[DavidA]

So I received my Cardas cable from "the eBay guy":



Not ready to make impressions yet since I've been busy with work.

One small thing that bothers me is the connectors have no way of locking when you insert them into the headphones. With the stock cables, you can push into the jack and twist so they're secure and won't pull out on accident. You cannot do this with these cables. I've tried twisting every which way and eventually stopped in fear of breaking something.

The connectors for the HD-700 do not twist to lock.  There is a flat edge which must be aligned to insert.

  I got one and I really hate this cable...
 
Does yours have this weird stiff coating on the bottom half?

I got one of those cables from ebay and its ok, no weird stiff coating on the bottom half, I've since built my own using Mogami and Canare wires so that I can make what ever length I want, HD-700 connectors are fairly easy to work with, and it becomes much cheaper in the long run.

 

[heymian]

The connectors for the HD-700 do not twist to lock.  There is a flat edge which must be aligned to insert

Well the jack must have loosened up then.

I tried pulling with my I fingers, pretty hard too. Would not come out. Twisted left and right, then they pulled out. Hence why I thought...

I even pulled on the cables real hard with my leg a couple weeks ago on accident when I was getting out of my chair (stock cable). Plugs stayed in but the size adjusters extended all the way out. So yeah... those jacks must have been gripping real hard.

 

[dazzerfong]

Well the jack must have loosened up then.

I tried pulling with my I fingers, pretty hard too. Would not come out. Twisted left and right, then they pulled out. Hence why I thought...

I even pulled on the cables real hard with my leg a couple weeks ago on accident when I was getting out of my chair (stock cable). Plugs stayed in but the size adjusters extended all the way out. So yeah... those jacks must have been gripping real hard.

If you don't line them up properly, it's extremely hard to get out, as the edges are catching on the jack. That being said, I only learned the hard way when I tried pulling out my cables lined up inproperly, and ended up pulling so hard I nicked the grille when it finally went out.

 

[Zombie_X]

I hope you didn't spend too much on that Cardas cable, seeing as they don't change the sound over stock.

 

[Audio-Phile]

I can't even begin to go through this thread in its entirety, but I've read a lot of it, and it's been interesting, to say the least.  Can't wait to join the club.

I have a pair of HD700s coming on Wednesday, and now my next move is to find the best possible portable amp/DAC combo for these as well.  Needs to work well with my iPhone and MacBook Pro, and be portable enough that I can take it with me somewhere in a pocket.  There's a million choices, and a million price points.  That will be almost harder than choosing the headphones.

 

[DavidA]

  I can't even begin to go through this thread in its entirety, but I've read a lot of it, and it's been interesting, to say the least.  Can't wait to join the club.

I have a pair of HD700s coming on Wednesday, and now my next move is to find the best possible portable amp/DAC combo for these as well.  Needs to work well with my iPhone and MacBook Pro, and be portable enough that I can take it with me somewhere in a pocket.  There's a million choices, and a million price points.  That will be almost harder than choosing the headphones.

Since you plan on using the HD-700 as a portable you might want to start looking at a short cable, the stock one is really long and kinks too easily.

 

[Audio-Phile]

Not a lot but maybe occasionally.  We'll see.  Like 90% of the time it will be just around the house, or in settings where cable length shouldn't be an issue.
 
Just took a look at the ALO Dual Mono...my god.  Wish I could afford that.  Would be amazing to hear what that sounds like.
 
Is the Fiio E17K any good with the 700s?  Seems like a great starter amp, while working towards an end-game setup. 

 

[DavidA]

 
Not a lot but maybe occasionally.  We'll see.  Like 90% of the time it will be just around the house, or in settings where cable length shouldn't be an issue.
 
Just took a look at the ALO Dual Mono...my god.  Wish I could afford that.  Would be amazing to hear what that sounds like.
 
Is the Fiio E17K any good with the 700s?  Seems like a great starter amp, while working towards an end-game setup. 

I don't really us my headphones as portables so I don't have any portable dacs/amps, only DAPs, Fiio X1, X3, and X3ii.  My GF uses the X3 with the HD-700 when she walks the dog, likes the open nature of the HD-700 so she can keep aware of her environment, it drives the HD-700 quite well.
 
I have a fellow head-fier here in Hawaii who has a chord hugo so I'm going to ask him to bring it over the next time we get together.  I heard the TT version last week at my friends house in Japan and it was superb, but the price is frightening.
 
As for the cable, if you can do simple soldering then you can easily build your own, the HD-700 connectors are easy to work with and cost $17-35 a pair depending on the design, I've been ordering these:
http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=4481
http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=3313
The 3.5mm TRS that I like is the one from Double-Helix, a little on the pricy side but well built.
1/4" I usually use Neutrik.
The other alternative is a 3.5mm with a screw on 1/4 adapter like this: http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=3573, note that soldering the 3.5mm section is not the easiest, need to cut the wires to the correct length.

 

[samandhi]

 
Not a lot but maybe occasionally.  We'll see.  Like 90% of the time it will be just around the house, or in settings where cable length shouldn't be an issue.
 
Just took a look at the ALO Dual Mono...my god.  Wish I could afford that.  Would be amazing to hear what that sounds like.
 
Is the Fiio E17K any good with the 700s?  Seems like a great starter amp, while working towards an end-game setup. 

 
  Yes, the E17K is good with the HD700. I have both Alpen models (E17, and E17K), and they are both great with the i devices. I think the older, discontinued E17 is a bit better, but they are getting very hard to get a hold of. Still, there is not that much of a difference as to go totally out of your way to get the older one.
 
I have mentioned this quite a few pages ago, but; out of the portable devices I have (X5 gen1, X3II, Note 4, iPod touch 3rd gen, and iPod touch 5th gen), I find the E17 paired with iPod  touch 5gen to sound best with the HD700s. They all sound good, but take that good sound, and add the wide soundstage, and there is really the biggest difference between the other devices.

 

[ilovespud]

  I can't even begin to go through this thread in its entirety, but I've read a lot of it, and it's been interesting, to say the least.  Can't wait to join the club.

I have a pair of HD700s coming on Wednesday, and now my next move is to find the best possible portable amp/DAC combo for these as well.  Needs to work well with my iPhone and MacBook Pro, and be portable enough that I can take it with me somewhere in a pocket.  There's a million choices, and a million price points.  That will be almost harder than choosing the headphones.

Well I went with an AK Jr and an Oppo HA-2 as I am a bit deaf and found my AK Jr and my iPhone a bit low in volume when tested these at my local Richer Sounds - Cant be happier to be honest this setup has far surpassed my expectations.

 

[Audio-Phile]

  Well I went with an AK Jr and an Oppo HA-2 as I am a bit deaf and found my AK Jr and my iPhone a bit low in volume when tested these at my local Richer Sounds - Cant be happier to be honest this setup has far surpassed my expectations.

This is interesting as I just started looking at the HA-2.  Do you find it's powerful enough to drive the 700s well?  I would ideally like something that would add some punch to the bass if possible, but definitely something that drives them with power and accuracy overall. 

 

[ilovespud]

Drives it like a steam train and there is the added bass switch on the oppo 2 too if you want more - it can go very very loud indeed and for me there seems to no quality trade off - tbh the fact that it was so hard to find one locally as they had all sold out spoke volumes too

 

[Arsenal]

Why do you hate this cable, just because of the stiff coating? 

 

[DavidA]

 
Why do you hate this cable, just because of the stiff coating? 

If you are referring to the stock HD-700 cable, it kinks very easily and many have tried various ways of trying to straighten it out with very little success.  Its not coating, the sleeve material is like memory foam, keeps going back the bent shape.

 

[samandhi]

 
If you are referring to the stock HD-700 cable, it kinks very easily and many have tried various ways of trying to straighten it out with very little success.  Its not coating, the sleeve material is like memory foam, keeps going back the bent shape.

 
 Hmm, interesting. I was not aware that there was a problem with the stock cable, nor did I know that it was as you described. Maybe I got a newer (improved model). My cable neither kinks, nor is it bent to a certain shape. It is straight as an arrow. Now, if you get it twisted and slide your fingers down it to untwist it, it can loop at a certain point, and you have to manually unloop it, but I am not having ANY of the issues you are talking about.
 
  Edit: And, my cable is more like a coating of Kevlar, than memory foam.