[hakuzen]

Could anyone link me to a 2.5mm Balance Adapter thats let me use my Balance 2.5mm Cable on standard 3.5 jack

i was looking for a good 3.5mm TRS male to 2.5mm TRRS female cable adapter, and thought that new FiiO cable was the best affordable one.
didn't try it, because decided to go for a short (no wire or minimum length possible) adapter instead. these adapters are more conductive (no wire bottleneck), but have the disadvantage of adding stress to the jack socket (specially the straight ones).
got these:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/OKC...le-Jack-Audio-Stereo-Adapter/32865122372.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/32860629855.html
https://doublehelixcables.com/product/eidolic-2-5mm-trrs-3-5mm-trs-adapter/
http://www.norneaudio.com/litzheim/...nch-connector-gold-plated-compact-right-angle
received an straight alo audio adapter, as well, from GUCraftsman.
and this is in my cart:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/-/32876989769.html

So I just found something that is very cool. This shop on aliexpress sells hand made adapters that fit mmcx to something like HD6XX headphones. MMCX to ATH-IM series. ect. Check out their web page.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fre...1f-4bea-bddb-725b5393cf6d&transAbTest=ae803_3

same process than with balanced adapters.. i ended avoiding wire, and got the short adapters. mmcx to 2pins (http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=5779), and also mmcx to ATH-IM: http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=5585
for HD650: http://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=5586

 

[Imbrie]

Could somebody kindly recommend a balanced 2.5 and/or 3.5 (without an in-line remote) MMCX cable for Campfire Comets please? Thanks!

 

[Wiljen]

If mine says 125V 20A don't I need one with 20A? I can only find 15A at the max.

Normally monoprice is a good US seller, but these all state 10A or 15A.
https://www.monoprice.com/category?c_id=102&cp_id=10228
All the 20 amp cables seem to have the square C19 connector instead of the trapezoid-looking C13 connector.
I'm assuming I need a C13 to Nema 5-15P after some googling. It doesn't seem like any of these cables have 20A ratings in this configuration. No 12 AWG either. Everything is 14-18 AWG.
Either the supplied 20A from Grant Fidelity was overkill and it only needs 15A cables, or it somehow does need a 20A cable. I'm not sure which.

double edit: Since I can't find 20A I may just have to go with these 15A hospital grades. They look essentially the same as the 'SoniKLEER' and 'Ironlung Jellyfish' that people were big on back in the day (more googling.) I think those companies probably did a good job of fooling everyone into paying more for these standard cables.
https://www.cablewholesale.com/prod...pital-grade-power-cord/product-10w2-51510.php

Chances are it is marked incorrectly as most 110V wall outlets are wired for 20amps max for the entire circuit and not 20A per outlet. Most things that draw that much current will be 240V instead of 110V as well (hot tubs, welders, stoves, and Clothes dryers to name a few).

 

[hakuzen]

as i told, already made some fast measurements of same gear with different cables: copper, true silver plated, tin plated (more common, sold as silver plated), pure silver. frequency response, distortion, impulse response.
didn't find noticeable differences between them, except of volume due to different conductivity. i'll measure them again deeper, anyway.
material of the wire, but also of the sleeve, and contacts will affect the sound surely, but the total quantity is tiny in the graphs.
another matter is mind tricks. it's proven than perception of frequency response varies regards of volume (thanks, @Animagus !). loudness. you get a perception of louder low, and highs, at higher volumes; this tonal difference is not showed in graphs but in brain. more info at, for example, https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/hp-fr5.php , https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/hp-fr7.php .
who knows if there were other mind mechanisms to alter our perception based in small and unnoticeable (in theory) differences.
there is perception and there is objective reality. the latter is needed for main lines and consensus, but at last, our perception is what we care, and this is ruled by our unknown brain (we can study a few common brain mechanisms, but others, and particular mechanisms are out of our reach by now).
so still considering the most conductive cables of any material, besides of comfort, durability, and aesthetics.

 

[hakuzen]

... and keep proportion of the price/quality of your cable vs the price/quality of you phones.
to me, those luxury hundred of $ cables are a waste; there is no proportion with the improvement you get.

 

[Dsnuts]

It seems to be the consensus among higher end cable guys that cheaper cables are not worth looking into. They don't even mention that there are nicer cables you can buy for a fragment of the cost of the boutique cables.

I mentioned about the 8 core lunashops silver cable being an actual upgrade of the Alo Litz cable that comes with the Solaris. It seems it is hard to believe for some that a $70 cable is better than a $200 one. But I was immediately met with some random guy that posts about the bad quality of Chi fi cables ect. Lol. That is what one gets when your going against the norm.

To be completely honest. I am not even remotely interested in spending $400-$1000 on a cable. That makes very little sense to me. If I am gonna spend that much I would much rather get a nice earphone or a nice source some more music. But a supposed high tech cable for that much?

I suppose to each their own.

 

[40lb]

It seems to be the consensus among higher end cable guys that cheaper cables are not worth looking into. They don't even mention that there are nicer cables you can buy for a fragment of the cost of the boutique cables.

I mentioned about the 8 core lunashops silver cable being an actual upgrade of the Alo Litz cable that comes with the Solaris. It seems it is hard to believe for some that a $70 cable is better than a $200 one. But I was immediately met with some random guy that posts about the bad quality of Chi fi cables ect. Lol. That is what one gets when your going against the norm.

To be completely honest. I am not even remotely interested in spending $400-$1000 on a cable. That makes very little sense to me. If I am gonna spend that much I would much rather get a nice earphone or a nice source some more music. But a supposed high tech cable for that much?

I suppose to each their own.

I have a hard time believing expensive cables can really make that big of a difference. As long as you have good quality cables (pure metals) and good quality control (manufacturing process), I see them being not very different other than how is was made (ex. Litz cables).

Pure metals will carry a signal better that I don't argue but when you limit it to at 4ft/1.5m I don't see it making an impact that big as some claim (at least I can't hear the difference). 25ft/8.5m I can see a need for an expensive high quality cable.

I've been long at cable most for looks and experimenting with number of cores. Don't think I'll pay more then 50USD for cables at this moment in time. 300USD max.

 

[fokta]

IMO, Cable only effects max. 40%, and depends on DAP and IEM/Cans, not to forget the music file....
so its a total effect... cable is just one of compliment to make the sound good...

Yesterday, I visited a local cable maker, and made a Cable from Litz OCC hybrid silver copper, because its manual craft, so have to wait...

 

[Animagus]

Hey guys!
Adding to what hakuzen posted, here is a part of my conversation with him. We've been talking about good cables and all the great iems that are out there.

I don't know if everyone would like to hear this or if people have written about this here or not (since I'm relatively new to this forum), but this is what I have studied and experimented theoretically and professionally.

Yes, in most cases there won't be drastic changes in the FR with cable swaps. As you know that cables have different impedances. Lower the impedance, more freely the current flows through that wire. In short, you get a slight volume boost with cables with lower impedance because of better conduction.

Normally when you just increase the volume while listening, you start hearing some elements of the frequency spectrum clearer with increase in volume. Now imagine you were listening on level 5/10 with a cable with high impedance. Now when you switch to a cable with lower impedance, the volume level rises to, say 6/10, because of better conduction. Since you haven't raised the volume manually yourself, you'll perceive that as a FR change rather than just a slight volume change. Theoretically this is what happens. In reality, mind is a tricky thing.

We talk about this in the pro audio world. Something that people haven't come across or fail to realize is the 3dB rule, where an increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is perceived to be twice as loud. Therefore a small increase in decibels represents a large increase in intensity. The sound intensity multiplies by 10 with every 10dB increase. Perceived loudness changes leads to even more pronounced perceived FR changes.

Hope this helps. I don't want to offend anyone's opinion or experience, just an excerpt from my experience. Such kind of material were a part of my theoretical and lab study as a student and experienced in my profession regularly.

Happy tinkering!

 

[Redcarmoose]

Hey guys!
Adding to what hakuzen posted, here is a part of my conversation with him. We've been talking about good cables and all the great iems that are out there.

I don't know if everyone would like to hear this or if people have written about this here or not (since I'm relatively new to this forum), but this is what I have studied and experimented theoretically and professionally.

Yes, in most cases there won't be drastic changes in the FR with cable swaps. As you know that cables have different impedances. Lower the impedance, more freely the current flows through that wire. In short, you get a slight volume boost with cables with lower impedance because of better conduction.

Normally when you just increase the volume while listening, you start hearing some elements of the frequency spectrum clearer with increase in volume. Now imagine you were listening on level 5/10 with a cable with high impedance. Now when you switch to a cable with lower impedance, the volume level rises to, say 6/10, because of better conduction. Since you haven't raised the volume manually yourself, you'll perceive that as a FR change rather than just a slight volume change. Theoretically this is what happens. In reality, mind is a tricky thing.

We talk about this in the pro audio world. Something that people haven't come across or fail to realize is the 3dB rule, where an increase of 3dB doubles the sound intensity but a 10dB increase is required before a sound is perceived to be twice as loud. Therefore a small increase in decibels represents a large increase in intensity. The sound intensity multiplies by 10 with every 10dB increase. Perceived loudness changes leads to even more pronounced perceived FR changes.

Hope this helps. I don't want to offend anyone's opinion or experience, just an excerpt from my experience. Such kind of material were a part of my theoretical and lab study as a student and experienced in my profession regularly.

Happy tinkering!

Tinkering here.........
My way of testing at times is arrived at by simply having two of the exact same IEM and one with cable A and one with cable B. The IEMs sit in their case and I routinely just grab one and put it into the player and start listening, not ever taking note of a volume number but reaching a comfortable volume level. After listening for a day the next day I may try the same IEM or switch IEMs, resulting in using the different cable. A relaxed methodology not looking for anything in particular or setting up stuff to look for changes...............seems to open up the possibility of better perception.

After a week of listening I seem to have an idea of the two cable personalities. Though after getting ideas about a sound, I’m pretty sure I then come to expect the same sound and start to get opinionated about a cable.

But much of the time a more expensive cable is not an improvement. At times a boost in one frequency area can sound like an improvement when in fact it’s just different. But again it’s only an improvement if the sound is going the direction you want. That change may not be what everyone is looking for. Luckily though many who have the same aftermarket IEM cable share success stories (using the same IEM) as a group with everyone reporting the same benifits.

It may just be the posts I’m reading but as a whole I seem to read about Head-Fi becoming more open-minded about cable adds.

Volume levels as a single concept can have a bewildering effect on judging IEMs. Me and a fellow member have routinely noted a particular IEM to become an enjoyable different animal when cranked up. It was like volume was needed to get the signature to sound balanced, regardless of cable used or volume power at hand. Sadly the IEM sounded best at an almost dangerously loud volume. Lol.

 

[fokta]

I think and believe the OP purpose is giving option for people to buy aftermarket Cable...
this thread is to faster the search, or at least give the idea which cable they after, combine with IEM they have....

Anyway, Let me pose my new custom cable, just arrived this afternoon....

the idea is from DHC cable, the cable material is the same except the jack, MMCX and Y Spillter... with the price quarter from it....

Repost my other custom cable for Headphone.... 7N Gold Plate.


P.S : support ur local

 

[darmanastartes]

Can someone point out an upgrade cable for less than $40 that would fit the CCA-C10? I really hate how the faux-metal MMCX housings on KZ cables look.

 

[fokta]

better lighting.... Cable porn..

 

[Dsnuts]

Oh wow this was unexpected. One of the best cables I purchased recently is on sale for the cheapest I have seen. Winter Sale going on at Aliexpress.

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...a2g1y.12024536.productList_2717662.subject_18

Get em while they are cheap.

 

[daid1]

I think and believe the OP purpose is giving option for people to buy aftermarket Cable...
this thread is to faster the search, or at least give the idea which cable they after, combine with IEM they have....

Anyway, Let me pose my new custom cable, just arrived this afternoon....

the idea is from DHC cable, the cable material is the same except the jack, MMCX and Y Spillter... with the price quarter from it....

Repost my other custom cable for Headphone.... 7N Gold Plate.


P.S : support ur local

can I ask where did you buy the first cable?