[jmills8]

I'm really sorry guys but it does concern me a little bit when people talk about a night and day difference with cables. I'd love to know how many people have done actuall AxB testing between different cable options?

I have tested a number of different cables and I honestly couldn't hear a difference between them. Now my hearing may not be as good as everyone else's here, but if you also take into consideration the fact there is zero scientific evidence to back up cable theory and strong suggestion that it is mostly placebo based, then it starts to feel like things are getting massively blown out of all reasonable proportion.

I'm sorry if it feels like I'm rocking the boat here, but I felt quite uncomfortable seeing another forum member having it suggested to him that he won't get the most out of his incredibley expensive TOTL IEM, unless he purchases an equally expensive cable.

Sorry, just the way I feel

1. Brands of cables ? 2. What metals used? 3. How many braids used ?

 

[CraftyClown]

1. Brands of cables ? 2. What metals used? 3. How many braids used ?

Not that I understand the relevance, but;

1. numerous brands of cable including Tralucent, Whiplash, Toxic, Noble, Westone, Sennheiser, Heir.
2. Copper, Silver, Silver and gold
3. 2, 4 and solid core

I'm not trying to start a debate here. Maybe some people can hear a difference, but is it really as great as people suggest? If I were to ask this over on the sound science forums, I'd probably get a very different response.

 

[jmills8]

Not that I understand the relevance, but;

1. numerous brands of cable including Tralucent, Whiplash, Toxic, Noble, Westone, Sennheiser, Heir.
2. Copper, Silver, Silver and gold
3. 2, 4 and solid core

I'm not trying to start a debate here. Maybe some people can hear a difference, but is it really as great as people suggest? If I were to ask this over on the sound science forums, I'd probably get a very different response.

Many cables dont really change the sound so why buy one ? For looks ? For comfort? I only buy a cable for an improvement in sound.

 

[musicday]

Didn't experience much myself but from a regular cheap cable and the original gold silver one was quite a difference.I can honestly say that the sound improved by 20℅.
So if using Uber Too that may increase quite dramatically from what I am reading here.
By the way I way i was using Ref1 Too with the Tera Player as always

 

[jmills8]

Didn't experience much myself but from a regular cheap cable and the original gold silver one was quite a difference.I can honestly say that the sound improved by 20℅.
So if using Uber Too that may increase quite dramatically from what I read here.
By the way I way i was using Ref1 Too with the Tera Player as always

I usually , when lucky, get a 5 to 12% improvement.

 

[CraftyClown]

Many cables dont really change the sound so why buy one ? For looks ? For comfort? I only buy a cable for an improvement in sound.

and you've found some that give a noticeable improvement in sound?

Didn't experience much myself but from a regular cheap cable and the original gold silver one was quite a difference.I can honestly say that the sound improved by 20℅.
So if using Uber Too that may increase quite dramatically from what I am reading here.
By the way I way i was using Ref1 Too with the Tera Player as always

20% improvement? Wowsers! How on earth do you measure that?

I guess I just need to accept the fact that I have ears made of stone, whereas you guys have ears sculpted by angels... Either that or there's a placebo effect going on here

 

[musicday]

As i said earlier i didn't measured but that's roughly my estimation of 20% increase in sound quality. The sound was richer, the bass was going deeper with a bigger soundstage.. Forgot to mention that the cheaper cable i was testing against is around 40 USD, so probably that's why such a big difference.
But let's ask other to do same test and post their findings.
Question for you; thinking of getting the Plus5? I would love to try it myself

 

[CraftyClown]

As i said earlier i didn't measured but that's roughly my estimation of 20% increase in sound quality. The sound was richer, the bass was going deeper with a bigger soundstage.. Forgot to mention that the cheaper cable i was testing against is around 40 USD, so probably that's why such a big difference.
But let's ask other to do same test and post their findings.
Question for you; thinking of getting the Plus5? I would love to try it myself

I think there's a lot of us in the UK who'd love to try the plus5. We should ask Gavin if he'd consider a tour?

 

[musicday]

That will be fantastic, unless anyone who own Plus5 and lives near London, fancy a coffee,tea or bear?⚠

 

[warrior1975]

CraftyClown I agree with what you typed brother. It's not a night and day difference, but at least for me, it is a noticeable difference between my uBer Too and the stock cable. I can't throw an arbitrary number in it, just suffice it to say I hear a difference. I'm not really a cable believer either, I normally buy cables for their aesthetics. I think I've heard a difference in the past as well between my original whiplash 8 strand copper and my new 8 strand modular TWau or TWag (forget which it is all the time).

As far as the price, yes, they are expensive, but I'd do it again. I'm quite sure not everyone would enjoy the same sentiment.

 

[CraftyClown]

CraftyClown I agree with what you typed brother. It's not a night and day difference, but at least for me, it is a noticeable difference between my uBer Too and the stock cable. I can't throw an arbitrary number in it, just suffice it to say I hear a difference. I'm not really a cable believer either, I normally buy cables for their aesthetics. I think I've heard a difference in the past as well between my original whiplash 8 strand copper and my new 8 strand modular TWau or TWag (forget which it is all the time).

As far as the price, yes, they are expensive, but I'd do it again. I'm quite sure not everyone would enjoy the same sentiment.

Sounds totally reasonable to me mate. I'm in my early forties now and I recently did one of those frequency based hearing tests you find online. I was surprised and slightly disappointed to discover I can only hear up to 13,500 kHz, after that nothing. So I know for a fact I don't have golden ears and may be missing some very subtle nuances that some people can hear. That said, a combination of science and my non golden hearing tells those differences must be subtle indeed.

I'm like you though, in liking a cable to be practical and pretty as well, so I don't mind spending a bit extra if it makes me happy.

I strongly recommend people checking out those online frequency tests. Quite eye opening

 

[warrior1975]

I too am in my early 40's...plus I have tinnitus... Spent way too many years in the NY club scene, paying for it for the last 10+ years. Stupid youth. I'd be scared to take one of those tests. Lol. Although with ringing in my ears, I'd think I'd hear everything up to the highest measure.

 

[flymetothemoon]

Sounds totally reasonable to me mate. I'm in my early forties now and I recently did one of those frequency based hearing tests you find online. I was surprised and slightly disappointed to discover I can only hear up to 13,500 kHz, after that nothing. So I know for a fact I don't have golden ears and may be missing some very subtle nuances that some people can hear. That said, a combination of science and my non golden hearing tells those differences must be subtle indeed.

I'm like you though, in liking a cable to be practical and pretty as well, so I don't mind spending a bit extra if it makes me happy.

I strongly recommend people checking out those online frequency tests. Quite eye opening

No worries CraftyC.  Our hearing starts getting worse once past forty.  The good thing is that the majority of the music won't need 13,500khz or beyond and you'd only miss some bit of the nuance if your system is good enough.
 
I can share my "cable" experience with you and if you'd need a number and I would say 50%.   The story was not on speakers, IEM cables but on power cords.  Winding back to 1999 when i bought my Jadis combo (JPS2S/JA100s), I used the original power cords came with the set and I've found the system lacked of low extension.  After a couple of wasteful years, I came up from nowhere an idea of getting new power cords for these amps and the end result was stunning...the bass came out and I have a whole new revelation of music to which I enjoyed for the next 8 more years before the system was sold in 2000.
 
A side story in the same system (also on cables).  I have to maintain the same location of the two sets of interconnector cables to which connecting between the CD/pre-amp (VDH's MC Silver) and pre-amp/power-amp (Audionote's ANVZ) over these years as I've tried to interchange their connection I have an imbalanced sound which I don't like.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[CraftyClown]

If you guys are even slightly curious, here is a good test

http://onlinetonegenerator.com/hearingtest.html

Use decent headphones or IEMs to ensure there isn't a hardware bottleneck and don't be disappointed if like me your hearing cuts off before 15,000 kHz This is completely normal and related to age rather than hearing damage. It's more of a problem if you have chunks missing earlier on (around the 2k range I believe) which may indicate hearing loss due to damage.

 

[musicday]

If you guys are even slightly curious, here is a good test

http://onlinetonegenerator.com/hearingtest.html

Use decent headphones or IEMs to ensure there isn't a hardware bottleneck and don't be disappointed if like me your hearing cuts off before 15,000 kHz This is completely normal and related to age rather than hearing damage. It's more of a problem if you have chunks missing earlier on (around the 2k range I believe) which may indicate hearing loss due to damage.

Great test, thanks for sharing.