[Tomm11]

I don't meter my cables but I'm wondering why cheap "silver" cables would measure high resistance. I assume that cheap "silver plated" copper cables are just tinned copper, maybe with a very, very low silver content. But resistance wise, they should be about equal to copper. So either the wire isn't copper, but maybe copper clad aluminum which is about 55% less conductive compared to pure copper. Or, the wire is a higher gauge (smaller diameter wire) in general. Or, since most cheap iem cables seem to be "silver plated" copper, maybe it's just that being cheap equals poor soldering and thus higher resistance.

 

[14christ]

I don't meter my cables but I'm wondering why cheap "silver" cables would measure high resistance. I assume that cheap "silver plated" copper cables are just tinned copper, maybe with a very, very low silver content. But resistance wise, they should be about equal to copper. So either the wire isn't copper, but maybe copper clad aluminum which is about 55% less conductive compared to pure copper. Or, the wire is a higher gauge (smaller diameter wire) in general. Or, since most cheap iem cables seem to be "silver plated" copper, maybe it's just that being cheap equals poor soldering and thus higher resistance.

I agree. There are lots more going on with cables than simple resistance. Materials DO matter and matter greatly in my experience. Like you said @Tomm11 even down to the solder used and the way in which it's soldered.

For example some cable makers will float the wire from the connector with solder just out of being lazy. This reduces conductivity as opposed to soldering the copper/metal directly to the connector etc...which in turn changes how the cable will sound.

 

[Lamim Rashid]

I don't meter my cables but I'm wondering why cheap "silver" cables would measure high resistance. I assume that cheap "silver plated" copper cables are just tinned copper, maybe with a very, very low silver content. But resistance wise, they should be about equal to copper. So either the wire isn't copper, but maybe copper clad aluminum which is about 55% less conductive compared to pure copper. Or, the wire is a higher gauge (smaller diameter wire) in general. Or, since most cheap iem cables seem to be "silver plated" copper, maybe it's just that being cheap equals poor soldering and thus higher resistance.

I couldn't give you the real answer, I just know what I've seen from other peoples testing. The best ones I've seen tested under like 50 bucks are only around .25 ohm in resistance. I believe it was trn's cable and the xinhs cable? My hypothesis is because they are much thinner cause they are more expensive to produce. Having a thicker wire gauge must provide a greater effect in lowering resistance compared to the 5% conductivity difference between copper and silver, there's a also a second possible factor, and that's the purity of the material. Most silver cables are only 4N in purity, most copper cables in the same price bracket are at least 5N, but more commonly 6N, with some even being 7N in purity. I'm not actually sure how big of a difference the purity makes, obviously there are diminishing returns the higher the purity but it could possibly be a factor. Regardless of the actual reason, there isnt a single pure silver cable under I think even $60 that measures lower than the $13 TRN T2 cable (which is 0.15 ohm I believe). The best measured silver cable I've seen isnt even a pure silver cable, it's a 8 core xinhs cable measuring at 0.1 ohm with 4 cores being 6N copper, and the other 4 being 4N silver, which further leads me to believe my first hypothesis to being the most likely answer to your question.

 

[Tomm11]

I didn't realize that you were referring to pure silver cables. If it's true that they all measure for "high" resistance then the answer is simple. Four 9's silver is still pretty pure so it's not likely that. Assuming that they are real, pure silver ... It's either that they are a higher gauge (smaller wire) or, again, poor solder connections. If they are "all" measuring high, I assume it's the former ... smaller wires being used in the cheaper pure silver cables. The resistance difference between silver and copper isn't that great. Going just one wire gauge higher (smaller) is probably enough to negate any advantage that silver has over copper in terms of resistance. Even with the relatively short lengths of iem cables.

I have a Kbear limpid (not the pro) but it's still in the box. That's a $20 something silver cable which would qualify as cheap. My VOM's are pretty good but they are 3 1/2 digit. They serve my purposes fine but will only allow a measurment to 1/10 of an ohm. I'll meter it just for kicks anyway now that I'm curious.

 

[Lamim Rashid]

I didn't realize that you were referring to pure silver cables. If it's true that they all measure for "high" resistance then the answer is simple. Four 9's silver is still pretty pure so it's not likely that. Assuming that they are real, pure silver ... It's either that they are a higher gauge (smaller wire) or, again, poor solder connections. If they are "all" measuring high, I assume it's the former ... smaller wires being used in the cheaper pure silver cables. The resistance difference between silver and copper isn't that great. Going just one wire gauge higher (smaller) is probably enough to negate any advantage that silver has over copper in terms of resistance. Even with the relatively short lengths of iem cables.

I have a Kbear limpid (not the pro) but it's still in the box. That's a $20 something silver cable which would qualify as cheap. My VOM's are pretty good but they are 3 1/2 digit. They serve my purposes fine but will only allow a measurment to 1/10 of an ohm. I'll meter it just for kicks anyway now that I'm curious.

Yeah pretty much what my hypothesis, they're probably too high in guage compared to similarly priced and even cheaper copper and spc cables. Poor solder connections is another thing I never considered, but would explain why even some thick cables measure poorly. I have one or two silver cables, going to meter my whole collect today hopefully.

 

[eloelo]

Looks like XinHS has new competition
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/912394864

hmm actually quite a bit more expensive, even though cables are similar

 

[Tomm11]

Just metered a Kbear Limpid cable. .45 - .49 ohms per leg. I'd say about expected if the wire is 30 gauge. Limpid is pretty limp so it may be 30 awg. Checked with my cheap meter but probably close enough. My better meters only have .1 ohm resolution.

 

[rainlynd]

Hi, I wanna ask some help about recommendations on good budget 2.5mm balanced cable that has KZ connectors. Can you guys suggest some cables?

 

[omegaorgun]

This isn't half bad! Used it a 4.4mm version on my FH5S and sounded great. I am probably going to buy the blue one pictured on the right.

Flows but also some rigidity, doesn't kink. Overall for under $30 it's solid.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002500899018.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.14e83c005TzKvH&mp=1

Main store https://openheart.aliexpress.com/store/5883019?spm=a2g0o.detail.100005.1.6c2b3f51pp5oUz

I also got this LINSOUL Tripowin Altea, really nice cable, but the 4.4 didn't play nice with my ifi Zen Can or DAC connector.
Worked fine in the A30, I have two other 4.4's that worked just fine, so perhaps the ifi connector has a really tight tolerance as it plugged in easier than my other two which needed a good push.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DYHWFJ9?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details&th=1

Also have a 3.5mm of the Yin-yoo on the right, wish I had 4.4 on that as it's a beautiful cable, dense heavy copper.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001085882852.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000023.3.78554fee0ZXngm

 

[silent-circuit]

I have a couple OpenHeart cables coming, though who knows how long they will take to arrive. I typically buy stuff on AliExpress like it's a future surprise gift to myself.

 

[eloelo]

So I wanted an all-black cable now and looked to XinHS's version of NiceHck's C4-1 cable. Rather than using their own black hardware, I asked if they could help to source for Hakugei black hardware, and they did! Unfortunately the hakugei qdc connector didn't go all the way in, but the risk of using this part was my own. The splitter and chin slider were still from XinHS. As for the C4-1, I do like the feel of the cable. Looks thick but it's pretty light, which makes sense for its strand count.
Do wait for a sale though. I got mine for $48 at base, +$15 for hakugei parts. Impedance is 0.13-0.16ohms.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001786929418.html

Also tried a peculiar looking cable from Lunashops at slightly below $30, since they use straight qdc connectors by default. 7N SPC according to seller. It is very thin but dense, so it feels a little heavy. Feels like an outdated configuration, since it is hardly flexible (you can kinda imagine it from the pic). Despite measuring good for a thin cable (0.12-0.13ohms), there is too much microphonics due to its stiffness for me.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000741372337.html

 

[JEHL]

Does anyone know of a 3.5mm cable (on both ends) with an inline microphone?

 

[Ufanco]

Received my custom silver cable from XINHS looks the same as the standard silver cable. Only difference is the number of core of the regular silver is 10*0.08*8, and the core of this silver cable is 18*0.06*8.
Only way I noticed a difference was by magnifying the cable and comparing it to my half silver half copper XINHS cable.
I’m undecided if going be using it with the Moondrop Variations. The silver imho doesn’t seem to add anything special to the sound quality over my other cables.
Going listen a day or two to see if grows on me. If not it was something inexpensive to try out to see if I like the sound of a silver cable. So far my cable buying experience has been cable material imho can effects sound.
On higher end cables I still feel anything over $100.00 is mostly hype and better off first putting the money into other upgrades first or saving for a better iem. If your at endgame in your setup and buying high end cables makes you feel good then why not. Life’s too short and whatever brings you happiness you should enjoy.

 

[14christ]

Received my custom silver cable from XINHS looks the same as the standard silver cable. Only difference is the number of core of the regular silver is 10*0.08*8, and the core of this silver cable is 18*0.06*8.
Only way I noticed a difference was by magnifying the cable and comparing it to my half silver half copper XINHS cable.
I’m undecided if going be using it with the Moondrop Variations. The silver imho doesn’t seem to add anything special to the sound quality over my other cables.
Going listen a day or two to see if grows on me. If not it was something inexpensive to try out to see if I like the sound of a silver cable. So far my cable buying experience has been cable material imho can effects sound.
On higher end cables I still feel anything over $100.00 is mostly hype and better off first putting the money into other upgrades first or saving for a better iem. If your at endgame in your setup and buying high end cables makes you feel good then why not. Life’s too short and whatever brings you happiness you should enjoy.

Your exactly right on the last part. My endgame is MEST MK2 and I absolutely love it. Not going anywhere anytime soon. The more I listen to it the more I appreciate it.

But I will say this and this is my experience. Not trying to convince anyone of anything. Simply sharing what I have learned or what I feel I have learned atleast.

Quality of materials does matter! I've had the cheapest of the cheap and some relatively expensive cables and there is a difference. Down to the method of soldering, quality of solder, materials used, connector used and the quality of it, 2 pin material quality, etc...the list goes on.

The biggest difference I have found is the better the cable, no matter the price, the smoother everything sounds. That's the best way I know how to put it. Yes, soundstage, resolution, texture, dynamic range, and all the thousands of names whatever you wanna call it, can and sometimes do get better! But....not always and not all of them.

It also depends on the synergy between the iem and cable. Also it doesn't really matter what cable I use with my BLON 03 because the iem is the bottleneck, not the cable. But on my MEST MK2, the bottleneck is definitely not the IEM.

So then, the difference is noticable when swapping cables on the MEST. Yes its subtle, not an overwhelming difference but the difference is there non the less. So assuming you have found the material i.e. copper, silver, SPC, etc that you feel has the best synergy with your iems the next question is how much are you willing to pay to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your iem?

You cannot say anything over this amount or that amount is dimeneshing returns because most of us have not owned $2000 cables. Only someone who has owned them all can honestly say such a thing.

So the way I look at it is to focus on your source, then your iems, THEN your cables as it's all about fine tuning at that point.

But for me, I'm willing to pay half the cost of my iem on a cable to get that last bit of performance because to me....it's worth it and it's what I enjoy. This is a wonderful hobby and everyone has a different way of doing things. I like to see everyone's way and consider it. If it's not for me no biggy.

 

[Ufanco]

Your exactly right on the last part. My endgame is MEST MK2 and I absolutely love it. Not going anywhere anytime soon. The more I listen to it the more I appreciate it.

But I will say this and this is my experience. Not trying to convince anyone of anything. Simply sharing what I have learned or what I feel I have learned atleast.

Quality of materials does matter! I've had the cheapest of the cheap and some relatively expensive cables and there is a difference. Down to the method of soldering, quality of solder, materials used, connector used and the quality of it, 2 pin material quality, etc...the list goes on.

The biggest difference I have found is the better the cable, no matter the price, the smoother everything sounds. That's the best way I know how to put it. Yes, soundstage, resolution, texture, dynamic range, and all the thousands of names whatever you wanna call it, can and sometimes do get better! But....not always and not all of them.

It also depends on the synergy between the iem and cable. Also it doesn't really matter what cable I use with my BLON 03 because the iem is the bottleneck, not the cable. But on my MEST MK2, the bottleneck is definitely not the IEM.

So then, the difference is noticable when swapping cables on the MEST. Yes its subtle, not an overwhelming difference but the difference is there non the less. So assuming you have found the material i.e. copper, silver, SPC, etc that you feel has the best synergy with your iems the next question is how much are you willing to pay to squeeze every last drop of performance out of your iem?

You cannot say anything over this amount or that amount is dimeneshing returns because most of us have not owned $2000 cables. Only someone who has owned them all can honestly say such a thing.

So the way I look at it is to focus on your source, then your iems, THEN your cables as it's all about fine tuning at that point.

But for me, I'm willing to pay half the cost of my iem on a cable to get that last bit of performance because to me....it's worth it and it's what I enjoy. This is a wonderful hobby and everyone has a different way of doing things. I like to see everyone's way and consider it. If it's not for me no biggy.

Totally agree a lot of good points in your response, in my case I feel it’s better to maybe save towards a better iem. I love the moondrop variations with edm, trance, pop etc. if that’s all I listened too they be my endgame. Since I also enjoy classic rock I feel there a little something that is missing with the variations.

Don’t get me wrong the variations work well with rock they just don’t blow me away like they do with edm. Variations have really expanded my music taste due there the working so well with certain music and that’s a good thing. Still I need to determine if what I’m missing in classic rock is related to the iem or the recording of mostly music from the 60’s and 70’s. Chris you went from variations to the mest would love to hear your thoughts on that.

Anyways back to cables I’m finding the solid silver cable with my hearing doesn’t sound as good as the mixed material cables. Going listen a bit longer then switch to solid copper before going back to the mixed cable. The quality of the silver cable from XINHS still was a great value for the price only few bucks more than his standard silver with more cores seems a steal.

I’m at the point in my journey I’m still trying find what my endgame will be. If a decent quality silver cable doesn’t sound good when and if I ever decide to try a higher price cable I at least have and ideal what material or mix of I enjoy most will be.