. I may put some a circle of speaker fabric in there to protect the driver. Got it from Parts Express and the roll lasts an eternity. My amp may help with the mids too. It loves the Headroom Micro Amp. It'd be a good idea to try Mogami too, but as it is right now it sounds very good. Mogami "should" keep it's stock signature but just improve sound clarity and detail. For those that are satisfied with the stock signature, that should be best. I use it with my HD-598 to retain what I like about it, but improve it. Canare and Belden were horrible with the HD-598.
 
Just as a warning, if you recable the 668B there is no going back to stock, but who would want to! For those on the fence about cables making a difference, try this out!
 
Forgot to mention, I buy my wire and plugs here:
 
http://www.markertek.com/Cables/Bulk-Wire-Cable/Bulk-Audio-Cable/Belden-CDT-Inc/BL-1192A-BK.xhtml
 
With the Belden 1192A it's best to use a large 3.55mm plug since it's a thick wire. I like the Canare stereo plugs. Don't use the ones from Radioshack

 
 
EDIT: Forget to mention that I use the Mogami W2534 Starquad. It's very easy to work with and sounds good. It's my favorite wire by far! It's $1.29 per foot. To this day I've never liked Canare. If you want a lot of extra mid-bass on the 668B you can try the Canare mini Starquad. It seems to add a little bit of warmth, but I felt the sound wasn't as clear.

 

[proid]

Great, i must try these cables. And about going dual entry, the cable won't be shielded, will it affect the sound quality?

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Great, i must try these cables. And about going dual entry, the cable won't be shielded, will it affect the sound quality?

No, it will be 100% fine. Some people like to use heatshrink tubing on the split parts going into the headphone, but I don't. Others use sleeving.
 
Only negative with the Belden is it feels like you're carrying around a snake, but it sure is worth it! Don't use the Belden if you don't want to turn your headphone into some closer to neutral. Mogami should be nice.
 
I mentioned this before, but there is a plastic plug you pull out to insert the extra wires into the extra hole. No hole drilling required!
 
I'm really loving these things now. They'll probably still end up being under-appreciated here like the Koss Pro DJ 100 and KRKs. These really do sound as good as some $150-$200 headphones with a little work!
 
An open and Belden recabled HD-668b makes one heck of an impression gaming headphone. I could never say that when stock.

 

[proid]

Quote:

No, it will be 100% fine. Some people like to use heatshrink tubing on the split parts going into the headphone, but I don't. Others use sleeving.
 
Only negative with the Belden is it feels like you're carrying around a snake, but it sure is worth it! Don't use the Belden if you don't want to turn your headphone into some closer to neutral. Mogami should be nice.
 
I mentioned this before, but there is a plastic plug you pull out to insert the extra wires into the extra hole. No hole drilling required!
 
I'm really loving these things now. They'll probably still end up being under-appreciated here like the Koss Pro DJ 100 and KRKs. These really do sound as good as some $150-$200 headphones with a little work!
 
An open and Belden recabled HD-668b makes one heck of an impression gaming headphone. I could never say that when stock.

How about cut a length of 1" from the Belden cable and take each 2 conductor to replace the red and white wire that solder into the driver? Maybe it will improve more? And i see you have a great collection of "budget cans that sound beyond their price" 

, you should think of adding the 681 to your collection, it only 20E and wont hurt your wallet, according to many members of rockgrotto, after mod, it sound better than HD668b 

 

 

[kingoftown1]

I'd just like to add that the Shure 840's pads will fit on the 668B/681 type models with a little bit of stretching, and are definitely more comfortable than stock pads.  I haven't noticed a huge sound difference so far--my 681s might be slightly more neutral, but any change is pretty small.

 

[kidcharlemagne]

Another pad choice for the superluxes - http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Blaster-Warcraft-Headset-Cushions/dp/B004N8J64Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1306576990&sr=8-1
 

Very comfy, theyre a lot like Sony XB pads, dont affect sound much either.

 

[keanex]

As much as I loved these, I feel that they lie somewhere in between my Ad900 and new Fostex T50RP. They're good headphones, but the comfort just isn't there. The sound is great, and amazing for the price, but the T50RP take care of the duties for a flat response for me and the Ad900 are my Mid/forward headphones. My girlfriends grandfather is absolutely loving these though.

 

[Headzone]

I just tried to slightly mod mine. Added some blu-tac on the magnet, took the paper away from inside the cups, and removed the foam protecting the driver. I think that at least 30% of the bass disappeared. Midrange sounds slightly cleaner, but I think that's just because of the lesser bass amount. I added 5dB of bass boost from the EQ and now they sound decent.. Waiting for my Sennheiser HD-600 from Vegeta55555 to arrive so I can compare

.
 
random pic:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/197/wp000867.jpg/
made the headband in like 2minutes and it looks really creepy

I think I will put the stock one back there

 

[keanex]

Interesting look there haha

 

[Headzone]

Here's some pics of my epic failure 'phones:
 
.
looks kinda ugly, but i don't care. I think I will make a new detacheable cable for them in near future, with some higher quality cable like canare.