[Overclocked11]

I got the one on ebay. Not sure if there's any of those left but just gonna warn you that it's been almost 2 months and I still haven't gotten mine lol

huh.. well that does not fill me with hope lol

I wonder how difficult it would be to DIY one.

 

[kp297]

The cloth pads are a big help during the hot weather (it’s been 95F in LA recently)! Electronic music is now part of my daily routine.

 

[BoomShroom]

huh.. well that does not fill me with hope lol

I wonder how difficult it would be to DIY one.

If it makes you feel any better mine finally arrived at customs this week. Once I have it I'll post my thoughts on it. I believe the one I bought and others like it are basically DIY since they're not official straps so it should be possible for you to make one as long as you have the knowledge and materials.

 

[Men1608]

I ended up finding a set of new stock HD800 cable for dirt cheap! in the mean time I'm just was using the extension but it gets caught on the side of my PC. The sock cascade length is pretty much exactly the worst possible length lol. Same as the Sundara's I have, awful cable but they are easy to find and everywhere being a 2.5mm. it's funny how cables can just piss you off... My Clears cables are like trying to wrangle a cat, what was Focal thinking? The are sooooo stiff and 8000 feet long lol.

I find the stock Cascade cable to be sufficient for on-the-go. At home I use HD800/S cables. Also have SXC8 cable (same length as standard cable), which is brilliant sonically, but has the worst y-splitter placement of all headphone cables I have. It’s placed much lower than Sennheiser, ZMF, Focal, etc. home use cables, and it’s meant to be for mobile use! When I’m standing, the y-splitter is in the middle of my belly, while I’m 1.8m tall. Used insulation tape to create ‘chin slider’, which makes SCX8 cable manageable.

 

[Men1608]

The Cascade uses the same connectors as the Sennheiser HD800 so it's not hard to find cables. They are just a little more expensive.

One thing I observed is that Cascade cable is easy to insert on HD800/S/820 and easy to remove, while standard HD800/S/820 cable are a bit stiff to remove from headphones.

 

[BoomShroom]

I'm really enjoying the added soundstage of the XL leather pads. I tried using the cloth pads recently, and even though I appreciate the different sound, they're too small for my ears. Hoping that XL cloth pads are a thing one day...

 

[Overclocked11]

I'm really enjoying the added soundstage of the XL leather pads. I tried using the cloth pads recently, and even though I appreciate the different sound, they're too small for my ears. Hoping that XL cloth pads are a thing one day...

Same here, I also added XL pads and placed the white stickers back after burning in for around 80 hours so far.
Agree, the extra bit of space in the sound added from the XL pads is nice.
With the stickers, although removing them does balance out the sound (less low end, more mids and sharper highs), I find from 3k up it's a bit too hot for my liking.
Replaced the stickers and liking them alot more now - less fatiguing, more body to the sound, but also more recessed in the mids and boomier in the bass.
From 200hz down Ive dropped it 1db to compensate, and find it to be close to my preference sound wise.

Next I'm gonna grab a silver cable.. already bought a replacement headband for Sennheiser hd580 which I'm hoping will help with comfort and fit.

 

[BoomShroom]

Same here, I also added XL pads and placed the white stickers back after burning in for around 80 hours so far.
Agree, the extra bit of space in the sound added from the XL pads is nice.
With the stickers, although removing them does balance out the sound (less low end, more mids and sharper highs), I find from 3k up it's a bit too hot for my liking.
Replaced the stickers and liking them alot more now - less fatiguing, more body to the sound, but also more recessed in the mids and boomier in the bass.
From 200hz down Ive dropped it 1db to compensate, and find it to be close to my preference sound wise.

Next I'm gonna grab a silver cable.. already bought a replacement headband for Sennheiser hd580 which I'm hoping will help with comfort and fit.

I do understand why people take the white filters off, but it's not my thing. I like it precisely because of the pronounced bass and slightly recessed mids. For a more neutral or balanced sound there's better cans imo.

 

[Overclocked11]

After more time with the Cascade, I'm definitely hearing the benefit of a couple additions. XL Pads, burn-in, an aftermarket hybrid cable and a bit of EQ adjustment has brought these to life for me.

I'm still waiting on a headband cushion to arrive (From Sennheiser 580, supposedly will work with the Cascade) to improve the comfort, as I find that they don't quite sit that well. I have a bit of a narrower head, and find that they actually sit too low on ear for me even though I have them in the stock position, without any extension.
Definitely get the hotspot at the top.. I can run with them for mayyybe 30 minutes before I feel it, 45 minutes before I have to adjust as its getting annoying. If I had to find a glaring weakness from this headphone, this would be it. Well, that and maybe that they don't provide the XL pads by default.. just feels like for the price they really should be included.

Soundwise, the burn-in is no joke. I have been listening to them nightly for the past few weeks (plenty of time to listen these days right?) and feel like each day they come more and more out of their shell, which is hard to explain as far as an experience, but is definitely not placebo. More soundstage, better mids, smoother highs and just an overall better sense of balance (this with the stock filter config - no filters, only white stickers). XL pads definitely do their part to expand on the soundstage, though they don't tell the whole story here. Comfort wise they add about as much as the sound over the stock pads. Not huge, but noticeable enough.

The aftermarket cable has helped to smooth out the highs in some scenarios and and add another (albeit smaller) level of depth, clarity and imaging to the sound. Lastly (I say lastly, but using no filters, this was actually the first adjustment I made) I shifted EQ to add 1db between around 500-2k and dropped 1db around 7.5k. When I A/B this curve on and off I find it really helps to balance out the sound for all tracks and is a good daily driver setting for me (for the type of music I listen to.. electronic, bassy).

Overall these are absolutely hitting the mark for my needs over the ZMF Atticus, though on some tracks the Atticus still beats them out in sheer gooyness in the mids, comfort and just smoothness overall. Very tough comparison and I won't begin to try to make it, but I do find myself reaching for the Cascade more these days. Not sure how much farther up I could go from here, but not really thinking about that for now and just enjoying what I'm hearing.

 

[Bellus Angel]

I use my Cascades with my ibasso dx200 currently still using the amp1.Thinking of upgrading to the Amp9. Do you feel this would still have good synergy with the Cascades?

 

[rudbeard]

I have a little tip for you all which don't feel the headphones sit perfectly on their head:

- Take off both earpads.

- Hold the Cascades with one finger in the middle of the headband.

- Look if the Cascades have any tendency to go more inwards on the right or left. You do this because there might some imbalances in the headband steel which will result in more pressure on one side of the Cascades, which can ultimately cause a "fake channel imbalance". Really, my Cascades had just a bit more pressure on the left side and the bass seemed a bit panned to the right, now the bass is almost perfectly centered as is everything else.

- Bend the headband in way that makes the Cascades (look) symetrical.

- Put on the earpads again and enjuuuy ya holy Cascades!

I hope this will help someone. A slight tilt of the bass to the right drove me a bit mad, especially in the beginning, because I constantly thought they weren't matched really well, which they are.

I've tried adjusting the headband, while it helped, there's still a significant channel imbalance with the Left side at +20% volume more than the Right. I put them on backwards and the Left (on my right ear) is definitely louder.

Has anyone else experienced this? I think I saw some FR measurements that showed a pretty severe channel imbalance.

 

[Malevolent]

I finally got my hands on a pair of Cascades today. I haven't had the time to open it up yet, but I am mighty excited to be trying them on tomorrow.

 

[Overclocked11]

I finally got my hands on a pair of Cascades today. I haven't had the time to open it up yet, but I am mighty excited to be trying them on tomorrow.

Congrats! Enjoy the sonics

 

[Malevolent]

Congrats! Enjoy the sonics

Thanks!

The bass on the Cascade is fantastic; it is punchy and authoritative, but doesn't bleed too much into the lower mids. It is tastefully done; just the way I love it! Moreover, the treble has just the right amount of sparkle. This is a v-shaped headphone done well, IMO.

 

[nichino]

I use my Cascades with my ibasso dx200 currently still using the amp1.Thinking of upgrading to the Amp9. Do you feel this would still have good synergy with the Cascades?

FWIW, I use my Cascades with my iBasso DX150 and my favourite amp card pairing is Amp9, followed by Amp7, then Amp6. I have not tried any of the other amp cards.