HD800 recabling question

Aug 29, 2009 at 3:51 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 24

Hardertaskthinking

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Dear all,

I am considering buying a pair of HD800 and if I do, I would like to have upgraded cables which are "balanced" terminated. May I know if upgrading the cables requires skillful installation (which means I have to get it done by a reliable DIYer) or I can simply buy the cables from one of the sellers, unplug the stock cable and plug in the new cable myself (like what one can do with the HD650)?

Thank you
 
Aug 29, 2009 at 3:58 AM Post #2 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardertaskthinking /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Dear all,

I am considering buying a pair of HD800 and if I do, I would like to have upgraded cables which are "balanced" terminated. May I know if upgrading the cables requires skillful installation (which means I have to get it done by a reliable DIYer) or I can simply buy the cables from one of the sellers, unplug the stock cable and plug in the new cable myself (like what one can do with the HD650)?

Thank you



You can simply buy the cables and unplug/plug like the HD650 (they do use a different connector than the HD650 so make sure you get a cable for the HD800). You can get a cable from Moon Audio, Apuresound, etc.
 
Aug 29, 2009 at 4:14 AM Post #3 of 24
You should be aware that the stock cables on the HD800s are pretty great. Any improvements with a upgrade cable will be more minute than they were with the HD650s for example (the stock cables suck on the 650s compared to the 800s). Anyone who has taken apart the HD800 stock cable can see that it is much higher quality.

Headroom agrees: "A surprisingly excellent cable also comes with the headphone": Sennheiser HD 800 @ HeadRoom
 
Aug 29, 2009 at 4:15 AM Post #4 of 24
I made a HD800 cable and the connectors solder points are very small. I mean smaller than ViaBlue points so I would take your time when making one.
 
Aug 29, 2009 at 5:24 AM Post #5 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by phototristan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You should be aware that the stock cables on the HD800s are pretty great. Any improvements with a upgrade cable will be more minute than they were with the HD650s for example (the stock cables suck on the 650s compared to the 800s). Anyone who has taken apart the HD800 stock cable can see that it is much higher quality.

Headroom agrees: "A surprisingly excellent cable also comes with the headphone": Sennheiser HD 800 @ HeadRoom



But he wants to have a balanced cable so the option is hacking up his stock cable (which is not cheap to replace!) or getting/making another a separate cable with balanced termination.
 
Sep 1, 2009 at 9:23 AM Post #6 of 24
The stock cable is crap compared to one made of real wire. 32 gauge silver-copper with lots of rubber insulation, gag me. It's not that it isn't the best stock cable ever made, just that the best stock cable ever made sucks.
 
Sep 1, 2009 at 9:30 AM Post #7 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It's not that it isn't the best stock cable ever made, just that the best stock cable ever made sucks.


LOL, thats gold
biggrin.gif
 
Sep 1, 2009 at 6:11 PM Post #8 of 24
I've taken mine from stock to a 3-pin XLR than to a 4-pin XLR connector. With the right tools it's still a little bit of a pain, but not horrible. Stripping the insulation off of those tiny wires takes a precise pair of strippers so you don't cut some of the wires.

If you spend the money to do this yourself - make sure you can use the stuff you buy for other projects. Otherwise it will sit and collect dust.

My advice - send your cable and connector to someone here with experience and have them reterminate it for you.
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 1:51 AM Post #9 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The stock cable is crap compared to one made of real wire. 32 gauge silver-copper with lots of rubber insulation, gag me. It's not that it isn't the best stock cable ever made, just that the best stock cable ever made sucks.


LOL. How do you know when a guy's getting overly feverish about his hobby? He posts the above about a $1400 headphone.

"gag me"

If you insist.
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 1:59 AM Post #10 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
LOL. How do you know when a guy's getting overly feverish about his hobby? He posts the above about a $1400 headphone.

"gag me"

If you insist.



A passion for a hobby is "overly feverish"?
rolleyes.gif


And what does the cost of the headphone have to do with the quality of the stock cable? It's not in a manufacturer's interest to sell headphones with seriously high quality cables, as they would be increasing the cost of the product by a big margin, for a small performance increase. Which not all customers will be happy with - there are cable believers and disbelievers, after all. Not to mention that a good deal of HD800 sales will be to people who never frequent forums like this, and have no concept that a cable can make any difference.

They took the right approach, IMO - make a decent quality cable that's a step above any of their other stock cables, but not so much as to increase expense by much, and make it user-removable, so that the customers can choose whether they want to replace the cable or not.
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 4:51 AM Post #11 of 24
The upper posts are correct when they say the HD800 connectors are small. I've re-cabled almost all of my headphones and make most of my IC's and I got a pair of the DIY HD800 connectors from Lawton Audio that I'm too afraid to get started on the for fear of messing up the tiny solder joints. and the cable outlet is so small, it will limit the diameter of the cables you can use.
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 5:34 AM Post #12 of 24
HD800's stock cable is great... I don't see a need for a cable upgrade with these phones... ever...
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 9:45 AM Post #13 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The stock cable is crap compared to one made of real wire.


says the cable reseller MOT
beerchug.gif
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 9:55 AM Post #14 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by Geek /img/forum/go_quote.gif
HD800's stock cable is great... I don't see a need for a cable upgrade with these phones... ever...


Well unless you need balanced, OP the stock is a nice cable in my opinion. Try getting a DIYer to re-terminate the stock - treat your self to some nice XLR plugs as an upgrade. If you jump straight into an aftermarket cable you'll never get a gauge of how good the actual stock is.
 
Sep 2, 2009 at 10:14 AM Post #15 of 24
Quote:

Originally Posted by pengpingbo /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i envy you .in my country ,HD800"s price is 10000RMB(about 1500UD ).If you have so much moneyand why donot you just ask some guys to do it according to you requests?
clear.gif



I was surprised to be given quote in Hong Kong for the same price as the US price once converted to the HKD. I was expecting a markup.
 

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