Earlier in this thread, Kernmac made a comment questioning the idea of whether or not it would be necessary to also change the internal cabling of the Ultrasone Pro series headphones when an aftermarket cable is plugged into the left side ear cup portal. What I surmised from Kernmac's question was that he was implying that because the internal headphone cabling is not the same and possibly inferior to the external after market cable (plugged into the left cup portal) that the positive effects (improvements) on the potential sound as a result of utilizing the plugged in after market cable would be negated either completely or to a significant extent. (Kernmac, please correct me if this is wrong and not what you were implying.) I wrote to Dru of Moon Audio about this. Below is a copy of Kernmac's comment and my response within this thread (so you don't have to look for it) and then a copy of my correspondence with Dru of Moon Audio:
Originally Posted by Kernmac
"One of the questions regarding an Ultrasone Pro recable is-Do you replace the screw in cable with an aftermarket one, leaving the existing board and left right earcup cabling intact or do you replace the lot, having a hardwired recable?"
My Response to Kernmac (Of particular significance is the Edit):
"Thank you for your comment. I would want to do the "screw in" type but only because I can take it back out if I don't like it. And, because it wouldn't void the warranty on a new pair."
"Edit: I somehow became distracted from commenting on a very important part of your post, Kernmac. And, that is your comment regarding either leaving or replacing the stock internal cabling. This is a very valid point regarding re-cabling the Ultrasone Pro series, generally because, seemingly, any external re-cabling would be "invalidated" by the internal cabling because "a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link".
I am aware that Moon Audio manufactures a replacement cable for the Pro series. I would be curious to hear their explanation of how this cable could possibly make the Pro series sound better without replacing the internal cabling in the headphone.
I would welcome a response from Moon Audio or any other cable maker regarding this topic."
I wrote to Dru of Moon Audio asking him to comment about the above question. The following is his response:
"We can offer multiple options to the consumer depending on how far they want to take a recabling mod. For the Ultrasone the following options are available. And they are listed in the order they will improve the sound.
1) We offer either a simple replacement cable retaining all the original internal wire or we can also replace the internal wire.
2) We can do a single entry hardwire mod. removing the screw connection and internal PC board. With or without retaining the headband wire to the right driver. I personally don't like the single entry mod from a comfort stand point. I always feel there is an unbalance from a comfort stand point with cable on just one side of my head. After market cables are bulkier than stock and can cause this.
3) We can offer a full fledged split mod entry with detachable connectors. This offers a lot of flexibility. You can change out your cable depending on your set up. You can use a short cable with mini plug for portable use. You can use a longer cable with 1/4" plug for your single ended headphone amp and then another cable with XLRs for your balanced set up. This makes for the most flexible situation.
4) We can offer a full fledged split mod entry with the aftermarket cable hardwire directly to each driver. The best connector is no connector the less stuff you can put in the signal path the less possibility for signal contamination. This is the best sounding option but not the most flexible if you have multiple systems with different connections. But it is the best sounding.
Now I don't want to really get into the great cable debate as I have tried to put those days behind me. Nobody wins in those arguments. I know what I believe. The bottom line is you as an individual have to make your own decision based on your own experiences. We all hear differently. Just like all headphones having there own signature, so do our eardrums. No eardrum is built alike. Some are sensitive to high frequencies, some are not, some cant handle eardrum sound pressure, some can. I believe the less changes to the signal path the better. The more we can keep materials similar from the signals origination the better. So the more we remove connectors, internal wire etc the better. The smaller the connector mass the better. Such as I would prefer to use a single 4 pin or 3 pin XLR over a bulky 1/4" plug with a bunch of mass for the signal the travel over. I find the quality of the plating very important as most the signal in low voltage applications will travel on the plating vs saturating the connectors body. Unlike say a Power Plug or Speaker Connector whereas the base material is as important as the plating due to signal saturation. And I can go on and on. But like I said you should do your own experimenting and not others influence your decision making. If cables make a difference for you, then wonderful. If they don't, that's wonderful too."
Thank you very much, Dru, for your excellent response.