[mikek200]

For the last 2 days,I,ve been comparing the 2 above cables.,
 
Cardas audio Cross,which according to Brian at Cardas,was originally meant to be for the HD600/650,but it is now discontinued
Some positive points-extremely well built ,,add a stronger over all SQ,with A much stronger bass,and an overall warmer sound-IMHO
Highs are at sometimes,a bit weak,I said,sometimes.
Negatives =====PRICE
 
 
HD600 stock cable:
   Positive point:
A much more cleaner sound,more balanced,good bass,-not as good as the cardas.
Highs  & mids are more equal,and more forward,a stronger involving,sound,makes you engaged in the music,the type of sound ,where you can stay connected for 8-10 hours at a time{which is what I've been doing}
 
After all this being said,I much prefer the HD600 stock cable,for most of my music,especially,acoustic,rock,Jazz
For classical,some vocals,
 
Overall,I will use the HD600 stock cable 90% of the time,it is a different type of sound,which I much prefer,warm,yet detailed,a more relaxing sound,yet,with detail,this is just IMHO,with my 64 year old,cryoed,wax packed ears
Your mileage  may vary..
 
Mike

 

[chrislangley4253]

Hey mike,

I think this could be posted in the wrong section, but I am curious if you have ever seen how small the wires are that go from the cable input on these sennheisers to the drivers themselves?

As you can see, the wires are extremely thin, I just think it's good to know what is in between your cables and your driver After I saw this, I personally kinda lost my urge to ever upgrade a Sennheiser cable. 

Thanks for your listening impressions, I found them quite interesting. Please post more if you do try any more cables.

Chris
 
P.S. Good luck finding an HD580. You might wanna check craigslist and ebay frequently, I have seen 580s on both

 

[mikek200]

Interesting,thanks for this reply.
So,are you saying that the thickness on these wires,is affecting the SQ?,or,am I mis-understanding you?
 
Yes,I was a bit surprised about the Cardas,as most people in the HD600 thread,seems to feel that life starts & ends with a cardas cable.
Maybe ,I ordered the wrong one?
I did order the 650 cable,just to make an A_B comparison,the price was so low,I couldn't resist,for now,I'l stay with the 600 stock cable
 
Mike

 

[chrislangley4253]

I do not think that the thickness of these voice coil wires affects the SQ. So, it makes me kinda doubt that the thickness of the cable makes much of a difference.. Then again, it is a very short distance that this wire travels and I am not accounting for difference in materials and braiding and shielding and all that stuff that's supposed to make a difference.
 
I have a 650 cable on my 580s. It's wonderfully durable and much easier to plug and unplug from the headphones than the 600 cable. I think you will really like it. I have A/B'd the 600 and 650 cables and I did not notice a difference in SQ.. But, my non-belief in cables affecting SQ almost definitely would have ruined any chance of me actually noticing a difference. A/B'ing kind of drives me crazy, especially when I am actively trying to ignore my expectation bias.  

 

 

[mikek200]

  I do not think that the thickness of these voice coil wires affects the SQ. So, it makes me kinda doubt that the thickness of the cable makes much of a difference.. Then again, it is a very short distance that this wire travels and I am not accounting for difference in materials and braiding and shielding and all that stuff that's supposed to make a difference.
 
I have a 650 cable on my 580s. It's wonderfully durable and much easier to plug and unplug from the headphones than the 600 cable. I think you will really like it. I have A/B'd the 600 and 650 cables and I did not notice a difference in SQ.. But, my non-belief in cables affecting SQ almost definitely would have ruined any chance of me actually noticing a difference. A/B'ing kind of drives me crazy, especially when I am actively trying to ignore my expectation bias.  

 

Chris,
Got the 650 cable yesterday.
You didn,t notice an increase in bass,with a warmer overall SQ?
Build quality,IMHO,was much improved compared to the 600 cable.Price was so low {$26.00},it was like a gift.
 
With that being said,I think??? I prefer the 600 cable a bit more
just my .02cents
 
Mike

 

[Nostro]

I tried the Cardas cable with my friend's HD 600. The difference felt underwhelming considering what else I could do with that money for the HD 600. IMO It's not worth it unless you just have the money for it. That said, I did prefer the Cardas for the reasons you pointed out, albeit I did not get to listen very long.

 

[Solrighal]

I've had similar experience with my aftermarket Forza Audioworks HD 650 cable. I now only use the stock Sennheiser cable.

 

[KG Jag]

My ears are just a little younger than yours.  I like the affordable ZY cable with the HD 600 & 650.

 

[chrislangley4253]

  Chris,
Got the 650 cable yesterday.
You didn,t notice an increase in bass,with a warmer overall SQ?
Build quality,IMHO,was much improved compared to the 600 cable.Price was so low {$26.00},it was like a gift.
 
With that being said,I think??? I prefer the 600 cable a bit more
just my .02cents
 
Mike

I did not.. But, I'm not the best at comparing gear. I have heard of many other people sticking with the stock cable though, so maybe there is something to all of this cable stuff. I guess I'm back on the fence
 
Happy Listening!

 

[mikek200]

  I did not.. But, I'm not the best at comparing gear. I have heard of many other people sticking with the stock cable though, so maybe there is something to all of this cable stuff. I guess I'm back on the fence
 
Happy Listening!

The cardas cable I bought was an older version called the "Cross" version
The one I should have ordered was the "clear version"  ,I,m hearing it is much,much higher ragard regarded,and..so is the price
So,after playing around with other cables,I'm back to the original stock Senneiser 600 cable.
So ,from now on in,whenever I'm in the mood to start looking at other cables,I'll just turn on Brahms,take two aspirin,and relax with Brahms
 
Mike

 

[chrislangley4253]

  The cardas cable I bought was an older version called the "Cross" version
The one I should have ordered was the "clear version"  ,I,m hearing it is much,much higher ragard regarded,and..so is the price
So,after playing around with other cables,I'm back to the original stock Senneiser 600 cable.
So ,from now on in,whenever I'm in the mood to start looking at other cables,I'll just turn on Brahms,take two aspirin,and relax with Brahms
 
Mike

Off topic, but any specific Brahms recommendations? I definitely get in the mood for some classical. 

 

[Solrighal]

Off topic, but any specific Brahms recommendations? I definitely get in the mood for some classical. 

I was going to ask the very same question

 

[chahooa]

Late reply here, but I recently bought hd600s with both of the above cables. I like the aftermarket ok, but it can get a little harsh compared to the stock, to me.

 

[tomb]

  Hey mike,

I think this could be posted in the wrong section, but I am curious if you have ever seen how small the wires are that go from the cable input on these sennheisers to the drivers themselves?

As you can see, the wires are extremely thin, I just think it's good to know what is in between your cables and your driver After I saw this, I personally kinda lost my urge to ever upgrade a Sennheiser cable. 

Thanks for your listening impressions, I found them quite interesting. Please post more if you do try any more cables.

Chris
 
P.S. Good luck finding an HD580. You might wanna check craigslist and ebay frequently, I have seen 580s on both

 
Sorry, I didn't mean to comment in this old thread until I saw this.
 
It's false reasoning to think the size of wire in inside a headphone is any indication of the effect of a cable.  Voltage drop and other effects are dependent on distance - length.  If you are trying to minimize drop and resistance, then you make the wire as big as you can for as long as you can until you have to downsize as appropriate for the device.  With a good multimeter, you can easily measure the ohms difference between a patch cable that's a foot long versus one that's 6 feet long.  Whether or not that makes a difference in sound quality is a different question - there are other variables besides resistance.  However, it's wrong to compare the wire size inside a headphone and think that bears any relevance to the connecting cable.  
 
The filament in a light bulb is pretty dang small, too.  That doesn't mean the wire run to power it can be as small.