I'm about to throw out yet another headphone cable because it's become progressively stiffer and is now starting to crack. Is this the inevitable end state of all headphone cables? I know some have lasted longer than others, but they all start getting stiff eventually and it seems like they just keep getting stiffer with time. Are headphone cables meant to be disposable?
I'm about to throw out yet another headphone cable because it's become progressively stiffer and is now starting to crack. Is this the inevitable end state of all headphone cables? I know some have lasted longer than others, but they all start getting stiff eventually and it seems like they just keep getting stiffer with time. Are headphone cables meant to be disposable?
Yeah some of my cables oxidized with time and became stiff. I dunno if this is evidenced based, but using them indoors instead of with outdoor sun exposure (and hence UV exposure) on the cable seems to reduce this stiffness slightly over the same time period.
Anyways i hardly ever buy gear with non detachable cables nowadays as they tend to be the first point of failure. No biggie getting some cheap aftermarket cables for sub $10 nowadays.
I'm about to throw out yet another headphone cable because it's become progressively stiffer and is now starting to crack. Is this the inevitable end state of all headphone cables? I know some have lasted longer than others, but they all start getting stiff eventually and it seems like they just keep getting stiffer with time. Are headphone cables meant to be disposable?
Well my general rule of thumb is not to use any cable that is more expensive than my IEM/headphone. One of my audiophile friends believes otherwise and uses a $1000 cable with his midfi IEM, to each his own, YMMV.
I have midfi cans and IEMs, but I don't own any cables more than $50, as I feel that cables improving sound quality is quite minor compared to upgrading other areas first (eg source, eartips, transducers). In fact cables are a very controversial subject in the audio world, some find it doesn't affect anything in SQ based on measurements, some think they do subjectively. But so far my sub $10 cables have lasted me for years and are quite comparable in terms of asthetics and feel with my $50 set. If you are interested, my $10 go to cables are the NICEHCK 8 core copper cables, sometimes they are on sale for $6 USD even, I own 10 pairs of them across multiple IEMs and I think they are quite bang for buck.
I've gone through two NICEHCK cables that cost more than $10. They are great cables until they get stiff. I'm happy to spend more than $10 if the cable lasts longer, but if it's really $10 is the same as $100 I guess I can start saving money. I don't personally notice a real sound difference between cables, I just want a cable that lasts more than a few years.
I'm about to throw out yet another headphone cable because it's become progressively stiffer and is now starting to crack. Is this the inevitable end state of all headphone cables? I know some have lasted longer than others, but they all start getting stiff eventually and it seems like they just keep getting stiffer with time. Are headphone cables meant to be disposable?
Well my general rule of thumb is not to use any cable that is more expensive than my IEM/headphone. One of my audiophile friends believes otherwise and uses a $1000 cable with his midfi IEM, to each his own, YMMV.
I have midfi cans and IEMs, but I don't own any cables more than $50, as I feel that cables improving sound quality is quite minor compared to upgrading other areas first (eg source, eartips, transducers). In fact cables are a very controversial subject in the audio world, some find it doesn't affect anything in SQ based on measurements, some think they do subjectively. But so far my sub $10 cables have lasted me for years and are quite comparable in terms of asthetics and feel with my $50 set. If you are interested, my $10 go to cables are the NICEHCK 8 core copper cables, sometimes they are on sale for $6 USD even, I own 10 pairs of them across multiple IEMs and I think they are quite bang for buck.
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