I don't believe in cable magic either. This is exactly why I feel burned by Sennheiser designing the cable in such a way that it is comparatively difficult to repair and replace and charging extravagant sums for their own replacement.

Answering myself: Yes, just connecting the two leads will get me audio. I connected the lines, which are really, really thin and makes just connecting them really difficult. Works and sounds great regardless of having no connection for the grounding wire.   The thinness of the cable is...

Actually, after researching it a bit, it seems like it's a bog-standard balanced cable design with two leads and a shield. I don't have equipment to take a picture at my current location but it's identical to this:     Should I have audio just connecting Line 1 and Line 2?

I forgot to clarify that each headphone receives this set of three wires separately.

I'm looking at one thick silver strand on the outside and two very tiny strands in the middle, isolated from everything else and colored white and red. If any of the three are disconnected, there's no audio whatsoever. What do you think is the function of each strand?

I don't really believe that personally. I think it's a cop-out "believers" use. Especially since they seem to have such a hard time getting through the blind tests.

I don't think anyone is challenging differences in actual transducers. Just the digital chain and possibly amplifiers as long as they're built towards transparency.

I've currently got the Sennheiser HD-800 and the Objective 2 headphone amplifier.   I've always bought new stuff like amplifiers and DACs and always assumed and thought the music sounded different on the new thing. Then at some later date I would set up this test where I can listen...

Thanks for your replies.   I'm interested in what performance metric specifically the STX is lacking in in the doubters' opinion. All the published and measured metrics seem to be between excellent to outstanding and I can't find the reason why an expensive full-sized amplifier would benefit...

  I realize discussions of soundcards should usually be in another area, but seeing as I am speaking specifically about it's headphone amplifier relative to other full-size amplifiers I felt this was the correct area.   The Xonar cards are often getting trashed here on the forums as not...

The OP might, I don't. Nonetheless, he prompted me to properly test, through which I arrived at my own conclusion. 

Inspired by this thread, I set up my PC and other gear so that I could switch between my Asus Xonar Essence STX's headphone out and Musical Fidelity V-DAC + Heed Canamp combo with only a ~2sec break in the music. I volume matched them with an SPL meter using a 1khz test tone. Listening was done...

I think the K701's have an in-your-face lower treble which makes it sound harsh and thin, yet it has very little upper treble presence which makes it lacking on airiness and sparkle. I had to bump up the 16khz notch by 4db on my K701's to make the upper treble come out like it does on the...

Quote: Way to impose your opinion as fact.

Gridlock, you described in perfect detail in your opening post everything I find wrong about my K701's. The lack of bass, the midrange thinness, the recessed upper treble which is compounded by the in-your-face lower treble. I switched over to the HD650's and it did all of those areas better...

They all sound the same to me and I believe it's just what it claims to be: simple gain IE more volume.

IMO tonality is almost a non-issue since it can be tweaked with an EQ. Other aspects of performance are more significant.

I agree that the HD800 is in a different world soundstage-wise than any other headphone I've heard, including the AKG K701's. Anyone claiming otherwise wouldn't get much faith from me when it comes to audio reviews.

  I can accept point nr. 2. There's even science to back up the claim. Measurements propose to serve as an objective means to discern which piece of audio equipment is of high quality, and which isn't. And they certainly do not correlate with price.   However, the first point is a...

I suppose we are the type to demand empirical study on things instead of relying on faith. There are some things in the audio world that continuously amaze me. For example, whenever someone switches the cable on their headphones for a better one, the change is always for the better. Or when...

You can actually hear sub-20hz? I'm jealous. 

I would suggest switching headphones instead of amps.

Oh, I am too. But I still won't claim to hear a difference when I don't.

I went to the local audio store today to give the HD800's a go.   First impression when I saw and held them was that they're smaller than I expected, and felt and looked cheaper than pictures on the net conveyed. I think K701 and HD650 both look classier. Wearing the HD800, my ears basically...

I've found little correlation with frequency measurement, which also vary greatly from source to source, and what I actually hear.