[Carpet]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and was looking for a cable recommendation for my Aria Snow, my only pair of IEMs, as I dislike the stock cable included with them - it's as a Christmas gift request. I'm new as you can probably tell and don't have much experience with this; my current 'amp' is a generic Samsung USB-C to 3.5mm converter. I only use my phone as a source - FLAC and MP3, never streaming services - for these IEMs as I use over the ear headphones when at home using my PC. I was recommended the Tripowin Zonie by an acquaintance I very vaguely know, but wanted both a second opinion, and information about if there is a slightly more expensive cable - maybe up to about $40 or $50 - with equal costerformance ratio as the Zonie - it would also be nice if it was available in a light blue colour or similar

I'd also be open to a portable DAC but not really looking to spend too much on that at this time, so I understand if it's better to wait until I'm more willing to commit to one. I listen to a wide range of music genres although tend towards shoegaze and electronica such as techno and drum and bass. I don't listen to much classical, jazz, western, folk or country. My favourite band is probably Talking Heads and my favourite techno musician is Rezzett, to give you examples of styles. I know that the Aria Snow isn't really ideal for some of this music; I received them as a gift earlier in the year and they're already a significant upgrade over the Xiaomi HD in-ears I was previously using. I'm in New Zealand so ordering from an Asian vendor is fine, even preferable. Thank you.

You just missed the 11/11 and Black Friday sales. Wait until the next Aliexpress sale comes up before buying cables! If the Aria Snow is a little bright to your ears I'd suggest a copper cable. NiceHCK C16-3 is good and under $20NZ during sales usually around $60NZ the rest of the time. XINHS or ivipQ are another good option and often have a few cables on sale (although those seem to rotate over time). NiceHCK BlackCat, PurpleSE and BlackCat are also good, regular price is insane though!

Sales at AliExpress come up often enough, you just have to wait a few weeks and check around the different stores. Flash deals are worth keeping track of too. Some things are actually cheaper from Amazon AU. TradeMe in NZ is a disaster for ChiFi, markups beyond belief!

 

[socks1]

You just missed the 11/11 and Black Friday sales. Wait until the next Aliexpress sale comes up before buying cables! If the Aria Snow is a little bright to your ears I'd suggest a copper cable. NiceHCK C16-3 is good and under $20NZ during sales usually around $60NZ the rest of the time. XINHS or ivipQ are another good option and often have a few cables on sale (although those seem to rotate over time). NiceHCK BlackCat, PurpleSE and BlackCat are also good, regular price is insane though!

Sales at AliExpress come up often enough, you just have to wait a few weeks and check around the different stores. Flash deals are worth keeping track of too. Some things are actually cheaper from Amazon AU. TradeMe in NZ is a disaster for ChiFi, markups beyond belief!

Thanks for the info ^^ I'm quite surprised that the discounts are that steep; in my experience buying stuff from Aliexpress or Taobao you'd be lucky to get more than 10% off. Looking at lgcubana's post from earlier however it seems like those discounts can quickly bring the prices down. Unless I'm missing something, that cable usually costs $300-400 NZD, so I think waiting for a sale for any of these would be best. Will get a copper one, appreciate the help

 

[lgcubana]

I wasn't too sure whether to post this here or the mid priced cables. As the "regular" price for both of these cables is $96 USD

Both of these cables are currently on sale for $24.17 each, before additional discounts. e.g. AliExpress has $5 off every $40 spent (expires at the end December), max discount of $15 USD.

Neither cable is a detriment to the host IEM. For cable believers, I think both mixed graphene cables give some more weight to the bottom end. But most importantly they look pretty

Just ordered my 6th cable.

KBEAR Chord 6N Graphene+4N OFC Silver-plated

KBEAR Hazy 6N Graphene+Copper-Silver Alloy Mixed

 

[Carpet]

I wasn't too sure whether to post this here or the mid priced cables. As the "regular" price for both of these cables is $96 USD

Both of these cables are currently on sale for $24.17 each, before additional discounts. e.g. AliExpress has $5 off every $40 spent (expires at the end December), max discount of $15 USD.

Neither cable is a detriment to the host IEM. For cable believers, I think both mixed graphene cables give some more weight to the bottom end. But most importantly they look pretty

Just ordered my 6th cable.

KBEAR Chord 6N Graphene+4N OFC Silver-plated


KBEAR Hazy 6N Graphene+Copper-Silver Alloy Mixed

Pretty nice, but my whimpering wallet is reminding me that I've blown my cable budget!

 

[helloh3adfi]

I don't know if "Copper-Silver Alloy" is a translation error or not. According to @PhonoPhi it should be inferior to just copper. "Silver-plated" should be good though. Not sure what the benefits of graphene are. I am not a cable expert, but I prefer thicker cables over ultra thin cables.

 

[Leonarfd]

NiceHCK redeemed themselves for me with the PurpleSE, bought two one for my ISN H30 and one for my Sg01 OVA. Both were good in quality compared to last purchase the Blackcat, still that was probably a manufacturing error with the jack.

I removed the ear cable guide on both, they are very soft and flexible, enough weight so they are tucked around the ear without the guide.
Sound is thick and smooth, nothing wrong at all. Depends on what you like the color is very vibrant and pops out, different lighting makes a big difference on how it looks.

 

[LykkeligLyd]

Could you please recommend me a good 4,4mm to 2 x 4 pin minixlr. It’s for a Audece 2C

 

[lgcubana]

Got my last order for 2022 today

Between 8 IEMs and just as many cables (since 11.11), I think I'm ready for my winter nap

KBEAR Chord 6N Graphene+4N OFC Silver-plated
&
KBEAR Hazy 6N Graphene+Copper-Silver Alloy Mixed

 

[superuser1]

Got my last order for 2022 today

Between 8 IEMs and just as many cables (since 11.11), I think I'm ready for my winter nap

KBEAR Chord 6N Graphene+4N OFC Silver-plated
&
KBEAR Hazy 6N Graphene+Copper-Silver Alloy Mixed

How are both the cables?

 

[lgcubana]

How are both the cable

I wasn't too sure whether to post this here or the mid priced cables. As the "regular" price for both of these cables is $96 USD

Both of these cables are currently on sale for $24.17 each, before additional discounts. e.g. AliExpress has $5 off every $40 spent (expires at the end December), max discount of $15 USD.

Neither cable is a detriment to the host IEM. For cable believers, I think both mixed graphene cables give some more weight to the bottom end. But most importantly they look pretty

Just ordered my 6th cable.

KBEAR Chord 6N Graphene+4N OFC Silver-plated


KBEAR Hazy 6N Graphene+Copper-Silver Alloy Mixed

Unfortunately the price for either cable is now $28.71 USD
vs
yesterday’s incentives, which brought the total to $87.85, for the four pieces.

 

[Carpet]

NiceHCK C24-2 is on sale for $15 on AliExpress at the moment. Only in 3.5mm 2 pin, which is really unusual to be the only size left.

Only 7 left (it was 8)

 

[Echalon]

NiceHCK C24-2 is on sale for $15 on AliExpress at the moment. Only in 3.5mm 2 pin, which is really unusual to be the only size left.

Only 7 left (it was 8)

I have the MMCX version: Very nice cable. No ear hooks, uncoloured sound, extremely flexible and feels good quality.

 

[Carpet]

I have the MMCX version: Very nice cable. No ear hooks, uncoloured sound, extremely flexible and feels good quality.

I have more of the 16 and 24 core NiceHCK cables than I would care to admit. I find that no earhooks makes them very comfortable. These ones caught my eye when I saw Paul Wasabii's video a while ago. Not sure what I'll put it on yet!

 

[TooNice]

I am looking for a cable that is as good or better than the stock cable on a 7hz Salnotes Zero (I am planning to buy the version with the USB-C cable, so I'd like another one with a 3.5mm jack).

If I was to buy from Amazon Japan (where I am located), I can get the Tripwin Zonie (16 core, silver plated) for about $15.

Is that a decent price or does it get much cheaper on AliExpress?

Additionally, I have seen the NiceHCK brand come up often. Which NiceHCK cable is closest to the Tripwin Zonie price wise, and how do they compare?

Lastly, does more core necessarily mean thicker/heavier cable or can is it possible for a cable with more core yet be thinner/lighter?

Thanks.

 

[helloh3adfi]

16 core cables are ultra thin and just cheap. You are better off to buy Moondrop Line T or NiceHCK GTC5.