microphonics turning me nuts o/

[leeperry]

hi there,

I've had this cd1k for like 15 years...I've never had any issue w/ the stock cable, but for the past few days its microphonics have been turning me nuts hah

apparently the best way to get rid of them is to keep the cable in contact w/ the body? like if I keep some part of it on my chest, I'm cool? possibly w/ a shirt clip?

or is there any (light) sleeving that could possibly kill the damn things?

I remember my quad litz TWcu braid, this one was microphonic like hell! the stock cable is far more manageable...if I stand still, that is.

if anyone's got some advice to share, please do so...I'm still running searches on the forum

 

[leeperry]

about the cd3k: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/396945-post10.html

I'd like some cotton sleeving or so(lighter than techflex), I'll look into it.

PS: ok sounds like a plan: http://cgi.ebay.com/Shirt-Clips-Head...mZ120520043728

 

[FraGGleR]

You might have some luck with nylon multifilament as an alternative to cotton. I have used it on two of my headphone recables and haven't noticed any microphonics. Granted these are for my stationary phones. My portables were done with Cooner cable which has a silicone dialectric which is amazingly quiet in addition to ridiculously flexible.

 

[leeperry]

and is it lighter than techflex? coz I run single ended, and I found techflex way too heavy.

yes, I use the cd1k on my home setup...but my current op-amps combo makes me nod my head silly(which is a good thing

), but these damn microphonics are getting on my nerves

 

[apatN]

The multifilament is an option but also longer cables so you can put some of the surplus cable on your lap when you listen. That's what I do anyway.

 

[FraGGleR]

Hmm, I have some techflex and multifilament that I can comparison weigh when I get home. My impression is that it is very light (possibly lighter than normal techflex). I have a four strand quad twist of 24awg Nucleotide (almost identical to the TwCu) covered in multifilament for my HD650's and I barely notice the cable.

 

[pdupiano]

If you clip the top part of your cable to your shirt, it won't be an issue. You can try it out. With your headphones on, hold the cable 6 inches below your chin (just hold the cable still). Now with your other hand, try tapping the cable below your hand. It shouldn't be microphonic. Now if you tap the cable above your hand, it will be microphonic. So if you can manage to keep the upper portion of your cable still (by a using a shirt clip), the vibrations along the cable will get transfered to your body instead of your headphones.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN /img/forum/go_quote.gif The multifilament is an option but also longer cables so you can put some of the surplus cable on your lap when you listen. That's what I do anyway.

the stock cable is already 10ft, and the problem arose when I started nodding my head

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you clip the top part of your cable to your shirt, it won't be an issue. You can try it out. With your headphones on, hold the cable 6 inches below your chin (just hold the cable still). Now with your other hand, try tapping the cable below your hand. It shouldn't be microphonic. Now if you tap the cable above your hand, it will be microphonic. So if you can manage to keep the upper portion of your cable still (by a using a shirt clip), the vibrations along the cable will get transfered to your body instead of your headphones.

yes, I think a shirt clip might exactly be the solution I crave for!

I've disassembled the left cup 10 times, the damn cable isn't moving, the soldering is OK, everything's cool...just these random low frequencies "rumble" sounds that are getting on my nerves whenever I move my head.

I will ghetto-mod a tie clip and see how it goes

Quote:

Originally Posted by FraGGleR /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm, I have some techflex and multifilament that I can comparison weigh when I get home. My impression is that it is very light (possibly lighter than normal techflex). I have a four strand quad twist of 24awg Nucleotide (almost identical to the TwCu) covered in multifilament for my HD650's and I barely notice the cable.

techflex was really too heavy for me each time I tried it...taking it off felt like wireless

what's that multifilament exactly? is it available on ebay by any chance? cotton sleeving might be lighter and less prone to microphonics or?

 

[pdupiano]

Sorry mate, you may have misunderstood how the vibrations cause microphonics. Its not that the cables vibrate causing the drivers to vibrate, something else occurs so unfortunately, checking the connections to the driver's (even gluing the wire to the cups) won't do anything.

 

[leeperry]

yeah, I thought something was foobared in the left cup at the beginning, but it's all fine there...I even checked the drivers FR, they're fine too

 

[Hobohodou]

not much help...

In college they taught me one thing when using a mic...wrap the cable around your hand at the top...

I always used the same theory for headphones, However, not so possible...
similar to the shirt clip..
I simply place the cable under my shirt/t-shirt...rarely recieve any extra noise from that...

I'm assuming microphonics is the same thing as "cable rattle" if so...then this solves it for me...

 

[FraGGleR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeperry /img/forum/go_quote.gif what's that multifilament exactly? is it available on ebay by any chance? cotton sleeving might be lighter and less prone to microphonics or?

I haven't had the chance to use cotton as my outer sleeving (yet) so I can't compare the two, but they should be comparable. Nylon multifilament is constructed the same as cotton sleeving (kind of like a hollow shoelace), but with very fine nylon threads. It has a nice silky feel to it. I only have a bathroom scale so I couldn't really weigh the two materials, but it can be had for a very reasonable price from furryletters on ebay for you to try. Much better price actually than wirecare.com for a sub 200 ft amount. 25 feet for only $4.75 plus shipping. It feels lighter, but that may be because the techflex was stiff and the multifilament hung loose in my hand. 3/16" fits up to a 6mm OD cable, but can be drawn snug around 4mm.

 

[leeperry]

ok, thanks for you help fellas! apparently my weird "noises" problem was due to two things:

1)-some op-amp slighty oscillating, my soundcard requires unity gain stable op-amps and neither the LT1028AC or the AD797B were

it's kinda strange that it worked perfectly fine for a while, though..

2)-some stupid options in my motherboard BIOS:
CPU clock skew : auto.
NB clock skew : auto.

I tried to move them from "auto" to "normal"...but I'm running 438MHz FSB(8x on a Q9450)...apparently setting these two options to "normal" instead of "auto" was indeed a TERRIBLE idea: P5K/Q6600 CPU/NB Clock Skews - Overclockers Forums
Quote:

The default skews are fine within AGTL+ FSB spec. Problem is AGTL+ (advanced gunning transceiver logic) has a design limitation of 400mhz BCLK (400mhz fsb) and past this it is impossible to keep within original spec and guarantee 100% reliable operation.

so far so good w/ these two options put back on "auto" and four LT1363 on the soundcard(they sound amazing and are unity gain stable)..I'm not touching ANYTHING anymore