u might go for 170, since its Litz cable. 165 is unclear if its litz or not, although the spec mention it.
Thanks, I am glad I'm able to contribute and help the community in some way. I am looking forward to the teardown of some 16 core cables as well
I really am hoping that this whole 'fake cable' thing is isolated to those few TRN models. Only time will tell though. I will say that even if the TRN cables had all of the cores connected, the solder joints were pretty poor IMO.
I am also concerned about why the TRN ends are so similar to JC Ally cables (with that distinctive criss-cross knurled aluminum finish). In the back of my mind I wonder if both TRN and JC Ally cables are made by the same factory (and if there's issues with 1 does that mean there's also issues with the other, because I own a number of JC Ally cables).
As far as the NiceHCK cable, it does appear to be a 'sure thing' as far as best bang-for-the-buck budget cable. If I had to be critical of it, it is kinda thin and can get tangled when compared to most of these other 8-core upgrade cables. But thin = soft and flexible, so it's not necessarily a bad thing.
Wow! Dude...I got huge respect that you can do that. I got no skillz with that kinda stuff and even if I did...I'd never be able to even SEE stuff so small! Thanks soooooo much for doing these cable autopsies. You and @hakuzen rule! You both now have me wondering about my ISN C16. I wonder if I'm safe. I like this cable on my KanasPro, but I'm now starting to wonder if it's as good as I think it could be. Have you tested this.. @Slater, @hakuzen?It's destructive, unfortunately. Here's an example of why...
This is a NiceHCK I just finished dissecting. It’s cable 053 from @hakuzen's list (an 8-core NiceHCK cable). Anyways, this particular cable has all cores soldered to all jacks.
So as far as the question of "can cables be tested and then returned", as you can see from the above photos it is not a realistic proposition. To be thorough I have to verify what's going on at BOTH ends of the cable, so we can get a clear understanding of the construction of the whole cable. Because, for example, a cable may have all cores connected at the 3.5mm plug but not at the mmcx plug due to space limitations.
It's not a total loss, however. The braided wire is still good, and cables that I dissect can be rebuilt with all new ends. Unfortunately, by the time I buy new plugs (male mmcx, 2-pin, 3.5mm, balanced) it easily exceeds the cost of the cable itself. But all in the name of science, right? I've already rebuilt one of the KZ flat braided cables to use with some 1More H1707 headphones.
As far as fake vs real cables, I can only speak to cables I have actually physically torn down so far:
I have yet to receive/test any more cables (including some 16-core cables), but I plan to in the coming weeks. Based on hakuzen's list, I already know which 16-core cables I'm suspicious of, so those are the ones I'm going to tear down first.
- (038) KZ 8-core flat braided, 3.5mm SE, 2-pin
- (038) KZ 8-core flat braided, 3.5mm SE, mmcx
- TRN 6 core, 3.5mm SE, mmcx
- TRN 6 core, 3.5mm SE, 2-pin
- (056) TRN 8-core, 3.5mm SE, mmcx
- (056) TRN 8-core, 3.5mm SE, 2-pin
- (053) NiceHCK 8-core, 2.5mm balanced, mmcx
As hakuzen said though, we need to remain fair and also resist a panic. There are many LEGIT cables. But just like anything, there's some FAKES mixed in. My hope is to expose as many fakes as possible, but also to show manufacturers that there are people out there actually verifying their products. And so maybe it will help convince all of the manufacturers to be more honest.
Finally, I'll leave you with this photo. In it you can see just how little room there is on each individual terminal. There's BARELY enough room for 2 cores to be soldered per terminal. As I've said before, imagine how incredibly difficult it would be to solder TWICE as many wires onto the same dinky terminals for 16-core cables. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I have to ask myself if manufacturers selling a mass produced $15 cable can pull it off...
is this the cable with the offending solder work? or lack of itCable 060 in hakuzen’s database:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/resistance-of-cables-pics-comments-and-links.907998/#post-14985622
060. hck ct3 ofc 8c (brown,furt,M): 206/210..206/204..200/205..486/195..[19g]
best conductivity and build quality in the cheapest segment (<$10) cables.
very soft and flexible. blue point marks ground/- pin.
sound is acceptable.
links:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/32971728152.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/32974695270.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/32974803008.html
is this the cable with the offending solder work? or lack of it
Thanks, bro! I like this cable with my KPE. But I also still like my JCALLY 8 core with my ZS10 PRO. The ISN is definitely softer and more comfortable, but the JCALLY is a bit more so. Sonically, It's a tossup...both are a great match to the iem's that they are connected to...but I'm current preferring preferring the ZS10 PRO with the balanced JCALLY cable more. Weird.
