[CobraMan]

Guys, one more thing before i go ahead with the order- SE or balanced? I know this has been debated all along. Since I am getting a new cable and have this option, which would be better(sonically should there be any).

If you get the balanced you can always use an adapter to convert to SE but not the other way around. Just a thought - balanced will give you more versatility...

Cheers,
Tim

 

[Devangel]

Hi, i currently have some wire from norne audio for my HD800(occ litz and the difference was huge compared to the stock cable !). i'm looking for another wires to try. What do you guys recommend ? (wire because diy and sorry for my english)

 

[subwoof3r]

Just received today my ISN Audio C4.
I will do a proper review but by waiting here are my quick first impressions :

Compared to 210 (NiceHCK Oalloy UP-OCC), of course its night and day, the huge soundstage of 210 makes this C4 sounding like "monaural". Also, everything is much better in 210 (especially bass impact both quality and quantity).
Compared to ISN Audio S4, the sound is much warmer (low and mids especially), thinner soundstage, more veil, but better sub-bass presence. High freq looks also completely smoothed out (details are still there but not by much). Overall soundstage is much better in S4.
So definitely it looks like good copper quality, but I can now really feel the difference between UP-OCC and not.
This C4 could be a good pairing with something cold, where highs needs to be much tamed and where soundstage is exaggerated (too large for exemple).
I will let it burn for at least 48 hours before beginning my critical listening before making a final judgement.

 

[hakuzen]

I saw EAC has adapters for sale, as well. Have you tried them? I was thinking of getting a right angled MMCX to 2-pin one together with the 175 cable.

yes, i've tried them. they are the same that costed me from 25 to 35 USD some months ago at aliexpress, lunashops, and penon.
but they cost around $10 at electro acousti! (even cheaper than most taobao prices).
before this price, they were only considered for cables above 60 USD. now, you can spend 10 USD for your 30 USD cables.
they are made of gold plated brass or copper, and plastic, and measured below 2mOhm. only one of them showed a crack after some use (still working, just cosmetic issue).

the recently linked adapter from haldane or from taobao, are made of a hard resin ("egger"), thicker, harder, and more transparent, than the plastic of the cheaper adapters. gold plated copper contacts, and silver solder. they are more expensive, but better quality.
it's important to notice that these adapters are harder to plug and unplug. the connection is tighter than with the cheaper adapters. i have to use a tool to unplug the mmcx connection. so for measuring or if i have to change the adapters frequently, i use the CEMA electro acousti adapters. for more permanent connections, i use the more expensive ones.

Guys, one more thing before i go ahead with the order- SE or balanced? I know this has been debated all along. Since I am getting a new cable and have this option, which would be better(sonically should there be any).

If you get the balanced you can always use an adapter to convert to SE but not the other way around. Just a thought - balanced will give you more versatility...

Cheers,
Tim

besides of what @CobraMan has answered, which is essential to consider (if you'll ever get a balanced source), there is a clear sound difference if you use a balanced source + balanced cable respect using single-end (besides of double power -double voltage, +6dB SPL-): crosstalk. crosstalk is decreased notably, so you get wider sound stage.

Hi, i currently have some wire from norne audio for my HD800(occ litz and the difference was huge compared to the stock cable !). i'm looking for another wires to try. What do you guys recommend ? (wire because diy and sorry for my english)

i'd suggest up-occ wires. check certified neotech wires at audiophonics.fr (or hificollective.co.uk). or oem up-occ (not certified neotech) at CEMA electro acousti shop at aliexpress (i've tried many of them and i could swear they are up-occ, judging for the sound differences respect any other wire i've tried)

 

[hakuzen]

i've made further AB between cables 175 and 183.
they are more different than what i thought in first impressions.

173/174 uses up-occ AgAu alloy wire (99% up-occ pure silver, 1% gold), which stands out in upper-mids and highs from all wires i've tried. stage depth, layering, and ringing decay is amazing; i'd bet you don't miss any treble detail that your source+phones combo is capable to reproduce. tightest and very detailed textured bass. the overall result is brighter than any other wire.

175 mixes AgAu wires with frozen up-occ copper litz wires. this adds more bass presence, although still tight and very detailed. the result is more neutral, imo, and so more versatile (i think you can pair this mix with any source+phones combo), without loosing the AgAu treble excellence.

183 mixes AgAu wires with golden plated up-occ silver. the gold plating also adds warmth and bass presence. after further AB with 175, i think 175 has cleaner bass, and overall is more balanced than 183, which is brighter. gold plating creates unique effects, sound is different, from overall tone to vocals. guess it goes well with japanese common preferences, some bass rumble and clear and emphasized upper-mids, female vocals. i have to explore this deeper though. but i prefer 175 bass transparency and more neutral overall balance. guess it's a mater of personal preferences. 175 is still my favorite and my clear recommendation.

(all them share the great sound stage and black background of up-occ wires).

Edit:
used balanced output of xduoo x20 (stock firmware) and moondrop blessing (neutral high resolution) iem. to check bass (from sub-bass to mid-bass) cleanliness, listened to "Lose yourself to dance" (Daft Punk), "Closer" (Nine Inch Nails), "Smack my bitch up" (The Prodigy).

 

[hakuzen]

Just received today my ISN Audio C4.
I will do a proper review but by waiting here are my quick first impressions :

Compared to 210 (NiceHCK Oalloy UP-OCC), of course its night and day, the huge soundstage of 210 makes this C4 sounding like "monaural". Also, everything is much better in 210 (especially bass impact both quality and quantity).
Compared to ISN Audio S4, the sound is much warmer (low and mids especially), thinner soundstage, more veil, but better sub-bass presence. High freq looks also completely smoothed out (details are still there but not by much). Overall soundstage is much better in S4.
So definitely it looks like good copper quality, but I can now really feel the difference between UP-OCC and not.
This C4 could be a good pairing with something cold, where highs needs to be much tamed and where soundstage is exaggerated (too large for exemple).
I will let it burn for at least 48 hours before beginning my critical listening before making a final judgement.

yea, i think cable 210 (nicehck oalloy) is the only cable i've tried comparable to my electro acousti favorites. bass is superb, in quantity and quality, like you said. i'd wish to mix this with AgAu wire.

 

[Stymeron]

yea, i think cable 210 (nicehck oalloy) is the only cable i've tried comparable to my electro acousti favorites. bass is superb, in quantity and quality, like you said. i'd wish to mix this with AgAu wire.

Which seems like it would then be the 175?

 

[Sunstealer]

i've made further AB between cables 175 and 183.
they are more different than what i thought in first impressions.

173/174 uses up-occ AgAu alloy wire (99% up-occ pure silver, 1% gold), which stands out in upper-mids and highs from all wires i've tried. stage depth, layering, and ringing decay is amazing; i'd bet you don't miss any treble detail that your source+phones combo is capable to reproduce. tightest and very detailed textured bass. the overall result is brighter than any other wire.

175 mixes AgAu wires with frozen up-occ copper litz wires. this adds more bass presence, although still tight and very detailed. the result is more neutral, imo, and so more versatile (i think you can pair this mix with any source+phones combo), without loosing the AgAu treble excellence.

183 mixes AgAu wires with golden plated up-occ silver. the gold plating also adds warmth and bass presence. after further AB with 175, i think 175 has cleaner bass, and overall is more balanced than 183, which is brighter. gold plating creates unique effects, sound is different, from overall tone to vocals. guess it goes well with japanese common preferences, some bass rumble and clear and emphasized upper-mids, female vocals. i have to explore this deeper though. but i prefer 175 bass transparency and more neutral overall balance. guess it's a mater of personal preferences. 175 is still my favorite and my clear recommendation.

(all them share the great sound stage and black background of up-occ wires).

Edit:
used balanced output of xduoo x20 (stock firmware) and moondrop blessing (neutral high resolution) iem. to check bass (from sub-bass to mid-bass) cleanliness, listened to "Lose yourself to dance" (Daft Punk), "Closer" (Nine Inch Nails), "Smack my bitch up" (The Prodigy).

Thanks for this. I can save the money and put it towards some IEMs instead!

 

[hakuzen]

Which seems like it would then be the 175?

the copper wire added in 175 has been my favorite for bass. but after first impressions of 210, which is a copper + silver alloy, i was amazed with the bass perception. although i have to do more AB to confirm it.
so not exactly same frankenstein. 175 is AgAu + copper, the new frankenstein would be AgAu + CuAg. and i don't mean materials, but these exact wires.

 

[frapp2latte]

yes, i've tried them. they are the same that costed me from 25 to 35 USD some months ago at aliexpress, lunashops, and penon.
but they cost around $10 at electro acousti! (even cheaper than most taobao prices).
before this price, they were only considered for cables above 60 USD. now, you can spend 10 USD for your 30 USD cables.
they are made of gold plated brass or copper, and plastic, and measured below 2mOhm. only one of them showed a crack after some use (still working, just cosmetic issue).

the recently linked adapter from haldane or from taobao, are made of a hard resin ("egger"), thicker, harder, and more transparent, than the plastic of the cheaper adapters. gold plated copper contacts, and silver solder. they are more expensive, but better quality.
it's important to notice that these adapters are harder to plug and unplug. the connection is tighter than with the cheaper adapters. i have to use a tool to unplug the mmcx connection. so for measuring or if i have to change the adapters frequently, i use the CEMA electro acousti adapters. for more permanent connections, i use the more expensive ones.

Thanks for the tip, Hakuzen! I think I’ll get both of them for future use. CEMA for quick A & B comparison between different IEMs and the sturdier Haldane ones for more permanent use, like you said.

And thanks for the more in depth comparison between 175 and 183 cables. I’ll go for the more versatile 175 for now.

 

[courierdriver]

yea, i think cable 210 (nicehck oalloy) is the only cable i've tried comparable to my electro acousti favorites. bass is superb, in quantity and quality, like you said. i'd wish to mix this with AgAu wire.

So, right now on Aliexpress, the price difference between Oalloy and EA 175 (but in 4 core version on latter), is like $13 Cdn. I can only afford to buy one ( will use it with mostly with Moondrop KanasPro...but maybe also TFZ NO.3 or Nicehck NX7). I'm mostly leaning to pairing it with my KanasPro. Looking for a bigger soundstage, with a more defined yet impactful bass/subbass; but while also giving tonally correct mids and upper mids and highs detail. I have the ISN C16 copper on my KanasPro now (balanced, 2.5 plug); and while the bass is great, and mids are a bit warmer and fleshed out compared to the stock 3.5mm cable; I wish for a bit more detail and soundstage in the highs. So, which one would be better, @hakuzen? Cable 210 from Nicehck, or cable 175 (in 4 core, balanced version) from EA? The Electro acoustic cable is like $3 more than the Oalloy.

 

[yorosello]

Anyone can help me identify these cables? Because I want to pair it with my IEM but didn't know which is which on hakuzen's list

 

[saman65]

would 175 be a better match for my single ended Campfire Comet or 210?
I know this is 210
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000167037021.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7d8b3c00Y4oVEx&mp=1
but wasn't sure if this is the link to 175
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000007909452.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.217f3c00RybJpY&mp=1
Any help is totally appreciated, before the sales are over

 

[muths66]

would 175 be a better match for my single ended Campfire Comet or 210?
I know this is 210
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000167037021.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.7d8b3c00Y4oVEx&mp=1
but wasn't sure if this is the link to 175
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000007909452.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.217f3c00RybJpY&mp=1
Any help is totally appreciated, before the sales are over

SG$ 151.13 | 1% gold + 99% pure silver + 7n OCC Litz The best mixing proportion determined by multiple mixing scheme MMCX 0.78MM
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/m5zPteza

 

[Xiche]

So, right now on Aliexpress, the price difference between Oalloy and EA 175 (but in 4 core version on latter), is like $13 Cdn. I can only afford to buy one ( will use it with mostly with Moondrop KanasPro...but maybe also TFZ NO.3 or Nicehck NX7). I'm mostly leaning to pairing it with my KanasPro. Looking for a bigger soundstage, with a more defined yet impactful bass/subbass; but while also giving tonally correct mids and upper mids and highs detail. I have the ISN C16 copper on my KanasPro now (balanced, 2.5 plug); and while the bass is great, and mids are a bit warmer and fleshed out compared to the stock 3.5mm cable; I wish for a bit more detail and soundstage in the highs. So, which one would be better, @hakuzen? Cable 210 from Nicehck, or cable 175 (in 4 core, balanced version) from EA? The Electro acoustic cable is like $3 more than the Oalloy.

I had this question too a few pages back (page 224) - and tl;dr hakuzen still prefers 175.

210 (oalloy) bass perception has amazed me and overall it's comparable to any of the best up-occ cables in my list.
but i still prefer 175, near to 210 bass perception, but incomparable excellent upper-mids and highs: soundstage depth, layering, most detailed ringing decay. besides of quality of plugs.