[MattTCG]

Hi Matt, 

Which Brainwavz pleather pads did you try? The angled version or standard version? 

I tried the angled version. Someone earlier had reported good results with them.

 

[Eide]

I tried the angled version. Someone earlier had reported good results with them.

I ordered the angled version just to test this mod myself. I´m a bit worried about taking off the original pads without damaging them. Do you peel of the pads or do you twist the pad off counter clockwise? (I´ve replaced the pads on my Fostex TH900 before. And those pads where mounted on a disc. So I just had to twist the pads to unlock the disc from the cups.)
 
If you could give me some advice on how to get the Sine pads on and off I would really appreciate it. 

 

[MattTCG]

 
I ordered the angled version just to test this mod myself. I´m a bit worried about taking off the original pads without damaging them. Do you peel of the pads or do you twist the pad off counter clockwise? (I´ve replaced the pads on my Fostex TH900 before. And those pads where mounted on a disc. So I just had to twist the pads to unlock the disc from the cups.)
 
If you could give me some advice on how to get the Sine pads on and off I would really appreciate it. 

 
The original pads have a semi elastic band that attaches to the cup. Just put your index finger on the inside of the pad and thumb on the opposite outer side and tug gently. Once you get the first bit off the rest is easy. 
 
Now getting them back on, not nearly as easy. 

 

[kikkerr]

Hi community!
A couple of words about cipher cable... So I have Sine + Cipher + HA-2 for about 2 weeks already. And I must say, I could throw Cipher right away. For me it is totally useless. The volume with cipher is not higher then the volume with normal cable. But cipher always adds very annoying bass distortions on bassy songs. Just try for example Grimes - Go at 1:10-1:15 on max volume. I did not change settings in the Audeze tool, they were normal/standard. I tried EL-8 with another cipher cable - same distortions. With HA-2 on much higher volume - no distortions whatsoever. iPod 6gen, IPad and iPhone6s were used for testing. No difference. 
The whole situation makes Sine not that portable. On the street the volume from normal or cipher cable is too low for me and I have to carry HA-2 with me at all times. Not good.

 

[MattTCG]

  Hi community!
A couple of words about cipher cable... So I have Sine + Cipher + HA-2 for about 2 weeks already. And I must say, I could throw Cipher right away. For me it is totally useless. The volume with cipher is not higher then the volume with normal cable. But cipher always adds very annoying bass distortions on bassy songs. Just try for example Grimes - Go at 1:10-1:15 on max volume. I did not change settings in the Audeze tool, they were normal/standard. I tried EL-8 with another cipher cable - same distortions. With HA-2 on much higher volume - no distortions whatsoever. iPod 6gen, IPad and iPhone6s were used for testing. No difference. 
The whole situation makes Sine not that portable. On the street the volume from normal or cipher cable is too low for me and I have to carry HA-2 with me at all times. Not good.

 
Welcome to HF. Nice first post. 

 

[MidFiMoney]

Hi community!
A couple of words about cipher cable... So I have Sine + Cipher + HA-2 for about 2 weeks already. And I must say, I could throw Cipher right away. For me it is totally useless. The volume with cipher is not higher then the volume with normal cable. But cipher always adds very annoying bass distortions on bassy songs. Just try for example Grimes - Go at 1:10-1:15 on max volume. I did not change settings in the Audeze tool, they were normal/standard. I tried EL-8 with another cipher cable - same distortions. With HA-2 on much higher volume - no distortions whatsoever. iPod 6gen, IPad and iPhone6s were used for testing. No difference. 
The whole situation makes Sine not that portable. On the street the volume from normal or cipher cable is too low for me and I have to carry HA-2 with me at all times. Not good.

Interesting. I have the Sine and the HA-2 as well but I still want to try the Cipher cable.

 

[inthere]

Hi community!
A couple of words about cipher cable... So I have Sine + Cipher + HA-2 for about 2 weeks already. And I must say, I could throw Cipher right away. For me it is totally useless. The volume with cipher is not higher then the volume with normal cable. But cipher always adds very annoying bass distortions on bassy songs. Just try for example Grimes - Go at 1:10-1:15 on max volume. I did not change settings in the Audeze tool, they were normal/standard. I tried EL-8 with another cipher cable - same distortions. With HA-2 on much higher volume - no distortions whatsoever. iPod 6gen, IPad and iPhone6s were used for testing. No difference. 
The whole situation makes Sine not that portable. On the street the volume from normal or cipher cable is too low for me and I have to carry HA-2 with me at all times. Not good.

Cipher cable volume is higher than normal cable-but only slightly. Certainly not 2-3 times higher and most definitely doesn't take the "Sine to another level". The only use it has for me is making phone calls and using Siri

 

[geddyl]

For those out there using this thread to help with their decision making. If you have an iOS device that you plan on using, just get the Cipher with the Sine. There's no reason not to. Period.

 

[brent75]

  Hi community!
A couple of words about cipher cable... So I have Sine + Cipher + HA-2 for about 2 weeks already. And I must say, I could throw Cipher right away. For me it is totally useless. The volume with cipher is not higher then the volume with normal cable. But cipher always adds very annoying bass distortions on bassy songs. Just try for example Grimes - Go at 1:10-1:15 on max volume. I did not change settings in the Audeze tool, they were normal/standard. I tried EL-8 with another cipher cable - same distortions. With HA-2 on much higher volume - no distortions whatsoever. iPod 6gen, IPad and iPhone6s were used for testing. No difference. 
The whole situation makes Sine not that portable. On the street the volume from normal or cipher cable is too low for me and I have to carry HA-2 with me at all times. Not good.

LOL, okay.

 

[SubBassBass]

-

 

[jagwap]

Are you kidding? Max volume? Presumably headphones can go 105-120 decibels or even higher with an amp. Any exposure to sound close to 85 decibels within a 3-4 hour listen would be damaging to your hearing and thus uneeded to claim such distortion at high volume since I'm not willing to go levels that high.

- And how does Sines "distortion" make it not portable? That's like saying your knife ain't sharp enough for portability. And why bother claiming the sources of the iPod, iPad and iPhone 6? All of which support 24 bit resolution and dacs/amps are already bypassed with the cipher cable.

I think you made a mistake in buying an "on-ear" headphone, since you shouldn't expect much out of this headphone in terms of isolation.

- Spending $300 dollars on an amp, to get rid of distortion on a on-ear headphone with little isolating abilities (in comparison to over-ears) and a flat frequency response only then drowned out by a crowd of cars and people; the HA2 amp solution seems like a waste of money to me. Just get the cipher cable if your traveling. Done.

The poster may be in Europe where the iPhone has 9dB less output due to French regulations. I don't know if it applies to the lightning output too.

 

[sxr71]

  Hi community!
A couple of words about cipher cable... So I have Sine + Cipher + HA-2 for about 2 weeks already. And I must say, I could throw Cipher right away. For me it is totally useless. The volume with cipher is not higher then the volume with normal cable. But cipher always adds very annoying bass distortions on bassy songs. Just try for example Grimes - Go at 1:10-1:15 on max volume. I did not change settings in the Audeze tool, they were normal/standard. I tried EL-8 with another cipher cable - same distortions. With HA-2 on much higher volume - no distortions whatsoever. iPod 6gen, IPad and iPhone6s were used for testing. No difference. 
The whole situation makes Sine not that portable. On the street the volume from normal or cipher cable is too low for me and I have to carry HA-2 with me at all times. Not good.

 
 
I noticed it too. It also made me question the dynamics of the cipher when near maximum volume. I thought at first it was something else, even up to considering if the distortion was part of the song. The Cipher cable is great with some other sensitive phones I'm using but for the Sine they are inadequate. I'm not the first to question dynamics and I won't be the last, but our points will be glossed over at best and at worst the white knight protectors of their brand will call us crazy or deaf or people who listen so loud as to cause deafness.
 
Before anyone starts this is a US model iPhone 6s. I doubt the Euro volume limit applies to the lightning port but I'm not sure.
 
For a multitude of reasons this is not a portable product. I just wish the manufacturer and the fans would admit this. They are great home phones when paired with a powerful amp. The idea that a headphone marketed for portable use should have some decent isolation is also something that's not valid apparently.

 

[acia]

   
 
I noticed it too. It also made me question the dynamics of the cipher when near maximum volume. I thought at first it was something else, even up to considering if the distortion was part of the song. The Cipher cable is great with some other sensitive phones I'm using but for the Sine they are inadequate. I'm not the first to question dynamics and I won't be the last, but our points will be glossed over at best and at worst the white knight protectors of their brand will call us crazy or deaf or people who listen so loud as to cause deafness.
 
Before anyone starts this is a US model iPhone 6s. I doubt the Euro volume limit applies to the lightning port but I'm not sure.
 
For a multitude of reasons this is not a portable product. I just wish the manufacturer and the fans would admit this. They are great home phones when paired with a powerful amp. The idea that a headphone marketed for portable use should have some decent isolation is also something that's not valid apparently.

ditto!  definitely NOT drivable by phones!  and sugar built quality for the price point.  
 
great if they could produce bluetooth noise-cancelling planar.  adapter for micro usb of android would be much appreciated.  can't find it anywhere.

 

[Jbmorrey]

After reading a number of these previous posts, I really think the definition of a portable headphone needs to be considered. I live in Texas, not too many subways or trains to commute with, so isolation is good enough. Therefore my idea of portable is do I need a big amp? No. Do they fit in a case that can be transported, folded flat? Yes Do they sound good straight from my phone? In my opinion, they sound better straight from my phones than most all portables out there. Of course they could use a better quality amp to get the most out of them, but straight from my phone they sound better than anything else I have heard driven out of a phone.

In regards to the build quality, I think they are well made, I paid too much for them to be thrown around, and handled carelessly. So I feel they should hold up. I have not had any problems with them so far. -knock on wood-

So I think what's portable to one person, may not be to another, and that's fair but they should not be then declared as not being considered a portable headphone because they have much more potential to sound better with a improved home use DAC/amp combo. That could probably be said about most any portable headphones. This is the closest I have been able to come to the sound quality of a home setup while being able to walk my dog around the block and not need anything other than to plug them straight into my phone, so I consider them high quality portables.

James

 

[inthere]

Well, I never use my Sine at home..........only when I'm traveling or moving, so it's definitely portable for me. Isolation is not the best but leakage is sensational. Cipher cable not much of an improvement sonically for me over the normal cable but for phone calls and Siri it's great. People that are saying the Cipher cable is a must have item and radical improvement over the normal cable have active imaginations. The Sine is plenty durable-I toss mine around many times each day and it's not a concern. I will say that it IS quite easy to get nicks and scratches on the leather covering the cups though.