[Slater]

I think if we do a blind test and change the cable from stock to an aftermarket cable, we can hear a huge difference.

But if its a $10 6N silver plated vs a branded $150 6N silver plated on the other hand... PS: I havent tried it and probably will never (unless i have $$ to burn), the difference will likely be minimal unless the brain tells us "its frigging 15x the price of the other, look better. That must be better!"

Still, i would love to share when i have that much $$ to burn but if u tell me, "hey there is a cable that is sooooo awesome, u will nv regret getting it at $150" vs "there are these 3 hyped IEM at $50, a stepup from the chi-fi game, probably must have for sub $50 category, must try", i would probably go for the latter lol

Yeah, but what is the BS and isn't?? Its puzzle me!

I will never spend more than....let's say...50$ for iem and headphones TOTL cable, and perhaps 100$ for speaker.

Lately I buy a SPC twisted cable with metal fancy L jack but no connector from RY store for 3.5$....and guess what, its the very same one I get from banned seller for 25$ but with MMCX connector that I guess...cost....21.5$(??).

Lot of BS about cable, and lot of BS cable too. I'm curious to know the truth about conductivity, wich will be know by impendance measurment...the 10-20$ 6 cores copper from same shady seller is somewhat sounding more smoother, and its a balanced one, my only one...wich I think perhaps do not give perfect conductivity.

A thread about cable measurment would be SO ENLIGHTENING!!!! (is there any?)

I don’t go by cost or # of cores or color or fancy plated this or silver or gold plated that sprinkled with magic unicorn pixie dust. All I care about is the lowest impedance cable for the cheapest price possible.

The impedance of a cable causes a scientifically measurable sound difference that you can see in an FR graph. All the other stuff people say about these magical pixie dust cables is 100% subjective and not measurable whatsoever (like ‘silver cables have brighter treble’ or ‘copper cables widen the dynamic range’ blah blah). If there are differences between this or that cable, it’s the impedance causing it plain and simple.

That’s simply my own personal opinion on the matter, so I don’t want to argue with anyone who feels otherwise. If you like your $300 magic cables, then that’s totally your prerogative and it’s your money and your listening enjoyment, and I completely respect that.

BTW, you know the OLD KZ SPC upgrade cable (the thin 4-wire braided one)? Well the mmcx version measures at a very respectable 0.4ohm. And the cable is like $4-$5, and includes a nice metal 3.5mm plug. That’s an incredible value for a 0.4ohm mmcx cable!

Sure, it’s not as sexy as a 16-wire multi colored braided cable, but you can buy 10 KZ 4-wire mmcx cables for what 1 of those fancy ones cost. And they both may have the same 0.4ohm impedance!

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I don’t go by cost or cores or color or fancy plated this or silver or gold plated that. All I care about is the lowest impedance cable for the cheapest price possible.

The impedance of a cable causes a scientifically measurable sound difference that you can see in an FR graph. The other stuff is 100% subjective and not measurable whatsoever (like ‘silver cables have brighter treble’ and blah blah).

For example, you know the OLD KZ SPC upgrade cable (the thin 4-wire braided one)? Well the mmcx version measures at 0.4ohm. And the cable is like $4-$5, with a nice metal 3.5mm plug. That’s an incredible value for a 0.4ohm mmcx cable. Sure, it’s not as sexy as a 16-wire multi colored braided cable, but you can buy 10 KZ 4-wire mmcx cables for what 1 of those fancy ones cost. And they both may have the same 0.4ohm impedance!

So the lower the better! Noted Professor Slater! Appreciate really.

Yeah, I still use the old KZ 2pin SPC for ZS5v1 and all other KZ (i don't) use. Hum, he begin to greenish toughs, but he was still the more durable...

I think I will try the 2.5mm SPC balanced from HCK at 10$, cause of no ear hook version.

 

[Slater]

So the lower the better! Noted Professor Slater! Appreciate really.

Yeah, I still use the old KZ 2pin SPC for ZS5v1 and all other KZ (i don't) use. Hum, he begin to greenish toughs, but he was still the more durable...

I think I will try the 2.5mm SPC balanced from HCK at 10$, cause of no ear hook version.

Well, the lower the impedance the less the cable will color the sound.

In theory, a 0 ohm cable will not color the sound at all. You will be hearing a pure IEM, as perfectly as the drivers can reproduce sound as possible.

But a 100ohm cable on the same IEM will sound horrible. The drivers may be capable of producing this frequency or that frequency (as the manufacturer engineered the driver and tubes the IEM), but the output of the drivers are being artificially colored by the higher impedance. A speaker driver contains the voice coil after all - that’s the entire basis of how it fundamentally works!

You can test this easily by making a high impedance cable. Like take a cable you don’t want anymore - one that sounds ‘good’. Now carefully snip all of the individual conductors but 1 single core for L+, 1 single core for R+, and 1 single core for ground. It will make the impedance go through the roof. Now listen to your gear with that cable and it will sound like garbage.

The cable didn’t change from 1 manufacturer or design to another. The copper is still the same. Any silver or gold plating is still the same. The plugs are the same. The color of the cable is still the same. The length is the same. The only thing that changed with the test cable is the impedance. 1 single variable. And that’s why the sound changed. That’s science.



P.S. - I'll add that I simplified & dumbed down impedance. Impedance (as we refer to it) is basically cable resistance. But from a signal engineering standpoint, it is 2 different things (resistance is for DC, impedance is for AC, and technically impedance = resistance + reactance). I will not go into it further here, because it is already way off topic and ultra geek mode stuff. But I did want to clarify that because there are EEs amongst the HF community.

 

[maxxevv]

@Slater , agreed on the impedance part. My KZ AS10 came with original cables that measured in at 0.69~0.82 Ohm depending on the particular pin measured. Changed to a NiceHCK 8-core cable that cost me US$15/- during the 11.11 sales. It came measuring a very impressive 0.11 Ohms average across 4 pins ( its 2.5mm TRRS terminated one).

I couldn't pick out the magical differences in sound signature but I began picking up noise from playing back at high-gain, very, very low volume setting on my LG G6! I thought things had gone wonky but the noise was not there when I switched back to normal gain ( higher volume setting as a result). And when I switched back to the original KZ cables, the "noise" was just not there at the same settings.

Basically the original cable with the higher impedance was attenuating the very low amplitude noise signals at high gain.

Pretty surprising in my experience.

 

[Slater]

Basically the original cable with the higher impedance was attenuating the very low amplitude noise signals at high gain.

Ding ding ding we have a winner!

Exactly what’s going on my friend.

Now again, I’m all for cool looking sexy braided cables. But try to get one with the absolute lowest impedance possible, which will attenuate the signal as little as possible.

It’s like the windshield in your car. The glass itself is crystal clear. And when it’s sparkling clean, it allows you to see the outside world in true HD. But if the windshield is dirty with smeared bird poop, dirt, water spots, and smooshed bugs, it will attenuate your view.

 

[DynamicEars]

Yes I'm finding the MH755 tips to be great with a lot of different earphones...ordered two more primarily for the tips..Really good on CM5!

Agreed. I ordered a few extra sets of MH755 simply for the tips! Having extra IEMs and/or drivers was just like an added bonus LOL

Talked with slater last time, yes they're very very good, i find it really nice balance between softness and firmness, and that more rounded shape.

Sorry for very dumb question, is fake MH755/750 came with original tips? (i bet its fake too) but is it good or similar enough (firmness, rubber quality) compared to the original one? I want the white MH tips so badly, but original MH750 cost $12, found it too expensive for just the tips.
I just found my Kanas Pro is sounds the best and just right with this tips, but i want the white or clear one. (Have original black, blue and orange currently)

 

[Slater]

Talked with slater last time, yes they're very very doog, i find it really nice balance between softness and firmness, and that more rounded shape.

Sorry for very dumb question, is fake MH755/750 came with original tips? (i bet its fake too) but is it good or similar enough (firmness, rubber quality) compared to the original one? I want the white MH tips so badly, but original MH750 cost $12, found it too expensive for just the tips.
I just found my Kanas Pro is sounds the best and just right with this tips, but i want the white or clear one. (Have original black, blue and orange currently)

That’s actually a very good question!

Because I have access to the counterfeit 755s for $1.60 each. It would be a super cheap way to stock up on the ‘Sony’ style tips. I know the size and shape is exactly the same, but I don’t know about the material itself (thickness, softness, stickiness, etc).

 

[DynamicEars]

That’s actually a very good question!

Because I have access to the counterfeit 755s for just over $1 each. It would be a super cheap way to stock up on the ‘Sony’ style tips. I know the shake is exactly the same, but I don’t know about the material itself (thickness, softness, stickiness, etc).

Are you willing to be guinea pig? cheapest i can find for me is around $2 for a fake one. nevermind im going to give it a try, will post it later

 

[CoiL]

Agreed. I ordered a few extra sets of MH755 simply for the tips! Having extra IEMs and/or drivers was just like an added bonus LOL

I have ordered powerbeats (ver2 I think) silicone replacement tips and they had grey ones that are exactly the same as my white/orange MH755. Just for information

 

[Slater]

I have ordered powerbeats (ver2 I think) silicone replacement tips and they had grey ones that are exactly the same as my white/orange MH755. Just for information

Wow, good to know! Thanks for the tip

I’ll compare the price for generic Powerbeats tips, because if they’re cheaper than ordering the fake IEMs (just for the tips) then I’ll definitely go that route.

 

[jibberish]

Hey, any HiFi Walker A7 triple driver users out there.

If you haven’t already done so, swap out the crap stock cable for a better cable.

The stock mmcx cable has a ridiculous 1.7ohm impedance. I swapped it for a better mmcx cable with a 0.4ohm impedance, and it noticeably cleaned up the sound!

Still amazed this was $15 lol

Interesting. I put a nicer cable on my A7 right away, and last night I came across the stock A7 cable in my drawer and threw it on my NiceHCK EP35, which I hadn't listened to in a few weeks. I came away thinking the EP35 was less impressive than I remembered, and I put them away pretty quickly...but maybe that mystery is solved now

 

[silverfishla]

Well, the lower the impedance the less the cable will color the sound.

In theory, a 0 ohm cable will not color the sound at all. You will be hearing a pure IEM, as perfectly as the drivers can reproduce sound as possible.

But a 100ohm cable on the same IEM will sound horrible. The drivers may be capable of producing this frequency or that frequency (as the manufacturer engineered the driver and tubes the IEM), but the output of the drivers are being artificially colored by the higher impedance. A speaker driver contains the voice coil after all - that’s the entire basis of how it fundamentally works!

You can test this easily by making a high impedance cable. Like take a cable you don’t want anymore - one that sounds ‘good’. Now carefully snip all of the individual conductors but 1 single core for L+, 1 single core for R+, and 1 single core for ground. It will make the impedance go through the roof. Now listen to your gear with that cable and it will sound like garbage.

The cable didn’t change from 1 manufacturer or design to another. The copper is still the same. Any silver or gold plating is still the same. The plugs are the same. The color of the cable is still the same. The length is the same. The only thing that changed with the test cable is the impedance. 1 single variable. And that’s why the sound changed. That’s science.



P.S. - I'll add that I simplified & dumbed down impedance. Impedance (as we refer to it) is basically cable resistance. But from a signal engineering standpoint, it is 2 different things (resistance is for DC, impedance is for AC, and technically impedance = resistance + reactance). I will not go into it further here, because it is already way off topic and ultra geek mode stuff. But I did want to clarify that because there are EEs amongst the HF community.

How do you measure a cable’s impedance? Like what do you use?

 

[Slater]

How do you measure a cable’s impedance? Like what do you use?

Look back to 1 page to page 1094 and you'll see Post #16408 where I describe my method.

I will also mention that I am considering getting a true impedance analyzer. I just have to look around for a good deal as they are too expensive new (tens of thousands new).

 

[DBaldock9]

Look back to 1 page to page 1094 and you'll see Post #16408 where I describe my method.

I will also mention that I am considering getting a true impedance analyzer. I just have to look around for a good deal as they are too expensive new (tens of thousands new).

https://www.ebay.com/p/Agilent-4294A-Precision-Impedance-Analyzer-40-Hz-to-110-MHz/1900478996
.
EDIT: Here's a PC based solution, that's cheaper than a stand-alone analyzer -
.
http://www.woofertester.com/

 

[zioroby6]

Looking for something new to test.. Which IEMs did you particularly enjoy in the <15$ price range? I'm using the Memt X5 and I like them overall, good bass (not a bass head, tho) and build quality, I also get a good seal and really good insulation with their (odd) stock tips. I have used and enjoyed the Einsear T2 for their clarity and nice balance, but unfortunately I lost them on the train... Another pair that I liked and found quite fun were the UiiSii HM7 which I gave to my girlfriend long ago and recently one side has stopped working. I also got a bunch of KZ EDR2 as spares for my family which for 2-3$ on Gearbest were a nice deal.
What else would you advise?