[subwoof3r]

I would definitely not buy a SPC cable for the DM6. My recommendation is hands down cable 125. It will bring back the "missing" treble resolution coming from the NICEHCK cables (plus clarity, which is to be expected with such low resistance), without changing the tonality and other stuff with the DM6, which has a particular impedance profile, with a dip in the most problematic (sibilant) area, which a silver plated cable might turn into a problem, even if it's not with other IEMs, and the whole point with cables swapping with teh DM6 was to bring the sibilance down to a minimum, so - safest bet is to go with a good copper-only cable, and there is simply no better option than cable 125. It is a completely "reference/transparent" cable, which is what the DM6 needs. The only possible concern is the strain relief which is not good, and you might end up breaking the solders in the jack if you are not careful, as well as stiffness, which personally to me are "flaws" totally neglect-able because of the amazing sound quality. You can check my brief impressions/comparisons for cable 125 here. You can also send me a PM if you want, and I will give you links.

Pics of the day (cable 125):

Nice pics, unfortunately there is no macro shot function on my Pixel 3 smartphone such as yours, but I have to agree that it is the best looking cable I own too and I forgive all its manipulating "problems" once listening to it, like you
I just litened recently my cable 115 the "7N crystal copper" from NiceHCK, and they looks to sound SO similar to me.. I will need to make some more precision side-by-side track listening to really check and be sure, but for now I prefer to trust this 125 in the real material used.

 

[Judge17]

I am looking to replace a bad cable that I am using with my Heir 8 (3.5 2pin). After reviewing @hakuzen detailed analysis and @Broquen posting on cable differences and Dsnuts comments, I believe that I have come up with my possible choices. The prices range from $15-$79 dollars

ISN Audio C16 16 Shares 19 Cores Single Crystal Copper HiFi Audiophile IEM cable
Acrolink 1.2m High Qulity PCOCC DIY Upgraded Earphone Cable Repair Replacement With 0.78mm 2 Pins Interface For 3.5 Plug
LN006056 2.5mm 4.4mm 3.5mm 16 Cores OCC Silver Plated Mixed Earphone Cable For 0.78mm Custom 5 8 10 BA W4r Um3x Armature
NICEHCK High Quality 8 Core Single Crystal Copper Silver Plated Cable 3.5/2.5/4.4mm Plug MMCX/2Pin Connector For NICEHCK M6 NK10
HiFiHear 8 Core Silver Plated Upgraded Cable 2.5/3.5/4.4mm Balanced Cable With MMCX/2pin Connector For HQ5 HQ6 ZS10 ZS6 ES4
inboofi 8 Core Single crystal Silver Plated Copper Cable 2.5/3.5/4.4mm Balanced Cable With MMCX/2pin Connector For KZ ZS10 LZ
NICEHCK MMCX/2Pin Connector 3.5/2.5/4.4mm Balanced 8 Core 6N GC-OCC Single Crystal Copper Cable For AS06 BA10 NICEHCK EBX M6 N3

Is there any clear winner in this list? Is there any cable that I should consider? The Acrolink cable intrigues me , but there seems to be many good choices.

 

[archy121]

If it can help, here is the difference of thickness (and jack stress) between cable 115 (in black) and 125 (in copper color) :

Is there a version of cable 125 in different colour/sheathing ?

I’m really not a fan of bright shiny copper colour and I guess it may also oxidise over time and go greenish.

@hakuzen are there alternative versions of this cable ?

 

[hakuzen]

Is there a version of cable 125 in different colour/sheathing ?

I’m really not a fan of bright shiny copper colour and I guess it may also oxidise over time and go greenish.

@hakuzen are there alternative versions of this cable ?

128 is the silver color (silver plated copper) version of cable 125.

 

[archy121]

128 is the silver color (silver plated copper) version of cable 125.

Resistance measurements etc same so that similar Audio characteristics should be heard ?

AliExpress link please. I couldn’t see link in your listing.

 

[teecee5]

Resistance measurements etc same so that similar Audio characteristics should be heard ?

check his first spoiler of the cables, there he explains the difference:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/low...uck-cable-thread.891911/page-19#post-14637360

edit:

125. 7n occ 4c (copper,furt,MV): 57/57/bad/55..59/59/bad/57..53/53/54/54..64/62/62/71..[36g]
7n occ copper or alloy (let's trust it..), 0.1mm*63-65strands*4cores (equivalent to 20AWG/signal). PU or PVC sleeve. shiny copper color, great look.
best conductivity. total clean sound, reference (bold bass while keeping treble detail).
thick and heavy (36g vs 26g average weight). due to thickness, less flexible and stiffer than others, braid work is a bit loose, the solders into the jack get stressed, so take care of the jack. many sellers. expensive.
received one (from 4) with bad or broken solders into the jack.

128. 7n spc 4c (silver,eid,M): 63..64..58..71..[38g]
silver plated copper version of cable 125, and eidolic styled jack (way better jack and spliter).
sound is slightly different, but likely clean. no sub-bass rumble loss and rich upper mids details.
as stiff as 125.

​

 

[KimChee]

Can someone help me find the link to cable 130?

 

[archy121]

check his first spoiler of the cables, there he explains the difference:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/low...uck-cable-thread.891911/page-19#post-14637360

Thanks - I saw that already.
Any idea of the cable name on AE etc ?

128. 7n spc 4c (silver,eid,M): 63..64..58..71..[38g]
silver plated copper version of cable 125, and eidolic styled jack (way better jack and spliter).
sound is slightly different, but likely clean. no sub-bass rumble loss and rich upper mids details.
as stiff as 125.

Can someone help me find the link to cable 130?

Here you go mate.

NICEHCK High Quality 8 Core Single Crystal Copper Silver Plated Cable 3.5/2.5/4.4mm Plug MMCX/2Pin Connector For NICEHCK M6 NK10
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bzTbkOko

 

[zeppu08]

I most definitely agree here. I ran into a bit of a problem using some of my 2 pin cables on my recessed socket on my Zeus. So if your 2 pin you buy don't have protruding 2 pins. I would use a file and shave down the sides of the standard 2 pin and it works much better. I had to do this for 2 of my cables and now works very well with my Zeus. Wish 2 pin connectors were all standard but unfortunately there are iems with recessed or non recessed sockets. Easily fixed with some filing.

Can you show me pics of the 2 pin you did filing on? Bought a 2 pin connector and didnt think that the iem has recessed sockets and cant use the cable i bought and maybe this can be the answer.

 

[KimChee]

Edit: I found it...price seemed to have gone up it was about $55-60 now it’s almost $90...more than I paid for c16 lol

 

[Dsnuts]

Can you show me pics of the 2 pin you did filing on? Bought a 2 pin connector and didnt think that the iem has recessed sockets and cant use the cable i bought and maybe this can be the answer.

Here you go. You can see the first pic. It takes a steady hand and several different sized files but it is doable. If your gonna try this. Take your time with the file. I held the connector in one hand and filed away with the other. Though if I had to do it again I would use a clamp of some sort to hold onto the connector. On the 2nd pic you can see a non filed 2 pin next to the filed one. You can see what I did there for the modification. The filed one on the right. The last pic is the cable on my Zeus as you can see it fits flush into the recessed socket.

Again the key here is take your time and slowly file down the sides of the 2 pin leaving enough protrusion to fit the recessed socket. It might not look pretty but at least the cable is now usable. Before it would just pop out. Now it sits in the socket like it was made for it.

 

[zeppu08]

Here you go. You can see the first pic. It takes a steady hand and several different sized files but it is doable. If your gonna try this. Take your time with the file. I held the connector in one hand and filed away with the other. Though if I had to do it again I would use a clamp of some sort to hold onto the connector. On the 2nd pic you can see a non filed 2 pin next to the filed one. You can see what I did there for the modification. The filed one on the right. The last pic is the cable on my Zeus as you can see it fits flush into the recessed socket.

Again the key here is take your time and slowly file down the sides of the 2 pin leaving enough protrusion to fit the recessed socket. It might not look pretty but at least the cable is now usable. Before it would just pop out. Now it sits in the socket like it was made for it.

Awesome! Ill surely try this! Thanks a lot!

 

[hakuzen]

Thanks - I saw that already.
Any idea of the cable name on AE etc ?

search for "4 core silver plated copper cable". it's the one with thicker cores. you'll find 2 shops selling it.

 

[candlejack]

Finaly got the 16 core SPC Acrolink cable over the weekend.

I should say first of all that I've never been able to do any sort of reliable A/B testing for cable sound (the time it takes to change setup is too long for my hearing memory). Did some informal testing and I thought that perhaps, maybe, possibly, it provides a bit more clarity than another cheaper chi-fi cable from a brand I can't name. But it's more likely that the sound differences are inaudible for me. I've tried more expensive cables before and was unable to really hear differences, so I didn't expect anything big here either.

However, sound improvement was not the main reason for me to get a new cable. What I was looking for were better quality materials, especially when it came to connectors and especially for the MMCX connectors. What can I say, I'm paranoid about ruining the female plug on my IEM. So, the connectors were the improvement I was looking for while the flaw I wanted to avoid was excessive stiffness and microphonics.

Unfortunately this was a fail for both the connectors and the microphonics. The connectors aren't bad, but they're clearly a tier below in precision when compared to say ALO Audio. The microphonics are not the worst I've ever heard (that award has to go to the ALO Audio Ref8 or SXC8) but it's close. I've taken it with me to work today to test it out at the desk and walking home, see how bad the microphonics are in real-world scenarios. Will report on that later.

In the meantime here are some photos (some relevant, some not so much).

 

[candlejack]

So now I have to ask:
Which cable in your opinion has the best MMCX connectors (best in this case refers to geometric precision and surface finish) in a non-microphonic package?

I'm tempted to buy 054 based on the pictures. @hakuzen, I know you've had this cable for a while, would you mind commenting on it, in the context of my last two posts? Thanks!