Well I ordered a 6-foot heavy gauge custom made balanced cable for the HD700’s from
Surf Cables, and today they arrived. Here’s some initial impressions on the cable itself, followed by use with my Teac UD-503’s head amp (HA), and the music used to "test" them along with some final thoughts.
So as mentioned these are custom made balanced cables made by Surf Cables for the HD700’s. Instead of the standard XLR balanced end, these come 2 quarter inch jacks. I wanted those as the UD-503 uses this layout for both Balance and Active Ground mode (Bal / AG) connections. You simply plug the left jack into the left headphone input, and the right into the right. Choose Bal or AG and you’re set. To be honest I’ve not been able to discern any difference whatsoever between Bal and AG… well I take that back, there is ever so slight difference, but really nothing to make you stick with one or the other.
The construction is quality and they seem to be made with high quality materials. The cable wires are 20-guage, (can also be had in a smaller 24 gauge) with a black nylon sleeve covering. Surf Cables states their wires are silver plated copper with a Teflon insulation. The ¼ inch connectors are made by
Neutrik. Not sure who makes the ends going into the headphones but they’re metal and gold plated. Of note is they don’t have the lock mechanism like those that come with the HD700, but they aren’t loose fitting.
You also get a black canvas type pouch with the company’s name and logo on it. Cost was $160 flat with free shipping. I ordered Wednesday and received today (Saturday). That’s darn good service there!!!
Sound… I’m not sure where credit (or blame) goes where sound is concerned because they definitely make a difference in sound over the supplied HD700 cable.
First the setup. And by no means am I a professional audiophile reviewer so take “my test results” with a grain of salt. With that…
JRiver Media Center 21, with DSP enhancements off (no EQ or up-sampling). Music files encoded in Monkey (APE). Teac UD-503: Filter off, up-sampled to 192k and DSD (filter 150k).
For reference I always listen to two songs to determine how well I like a headphone – Hiromi’s title track
11:49 PM (YouTube clip) off her Move CD, and J’s Bee Naked off their 5 (Five) CD.
On 11:49, I love the way she opens up with her piano solo (in the bass region), for about a minute then have Simon Phillips come in with his drums. Anthony Jackson follows and hits you with his bass notes and from there the jam is on until closed by Hiromi’s solo play again in which you imagining an ice skater finishing off her closing performance with fast paced spiral. With the HD700’s this track sounds live with a luscious open soundstage.
Then there’s J’s Bee Naked which is a keyboard/piano solo piece played on the bass end of the spectrum that provides a richness of sound. There’s an airiness about this piece that’s both haunting and beautiful. It’s a track I often use when closing a CD – whether jazz or lounge music. Again, with the HD700’s airiness, this piece sounds really wonderful, as well as powerful.
That said, with the standard stereo cable of the HD700’s, and the UD-503 in Stereo mode, the HD700’s sound wonderfully airy though a tad bright with good bass extension.
BTW playing other types of music reveals the same… less airy, more weight. I also need to state that that the UD-503’s HA for Stereo is rated at 500mv + 500mv pair into 32 Ohms, whereas Bal/AG is 700mv + 700mv at 32Ohms. The impedance range of the head amp 16-600 Ohms. Note the HD 700 is 150 Ohms.
Now, with the balanced cables, and the UD-503’s head amp set to either Bal or AG mode, the phones sound more balanced, weighty, and less airy; however, the bass notes don’t seem to go as deep as they do in stereo mode. Is this a result of the cables, the UD-503’s HA, or perhaps a combination of both?
Unfortunately, you can’t use the standard stereo cable of the HD700’s in Bal or AG mode because they aren’t designed for that and won’t sound right; thus you can’t compare them to a balanced cable.
At the end of the day I suppose it comes down to what you like in your music and the equipment used. Before the HD700’s came along, airy wasn’t my thing. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of airy, I rather like what the HD700’s brings, especially their openness in stereo mode under the Teac UD-503.
On the other hand, I also like the warmer more balance sound they seem to provide with the balanced cables from Surf Cables under the Teac UD-503’s balanced mode. So, I ask again, who gets the credit (or blame) here?
Thanks.
Oh, and this will also be posted in the
Teac UD 503 DAC (2015 New Release, DXD, DSD256) forum from the HA perspective.
Peace