[MHinGA]

Quote:

Lets say there is a guy named swbf2cheater and said person wishes to acquire a much shorter, more portable length cable for an lcd2.  What and where would this person find it
 
im looking for a 3.75ft cable terminated in a standard mini 3.5mm, any recommendations?

Steve at Q Audio could certainly do that. He made me a mini adaptor, so I know he has the mini plug. PM him.
 

 

[swbf2cheater]

awesome, can you snap a pic of it and send it to me ?
 
*gives a cookie

 

[grokit]

Any custom cable vendor can do it. I like the Double Helix Molecule.
http://doublehelixcables.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

 

[LostChild1]

swbf2cheater, I'll also throw my hat in the ring for Steve's Q Cable. And at a mere 3.5ft (I just purchased a 12ft cable from him) it should be quite inexpensive.

Anyway, I wanted to just come back and give some thoughts on the Brown, 12ft (3.5m) Q Cable I just received from Steve. Now, I'm a little biased in the actual sound science department, in that I don't much believe in the magic of cables, that coupled with the fact that I've only had the standard cable for a few weeks means that I'm not exactly the best person to go to for comparisons. So I'll just leave it at "It doesn't sound any worse"

The main reason I bought the cable was because I sit in two different locations to listen to music, the first is right next to my amp sitting at the computer, the second being lying on my bed, a few metres away. The standard LCD-2 cable was far too short to reach my bed (I would have to lie down backwards for it to reach) and when sitting at the computer, the cable would kind of bunch up because there was simply too much cable, and would generally be uncomfortable. That being said, when I heard that Steve had the lightest, most flexible cable on the market (By general consensus of this thread) I had to try it.

Now that I've received the cable, when sitting by the PC, I'm able to move the cable out of the way and it stays put where I rest it, and is so light that I hardly notice it at all. Also, given the extra length, I'm able to sit in my favorite listening spot with enough extra cable so that it doesn't tug on my headphones, even when it's hanging in midair.

These two facts along make the price extremely justified in my book, and I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who is looking for a aesthetically pleasing, light and flexible wire.

Of course, the wire isn't the only good thing about my experience with the Q Cable, but Steve has some of the best customer service in my experience with any online purchasing. His PMs came fast, were friendly, and elaborated on whatever questions I had about his process and the cables themselves. He was a pleasure to talk to, and was very flexible. For example, I currently own a unbalanced system, and opted for a TRS connector, and was assured that if ever I switch that he could re-terminate the cable to be balanced. Finally, as some of you may know, there is an ongoing Canada Post strike which could last an indefinite amount of time. In light of this, Steve was kind enough to ship my package via FedEx so that I could actually receive it, instead of having it get stuck in postal-limbo.

All in all the cable is great, the man is great and my entire experience has been great. So even despite the fact that I, at this point (I've yet to A/B the cables), don't notice a clear sonic improvement, I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase.

 

[HK_sends]

Steve did this interconnect for me:

 
He's happy to do custom work.
 
Cheers!

-HK sends

 

[sesshin]

Recently received my Q cable and it's a beaut! I thought the envelope it came in was nice. Classy and understated. Can't comment on the sound of the cable, but ergonomics wise I'm in love with it. It's so light it's almost as if it's not even there.

 

[Dreaming Of A Better ...]

....

 

[Fatmangolf]

It's a cross-post (sorry!) but here is some info about a 5 metre DIY cable I made for my LCD-2's:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/560118/diy-cable-for-lcd-2-s#post_7566986
 

 

[Loevhagen]

Ordered from Q Audio today. Why? Having read this entire thread, I felt there was a consensus on that cable. I love my LCD-2 with the stock cable, but sitting very close to my amp (V200) I don´t need 3+ meters of cable. The feather weight cable from Q made me curious if it also alter the sound.
 
Thanks to Steve for a very swift process of my order so far.
 

 

[KevinWolff]

You're gonna love the Q-Audio even more.
 
Quote:

Ordered from Q Audio today. Why? Having read this entire thread, I felt there was a consensus on that cable. I love my LCD-2 with the stock cable, but sitting very close to my amp (V200) I don´t need 3+ meters of cable. The feather weight cable from Q made me curious if it also alter the sound.
 
Thanks to Steve for a very swift process of my order so far.
 

 

 

[KevinWolff]

It's no placebo, it's a real improvement. I like the cotton sheath too. I just had to return an ALO cable because it's braided with plastic shielding and made an audible noise when it rubbed against itself. If you run your fingernail gently along the outside grill of the LCD-2  it makes almost the same knocking noise as the ALO cable. Very annoying. 
 
Also, regarding its flexibility, I found Steve's cables to be more so than both alo and moon audio.  
 
Quote:

got my Q cable today and its fantastic,  very light and very flexible (with stock i always had to constantly adjust the cable bcos it was so annoying) and the cotton braiding/jacketing is very well made and looks classy.
 
and i don't know if its placebo but  i noticed some changes in sound, i'll have to get my brother to help me with a A/B test before i "say" more.
 
 
(no pictures as i don't have my camera with me atm )

 

 

[grokit]

I don't like techflex either. Besides the microphonics, they are rather stiff, the opposite of "supple" in their flexibility. I think that the Q sounds a lot like the default Double Helix Molecule that I have brought up, very high quality lightweight OCC wire sheathed in fabric.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

I don't like techflex either. Besides the microphonics, they are rather stiff, the opposite of "supple" in their flexibility. I think that the Q sounds a lot like the default Double Helix Molecule that I have brought up, very high quality lightweight OCC wire sheathed in fabric.

You are making a misinformed generalization.  Techflex is the brand name of hundreds of types of sheathing, so to say that you don't like when it's being used on your Double Helix Molecule cable verifies that.  The sheathing on that cable is Techflex Nylon Multifilament which is very soft and not "microphonic", unless you are using some really stiff-insulated wire underneath.  Perhaps you are thinking of Techflex Monofilament, which has a tendency to be "microphonic" and has a much stiffer sheathing.
 
Another thing worth mentioning is that this term "microphonics" which is so loosely passed around, is not at all what you are describing.  Microphonics is an electrical phenomenon, not a physical one in the way you are interpreting it.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphonic
 
You are not hearing the mechanical noise being converted into an electrical signal.  You are hearing physical vibrations in the earcups, which is not the definition of microphonics.
 
Wikipedias entry under Other Uses states:
The term is sometimes misused to describe sounds transmitted to the ear physically by mechanical vibrations or knocks on the wires of a headphone or in-ear monitor, where no current induction occurs.[2]

 

[grokit]

Quote:

You are making a misinformed generalization.  Techflex is the brand name of hundreds of types of sheathing, so to say that you don't like when it's being used on your Double Helix Molecule cable verifies that.  The sheathing on that cable is Techflex Nylon Multifilament which is very soft and not "microphonic", unless you are using some really stiff-insulated wire underneath.  Perhaps you are thinking of Techflex Monofilament, which has a tendency to be "microphonic" and has a much stiffer sheathing.
 
Another thing worth mentioning is that this term "microphonics" which is so loosely passed around, is not at all what you are describing.  Microphonics is an electrical phenomenon, not a physical one in the way you are interpreting it.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphonic
 
You are not hearing the mechanical noise being converted into an electrical signal.  You are hearing physical vibrations in the earcups, which is not the definition of microphonics.
 
Wikipedias entry under Other Uses states:
The term is sometimes misused to describe sounds transmitted to the ear physically by mechanical vibrations or knocks on the wires of a headphone or in-ear monitor, where no current induction occurs.[2]

Who said that I have issues with the sheathing on my Double Helix Molecule cables? You, not me. I never mentioned anything about Double Helix in my post.
 
I always opt for the recommended "soft black multifilamant nylon" when I order my Molecules (I have 5 of them). But you are correct that I was making a misinformed generalization, as I do associate the brand name Techflex with their monofilament line. The monofilament sheathed cable that I was referring to is a TwagV2 from Whiplash. It sounds great but has the ergonomic issues that I mentioned previously. I much prefer the soft nylon version of Techflex that Peter uses and have repeatedly recommended his work.
 
My Double Helix Molecule cables are light as a feather, supple, tangle-free and great sounding. I would have never guessed that the soft black multifilamant nylon they use was also Techflex so thanks for straightening me out on that.
 
I am already aware of what the term microphonic means when it is applied to both vacuum tubes and cables, there's no need to patronize me. It's misused all the time on this site in regards to the noise made when cables rub, whether or not that noise is the result of any current and/or feedback being generated.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Who said that I have issues with the sheathing on my Double Helix Molecule cables? You, not me. I never mentioned anything about Double Helix in my post.
 
I always opt for the recommended "soft black multifilamant nylon" when I order my Molecules (I have 5 of them). But you are correct that I was making a misinformed generalization, as I do associate the brand name Techflex with their monofilament line. The monofilament sheathed cable that I was referring to is a TwagV2 from Whiplash. It sounds great but has the ergonomic issues that I mentioned previously. I much prefer the soft nylon version of Techflex that Peter uses and have repeatedly recommended his work.
 
My Double Helix Molecule cables are light as a feather, supple, tangle-free and great sounding. I would have never guessed that the soft black multifilamant nylon they use was also Techflex so thanks for straightening me out on that.
 

I never said you did have issues with his cable, on the contrary I can see from your post you like it.  I was just correcting your notion that Techflex referred to one specific kind of sheathing which it doesn't.  They make hundreds.
 
The only reason I can think of that monofilament would be used on some cables is because it doesn't fray or pill as easily.  When handling NMF, dry skin cuticles can get stuck between a braid and pull on a filament.  (Making lots of cables will cause your fingertips to get callused, unless you wear gloves.)  This makes them much harder to work with, but like you said is soft and looks very nice and is the choice of most cable manufacturers for that reason, and just laying on the floor like most headphone cables do it won't fray easily.