[430633]

Now that I think about it, maybe the cable resistance is simply added to the driver impedance as a total load driven by the amp

 

[PhonoPhi]

New to cables with some questions here
Is there damping factor between the amplifier to cable and cable to driver like there is between the DAC and amplifier?
Also, does cable resistance matter since the voice coil of the driver (for dynamic designs) will likely be the limiting factor in this regard?

IEM impedance can be 8-9 Ohm, it is frequency dependent. Coils are inductors.

Cables are resistors, their capacitance and inductance are not a factor.

1/8 rule still works. It is more 1/16 actually, since cable resistance is commonly cited per conductor.
Then the values for IEM are typically given at 1 kHz (they can be noticeably lower at coil resonances, especially for less-dampened BAs).

One of the best way to learn how cables can matter is to buy a resistive load or just add few-Ohm resistor and listen .

Also I love IEmatch in this regard.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Btw, does anyone know if cable oxidation causes a change in the resistance of the cable? Or is it purely a visual change (negatively probably)?

Maybe @PhonoPhi knows.

 

[430633]

Btw, does anyone know if cable oxidation causes a change in the resistance of the cable? Or is it purely a visual change (negatively probably)?

Maybe @PhonoPhi knows.

chemistry
undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are lost to another species.The opposite of reduce.

According to the above definition, and also according to scientific knowledge, there should be an increase in resistance. Question is, how severe

 

[PhonoPhi]

Btw, does anyone know if cable oxidation causes a change in the resistance of the cable? Or is it purely a visual change (negatively probably)?

Maybe @PhonoPhi knows.

It is a very good question.

I can tell what I know and can think of, as well as my limited experience.

If oxidation/corrosion involves a thin layer on the surface, it should not change resistance noticeably, at least what can be measured easily.

I have one of my stock cables turned ugly brown and green (brown is silver sulphide, greens are copper salts most likely - that clearly evidenced that the plating layer was not pure silver - for those who "can hear the difference" between pure copper and plating) but its resistance hardly changed and I am not able to tell if it is any worse within my limited abilities.

Now, thinking as a more involved/seasoned audiophile - oxidation/ corrosion products can be semiconductive and can involve signal distortion, if anywhere - at high frequencies, e.g. thinking along a "skin effect". Can it materially matter? More than 7N vs 5 N copper in my book of jungles

Anyhow, I tossed away my ugly cable at least for aesthetical reasons, but some green on QDC-like connectors I like - it is less likely to affect conductivity of these thick parts unless the junction will be heavily involved.

That brings the culprit of my unnecessarily long answer - soldering points and junctions are an Achilles heel of most of the cables to be most concerned with, including the corrosion, in my opinion and experience.

 

[Strifeff7]

@Dsnuts
Could you recommend some cable for the Mest,
for a smoother vocal,
Under $50, Under $100, and over $100,

thank you,

 

[Dsnuts]

I am currently using the Blocc NiceHCK UPOCC cable on it which I like better vs the stock cable. Stock cable is more about resolution and details which the MEST does not need. You notice their newer MK2 uses a new copper cable? In any case I just got KBEARs version of the Graphene cable in 8 cores I want to try on the MEST I will get back to you as that one seems to be a good match for the MEST. The sound profile of these graphene cables seems to have more copper properties to the cable vs anything silver wise so let me check and see how that works out. I really like the new Solar on the MEST a lot but that is a $399 cable I just did a review for but no need to spend that much on the MEST.

The Blocc UPOCC cable costs around $65ish during sales. I just bought these too.

New Penon cable called the PAC480. These should match up well since it is mostly copper with half the cores having silver plating. Dont know when I will be getting this as I ordered them last night but I will most certainly try this particular cable on the MEST. I will report back. See if that graphene cable is good on the MEST.

 

[Dsnuts]

LEFT Graphene 8 core Center Stock Silver plated UPOCC cable which is way overpriced for what it is. $424 according to musicteck. No way this cable is $424. Lol
The cable I am using on the MEST is the BLOCC UPOCC 2 core copper cable from NiceHCK.

I forgot how much the stock cable attenuates the higher frequencies. It is going unused at the moment as the cable just enhances upper detail even more so than pure silver cables it seems. Which is the last thing the MEST sound tuning needs. In fact the reason why I never bought into the MK2 version, Upon seeing the graph it has a slight increase in bass and slight lesser treble but pretty much identical to the OG tuning. The best cable for the MEST here is the NiceHCK blocc cable. I was looking for something comparable on XinHS site and this is one cable I don't think these guys have. It is a higher end copper cable from NiceHCK so they seem to be sourcing these from a different cable maker. In any case I would wait a bit for a sale as they seem to have monthly sales on cables. Right now they are $100ish but on sale I would snap this cable up and you can do the QDC version which will fit the MEST.

The graphene cable here I know a lot of you guys have bought these. Is a nice cable but a bit heavy. I own a much higher end Penon OSG and unfortunately this graphene cable is nothing like the OSG. As it should as the OSG is playing on a different level in comparison but I do hear some traits from this cable. It is doing something with the MEST imaging a bit that I don't like. It does sound more copper influenced but it seems to narrow the mid band notes a touch in comparison to the BLocc cables which gives the MEST the smoothest fluid mid bands vs the other two cables here. Treble sounds way more natural using the Bloccs. Going back to the stock cable just to compare and the stock cable just dont match up well with the MEST. It seems UM just threw in a highly resolving cable and called it a day. It is funny to me they are using something similar to the Blocc cable I am using on their new MEST MK2.

In any case. If you need something that matches up way better I can honestly say even at the $100 it will be worth getting a set of these for the MEST. I have tried more than just these cables on the MEST and I always end up going back to the Bloccs. Bass is the best using these too by the way. This is the cable to get IMO for the MEST without spending a lot. Even better on sale if you can.

 

[430633]

LEFT Graphene 8 core Center Stock Silver plated UPOCC cable which is way overpriced for what it is. $424 according to musicteck. No way this cable is $424. Lol
The cable I am using on the MEST is the BLOCC UPOCC 2 core copper cable from NiceHCK.

I forgot how much the stock cable attenuates the higher frequencies. It is going unused at the moment as the cable just enhances upper detail even more so than pure silver cables it seems. Which is the last thing the MEST sound tuning needs. In fact the reason why I never bought into the MK2 version, Upon seeing the graph it has a slight increase in bass and slight lesser treble but pretty much identical to the OG tuning. The best cable for the MEST here is the NiceHCK blocc cable. I was looking for something comparable on XinHS site and this is one cable I don't think these guys have. It is a higher end copper cable from NiceHCK so they seem to be sourcing these from a different cable maker. In any case I would wait a bit for a sale as they seem to have monthly sales on cables. Right now they are $100ish but on sale I would snap this cable up and you can do the QDC version which will fit the MEST.

The graphene cable here I know a lot of you guys have bought these. Is a nice cable but a bit heavy. I own a much higher end Penon OSG and unfortunately this graphene cable is nothing like the OSG. As it should as the OSG is playing on a different level in comparison but I do hear some traits from this cable. It is doing something with the MEST imaging a bit that I don't like. It does sound more copper influenced but it seems to narrow the mid band notes a touch in comparison to the BLocc cables which gives the MEST the smoothest fluid mid bands vs the other two cables here. Treble sounds way more natural using the Bloccs. Going back to the stock cable just to compare and the stock cable just dont match up well with the MEST. It seems UM just threw in a highly resolving cable and called it a day. It is funny to me they are using something similar to the Blocc cable I am using on their new MEST MK2.

In any case. If you need something that matches up way better I can honestly say even at the $100 it will be worth getting a set of these for the MEST. I have tired more than just these cables on the MEST and I always end up going back to the Bloccs. Bass is the best using these too by the way. This is the cable to get IMO for the MEST without spending a lot. Even better on sale if you can.

Do expensive cables take longer before oxidising compared to more affordable equivalents? Also, which kind of material combinations/plated/coated cables fare the best in this regard according to your experience?

 

[Dsnuts]

We are in the budget realm. One of my cables oxidize I am gonna get a new cable. Lol. Seriously though most cables that I have bought from Aliexpress are good without turning green or brown and that is from too many cables to count. I have seen even higher end cables turn green. If you see the sales threads there will be the occasional Effect Audio ect much higher end cable with oxidation on them people are selling. In general oxidation does not affect what the cable does but it does make em look ugly.

Again I wouldn't worry so much about oxidation heck by the time your cable oxidizes and turns ugly if it does you will probably be onto new IEMs and new cables anyway.

I would say in general however the higher up in the cable realm the less likely the cables are going to oxidize as they are using more premium finishes which adds to the cost of the cables. But I have seen cables turn stiff no matter what cost they are so that is another concern altogether.

 

[430633]

We are in the budget realm. One of my cables oxidize I am gonna get a new cable. Lol. Seriously though most cables that I have bought from Aliexpress are good without turning green or brown and that is from too many cables to count. I have seen even higher end cables turn green. If you see the sales threads there will be the occasional Effect Audio ect much higher end cable with oxidation on them people are selling. In general oxidation does not affect what the cable does but it does make em look ugly.

Again I wouldn't worry so much about oxidation heck by the time your cable oxidizes and turns ugly if it does you will probably be onto new IEMs and new cables anyway.

Thanks for your insight. I didn't know $400+ cables are considered budget, pray excuse my ignorance

 

[430633]

IEM impedance can be 8-9 Ohm, it is frequency dependent. Coils are inductors.

Cables are resistors, their capacitance and inductance are not a factor.

1/8 rule still works. It is more 1/16 actually, since cable resistance is commonly cited per conductor.
Then the values for IEM are typically given at 1 kHz (they can be noticeably lower at coil resonances, especially for less-dampened BAs).

One of the best way to learn how cables can matter is to buy a resistive load or just add few-Ohm resistor and listen .

Also I love IEmatch in this regard.

I actually have had the In Ear Buddy and IEMatch for some time. Never used them much as I thought they affected the sound despite the claims of many that they don't

 

[Dsnuts]

No way is a $400 cable considered budget cable.

This thread is about cables $100 and below. IMO you guys are the smart ones. Not so much for folks that buy into stuff like this. In an ideal world the exotic higher end cables would all cost below $100 but yes cables like this exists.

RP $2,149 sold on musicteck web site

This one is on sale for a measly $2899 from $3399 on musicteck.. Effect Audio Horus Octa

For these kind of cables. Either your out of your freaking mind or your making Elon Musk money. Either way even if I was making Elon Musk money if I spend almost 3.5K on a cable it better come with some nice sounding earphones attached to them. I am just saying.

 

[dougms3]

chemistry
undergo or cause to undergo a reaction in which electrons are lost to another species.The opposite of reduce.

According to the above definition, and also according to scientific knowledge, there should be an increase in resistance. Question is, how severe

In terms of regular cabling, depending on the amount of oxidation, if severe, it can cause connections to fail. Most likely point of failure would be at the solder joints.

In heavier gauge cables they make oxygen free copper and even further tinned ofc cables to minimize oxidation. Normally, higher end cables are sleeved with silicon and not pvc or rubber, as both tend to degrade and crack over time. Unfortunately, it seems no one offers these options for iem or headphone cables as of yet.

 

[430633]

I just caught my friend's cat chewing on my new IEM cables