The best cable for Senn HD800, Grado PS1000, Denon AH-D7000, AKG 701/2
Sep 21, 2009 at 10:16 PM Post #46 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by DoYouRight /img/forum/go_quote.gif
the fact you can afford 2 hd800s and cables for them over probably another $3000 shows insane care for the sound of hd800s? why not just goto meets to find which? or do you want to hear all in home for more time to then just keep what you want and like best? wish I had that much money jeez
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Sucks being in college because by the time I have the money for the real stuff I will have worse hearing and less time to listen.



I did say that I borrowed some of the cables.
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I only paid for three of them, plus the two headphones. And yes, I do want the best possible sound from these cans, and am willing to spend some time and money finding out what sounds best to my ears in my system.

Meets are horrible for critical listening. After attending five or six I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that I won't be able to hear much above the sound of all the other loud cans and people. I listen to my music really, really low, and don't want to evaluate something at 88dB when I generally listen at 75dB.

Wow, you make it sound like life and music after college are all downhill! Protect your hearing now, bring ear plugs to concerts and movies, don't listen to your music too loud, and your hearing will serve you well for decades after college.


Quote:

Originally Posted by foo_me /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Will you be writing a full review of your findings?


Yes, but not for some time. My first goal is to write-up each individual cable with comparisons to the stock cable. After that I'll do a head-to-head with all of them, time permitting. One cable is a loaner from the manufacturer, and I'm not sure how long he'll give me with it. I'm still awaiting the official release of the Hyperion cable, and am not sure when it will ship.
 
Sep 21, 2009 at 10:39 PM Post #47 of 77
Cool...look forwarding to it! Thanks in advance...
Happy enough with the stock cable right now, but would be interested if there's a cable(s) out there that would make a good improvement at a decent price.
 
Sep 21, 2009 at 10:42 PM Post #48 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by foo_me /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Cool...look forwarding to it! Thanks in advance...
Happy enough with the stock cable right now, but would be interested if there's a cable(s) out there that would make a good improvement at a decent price.



I'm hoping that the Fidelity Audio cable is good enough to keep over the others. At $250 it has the potential to be a total steal, and is much easier to convince the wife it's the one to keep.
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Sep 22, 2009 at 12:28 AM Post #49 of 77
Personally I Think cabling is important to some extent. I remember hating the constrained vocals on an older system and put it down to some cheap throwaway cables that were tiding me over for a week. When I bought new cables, the soundstage and vocals opened up so I believe you should at least buy a modest set of cables above stock, funds permitting.

At the end of the day, we are audiophiles and nothing brings me more enjoyment than little tweaks, to some extent with cable I am literally buying happiness and no doubt the placebo affect and excitement literally makes the music sound better to me. People spend lots of money on art which has no tangible benefit at all but it brings them happiness. I say this all within reason though.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 2:34 AM Post #50 of 77
thats the one I want. Let me know and Ill take the other HD800 off your hands too when your done
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I should have my netbook and my B22 and B32 cased up and seperate in my mancave and not strewn across a table in mess.



EDIT: I agree about cables. But with speakers they all are meant to be removed/changed out. Sennheisers are great as they have switchable ones. Other cans you have to destroy the stock ability to change and that stinks and is a problem for collector freaks like me. Terrified to cut into anything just to reterm, when I KNOW itll sound better
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Sep 22, 2009 at 3:22 AM Post #51 of 77
Below are some impressions of the Fidelity Audio upgrade cable for the HD800. I was not much of a cable believer in the past but, call it placebo effect if you will, I do hear differences. I very much believe though that it depends on the gear you're using, the kind of music you're listening to, and most importantly how receptive you are to slight changes in music reproduction. The HD800 appears to be the perfect tool to highlight small changes upstream so here is my take on what 6 ft of wire can do.

Transport: iMac + M-audio FireWire Solo
D/A: Yamamoto YDA-01
Amplifier: Lehmann BCL
Headphones: HD800 with over 650hours on them (using stock cable)
Cable: HD800 stock cable versus prototype Fidelity Audio cable with varying multiple gauged conductors and Furutech 601M(R) balanced 3-pin connectors.
Balanced > Single Ended adapter cable: Furutech 602F(R) - APS v3 - Furutech 704 (G)

Music: mostly jazz and rock. I illustrated comments below with some examples. The selection is totally random as I just happened to be playing iTunes in shuffle mode... There are better illustrations for each point, but hopefully this helps you relate to my thoughts if you happen to have some of this selection of music.


Bass:
> Stock cable: very very good. Extends very low and always tight. It is quality bass and I don't miss the deluge of bass I get from the Edition 9. However, for some recordings, you could maybe do with a little more of it on the HD800.
> FA cable: comparatively, it does feel like it is more forward / fuller than the stock cable ("Extraordinary Machine" on Fiona Apple's "Extraordinary Machine", "Tout doucement" on Feist's "Open Season: Remixes & Collabs"). This may actually be due to changes in midrange / treble described below. Drum kicks have more impact with the FA cable (for example "Punk (DJN)" on Avishai Cohen's "At Home", "Sexy Plexi" on Jack Johnson's "Brushfire Fairytales"). It's as if the stock cable can go lower in frequency but the FA cable focuses on the rhythm and fullness of the bass rather than trying to be the most accurate ("Canceled check" on Beck's "Mutations").

Dynamics:
> Stock cable: fair. It's not the most lively headphone in my collection. For that, my Edition 9 remains the reference.
> FA cable: wowowow. Now my HD800 is on steroids! Listening to "Buena" on Morphine's "Cure for pain" and it's not a subtle difference. This track owes a lot to the bass and drum so I guess the FA cable really does something to the bass. Man, this is goooooood!

Soundstage:
> Stock cable: very wide but with a hole in the center (very much left-center-right feeling regardless of Sennheiser's claim for this)
> FA cable: it's so different from the stock at first I thought I was listening in monophonic mode! Basically the soundstage is pushed on front of me. There is much more depth than the stock cable and it is comparatively less wide ("Lost Someone" on Cat Power's "Jukebox", "Wagon Wheels" on Sonny Rollins "Way out west"). The placement of the musicians (or shall I say the intent of the audio engineer behind the recording...) is also much more credible when using the FA cable ("Tuesday Wonderland" on Esbjörn Svensson Trio's "Live in Hamburg") as they seem to be floating with the stock cable. Basically, the presentation is much more speaker like with the FA cable. For concert hall recording it literally feels like you're moving 20 rows back ("Dance Of The Antilles Girls" on Paavo Jaarvi & The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's "Romeo And Juliet: Complete Suites From The Ballet")! Furthermore, the tonal balance is warmer - see below - so it accentuates this impression of being further back in the audience. Somehow, with the FA cable, you can more easily portray the depth of the concert hall.

Midrange / voice:
> Stock cable: very good, very natural.
> FA cable: it feels like there's more body to the voice which makes something excellent even better ("Almost Blue" on Diana Krall's "The girl in the other room"). Simply awesome at this stage. The voices are more forward relative to the highs with the FA cable and it's a good thing. It's spooky how realistic voices are, I just don't see how this can further improve ("Chinar Es" on Tigran Hamsyan's "Red hail", "Voices" on Hugh Coltman's "Stories From The Safe House").

Upper midrange / low treble:
> Stock cable: usually very good but clearly it does not forgive bad recordings. Not sure I can say it is artificially enhanced on the HD800 but at least it is more forward than with HD650 and Ultrasone Edition 9 (both of which were not voiced to sound neutral though).
> FA cable: I have a hard time believing cable makes such a difference but clearly the upper midrange / lower treble is "tamed down" with the FA cable. It's consistent across multiple recordings (jazz to rock, voice to guitar). At first, it actually felt like I was loosing something. The HD800 started to sound a bit "slow" in comparison to stock cable, as if it had lost some "snap" / sharpness / edge on transients ("Lies" on Kaki King's "Legs to make us stronger", "Colours of mercy" on Tord Gustavsen's "The ground"). But after going back and forth, the FA cable just sounds more realistic while stock cable is a bit artificial / thin sounding (not metallic but there is like some over-emphasis of that range, for example "Frosti" on Bjork's "Vespertine" or "Dirt" on Rusconi Trio's "Scenes and Sceneries", "15 Steps" on Radiohead's "In Rainbows"). It is obvious on voices (sss sound) and acoustic guitar (listening to "Birds" on Emiliana Torrini's "Me and Armini" when writing this).

Treble:
> Stock cable: very extended up top. The cymbals have a very clear shine. But for some not so good recordings it does feel a bit detached from the rest of the spectrum or some frequencies at sticking out ("Spirit of air" on Marylin Mazur's "Elixir"). Cymbals are of course supposed to sound metallic but it just sometimes sounds a tiny bit off with the stock cable.
> FA cable: it does seem rounded off in comparison. But this is actually not a bad thing because at the same time the treble seems better integrated with the rest of spectrum ("Yesterdays" on Patricia Barber's "Night club", "Valse a l'eau" on Henri Texier's "Alerte a l'eau"). The FA cable results in a smoother presentation. The cymbals no longer sound a bit off / grainy but more like the real thing ("Ad Infinitum" on Carla Bley's "The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu") .


Overall: FA cable makes the HD800 sound warmer and more natural. It's as if the stock cable tried to be technically perfect but looses touch with emotional aspect of music when doing so. With the FA cable, the HD800 becomes more musical to my ears. There is less emphasis on transients and more body / fullness to the sound. The difference is not night and day but significant enough to jump at you for each and every recording upon few seconds of listening. The change is on par with difference between amps in competing price range. I suspect the difference between the cables has to do with silver plating of the stock cable versus copper use in FA cable, but Rick might have other theories about this. The balanced to 1/4 inch adapter might also play a role here but I can't evaluate this.

In conclusion, the cable has a very good price / performance ratio in my opinion. Even though I am not taking advantage of the balanced feature, it is a welcome addition to my rig. It is especially welcome for poor / hot recordings as excellent ones sound good no matter what actually. Ahhh, if only Lehmann audio was working on balanced version of the Black Cube (thinking out loud here
wink.gif
).

happy listenings,

arnaud
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 4:30 AM Post #52 of 77
why not reterm the stock cable and compare both balanced the way they sound ALOT better. And then it will be on like donkey kong no adapter to mess up things.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 5:51 AM Post #53 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by arnaud /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Below are some impressions of the Fidelity Audio upgrade cable for the HD800. I was not much of a cable believer in the past but, call it placebo effect if you will, I do hear differences. I very much believe though that it depends on the gear you're using, the kind of music you're listening to, and most importantly how receptive you are to slight changes in music reproduction. The HD800 appears to be the perfect tool to highlight small changes upstream so here is my take on what 6 ft of wire can do.

...snip...

In conclusion, the cable has a very good price / performance ratio in my opinion. Even though I am not taking advantage of the balanced feature, it is a welcome addition to my rig. It is especially welcome for poor / hot recordings as excellent ones sound good no matter what actually. Ahhh, if only Lehmann audio was working on balanced version of the Black Cube (thinking out loud here
wink.gif
).

happy listenings,

arnaud



Great impressions, thanks for posting that. I was really impressed with your choice of music, as I have a fair amount of the same music.
tongue.gif


Which HD800 cable do you have, i.e. is it the Double Helix?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoYouRight /img/forum/go_quote.gif
why not reterm the stock cable and compare both balanced the way they sound ALOT better. And then it will be on like donkey kong no adapter to mess up things.


His amp is single ended, he is using a balanced cable converted to SE so in the future if he gets a balanced amp he can take advantage of that feature.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 5:59 AM Post #54 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by K3cT /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Well let's just say that cables make a difference but I will prioritize getting the right cans/sources/amps first. The last 5% if you will.
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Absolutely - source/amp/phones first, cables last.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif
No offense but I'm so fed up with this. Is his review a 'must' guide for us?


Absolutely not. I look to other peoples opinions as well and never rely on once source reporting findings to make a decision, and final conclusions are based only on hearing it yourself.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 7:49 AM Post #55 of 77
I hope this isn't a thread jack, but can anyone recommend the cheapest balanced cable that they know of? People disagree about cables, but balanced is generally considered to be an improvement.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 8:26 AM Post #56 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by NWRain /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I hope this isn't a thread jack, but can anyone recommend the cheapest balanced cable that they know of? People disagree about cables, but balanced is generally considered to be an improvement.


Two routes: buy two 3-pin XLR connectors and cut off the stock cable and solder on the new connectors. The other cheapest option is to buy this Fidelity Audio cable. I don't think anyone else offers a cheaper replacement option other than a stock cable with XLR connectors.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 10:27 AM Post #57 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Great impressions, thanks for posting that. I was really impressed with your choice of music, as I have a fair amount of the same music.
tongue.gif


Which HD800 cable do you have, i.e. is it the Double Helix?



Hi Headphone addict, great that we're sharing tastes about music. I look forward to reading your reviews more closely from now on! Especially, you have an impressive amount of gear too!

As for the exact cable I have, it's a bit tricky to answer... I ordered the standard HD800 cable but turns out that Rick had some troubles which delayed the shipment. Although I did not ask for anything, he offered to upgrade me with this prototype cable for no additional cost. From what I understand, it is somewhere between the standard cable and the double Helix. So it's using multiple gauges wires but the interlacing is that of the standard cable, not the painful double helix process...

Also, as I mentioned, the XLR terminations are not standard and cost quite a bit. I happened to be very happy with the same plugs for my Edition 9 recable (APS v3) so wanted the same plugs for this cable.
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 6:13 PM Post #58 of 77
you need a balanced amp! the will sound worlds diff!
 
Sep 22, 2009 at 7:43 PM Post #59 of 77
I'm sure most of us can find a better use for $400 than a cable upgrade. That's another reference class headphone, mid-level amp, et al. It doesn't even have to be audio related. Flight to Hawaii anyone? No one will question the enjoyability of a Hawaiian vacation, but cables are questionable.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 2:07 AM Post #60 of 77
Quote:

Originally Posted by brokensound /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I'm sure most of us can find a better use for $400 than a cable upgrade. That's another reference class headphone, mid-level amp, et al. It doesn't even have to be audio related. Flight to Hawaii anyone? No one will question the enjoyability of a Hawaiian vacation, but cables are questionable.


No offense Broken Sound but if you go that way. What's the use of buying a $1,400 headphone. I'm sure you can book a 5 Star in hawaii for that. Anyway, I find in head-fi, audio and rationality sometimes don't mix. =)

Back to Topic:

The cable seems to be one of the cheapest options to try for the HD800. Does any one know how much a stock HD800 cable is?

If the stock cable is being sold at a high price then just buy one after market cable if you need to have balanced terminations.
 

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