[droid23]

It is fairly consistent. I did a review of NiceHCKs 4 core pure silver cable vs their 8 cored version. More material means, usually double the cost. As per sound performance it seems to be that there is simply more material that has an influence on how you would percieve its sound performance. Its not exactly double the stage percetion and double the depth perception. I would say its more like 5-15% extra depending on the level of cable your dealing with. ARES S is a 4 wired UPOCC vs the ARES 8w. There is a definitely noticeable expansion of stage, greater note weight of sound and depth of sound as a result. Even them cheaper pure NiceHCK silver cables, did something similar with greater expansion of stage and better depth.

The only issue with thicker 8 cored variants of cables is that some are just too thick and heavy. A cable should not be so unweldly that you can't have freedom of movement or are so heavy that they are relagated for just home use. Which kinda defeats the purpose of an IEM use case scenario. There are 2-4 core cable variants that use so much material that it is impossible to make an 8 wired version. These are more like an 8-16 cored cable but designed to only use 2-4cores.

Take Effect Audios Code 23 for example. That cable is a thick 2 cored 16.5AWG cable. So thick the cable is a bit too stiff. Reason why they made a revision of it called the Code 24C. Which uses much less material but comes fairly close to the performance of the Code 23. So in the end it really comes down to material, geometry of said material, hardware used like plugs and connectors which leads to the overall sound enhancing performance of the given cable.

Generally if a lighter 4 cored cable is a nicely resolving solid quality cable. Its a good bet that doubling the same material in an 8 cored version will give you better performance. Again not exactly double the performance but it will increase the best aspects of that material. However this is highly dependend on the quality. Less qualtiy and its difficult to tell from a 4 core to an 8 core.

The outlier is if you use a highly resolving 4 cored UPOCC cable- this will be better performing than lets say some random 8cored or 16 cored version of a cable from aliexpress that claim to be 7n crystal copper. I own penty of 8 cored and even a few 16 cored copper cables that can't touch the resolving ability of the ARES S in 4 cores.

Wow, thanks for your insights!
One of my favorite sets are the DUNU SA6 MkII, with their rather unique "psychoacoustical brainf**k" tuning in the upper mids, presence, and mid treble region, but their soundstage, or better their perceived depth is known to be not the most impressive, the rest is awesome. So, I was eyeballing the Ares S (4core) for some days because of other rather raving reviews, but wasn't sure yet.. now your description come in very handy, thanks again.
Would you recommend this cable (or better a 8 core version? even though I'd cry to spend nearly 300) if I would like to improve the SA6's sound stage? Or would there be another cable you could recommend for that matter? What about the Cadmus series, or the Eros?

 

[Dsnuts]

Wow, thanks for your insights!
One of my favorite sets are the DUNU SA6 MkII, with their rather unique "psychoacoustical brainf**k" tuning in the upper mids, presence, and mid treble region, but their soundstage, or better their perceived depth is known to be not the most impressive, the rest is awesome. So, I was eyeballing the Ares S (4core) for some days because of other rather raving reviews, but wasn't sure yet.. now your description come in very handy, thanks again.
Would you recommend this cable (or better a 8 core version? even though I'd cry to spend nearly 300) if I would like to improve the SA6's sound stage? Or would there be another cable you could recommend for that matter? What about the Cadmus series, or the Eros?

I dont have the MK2 version but I do own the OG SA6. Let me get back to you. I will try a few cables I have in mind and let you know what I think.

 

[droid23]

I cordially thank you, sir! That's an awesome service
Maybe allow me a little background info: I have only a few, about 7, IEMs here at the moment, but two of them I'd never ever gonna sell. The SA6 MkII of course, and my NiceHCK Himalaya. Meanwhile I mostly use only my iBasso DX260 with all IEMs, it's a nice DAP which has a rather neutral, detailed and revealing nature and certainly, with 1W balanced PO, enough juice to drive nearly all IEMs.

Thanks again Ds!!

here is a comparison between the two for orientation (60dB@500Hz):

 

[Pelilin]

Hi guys, im new here and looking for advice. Are there cables that sound smooth and less aggresive in the upper mid but still remain resolving? Thank you.

 

[zikarus]

Hi guys, im new here and looking for advice. Are there cables that sound smooth and less aggresive in the upper mid but still remain resolving? Thank you.

The Penon Leo Plus comes to my mind. You may ask for an additional Purple plug customization...

 

[Dsnuts]

I cordially thank you, sir! That's an awesome service
Maybe allow me a little background info: I have only a few, about 7, IEMs here at the moment, but two of them I'd never ever gonna sell. The SA6 MkII of course, and my NiceHCK Himalaya. Meanwhile I mostly use only my iBasso DX260 with all IEMs, it's a nice DAP which has a rather neutral, detailed and revealing nature and certainly, with 1W balanced PO, enough juice to drive nearly all IEMs.

Thanks again Ds!!

here is a comparison between the two for orientation (60dB@500Hz):

Just tried a few cables that immediately that came to mind. General rule of thumb for folks that want stage and space in their music. Technicalities are best enhanced by pure silver. It is also a good idea to have copper involved with that pure silver to counter the technicals with body for mids and bass. Two cables in two price categories and the one I will suggest to you will be the Penon Mix https://penonaudio.com/penon-mix.html At $150 this cable is called the mix as it uses half of its cores to be pure silver and the other half crystal copper, My review of the cable here. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/penon-mix.25122/review/25789/ The upgrade to this cable is Eros S from Effect audio. My review on them here. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/effect-audio-eros-s-1st-anniversary-edition.26684/review/31609/
The standard version and the 1st anniversary I did a review for here is the same cable but the 1st anniversary has better looks. I was told it has the same material so it should perform the same. I think you will be happy with either cable. Mix is very versatile and I can see that cable working well on your Himalaya as well.

 

[PeacockObscura]

Next time there's an Aliexpress sale on Nicehck cables the DragonScale is a superb match with the IMR ACOUSTICS Elan+ adding a spacious stage and reinforcing the bass. It may be the least ergonomic cable ever made. Stiffer than a tree branch but boy the sound synergy with the Elan+ is superb.
The price of $400 when not on sale is a bit steep but the sale price of $100 is well worth it.

 

[Bosk]

It would be so ideal if folks provided a certificate of authenticity or some type of evidence on purity, but truth is no one is providing a metallurgy evidence of purity from any cable. And this is the reason why cable makers can say their cable is outsourced from a rock on Mars. No one will disprove it. The only one I found was from NiceHCK when they provided a 99.9% pure silver rating from an independent lab in China with a certificate that supposedly proves that. . I am basing my statements on actual use cases on IEMs. Some cables just resolve better than others. I happened to do cable reviews and I know it is not scientific but there is a clear difference in the Effect Audio copper cables and your garden variety of AliExpress copper cables that claim to be 7n 6n or whatever purity they claim it is. Which led me to post that statement about the copper cables these guys use.

I also happen to know Penon Audio quite well and I have never seen them be deceitful about any product they have ever made in their history of selling IEMs and cables. I did a lot of reviews for their cables and once again what these guys make is a clear leap in performance vs your garden variety of Aliexpress cables.

I have a few cables that are supposedly UPOCC from Aliexpress I have bought over the years and I even asked the sales rep from KBEAR if their UPOCC is actually UPOCC and I wish I can find the statement from them when I reached out to them but it was something along of. Yes it is.

Nope I don't think so. This particular UPOCC cable they sent for review was nowhere close to the Ares S by Effect Audio or any of the Electro Acousti UPOCC I happen to own. I am willing to bet that KBEAR rep didn't know what she was actually talking about. Once you have used higher end cables. There is a reason why those things cost so much. Though I have to admit, summit fi cables are just ridiculous in pricing no matter what the cable is made of.

I doubt any manufacturer will be willing to sell a real sourced UPOCC at the $30-$50 prices some of these vendors are selling them for. Truth is, on the express everything is the wild west. They can claim it has palladium plated in gold drenched in sap oil then dunked in pure silver. There is no way of actually knowing the truth on any of it. But I do know what I hear from these cables so the proof for me at least is in just how they perform with my most resolving IEMs in my ears. It tells me what I need to know.

I can certainly relate to this.

Unfortunately there's no regulation or set of enforced industry standards when it comes to cables so ultimately we don't know precisely what we're paying for.

Yes I quite agree having tried many budget cables from Aliexpress all the way to flagships from boutique manufacturers that performance varies massively, however the differences in prices are even more monstrous and aren't always proportional to the improvements in sound quality, often there's little correlation between them.

Yet sadly it's often price that's the best indicator we have of quality if we're taking the risk on a relatively unknown cable, but manufacturers are free to exploit that by deliberating pricing cables far above their worth to guide perception of performance. The reverse is also true, any cable that seems suspiciously cheap may in fact be aggressively priced by the manufacturer to win converts to the brand, but we'd never know it in a sea of similar-looking options without knowing manufacturing costs.

To complicate things further even if we did have an ironclad guarantee of material purity, it's difficult to know precisely how much that matters when so many other factors affect cable performance - things like geometry, conductor counts, shielding configuration, insulation type, plug material, 2pin connector quality... and I daresay even if we understood precisely how each of those factors affect cable performance, there's no telling how important the synergy between them ends up being.

Anecdotally I feel that like budget IEMs, cables are now performing at a vastly higher level than in years past so I don't think we need to spend more than $50 to get something surprisingly decent these days. However if we could be more assured of the quality of what we were paying for many of us would be more willing to blind buy cables from lesser-known manufacturers, whereas as things stand it feels like such a gamble. So often you end up trusting the manufacturer, rather than the quoted specs.

 

[droid23]

Just tried a few cables that immediately that came to mind. General rule of thumb for folks that want stage and space in their music. Technicalities are best enhanced by pure silver. It is also a good idea to have copper involved with that pure silver to counter the technicals with body for mids and bass. Two cables in two price categories and the one I will suggest to you will be the Penon Mix https://penonaudio.com/penon-mix.html At $150 this cable is called the mix as it uses half of its cores to be pure silver and the other half crystal copper, My review of the cable here. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/penon-mix.25122/review/25789/ The upgrade to this cable is Eros S from Effect audio. My review on them here. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/effect-audio-eros-s-1st-anniversary-edition.26684/review/31609/
The standard version and the 1st anniversary I did a review for here is the same cable but the 1st anniversary has better looks. I was told it has the same material so it should perform the same. I think you will be happy with either cable. Mix is very versatile and I can see that cable working well on your Himalaya as well.

I think the Eros S it is. Thanks a million!
Sure, the now available standard version in Grey looks very nice, but the 1st Edition in this shiny Black with Gold flakies is just out of this world. ...but seems I'm too late to the party, it's sold out everywhere .

EDIT: Lol, found three of them in the classifieds... but they all only ship to/within the US... wth!

 

[cerbatillo]

I think the Eros S it is. Thanks a million!
Sure, the now available standard version in Grey looks very nice, but the 1st Edition in this shiny Black with Gold flakies is just out of this world. ...but seems I'm too late to the party, it's sold out everywhere .

EDIT: Lol, found three of them in the classifieds... but they all only ship to/within the US... wth!

I am in a very similar situation and also considering this one thats its supposed to be like and affordable eros s from cema which some folks know its one of the premium chinese manufacters but with good prices:


https://a.aliexpress.com/_EIVpkrt

 

[ExTubeGamer]

Next time there's an Aliexpress sale on Nicehck cables the DragonScale is a superb match with the IMR ACOUSTICS Elan+ adding a spacious stage and reinforcing the bass. It may be the least ergonomic cable ever made. Stiffer than a tree branch but boy the sound synergy with the Elan+ is superb.
The price of $400 when not on sale is a bit steep but the sale price of $100 is well worth it.

The same cable has a synergy with my Sound Rhyme DTE500.

 

[okrdokr]

any decent cable to pair w moondrop variations ? looking to maybe get more clarity and separation while boosting the mids a bit so they aren’t as thin or lean

 

[dpeterfy32]

I would like to look at the cables of the custom high-end inear companies. Can you tell me 4-5 companies that I should look at?

 

[Dsnuts]

New Penon OCC849 cable going for under a $100 spot. I am gonna tell each and every one of you looking at this pic. This cable is not only substantial but is a clear value statement from Penon. I noticed they have effectively dropped their 849 line of cables down to under $100. I can understand as there is huge competition for after market cables. This cable here has to be one of the best bang for buck copper based cables I can think of. Performs on a very similar level to something like Effect Audios ARES S but not the 4w version but comparable to the 8w variant. Infact I bet it would piss off folks that own that cable after they try this one. This sells for almost $200 less. You can buy a nice IEM to go with your thick substantial 8w copper based cable. Hows that for value. But beyond that, I feel for IEM owners a solid 8 cored copper cable should be an essential part of your collection. Will have more to say on my upcoming reader about them. Excellent value for these. If your making a jump from sub $100 cables. This is the one I would recommend easily.

 

[dpeterfy32]

What are the best cables on the market right now under $800?