[GSurge]

I've been reading up on the HD650s a lot, and it seems a lot of people say you can't really "bring out the sound" unless you get them recabled. This seems a little odd to me.

How much of it is truth, and how much of it is audiophilia going overboard? (Psychological differences... "it costs more, so it MUST be better!")

For anyone that has directly compared them, how much of a difference was it in your eyes (ears)? Please keep your answer as unbiased and level-minded as possible.

 

[vcoheda]

cables make a difference. that's my opinion.

 

[GSurge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif cables make a difference. that's my opinion.

Significant enough to be worth the cost?

 

[CMasten]

I upgraded the stock cables on my HD600s for the HD650 cables and there was a noticeable difference in the bottom end.

I would think the % net effect of that improvement for under $20.00 would be much higher than going from the stock 650 cables, to say a $100.00 cable as the stock 650 cables are actually pretty well made.The HD600 cables were much lower quality and based on a thinner cable perhaps to accommodate the 3.5mm miniplug. The stock 650 cable is shorter also

Most of the custom cables I have seen for the 650s are almost the price of the 650s themselves! .

 

[shigzeo]

i reckon they make a difference, though soundwise not enough to warrant cost alone. they might sound very slightly different, but you will have calbe length at what you really want.

the cable with the 650 is quite a good cable already just that it has grip problems and it is rather long for such a thin cable.

i recabled my dt880 and found some differences, but more over prefered the length, strength of the new firmament and the look!

 

[pbalcer]

Hi!

I and few other people had a chance to compare 4 different cables with HD650 (stock cable, Equinox, Cardas, and I think Black Dragon but I may be mistaken) during Hamilton meet. And there was audible difference between the cables.

To my ears the Cardas was the worst - too bright (almost shrill). For classical music I liked Equinox the best - very balanced and relaxed sound, a little more open soundstage than with stock cable, tighter bass and more extended treble. For rock the (what I think it was) Black Dragon was definitely the best sounding - more lively than Equinox. Few other people liked it even better than the Equinox for classical as well.

Keep in mind that the sound signature is always very subjective so what I wrote is not aimed at making any statement about which cable is better. I just wanted to say that there _is_ audible difference between different cables provided the source and amplifier are real Hi-Fi.

BTW, the source was CD player meridian and the amp was the Headroom's Max amp. So source-wise it was rather a high end setup. I am not sure if one would be able to pickup the differences using "pedestrian" DVD player and very basic amp to drive the HD650.

Cheers!

 

[Icarium]

Yup cables definitely make a difference. I didn't need a week+ of listening + hardcore A/Bing to hear it either. I wouldn't say that I've heard one single cable that has all around improved the sound of either of my two headphones that I have tried cable with... but for me Black Dragon definitely sounds better with Qualias.

For HD650 the other cable I tried, Equinox, sounded MUCh better with some amp/DAC/music choices... but with others they almost sounded worse than the stock cable (Possibly because I am so used to the sound with the stock cable)... Imo if you have cash you should invest in a few cables to suit different set ups/moods (Like swap cables every couple weeks rather than from song to song). Or if your budget is more limited you should definitely try a bunch of cables til you find your perfect match and just get that.

Also, I'd advocate making the balanced/aftermarket cable step at the same time so you can maximize the impact of the upgrade (If possible).

Personally, I have the feeling the Silver Dragon v2. or Zu v2. will be the best match for me.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Do they need new cables?

Simply put, no.

 

[Duggeh]

Id rather spend the 3rd party cable cost on another set of headphones tbh. Unless you're building a rig around the H650, in which case the cable can provide a tweak to the sound signature. But given that they cost the same as the headphones in the first place, they certainly do not double the quality, however you quantify such a term.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Makes a difference. Whether or not it's 'worth it' is up to you. Most things audiophile are not worth it, though. But that's why we're audiophiles.

 

[sonic32]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sauce /img/forum/go_quote.gif depends on your budget. for most people, no. If you have a good dedicated amp and higer end player, then yes.

I concur, but let me add that imo the stock cable sounds pretty good too. For my ears the Equinox cable sounded better in every way but we are talking about small steps in performance here.

 

[tubaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSurge /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been reading up on the HD650s a lot, and it seems a lot of people say you can't really "bring out the sound" unless you get them recabled. This seems a little odd to me. How much of it is truth, and how much of it is audiophilia going overboard? (Psychological differences... "it costs more, so it MUST be better!") For anyone that has directly compared them, how much of a difference was it in your eyes (ears)? Please keep your answer as unbiased and level-minded as possible.

Need? No.

I have tried some cables for HD-650 (Equinox 650LE, Silver dragon, Clou red, all of them balanced and of course the stock cable) and they all sounded noticeably different, and I like them for different genres of music. Of course you can't "bring out" (i.e. achieve) that particular sound of a particular cable unless you use that cable, since they all sound different (provided only the cable is changed in the setup which is reasonably good). That's a no-brainer, the question is, do you like the sound? I will say the stock cable itself is excellent, it feels right. And Equinox is similar to the stock cable, but just makes everything a bit better. And you probably have liked the HD-650 with stock cable to buy it? I'll say if you want to establish a baseline for reference, Equinox is the way to go.

All of it is truth, and all of it is audiophilia going overboard! I can completely live with the stock HD-650 cable and be very happy.

Bottom line: Get Equinox and be done with it. Equinox preserves the character of HD-650 and makes everything better. Whether it is worth the money or not is up to you, if you don't like it, send it back within 30 days. For me it's money well spent (I'm spoiled). What do you have to lose other the interest of $200 for one month? (If that number comes to more than $20, please, please PM me, I'd like to get to know you better).

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSurge /img/forum/go_quote.gif Significant enough to be worth the cost?

if you already have a good source and amp, then yes. If not, then better to invest the cable money into upgrading those components, which are undoubtedly more important.

 

[TzeYang]

yes, they need "NEW BALANCED" cables. Any good quality silver plated cables with a few other pimp features will do.

Other than that? NO WAY.

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSurge /img/forum/go_quote.gif For anyone that has directly compared them, how much of a difference was it in your eyes (ears)?

None. Only time the cable could change the sound is if you went from single ended to balanced, but that is really just changing the connector, not the cable.