Q:
Hello,
I am bit confused. The heading on the page for the E-Series K702 Detachable Cable says "Balance". Is this a mistake? There is also a picture of a balanced cable but no other mention of balance on the page other than the list of lengths and cost with XLR connectors. Do you make a detachable balance cable for the K702?
Thank you
A:
Hello,
Thanks for your email and questions.
Yes, the link below is the page to the Balanced E-Series Audiophile Headphone Cable for the K702 headphones:
Stefan AudioArt Home
Please send me any questions you have about the Balanced E-Series Audiophile Headphone Cable for the K702 headphones and I would be happy to answer them in detail.
SAA System Suggestions:
The following two procedures are the most cost effective way to get a very noticeable improvement in sound quality from your existing headphone/audio system:
Applying a $15.00 can of Caig Deoxit Gold G5 (see link below to all the connectors in your system which include power, interconnect and speaker.
Note: a properly designed power cable applied to all headphone system components will make a significant difference in bass performance along with and overall clarity to the full spectrum of music.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/CAIG-Deo...itioner-5-oz--
101183168-i1134930.gc (best current price on the Internet)
Removing the static from your CD's and all the cables in your headphone/audio system with Ionoclast:
http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/aud.../ionoclast.php
For owners of the HD650, HD600 and HD580 headphones the following that in conjunction with upgrading the stock cable to the Stefan AudioArt E-Series or Endorphin will make a very significant difference in their overall performance.
- Simply remove the oval gray foam which covers each of the drivers inside the left and
right earpieces.
- Remove the grill and frame on the back of each earpiece. This grill and frame simply pulls
off as one piece and can easily be reattached.
If you try these two simple modifications it will open up the sound-stage, improve the high frequencies and overall clarity in both HD650's and the HD600's headphones. We highly recommend you give this a try.
Both of the above procedures will lower the resistance in the signal transfer and surprising yield a more natural overall sound. These are the two most cost effective system treatments available.
Take your time and carefully look over the above and ask me as many questions as you like. Also, remember that
Head-Fi.org: Headphones, iPod earphones, portable audio, MP3 players, high-end audio is a wonderful resource but it can be very misleading as only a select few really understand high-end audio and how to make comparisons and many reviews are not accurate.
Also, please feel free to call or email us anytime with headphone system questions or visit
Stefan AudioArt Welcome for E-Series and Endorphin cable tips. We have several no cost or very low cost tweaks for your headphones and headphone system that we learned over the years and also we can help you achieve excellent results which will further improve your headphone and speaker based listening experience with advice on cabling and component vibration control (visit
Mapleshade Records for the best vibration control devices available). We help dozens of audiophile each month save time and money as many do not realize how important these two areas are and that purchasing expensive components to replace existing one only yield minor improvements.
Kind regards,
James S Serdechny
Owner/Designer
Stefan AudioArt Welcome
Q:
Thank you for your reply James S Serdechny.
So is this cable a BALANCE Detachable cable? How is this achieved with the 3 pin Mini XLR. Do I have to send my K702 in to change to a 4 pin for balance connector?
Thank you
A:
Hello,
Almost all headphones currently produced are not capable of a balanced configuration and the ones that are will yield lower sound quality due to the miss-use of this concept.
A balanced configuration consists of three conductors per channel the third conductor being a ground shield designed to channel "noise" away from the signal. This balanced design is necessary for microphone and instrument cables because of the nature of the "hotter signal" and the environment they are used in.
In high-end audio it is not necessary (and is harmful to the audio signal) to use a cable with 3 conductors per channel with a balanced amplifier as the third shielded conductor pollutes the audio signal and considerably degrades the sound quality.
The actual balanced amplifier design is responsible for the higher sound quality not the separate ground used because 99% of the time a headphone cable will not "pick-up" or attact noise and because there is only two conducts per driver (not three) and no falcility in the headphone to channel any noise (if there was noise which again there is not) away from the audio signal. Attaching a ground or sheilded ground to the frame of the headphone driver serves no useful purpose and only degardes the sound as I discovered this many years age as an engineer at Sennhesier.
The point is that the elimination of a ground and especally a shielded ground greatly inproves the sound quality of a high-end headphone cable and this is exactlly our approach. Any other approach results in inferior sound quality.
In the case of our balanced K702 the negative signal path is combined in the 3-pin xlr just as it is inside the K702 headphones. The K702 uses a shared negative signal path and the K701 use a separtate one.
Using a K702 with a balanced amp with our E-series balanced K702 cable will give you excellent results as long as the balanced amp. is capable of this.
Using a K701 with a balanced amp with our E-series balanced K701 cable will give you even better results (again as long as the balanced amp. is capable of this) because the 4th conductor provides more conductive surface area and this has proved to be benifical for analog signals.
If you are interested in top performance from your K702's the E-Series is the best choice.
Thanks and please let me know if you have any other questions.
James
