[Audio-Phile]

Definitely been a while since I posted here.  Since I last did, I've been through the stock cables on the TF10s, and I'm kind of glad those are shot.  The wire was interesting at first, but they tangled like nobody's business.  And they were so thin, I didn't think they'd last long anyway.  About the only thing I do miss is the shallow right-angle plug.  That was nice.  I like to slip my phone in my pocket in such a way that allows me to pull it out facing right side up, so it was perfect for that.
 
After the stock cable gave out about 3.5 months after taking them out of the box, I decided to try Fiio's cheap RC-UE1 (or whatever it is...if I rotate the plug to look at it now I'll lose my left channel).  This was against my better judgement.  I thought maybe it would be just better to get the better cable right out of the box.  I read all the reports of them giving out, and generally wasn't very confident.  But for like $28 shipped from Amazon, how could I go wrong?  I waste more than that on stupider stuff right?  Wrong.  They started cutting about a week ago or so, after about 2.5 months at the most.  Yesterday, they were really bad but they mostly worked.  Today, holy hell.  To even get the left ear to work requires...more work than I'm willing to do at this point.  At this point I'm regretting not getting the Chris_Himself cables before, and saving myself the $30 on the "cheap" option.  At this point I'd warn anyone reading this if you're considering the Fiio, just don't.  Scrimp, save, steal, whatever you have to do to afford something better.  Or even buy another stock cable.  Just don't get these if you want more than 2 months of gentle use out of them.
 
Annnnyway.....order the silver plated copper, and I'm excited.  But I'm just wondering, am I going to notice anything?  Fiio sounded almost imperceptibly warmer, maybe its in my head.  Who knows.  But I've heard the SPC should offer improvements across the board, obviously mostly noticeable in the highs.  Is this accurate?  It seems to make sense.  My TF10s are stock besides a nice red pair of medium Complys, so I'm excited to see what they do.  Also, because I'm a poor college student, I don't have an amp, and I'm struggling to purchase another Fiio product.  So hopefully just right out of the box I get a nice improvement from the new cabe.  Anybody else been through this scenario?  Sorry for the book...too much caffeine today..,,

 

[chrislangley4253]

I think if you work yourself up expecting to hear a big difference, you just might.
 
In my experience this effect is due more to expectation bias and placebo than it is any real difference.

I don't think there will be any fundamental change in the sound.. however, a nice cable is a nice cable. I hope it lasts you for a long time
 
From a poor college drop-out,

Chris

 

 

[Audio-Phile]

That's usually what I believe, although this cable is such a huge upgrade from stock that I'm just interested in what happens. I also hope it lasts a while haha.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

That's usually what I believe, although this cable is such a huge upgrade from stock that I'm just interested in what happens. I also hope it lasts a while haha.

The only cables I have heard a significant difference from where the ones that cost way, way too much. The really esoteric ones sometimes sound kinda funky. I have no idea about the cable you are getting, but it's prolly just fine

 

[planx]

TBH, lesser quality replacement cables will do little or no difference at all, like the Fiio cable. However, something like DHC or Chris' cable uses OCC copper unlike OFC and lesser purity cables found in more affordable cables. The way I see it is, if you're going to pay more than $100 for an aftermarket cable, don't waste your money on a OFC, make sure it's OCC.
 
I'm not going to debate with the non-believers because it's pointless and will get me banned, but even with Chris' cable, you should hear noticeable differences. With my cables from DHC, the main things I noticed were better texture in the bass, more effortless and smooth mids, and just opened the overall sound up. Even though I don't have any means of measuring this through numbers, I compared my DHC cable with the stock Westone cable on my Arrow 4G amp (it has two outputs) and attached one end of the DHC to my CIEM and one end of the Westone to the other unit and I directly A/Bed them together. Just to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks, I switched it around and same results.
 
I was never a believer in cables myself, but once I got myself a good quality cable that has the proper copper, it seems like a worthy investment after all.
 
It just seems like the people who hasn't tried high quality cables seems to bash on cables a lot based on doubt. I'm not saying it's a night/day difference, but what I'm saying is these cables are truly works of art and has minor sonic properties that both headphone/IEM and people can appreciate.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

TBH, lesser quality replacement cables will do little or no difference at all, like the Fiio cable. However, something like DHC or Chris' cable uses OCC copper unlike OFC and lesser purity cables found in more affordable cables. The way I see it is, if you're going to pay more than $100 for an aftermarket cable, don't waste your money on a OFC, make sure it's OCC.
 
I'm not going to debate with the non-believers because it's pointless and will get me banned, but even with Chris' cable, you should hear noticeable differences. With my cables from DHC, the main things I noticed were better texture in the bass, more effortless and smooth mids, and just opened the overall sound up. Even though I don't have any means of measuring this through numbers, I compared my DHC cable with the stock Westone cable on my Arrow 4G amp (it has two outputs) and attached one end of the DHC to my CIEM and one end of the Westone to the other unit and I directly A/Bed them together. Just to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks, I switched it around and same results.
 
I was never a believer in cables myself, but once I got myself a good quality cable that has the proper copper, it seems like a worthy investment after all.
 
It just seems like the people who hasn't tried high quality cables seems to bash on cables a lot based on doubt. I'm not saying it's a night/day difference, but what I'm saying is these cables are truly works of art and has minor sonic properties that both headphone/IEM and people can appreciate.

Don't assume that the people bashing cables haven't tried them
 
There are people that have tried them on both sides of the camp. No matter what, the guy claiming huge differences is full of crap, we can all agree upon that, I think. The fact that if there is a difference, it's rather small.

 

[planx]

Quote:

Don't assume that the people bashing cables haven't tried them
 
There are people that have tried them on both sides of the camp. No matter what, the guy claiming huge differences is full of crap, we can all agree upon that, I think. The fact that if there is a difference, it's rather small.

 
I should have been more clear with that. It seems like, from observation, that the majority of people bashing on cables is the people who have little/no experience with cables at all. And even if they do have experience, it's hard to argue that they were great cables (random DIY cables, ebay no-name/no info cables).
 
It's difficult to believe the people who say that their IEM/Headphones are magically transformed by a single cable replacement, but in some cases it's a matter of perspective. My friend and fellow HFier explained to me that with a good cable his Westone ES5 was improved in ways that made it perfect for him. Just slight improvements here and there allowed him to re-appreciate his IEM. He said the cables OPENED up the sound just enough for him to fall in love again. To him, the ES5 with poor cables sounded a bit muffled, but with the OCC cable, it removed it enough for him to love the ES5 again.
 
Same story with me. Upon receiving my cables (after burning them in), I immediately started to appreciate my CIEM once more. I often complained about my CIEM for not having enough bottom-end extension, but with the cables, it just managed to reach a tiny bit lower for me to appreciate the sound again. Because of this cable, I saved myself another re-shell and driver upgrade. Yes the bass is still on the light side, but that tiny bit of extension allowed me to complain no more and immerse myself in the music once more.

 

[chrislangley4253]

That's awesome, I'm really glad a new cable made your CIEM's better suited for you. 

I have honestly never played the cable game when it comes to IEM's, but it makes sense to think that they might be a little more sensitive to cable change. I actually don't have that much experience with cables at all, only hearing a few DIY silver ones here and there, mostly on grados. But, I have talked to a good deal of people who's ears I trust on the matter, that's why I'm comfortable stating my opinion.

Anyhow, I hope the cable works out OP

 

[Audio-Phile]

Hopefully in a few days, I'll be able to let you guys know. It does make sense that the much-improved construction would help out the sound, there's no way it doesn't.  I'm just excited to see how it sounds.

 

[ecclesand]

Hey...I'm interested in one of those cables.  Does he have a website to order from?

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

TBH, lesser quality replacement cables will do little or no difference at all, like the Fiio cable. However, something like DHC or Chris' cable uses OCC copper unlike OFC and lesser purity cables found in more affordable cables. The way I see it is, if you're going to pay more than $100 for an aftermarket cable, don't waste your money on a OFC, make sure it's OCC.
 
I'm not going to debate with the non-believers because it's pointless and will get me banned, but even with Chris' cable, you should hear noticeable differences. With my cables from DHC, the main things I noticed were better texture in the bass, more effortless and smooth mids, and just opened the overall sound up. Even though I don't have any means of measuring this through numbers, I compared my DHC cable with the stock Westone cable on my Arrow 4G amp (it has two outputs) and attached one end of the DHC to my CIEM and one end of the Westone to the other unit and I directly A/Bed them together. Just to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks, I switched it around and same results.
 
I was never a believer in cables myself, but once I got myself a good quality cable that has the proper copper, it seems like a worthy investment after all.
 
It just seems like the people who hasn't tried high quality cables seems to bash on cables a lot based on doubt. I'm not saying it's a night/day difference, but what I'm saying is these cables are truly works of art and has minor sonic properties that both headphone/IEM and people can appreciate.

 
I actually am a patron of DHC cables and was before I ever actually started building anything for people. Even I don't really know all that much about cable science. I play everything by ear, and I have my theories, and thats really the best I could do.
 
Quote:

Don't assume that the people bashing cables haven't tried them
 
There are people that have tried them on both sides of the camp. No matter what, the guy claiming huge differences is full of crap, we can all agree upon that, I think. The fact that if there is a difference, it's rather small.

 
LOL, Chris I swear you've been out to get me from day 1, haha JK. Eventually you'll bump into my stuff in the wild and be able to report back to me.
 
Quote:

Hey...I'm interested in one of those cables.  Does he have a website to order from?

 
Google my username, should get you to my network of pages

 

[cravenz]

I think if you work yourself up expecting to hear a big difference, you just might.

In my experience this effect is due more to expectation bias and placebo than it is any real difference.


I don't think there will be any fundamental change in the sound.. however, a nice cable is a nice cable. I hope it lasts you for a long time

From a poor college drop-out,


Chris

Alternatively he could hype it up so much in his mind that it has the opposite effect.

From a school drop out to another, I hope you are well these days mate.

 

[goodvibes]

Why does every cable thread need to go hear and often fueled be by those who admittedly haven't heard much. Difference will obviously not be great in quantity but even a small qualitative move may be very significant to a user. I've been a/b/x ing cables in home kit for years and it certainly exsists there.
 
 Here's an interesting story. A freind of mine swapped his 15' run of $10 per' speaker cable with another $100 per' cable. He wasn't that impressed but left it in for a buddy that he listened with often to hear. He did however, not tell his friend of the change. After a week of not hearing the system that 3rd party asked if there was something wrong with the system before they got to the second song. It was some top SS British electronics and Quad 57 electrostatics on stands so quite informative but it sure wasn't about current delivery or resistance in these fat cables.
 
If you don't hear it just because you don't or your setup isn't conducive to same so be it. Not everything is for everybody. It's poor form to tell others what they can or can't hear. Results vary because these aren't huge swings in most situations but unless you've heard a heck of a lot on kit you also don't think is worth it

 (often part of the issue), you're not helping anybody by being a zealot. In this situation where a replacement cable is needed anyway, the cost difference between a Chris-Himself cable and a stock replacement is minimal. It's worth it just for the build. Why would anybody take this off track? He doesn't even make big claims and has been great for those on a budget.
 
 I'm of the can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear mentality on this and wouldn't use a $200 cable on a TF10 but it's personal. If others think they're worthy, who am I to say otherwise? I will be getting a better cable for my CIEMs. I'm personally curious to try a litz configuration for a few reasons. Chris, if you ever wanted a guinea pig.......

 

[vc1187]

In my experience, cable difference is more evident depending on the pair of headphones you're changing the cable for.  The more resolving a pair of headphones are, the greater difference the cable tends to have.  
 
To give an example, I recently changed from the stock HE-6 Cable (XLR) + Speaker adapter to a Moon Audio Black Dragon Cable for my HE-6, and the difference in cables is pretty polar.  The stock cable certainly sounds more congested, laid back, and warmer... while the Black Dragon cable sounds more neutral, forward, and brighter.  Bass seems to extend deeper and hit harder with the Stock cable over the Black Dragon Cable, but the bass is still well controlled with the Black Dragon Cable.  For most instances, I would consider the Moon Audio cable an upgrade.
 
To contrast this, at a recent meet that I attended, I heard headphones that I have previously owned (with their stock cables), but at the meet, they were with aftermarket cables.  Most of those headphones did not present anything new enough to really make an impression on difference of sound signature or sonic qualities.
 
Anyway, just my two cents.

 

[Audio-Phile]

All these responses are great and make sense.  I grew up around high-end audio/video setups, and have the "disease" now, if you can call it that, myself.  While I'm not expecting night and day, as it was pointed out above, even a small difference might be huge.  Just getting a more "open" and faster sound out of the TF10s would be hugely appreciated, even if it was only by a small degree.  And given the properties of the metals used in Chris's cables vs. what is likely in a stock TF10 cable (or that Fiio that just went out), this would seem to be the likely result.  It's physics.  I'm not saying that everyone can hear it, and even though I'd like to think I have a pretty sensitive and discerning ear, I'm not sure how much I will be able to.  But again, I just want something that's not going to die in 2 months like what I've used so far.  Hell, at this rate, I'd have to spend about $90 a year on Fiios, whereas I can buy one of these for $85 shipped and hopefully have it last at least a couple years.  Just on the value proposition alone, this seems like the obvious choice.  And they look better too.  And, given their construction, they should sound better.  So, given all that, I feel like it's the obvious choice.  If you start looking at Double Helix or Whiplash, then its obviously a little tougher, as you're looking at cables that cost 2, 3, even 4 times as much.  Or maybe more.  But I feel that for the money, this is the best possible cable upgrade to make at this point in time for myself.