[A.Thorsen]

Last week I had an unfortunate and stupid accident on my part happen that damaged the stock cable on my AKG 701's.

I had been fooling with the idea at some point of maybe splurging and sending the 701's off to Drew at Moon Audio for a Black Dragon upgrade someday but I wasn't in a hurry to do it.

Last week I finally did it and I'm sure glad for it. I guess you could say I had a "happy accident" when all is said and done.

I didn't go balanced.

Physically, you see and feel the weight and quality of this cable and connector in your hands and that is a night and day difference. I realize now how flimsy and unworthy the stock cable truly was for the 701's.


If you hit my thread history, you'll see a fairly recent thread where I was talking about how I felt I was "real close" with the sound of the stock 701's with my GS-X but I wanted to try and nudge them a little bit.

That's all done and taken care of now. The soundstage is a little bit more open. I know that's hard to imagine with the 701's, but it's true. Just a little bit.

There's a bit more clarity, if you can believe that with the 701's. There's a bit more warmth to the overall presentation that I'm very glad is there.

Basically, I have the best of both worlds: I have the "analytical" 701 strengths with close to Sennheiser 650 warmth thereabouts.

Now, don't get me wrong. It's not complete night and day differences, but it is what I deem substantial, sublime, and improving on strengths and reducing any weaknesses. That's what recabling will do for you and your favorite cans: Improve strengths, reduce weaknesses.

The 701's are simply BETTER with this Black Dragon cable on them. It's hard to quantify or put into concrete terms.


Some of you may recall some of my skepticism in regards to recabling a few months ago.

In any event: That skepticism has been quickly dashed and destroyed.

Simply put: These 701's with the Black Dragon cables are a completely different and better product.

You think to yourself: Eh, the stock cable is pretty decent/good enough on the 701s and it probably is...until you feel, see, and ultimately hear this combination.

Some people would say: "That's ridiculous, why would you spend $250 or so on $300 headphones?" Heck, I've asked that myself around here several times in the past.

Answer: Because I can't spend $600 or so and get anywhere close to what the 701's with the Black Dragons on them are now.

These 701's and my www.headamp.com GS-X (Justin Wilson is the man!!!) = BLISS.

Yes, it's worth it. No it's not hype, and I thought it was going into it just like I have some other things in this hobby before it.

If you want to take your favorite cans and put them over the top and do right by 'em, send 'em to Drew at Moon Audio.

DO IT!

 

[pataburd]

If you think the Black Dragon sounds good, try the Silver Dragon. They make the 701s sound--not just a little more, but--much more open and detailed.

 

[polvodediamante]

Hmmm...I gotta try this it sounds cool. I'll check it out.

 

[humanflyz]

@OP:

Can I ask why you didn't go balanced? It seems pretty logical that since you have a balanced amp, so why not balanced?

 

[skyline889]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz /img/forum/go_quote.gif @OP: Can I ask why you didn't go balanced? It seems pretty logical that since you have a balanced amp, so why not balanced?

I was also curious why the OP has the GS-X when he doesn't have a balanced source or balanced headphones, seems a little wasteful to me.

 

[Zorander]

Are these cables microphonics and/or stiff?

 

[skyline889]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are these cables microphonics and/or stiff?

I had a Sony MDR-SA3000 recabled with the V1 Black Dragon and it was really stiff and microphonic. So much in fact that I had to sell them as they weren't working out as the portable cans I wanted them to be. V2 supposedly has corrected these faults though.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyline889 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had a Sony MDR-SA3000 recabled with the V1 Black Dragon and it was really stiff and microphonic. So much in fact that I had to sell them as they weren't working out as the portable cans I wanted them to be. V2 supposedly has corrected these faults though.

Exactly the case with a Senn SD cable I once owned. I'm wondering if that still applies to current Moon Audio headphone cables.

 

[pataburd]

The Silver Dragon, V2, is more flexible and not microphonic.

 

[A.Thorsen]

Ok, I'll try to hit as much here as I can:

Any and all questions about GS-X: justin@headamp.com
www.headamp.com

Any and all questions about Drew and his cables:
drubrew@earthlink.net

They can cover a lot more ground about their own products a lot faster and more throughly than I can.

Question: Why did I buy a GS-X and not go balanced/why upgrade cables and not go balanced?

Answer:

1.) I'd need "normal" headphones for other devices besides the GS-X, no matter what.


2.) I have a great source (IMO) in the Onkyo DVSP1000 and it has no balanced outputs and I have no plans to move past it until it dies.

This thing won audio raves in favorable comparisions to Linn Unidiscs, Meridian, and other names like that for a fraction of the cost. On the audio side it's a giant killer. You can look up reviews at AreaDVD and plenty of other sources to verify that.

I know for a fact that I would have to spend a lot more than the $1400 or so that I did on the Onkyo 1000 to get APPRECIABLY better audio quality. The law of diminishing returns kicks in very fast.

When the Onkyo dies, I will most certainly make plans to buy a dedicated audio source that has both balanced and non-balanced capabilities. I just don't feel very compelled to do so before that time.


3.) The GS-X is a reference solid state amp for BOTH balanced unbalanced useage. It's about as close to tube as you can get without going tube, IMO.

I bought it to have the back door open for upgrades should I ever decide to go balanced somwhere down the road. Kill as many birds with one stone as possible/have the best now and ready for later/ all options on the table, etc. etc.

^^ All of the above: Law of diminishing returns in play and I'm not fully convinced on the merits of going balanced vs. that by a longshot.


No, I have not heard anything that sounds "microphonic", at least not yet.

I would not recommend cables like these for portable purposes and I'm sure I would think the sound quality was less than desireable if I plugged this setup into some portable device. I wouldn't be blaming the cables or the cans for that, though.


The cables are stiff, but not too much, at least for me. I can move around my room with ease and sit at any angle just as I always have.

I actually prefer this cable over the stock in terms of durability and overall feel. I like the little bit more of stiffness that it has, but others may not. Completely subjective.

Anyways, this setup will get run through the gauntlet this weekend and we'll see what's what.

 

[ralphp@optonline]

I have a pair of AKG K701s which have been recabled with Moon Audio Silver Dragon V2 (single entry) cable and they sound wonderful. Although the cable is rather thick it is still fairly flexible and does not exhibit any microphonics. The 1/4" phono plug is very high quality, as is everything else about the cable.

Recabling is not for everyone but if you really love the sound of the K701s and you want to take them to the next level then it's the way to go. Moon Audio's line of cables offer several different price points and sonic signatures (the "speed" of silver, the "weight" of copper, etc) but there are still other choices out. As always, it's your money and your ears!

 

[A.Thorsen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralphp@optonline /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a pair of AKG K701s which have been recabled with Moon Audio Silver Dragon V2 (single entry) cable and they sound wonderful. Although the cable is rather thick it is still fairly flexible and does not exhibit any microphonics. The 1/4" phono plug is very high quality, as is everything else about the cable. Recabling is not for everyone but if you really love the sound of the K701s and you want to take them to the next level then it's the way to go. Moon Audio's line of cables offer several different price points and sonic signatures (the "speed" of silver, the "weight" of copper, etc) but there are still other choices out. As always, it's your money and your ears!

^^ That about says it all.