JML
Headphoneus Supremus
Comparison of Mini-to-Mini Patch Cables (East Coast version)
This is a preliminary report, with a rebuild of one custom cable still to arrive. I'm posting this now since cajunchrist posted his. We're not inconsistent in what we report we hear, although our reporting styles are somewhat different.
Introduction:
Miniature phone plugs and matching jacks, often referred to by their size, 1/8" or .35mm, are ubiquitous on portable sources and most headphones, replacing the standard 1/4" plug/jack. I needed some patch cables to dub from a portable CD player directly into a classic portable cassette recorder/walkman. I also use these cables to connect sources to the line-in of my computer, and in that setting RFI/EMI protection is something getting more and more of my attention; for example, I live in a location with RFI problems from visible radio broadcast towers, and EMI is a constant worry in my office, which is full of other electronics, such as AC power adapters, a computer, docking station with multiple drives, a scanner, two printers, computer speakers, and some audio equipment. The traditional methods of rejecting radio or electromagnetic interference are varying the geometric design of the cable (twisting of paired cables) and/or using shielding (an outer braid, for example), anda also adding ferrite cores to snap around the cable.
I tested three cables (or will have tested four, after I get the second version of one cable). My comparison is probably only reliable for the specific build configurations and cable materials under comparison here. I did not buy or listen to the Straightwire or Kimber cables that are available from Headroom, and I could not find the Chinese-made Acoustic Research cable in any local stores.
The other common portable configuration is dual-stereo-male-RCA connectors to one mini-stereo-phone-plug; such cables are available from Radio Shack and some cheap outfits, but there are audiophile cables built by Straightwire (for Headroom), Kimber (for Headroom), Twisted Pair Designs (their Game Junkie), and some custom shops . Of course, one could always use two RCA-terminated interconnects with a Radio Shack adapter.
The Cables:
(1) Radio Shack. This is their gold-plated connector mini-to-mini “shielded cable,” #42-2607, which comes only in the 6 foot length, for $9.99. The Radio Shack cable is thin with very little insulation, but it is very flexible. The well-known RS gold-plated connectors are not machined well, and would often catch on removal from the mini-jacks. While Radio Shack has a website, they’re also probably located in half the strip malls within five miles of your home.
(2) Markertek. The Markertek is intended as microphone patch cable, and is available over the Internet from www.markertek.com. It is constructed with .25" thick Japanese-made Canare star-quad twisted-pair cable, L-4E6S - 105, double-shielded, with a twisted pair soldered to each of the signal paths, plus a braided shield. The Canare cable uses a polyethelene induslation and a cotton filler, with a PVC outer sheath. The very flexible 1.5' cable sells for $12.95, and you can get runs up to 60' (and you can get a female minijack at the other end; the same cable is available with other connectors, such as 1/4" phone plugs and RCA or XLR connectors). Furthermore, you can get several colors if you want something other than the basic black: brown, grey, green, orange, purple, red, yellow, or white. The Markertek cable uses awesome nickel-plated Canare F-12 connectors on each end. The Canare connectors, which are gorgeous and which just everyone appears to consider the best available, come with a matching coil spring strain relief, and are .5" in diameter. You can see these, and the Canare cable lineup, at www.canare.com.
(3) Twisted Pair Designs. This is a custom-made cable. The 0.5 meter cable retails for $41; I ordered mine from CJ’s Audio over the Internet, www.cjsaudvid.com, and the cable was then built by TPD and shipped to me directly (their website is www.twisted-pair-design.com). I also received a 1 meter TPD “Game Junkie” at the same time, a dual-RCA-to-stereo-mini, and I was extremely impressed with that cable when I compared it to the Radio Shack and Straightwire offerings using the same configuration (but that TPD cable is built differently from their mini-to-mini, for obvious reasons). The TPD looks like silvery-grey garden hose, and is almost as fat; the cable is by far the thickest of all in this configuration that I auditioned or have ever seen, with a diameter of .4". The cable is a discreet two-channel cable configuration, built with what TPD calls “a Japanese-made high-grade 5 N's pure OFC.” It is not Canare cable, by the way. The cable used by TPD is also double-shielded star-quad cable, also with a braided shield around the entire cable. The black outer sheathing of the cable is covered by a clear TechFlex polyethylene weave, with a 1.5" logo-bearing-heatshrink part way down the cable run. The Canare F-12 connectors, the same as used by Markertek, are reamed out at the back end to accept the thicker cable and jacket, but there is no strain relief. I have listened to the first of two variants. The first had only two of the thin inner cables soldered to the signal path of the connectors, with the other inner cables soldered to the shield. The second sample will have, I believe, a twisted pair per each part of the signal path. The TPD cable is more flexible than you would first imagine, but it is not as flexible as the others.
The Associated Equipment:
I used my Sony D-25S portable CD player as a source, powered by a 1500 mA AC adapter, running into the line-in of a Sony WM-D6C, powered by a 1000 mA AC adapter. I also tried them both on battery power. That WM-D6C is a portable cassette recorder/player that’s been a classic for two decades, often used for live recording and making it into Stereophile’s “class C” ratings for longer than perhaps any other piece of audio equipment. The WM-D6C puts out 30 mW of clean power. The headphones connected to the WM-D6C were: (1) the Sony MDR-V6, modified with Beyer DT-250 velour pads; (2) the Sony MDR-F1; and (3) the AudioTechnica ATH-W100, recently arrived from Singapore. I also tried the cables in my office, patching several different audio sources into my computer’s line-in, to check for protection against RFI/EMI.
The Process:
I each listened to many different compact discs with music that I know well, both in CD and LP formats, and have often used to audition audio equipment. Selections included music recorded from the mid-1960s through to the present, some remastered from analog tape. Many include trusted recordings used by other audiophiles ever since I got into this stuff back in the 1970s.
The Results:
(1) Radio Shack: By comparison with the other cables, the low bass is missing or smeared with this cable, and the signal seemed to be lower in level than the other cables. The highs are brittle and glassy. Details are smeared throughout the whole spectrum. Length might have had a part to play in this, but with better choices available at the price, we didn’t bother to cut down the cable.
(2) Markertek: The Markertek had excellent sound quality. The cable’s sound was balanced, with the excellent bass detail and extension. The highs were clear and well defined. I felt the imaging was more precise than the first TPD, far superior to the Radio Shack, almost holographic and quite vivid. This cable was very easy to listen to, with no apparent flaws or effects on the sound. For the price, the Markertek is a bargain, and I think you can’t go wrong with this one. Besides, it comes with those Canare connectors, and you can get it in so many different colors!
(3) Twisted Pair Designs: The first custom cable was dark in tone, with a deeper bass extension and more impact than the Radio Shack. It seems to let more signal through than the Radio Shack cable. It was darker than the Markertek, with more bass emphasis, from male voice on down. The midrange was more prominent than the other cables, and the highs were a bit recessed. I was disappointed to find that the inner details seem to be lost, or smeared, especially by comparison with the Markertek. With the Markertek I was listening past the cable, to the music, and with the TPD I felt more distant, as if I was looking through a dirty window and not into the room. After reporting the preliminary results to TPD, they offered to try another build, probably with a twisted pair for each part of the signal path (like the Markertek) which, as noted, is on the way to me. I’ll report on the sound of that one after it arrives.
So stay tuned. The rich fat boy could still win this one.
This is a preliminary report, with a rebuild of one custom cable still to arrive. I'm posting this now since cajunchrist posted his. We're not inconsistent in what we report we hear, although our reporting styles are somewhat different.
Introduction:
Miniature phone plugs and matching jacks, often referred to by their size, 1/8" or .35mm, are ubiquitous on portable sources and most headphones, replacing the standard 1/4" plug/jack. I needed some patch cables to dub from a portable CD player directly into a classic portable cassette recorder/walkman. I also use these cables to connect sources to the line-in of my computer, and in that setting RFI/EMI protection is something getting more and more of my attention; for example, I live in a location with RFI problems from visible radio broadcast towers, and EMI is a constant worry in my office, which is full of other electronics, such as AC power adapters, a computer, docking station with multiple drives, a scanner, two printers, computer speakers, and some audio equipment. The traditional methods of rejecting radio or electromagnetic interference are varying the geometric design of the cable (twisting of paired cables) and/or using shielding (an outer braid, for example), anda also adding ferrite cores to snap around the cable.
I tested three cables (or will have tested four, after I get the second version of one cable). My comparison is probably only reliable for the specific build configurations and cable materials under comparison here. I did not buy or listen to the Straightwire or Kimber cables that are available from Headroom, and I could not find the Chinese-made Acoustic Research cable in any local stores.
The other common portable configuration is dual-stereo-male-RCA connectors to one mini-stereo-phone-plug; such cables are available from Radio Shack and some cheap outfits, but there are audiophile cables built by Straightwire (for Headroom), Kimber (for Headroom), Twisted Pair Designs (their Game Junkie), and some custom shops . Of course, one could always use two RCA-terminated interconnects with a Radio Shack adapter.
The Cables:
(1) Radio Shack. This is their gold-plated connector mini-to-mini “shielded cable,” #42-2607, which comes only in the 6 foot length, for $9.99. The Radio Shack cable is thin with very little insulation, but it is very flexible. The well-known RS gold-plated connectors are not machined well, and would often catch on removal from the mini-jacks. While Radio Shack has a website, they’re also probably located in half the strip malls within five miles of your home.
(2) Markertek. The Markertek is intended as microphone patch cable, and is available over the Internet from www.markertek.com. It is constructed with .25" thick Japanese-made Canare star-quad twisted-pair cable, L-4E6S - 105, double-shielded, with a twisted pair soldered to each of the signal paths, plus a braided shield. The Canare cable uses a polyethelene induslation and a cotton filler, with a PVC outer sheath. The very flexible 1.5' cable sells for $12.95, and you can get runs up to 60' (and you can get a female minijack at the other end; the same cable is available with other connectors, such as 1/4" phone plugs and RCA or XLR connectors). Furthermore, you can get several colors if you want something other than the basic black: brown, grey, green, orange, purple, red, yellow, or white. The Markertek cable uses awesome nickel-plated Canare F-12 connectors on each end. The Canare connectors, which are gorgeous and which just everyone appears to consider the best available, come with a matching coil spring strain relief, and are .5" in diameter. You can see these, and the Canare cable lineup, at www.canare.com.
(3) Twisted Pair Designs. This is a custom-made cable. The 0.5 meter cable retails for $41; I ordered mine from CJ’s Audio over the Internet, www.cjsaudvid.com, and the cable was then built by TPD and shipped to me directly (their website is www.twisted-pair-design.com). I also received a 1 meter TPD “Game Junkie” at the same time, a dual-RCA-to-stereo-mini, and I was extremely impressed with that cable when I compared it to the Radio Shack and Straightwire offerings using the same configuration (but that TPD cable is built differently from their mini-to-mini, for obvious reasons). The TPD looks like silvery-grey garden hose, and is almost as fat; the cable is by far the thickest of all in this configuration that I auditioned or have ever seen, with a diameter of .4". The cable is a discreet two-channel cable configuration, built with what TPD calls “a Japanese-made high-grade 5 N's pure OFC.” It is not Canare cable, by the way. The cable used by TPD is also double-shielded star-quad cable, also with a braided shield around the entire cable. The black outer sheathing of the cable is covered by a clear TechFlex polyethylene weave, with a 1.5" logo-bearing-heatshrink part way down the cable run. The Canare F-12 connectors, the same as used by Markertek, are reamed out at the back end to accept the thicker cable and jacket, but there is no strain relief. I have listened to the first of two variants. The first had only two of the thin inner cables soldered to the signal path of the connectors, with the other inner cables soldered to the shield. The second sample will have, I believe, a twisted pair per each part of the signal path. The TPD cable is more flexible than you would first imagine, but it is not as flexible as the others.
The Associated Equipment:
I used my Sony D-25S portable CD player as a source, powered by a 1500 mA AC adapter, running into the line-in of a Sony WM-D6C, powered by a 1000 mA AC adapter. I also tried them both on battery power. That WM-D6C is a portable cassette recorder/player that’s been a classic for two decades, often used for live recording and making it into Stereophile’s “class C” ratings for longer than perhaps any other piece of audio equipment. The WM-D6C puts out 30 mW of clean power. The headphones connected to the WM-D6C were: (1) the Sony MDR-V6, modified with Beyer DT-250 velour pads; (2) the Sony MDR-F1; and (3) the AudioTechnica ATH-W100, recently arrived from Singapore. I also tried the cables in my office, patching several different audio sources into my computer’s line-in, to check for protection against RFI/EMI.
The Process:
I each listened to many different compact discs with music that I know well, both in CD and LP formats, and have often used to audition audio equipment. Selections included music recorded from the mid-1960s through to the present, some remastered from analog tape. Many include trusted recordings used by other audiophiles ever since I got into this stuff back in the 1970s.
The Results:
(1) Radio Shack: By comparison with the other cables, the low bass is missing or smeared with this cable, and the signal seemed to be lower in level than the other cables. The highs are brittle and glassy. Details are smeared throughout the whole spectrum. Length might have had a part to play in this, but with better choices available at the price, we didn’t bother to cut down the cable.
(2) Markertek: The Markertek had excellent sound quality. The cable’s sound was balanced, with the excellent bass detail and extension. The highs were clear and well defined. I felt the imaging was more precise than the first TPD, far superior to the Radio Shack, almost holographic and quite vivid. This cable was very easy to listen to, with no apparent flaws or effects on the sound. For the price, the Markertek is a bargain, and I think you can’t go wrong with this one. Besides, it comes with those Canare connectors, and you can get it in so many different colors!
(3) Twisted Pair Designs: The first custom cable was dark in tone, with a deeper bass extension and more impact than the Radio Shack. It seems to let more signal through than the Radio Shack cable. It was darker than the Markertek, with more bass emphasis, from male voice on down. The midrange was more prominent than the other cables, and the highs were a bit recessed. I was disappointed to find that the inner details seem to be lost, or smeared, especially by comparison with the Markertek. With the Markertek I was listening past the cable, to the music, and with the TPD I felt more distant, as if I was looking through a dirty window and not into the room. After reporting the preliminary results to TPD, they offered to try another build, probably with a twisted pair for each part of the signal path (like the Markertek) which, as noted, is on the way to me. I’ll report on the sound of that one after it arrives.
So stay tuned. The rich fat boy could still win this one.
