[buffalowings]

well, when I swapped the cables (thick and heavy) on my grados for a set of portable cables (much smaller, came from my earbuds that came with my ipod) I could honestly hear no difference...so....IMO, custom cables aren't worth it
 
James

 

[Currawong]

They very often end up being tonal controls.  Since you very often end up buying from small operations, you are paying mostly for the labour of making them, and only a little for the materials.  Beyond that, I have issue with stock cables that use the most common soft PVC dielectric, as every pair of headphones I have used which had that, had an annoying roughness in the upper mids and treble that I found unpleasant.  In all cases, this was rectified by re-cabling.  
 
buffalowings: Grados, IMO, don't need re-cabling at all.  Usually though, re-cabling refers to replacing cheap, stock cable with one made from supposedly better quality wire (often with a price tag to match), not replacing one cable with another cheap and nasty one. 

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Cables are a "last tweak", I first get better gear like amps, dacs, headphones, etc.

I agree, in my opinion they are least important (still important of course).

 

[beeman458]

Hopefully, the ordered cables will arrive today.
 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Hopefully my latest vintage headphones will arrive tomorrow. I will appreciate their difference to the sound of my music way more than any headphone cable can achieve. £25 well spent in my book. Hope you enjoy your new purchase beeman.

 

[tnmike1]

Last year I had my Ety4p recabled to Apuresound.  THe sonic qualities were totally different.  Apuresound brought more soundstage and the cable itself was, I feel, better built.  Cables on the Ety are detachable, so now I'm ordering another cable from Whiplash Audio.  At the price of cable, I for one find it's cheaper than buying new amplifiers.  Plus they're more fun to fool with--one cable for classical symphony and opera, the other cable for small-group jazz and jazz vocals.  About as much fun as playing with my iBasso D10 and changing opamps every now and again.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Last year I had my Ety4p recabled to Apuresound.  THe sonic qualities were totally different.  Apuresound brought more soundstage and the cable itself was, I feel, better built.  Cables on the Ety are detachable, so now I'm ordering another cable from Whiplash Audio.  At the price of cable, I for one find it's cheaper than buying new amplifiers.  Plus they're more fun to fool with--one cable for classical symphony and opera, the other cable for small-group jazz and jazz vocals.  About as much fun as playing with my iBasso D10 and changing opamps every now and again.

I'd be a bit careful with swapping the cables too many times though. The prongs may become damaged or the connections would become too loose.
 

 

[warp08]

Concerning Whiplash, I have had some experience recabling my JHA customs as well HD650/HD800 cables using TWag.  Reviews are in my signature line (Sennheiser link is the "Duel of the Xes").  I haven't heard Aupersound cables.

 

[Young Spade]

Quote:

Last year I had my Ety4p recabled to Apuresound.  THe sonic qualities were totally different.  Apuresound brought more soundstage and the cable itself was, I feel, better built.  Cables on the Ety are detachable, so now I'm ordering another cable from Whiplash Audio.  At the price of cable, I for one find it's cheaper than buying new amplifiers.  Plus they're more fun to fool with--one cable for classical symphony and opera, the other cable for small-group jazz and jazz vocals.  About as much fun as playing with my iBasso D10 and changing opamps every now and again.

Wait wait wait, whiplash has cables for Etys? WHat kind? Care to elaborate? Lol
*Runs off to the whiplashaudio site*

 

[beeman458]

Prog Rock Man wrote:
 
Hope you enjoy your new purchase beeman.
 
Thanks!  They have arrived......
 
I'm currently warming the headphones up on some Johnny Cash using the stock, provided by Sennheiser headphone cables and once warmed up, it's cable swapping time.
 
Where's that sweating emoticon?
 
Why the sweating?  The last $200.00 USD power cord I auditioned, sucked the life out of the sound quality and had it's butt whipped by a $2.95 USD computer power cable.  Tends to make one really, really nervous when it's time to plug in.
 

 

[tnmike1]

Quote:

Wait wait wait, whiplash has cables for Etys? WHat kind? Care to elaborate? Lol
*Runs off to the whiplashaudio site*

yeah, sure do  Iwas wondering after I saw the pics on Whiplash website--those double prong thingies looked like the prongs on my Apuresound or standard Ety cables.  Emailed Craig and sure enough--said he could make them.  Pricing is the same.  Did say, though, he wanted me to send him the cables; which is OK since I have the Apuresounds I can use.  OBOY--new cables

 

[beeman458]

New, 10' Double Helix Cable, headphone cables have arrived and here's my first impressions.
 
Flat, neutral, not as bright, loudness attenuated by 1-2db.
 
???
 
That said, my reference piece is K.D.Lang: "Hallelujah."
 
Lot's of piano chords, bass kick drum, subtle cymbals and an incredibly wide ranging voice.
 
I had to crank the volume +2db to allow for the attenuation and switched out the cables a half-dozen times or so for what I considered a fair listening secession.  Even checked to make sure the new cables were plugged into the correct input (R/L) on the headphones.
 
My opinion:
 
Bass of the kick drum was more focused; less bloating.
 
The highs of the piano chords were smoother; no clipping.
 
The piano was more forward and the chords themselves were better defined.
 
Yes, the cable's, in my book, a winner.
 
And to answer the unasked question, was it worth it?  If you take out the fancy sleeving ($10.00 USD/ft and remove the cost of the splitter clamp ($25.00 USD/ea) from the total price of $380.00 USD, was it worth the left over $245.00 USD actual cost?  And the answer comes back.....maybe.  Why maybe?  Because it depends on how much you value the final sound quality of your music.
 
Did I notice a difference?  Absolutely as the flatness (neutral quality) of the new sound and the attenuation was hard to miss.  You also had to listen for the subtleties in the piano chords as they opened up by being more defined.  It was interesting to hear the tightening up of the kick drum; lack of bloating.
 
In the end, would I recommend these cables to an innocent?  Absolutely not.  Why?  If they haven't a clue what to listen for, they're not going appreciate what they're getting and they'd be wasting their money.  I'd only recommend these cables to someone who appreciates the finer art of listening and even then, I'd recommend these cables only if you have the money to spend.
 
Oh, and no I'm not going feed anybody's sickness regarding DBT's.  My recommendation to the anti-cable crowd, do what you will and be happy and I'll do the same.
 

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

Here's what I believe.
 
A $30ish cable is better than a $2 cable
A $300 cable is no better than a $30 cable.

At the risk of annoying more people here (but then why do we keep coming back to head-fi discussion forums if not to discuss), your succinctly formulated belief may show a value/price correlation - or it may show only where on the curve your listening is.
 
Compare it to wine: while many people may prefer a $30 wine bottle to a $3 wine bottle, not everyone agrees that a $300 bottle is "better" - and they'd rather go and buy ten $30 bottles. I tend to do that myself; however, I also do know that there are plenty of people who can absolutely tell the $300 bottle and prefer it every time. That's where they are in terms of knowledge and appreciation, and why not if they can afford it.
 
An audiophile doctor recently told me happily he found a used piece of Linn gear for only $15,000! I reminded him jokingly that his wife's horses needed to be fed, but I know he can spend it, and he truly does enjoy music at that level. Of course, in his place I would not have spent the money that way (some other audio gear would have claimed at least some of that money though). In short, one may or may not have the ears and the dedication to appreciate gear like that, but that does not mean anyone has the right to say that some people won't. If people really hear a difference with special cables, let them enjoy; I do believe them, and I do sometimes hear it myself. That doesn't force me to spend there, though.

 

[rusitnpiece]

 
No IMO cables make no difference whatsoever.
 
What makes people think Sennheiser would release a pair of top grade headphones with a cable not capable of transferring a full frequency range? 
 
The day someone passes a properly conducted blind test i will eat my words.
 
Come on people!

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

 
No IMO cables make no difference whatsoever.
 
What makes people think Sennheiser would release a pair of top grade headphones with a cable not capable of transferring a full frequency range? 
 
The day someone passes a properly conducted blind test i will eat my words.
 
Come on people!

oh yeah, sure. what makes people think BMW would release an expensive car without getting the most horse power out of it. come one tuners! what makes people think Lennar would build a luxury condo without getting the right color combination on the walls. come on decorators! that's why there is no marketing niche, no differentiation, no aftermarket. everything comes out of corporate R&D as perfect as venus out of the foam of the surf.