[voon]

I (seriously) wondered:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TRN...1.html?spm=2114.search0604.8.4.25a9764aR1Xvnz

Octocable, claimed 99.9999% (aka 6N) purity and a bit of silver nonsense for colouring. At a silly low price.

What's the reason to buy something more expensive? I can't imagine anything being audibly better .. as long as the solder points are well done etc.

 

[buke9]

Well for one would not want a Silver plated cable for a KZ. From my experience silver plated does bring out the highs more that is from buying and making them and they don’t need it. Do cables matter yes and no.I have heard over $1000 cables and did they sound better yes but how much ? Not enough for me to spend that much.Those weren’t earphone cables but you can find them for just about anything.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I (seriously) wondered:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TRN...1.html?spm=2114.search0604.8.4.25a9764aR1Xvnz

Octocable, claimed 99.9999% (aka 6N) purity and a bit of silver nonsense for colouring. At a silly low price.

What's the reason to buy something more expensive? I can't imagine anything being audibly better .. as long as the solder points are well done etc.

If we're just talking headphone cables in general, more expensive should mean more conductors that are all pure silver, silver wire if we go to the deep end, more wire thus lower capacitance. Thicker cables for the win!

 

[PointyFox]

In my opinion all you really get out of cables is appearance, comfort, and some minor frequency response tweaking. Generally thicker is better to a point. I prefer thick flexible copper cables without any sort of rough covering. I use a $12 Chinese cable with my Andromedas (I also own two of the silver Litz cables) and I prefer the Chinese one because it's softer and doesn't tangle as easily.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @voon,

Welcome to the highly subective & personal, highly controversial world where cable rolling is concerned.
Like @buke9 has stated, cables, doesn't matter what they are for, come in all types & price ranges.
Do they add much to sound, all depends but subjectively & personally, depends on the person but like @buke9 said, some 'sound better' than others though personally, always found it's more about tuning as different cables don't change base sound signature but like Buke9 stated, most are definitely not worth paying $ 1000 + for, a few hundred, maybe but once again, debatable, subjective & personal.

Cable quality where looks & how it's put together, etc, often doesn't mean a whole lot no matter how it's well made, I've seen & played with many cables which don't 'look like much' but are well built & not all that thick overall.
'Thick' cables is often a stupid & misleading term as it often doesn't mean anything & often misrepresented, eg 4 wire vs 8 wire, are there differences ?
Certainly, is there enough to notice, maybe but once again, highly subjective & personal.
Those cables are only 'thicker' as they are made up from several cables as opposed to a proper 'thick' cable which sure, may potentially be comprised from several other cables or more accurately conducting strands though doesn't mean it's better either.
Slightly off topic but I've seen speaker cables which are 'thick' but actually with the thinnest wire gauge one would ever see, the rest simply being insulation, shielding, etc.

Silver isn't the only conductor & it gets thrown around in the audio world, especially the consumer audio world, like it's the only thing which matters.
There are some manufacturers who want to sell you how only 'their cable' is worth whatever ridiculous amount it is.
I have used super inexpensive pro audio cables which cost average $ 50 for a 3 m pair which sound better than anything up to 3 times their cost.
Likewise, I have a few inexpensive aftermarket IEM cables which sound better or no different to ones in the higher hundred to $ 1000 + range.

So really, sometimes it matters, sometimes it depends but at what cost?

Hope you have a great day !

 

[PointyFox]

It's kind of like talking about religion. You need to be very careful what you say on here regarding cables. People have different and very strong beliefs about them. Don't even try to bring science into it because people will lose it, especially with a number of sponsors of this site selling them.

 

[voon]

Eeeep ... seems like I have touched a pandoras box. I'm not an electrician or anything, but my guess for "many strands" is that current flows in the surface of wires I thought, so more surface is better. The reason for these braided designs seems to be to something to do with the cables magnetic fields .. or magnetic fields impacting them and noodling it all up for less impact? I dunno I think I'm just sticking with copper ... I consider it a good enough electrical transmitter. Personally, my speaker cables at home are selfmade stuff with cordial studio cable .. cheap and good Without being some electroguy, I just figured what's good enough for professionals on stage, is good enough for me. Buuuuut ... I guess I'll heed the warning.

 

[PaganDL]

Eeeep ... seems like I have touched a pandoras box. I'm not an electrician or anything, but my guess for "many strands" is that current flows in the surface of wires I thought, so more surface is better. The reason for these braided designs seems to be to something to do with the cables magnetic fields .. or magnetic fields impacting them and noodling it all up for less impact? I dunno I think I'm just sticking with copper ... I consider it a good enough electrical transmitter. Personally, my speaker cables at home are selfmade stuff with cordial studio cable .. cheap and good Without being some electroguy, I just figured what's good enough for professionals on stage, is good enough for me. Buuuuut ... I guess I'll heed the warning.

Hi @voon,

As you said, can't go wrong with copper, it's more than fine, cable majority out there is really nearly all copper & as said before, more than usually dressed up either by marketing departments &/or BS...

Anyway, surface does count for the whole 'strand' thing though it has more to do with conductivity than anything else, the ideal cable, doesn't matter what for, is meant to have low conductivity so the signal can travel uninterrupted, etc, that's basically it though how it gets there & sounds is a whole different story...

Pro gear, especially cables are excellent, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Cordial cables are good, I have one ready made off the shelf dual mono TRS patch cable to 3.5 stereo for various uses.
I have a few other pro grade cables which are a mix of Canare with Neutrik connectors & I have one Van Damme pair for some good speakers I have.

Don't be afraid to experiment if you feel the need...

Hope you have a great day !