[Captain]

Could any body tell me what are considered the best up grade cables for Sennheiser HD 650

Cap

 

[Skarecrow]

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=90130

Moon Audio Silver Dragon and Zu Mobius are your two major contenders in the "price be damned" catagory.

Headphile and Ohelbach are the two best "budget minded" cables.

Some people really like the Equinox and the Cardas as well.

 

[mycoman]

For the money, I feel the Cardas is a really good compromise with the 650s. It is well made, very flexible, and really is a noticable improvement over the stock cable... better bass, better detail, and a little better extension. I use silver ICs and the two together make a really nice combination with the MOH.

 

[tiberian]

zu mobius is an excellent choice.
never tried silver cables but i suspect they will give a leaner sound.

 

[JaZZ]

Every time I compare HD 650 cables my conviction grows that the Zu Mobius is by far the cable with the best synergy. I would even say it's objectively the best cable in terms of finest detail, definition and resolution (...of the cables I've experience with, which are: stock, Oehlbach, Headphile, own magnet-wire design, Silver Dragon, Zu Mobius).

 

[Sugano-san]

In addition to the Senns' stock cable I have tried the Zu Mobius, Cardas "smurf-blue" and Equinox. The Zu is the one I kept; I sold all the others (except the stock).

I listened again to my HD-650/ZU Mobius just this morning, and to me this is clearly the best sounding Sennheiser aftermarket cable I am aware of.

BTW, I think I remember that t´he Mobius is made of a silver alloy, but at this point the "Specifications" page on the ZU website is in the process of updating.

 

[ReasonablyLucid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skarecrow Moon Audio Silver Dragon and Zu Mobius are your two major contenders in the "price be damned" catagory.

LOL thats great

I have the zu cable on my 650s and I love it. Although I got it on the recomendation of friends and people here so I havent heard any other cables other than the stock and the zu.

I just know its a BIG imprvment over the stock. Most noticabley in the bass.

 

[DrewWinters]

When you say "BIG" improvement - what kind of "big" is it?

I've found that "big" means so many things to different people as to be a useless word for me. I don't have golden ears - but I have decent ears.

I don't mean this to sound harsh at all, if it comes across that way; I'm just wondering if there is any point in my even looking into replacing my stock cable.

 

[tiberian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrewWinters When you say "BIG" improvement - what kind of "big" is it? I've found that "big" means so many things to different people as to be a useless word for me. I don't have golden ears - but I have decent ears. I don't mean this to sound harsh at all, if it comes across that way; I'm just wondering if there is any point in my even looking into replacing my stock cable.

its always better to spend money on the source and amp first...do you have a good source like benchmark dac-1 and a high end amp like a meier prehead? if yes then i think its good to look into cables and power cords...

 

[DrewWinters]

I'm running this: PS Audio Ultimate Outlet HC --> Pioneer DV59-AVi --> Zu Oxyfuels --> PPX3 w/ Solen Stage 1 (stock Ei tubes) --> Stock cable --> HD650's.

I'm just wondering how big "BIG" is to yall. If someone swapped my cords without me knowing, would I turn it on and say, "wow! this sounds way better than usual!" or would I say "hmmm... I wonder if I'm just in a good mood - this song sounds better than I remember..." or would I even notice at all. Of course, you can't answer that question for ME... but for YOU, what was it like?

 

[tiberian]

the cable swap was very noticeable to me...the whole sound really opened up. anyway most cable sellers have a 30-day refund gurantee, if you buy a replacement cable and don't like it you won't lose much, plus it's quite easy to sell them off in head-fi...

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ Every time I compare HD 650 cables my conviction grows that the Zu Mobius is by far the cable with the best synergy. I would even say it's objectively the best cable in terms of finest detail, definition and resolution (...of the cables I've experience with, which are: stock, Oehlbach, Headphile, own magnet-wire design, Silver Dragon, Zu Mobius).

I agree with the jazz post , even if i want to add that the Zu can be overkill if you don't have an up to par system as it can very well expose the flaws of it ( I experienced it on my own )

 

[ipodstudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi I agree with the jazz post , even if i want to add that the Zu can be overkill if you don't have an up to par system as it can very well expose the flaws of it ( I experienced it on my own )

Not just that, Boodi. I think my system would be considered "up to par" by most's standards, but the synergy of the Zu in my system sucked. I'm still with the Cardas combined with Cardas NR ICs.

I still think this debate's kind of redundant since all cables will react differently with different systems. I couldn't possibly tell you which cable would be best in your system unless I had first heard your system. All I can do is tell you how the cable sounded in my system...

 

[boodi]

yes .. let's say 50% is a good / bad synergy related thing ( personal ears and expectation involved too ) and your exp quite probably falled out of the good percentage too ..

well ..i just expressed an addendum that can probably help to keep down on an aftermarket cable big expense and therefore save for looking into other upgrades , which (mho) can give much more satisfaction (period)

I was a strong believer of changing the aftermarket cable , this after hearing what the Zu did on first listen to my hd650
well, when I changed some amps / sources , I had to revisit my general opinion on upgradities, and -mo- the hd650 cable change is the last thing you have to look in if you want to upgrade the sound coming out of your rig and you have a let's call mid-budget system.


Anyway , i still find and want to say the ZU calbe is the most flaws - revealing cable I've tried so far, and where it can deliver exceptional " organic -gradoesque" detailed sound performance on good high end equipment , it really can also deliver the "too much open & too much open to flaws" sound in some rigs , moreover on bad synergy equipments

A cable change can't help on harmonic distortions if you have them in your source - amp combination the cable will carry them.
This if you are seeking high-end more then a particular musicality / coloration that you think your ears do like
I'm saying this also becuase the more i go on with this passion the more i try to close to a presentation of the sound as neutral as it can get / i can ear .

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrewWinters I'm running this: PS Audio Ultimate Outlet HC --> Pioneer DV59-AVi --> Zu Oxyfuels --> PPX3 w/ Solen Stage 1 (stock Ei tubes) --> Stock cable --> HD650's. I'm just wondering how big "BIG" is to yall. If someone swapped my cords without me knowing, would I turn it on and say, "wow! this sounds way better than usual!" or would I say "hmmm... I wonder if I'm just in a good mood - this song sounds better than I remember..." or would I even notice at all. Of course, you can't answer that question for ME... but for YOU, what was it like?

It depends greatly from your ears.

I now know we all have quite different ears .What is a great change in a particular frq., on a part. selection of songs, on a particular rig -for your ears- can be definitely a nothing change for another pair of ears.
This came out the most from debating on head.fi for me and giving friend the opportunity to test my equips.

It depends also on how much you have trained audio skills .
I have some musician among friend , they play from childhood with an instrument and I know quite all of them have , I'd say , a particular musical taste...I'd also say they somewhat got a direction in developing it and seeking some particular audio joy - moreover what's quite visible for me is the fact they notice and describe better some music facts or happening then others , to keep it general.

So i have reasons to suppose and to trust many times noticing changes has got much to do with your "state of ears"