[JacobLee89]

  It's not silver And fyi the old "diy" cable I had wasn't even made from pure copper...

I can only have an educated guess as to how it'd (unpure wires) affect the audio. But it's nice to know that it's not highly important what material it is (by that I mean either silver or copper) .
 

   
SPC is what I use on my HD650.  I went from stock single ended, to SPC balanced.  I'm not sure if the material or the balancing did it, but the improvement was greatly noticed.  Most likely both upgrades share the credit...

I've read that there is a noticeable difference when going to balanced. Since I'm going the crack route, I could see if there's a way to make the crack a balanced system or just settle down with making a basic DIY cable with 1/4 " connector. 

 

[Zojokkeli]

  Yay 250th post ;D

Got my new cables here. Listened to three songs with my old cable and new to compare.
James Blake - Unluck
Dire straits - Walk of life
Beatles - Come together
And what I heard was that the treble is a bit more detailed
Doesn't feel as "dark" as my diy cable is.

The cable is really pretty I love the transparent plastic so I can see the copper underneath it!
 

 

 

 

 

Great looking cables! Might be I'll order some for meself too. 

 

[Androb]

  Great looking cables! Might be I'll order some for meself too. 

Idd These were the cheaper ones aswell!

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  I can only have an educated guess as to how it'd (unpure wires) affect the audio. But it's nice to know that it's not highly important what material it is (by that I mean either silver or copper) .
 
I've read that there is a noticeable difference when going to balanced. Since I'm going the crack route, I could see if there's a way to make the crack a balanced system or just settle down with making a basic DIY cable with 1/4 " connector. 

 
I don't think you need to waste your time with a balanced Crack.  I'm quite sure I read here (or maybe Bottlehead's forums) that the Crack really can't be a balanced amp, by its nature.  If you have something else that is balanced, then but a cable that can accept different ends to so your HD650s aren't limited to one amp or another.  That's what I did, and if I build a Crack in the future, I'll just snap on the 1/4" termination...

 

[JacobLee89]

   
I don't think you need to waste your time with a balanced Crack.  I'm quite sure I read here (or maybe Bottlehead's forums) that the Crack really can't be a balanced amp, by its nature.  If you have something else that is balanced, then but a cable that can accept different ends to so your HD650s aren't limited to one amp or another.  That's what I did, and if I build a Crack in the future, I'll just snap on the 1/4" termination...

That's a good idea! I'll see what I can find.
 
By *snapping on*, I can only imagine using male XLR plugs as the connector, and in the future I'll just attach (or DIY) different connectors (i.e.: 1/4 or 4 pin) to a Female XLR.
 
Are there any threads in here that explains how to solder balanced connectors since the reading of +ve (hot), -ve (cold), and earth connections has left me confused as to whether I need an extra terminal for the left and right channels. I just assumed that "balanced" meant that the left and right channels had their own ground.

 

[jimmers]

  I myself have some spare wire lying around.

Me too (silver plated copper), Teflon insulated, of course.
I just need some shorter cables - don't expect any difference in sound, but they should look pretty
(if/when I get round to it).

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  That's a good idea! I'll see what I can find.
 
By *snapping on*, I can only imagine using male XLR plugs as the connector, and in the future I'll just attach (or DIY) different connectors (i.e.: 1/4 or 4 pin) to a Female XLR.
 
Are there any threads in here that explains how to solder balanced connectors since the reading of +ve (hot), -ve (cold), and earth connections has left me confused as to whether I need an extra terminal for the left and right channels. I just assumed that "balanced" meant that the left and right channels had their own ground.

 
Actually the headphone cable is terminated in mini-4 pin XLR.  And I have 6" cables going from the mini XLR to 1/8", 1/4", 4 pin XLR, and RSA.  I just pick which end I need and pop it on...

 

[ssrock64]

It's finally time for me to join the club! I've owned everything up and down the ladder (including an HD600), but never bothered to purchase one of the most beloved headphones of the last ten years. Now, thanks to a great deal from mstorie on an example with only 25 hours on it, I'll have my pair at the end of the week.

 

[Rob80b]

Are there any threads in here that explains how to solder balanced connectors since the reading of +ve (hot), -ve (cold), and earth connections has left me confused as to whether I need an extra terminal for the left and right channels. I just assumed that "balanced" meant that the left and right channels had their own ground.

Just + and -, no ground, found this from the HIFiMan but is the same for all  4 pin XLR balanced cables.
 

 

[JacobLee89]

  Just + and -, no ground, found this from the HIFiMan but is the same for all  4 pin XLR balanced cables.
 

Oh.. It's the *earth* pin that's on the 3 pin XLR that confused the wits out of me. 
 

 
So it seems the best way around this in making a DIY cable for the HD 650, is to terminate it in 4 pin XLR (male), then create adaptor cables for different amps using 'Female 4 pin XLR' -> 'Terminal of choice'
 
An easier option is to spend nearly 3x as much on the official balanced cables, but that's more effort on my half (you expend effort to gain money, waiting is also an effort)

 

[MattTCG]

  It's finally time for me to join the club! I've owned everything up and down the ladder (including an HD600), but never bothered to purchase one of the most beloved headphones of the last ten years. Now, thanks to a great deal from mstorie on an example with only 25 hours on it, I'll have my pair at the end of the week.

 
Congrats and welcome to the club...

 

[Rob80b]

double post

 

[Rob80b]

  Oh.. It's the *earth* pin that's on the 3 pin XLR that confused the wits out of me. 
 

 
So it seems the best way around this in making a DIY cable for the HD 650, is to terminate it in 4 pin XLR (male), then create adaptor cables for different amps using 'Female 4 pin XLR' -> 'Terminal of choice'
 
An easier option is to spend nearly 3x as much on the official balanced cables, but that's more effort on my half (you expend effort to gain money, waiting is also an effort)

The above diagram is for balanced cables used for components going from 3 pin XLR to a 1/4" jack (not to be confused with stereo) and is not the correct config for balanced headphones, for head-amps that require dual 3 pin xlrs, pin 2 is the positive for both the right and left signal and pin 1 and 3 can be combined for the negative termination.

 

[JacobLee89]

  The above diagram is for balanced cables used for components going from 3 pin XLR to a 1/4" jack (not to be confused with stereo) and is not the correct config for balanced headphones, for head-amps that require dual 3 pin xlrs, pin 2 is the positive for both the right and left signal and pin 1 and 3 can be combined for the negative termination.

+1 Thanks for clarifying the above and also putting things in context!
 
Itchy fingers have already braided the cable.. Something tells me I'll have a new handmade thing by next week.

 

[pdrm360]

Has anyone tried the Bottlehead Mainline with the HD650?