Ross
500+ Head-Fier
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- Jun 22, 2001
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A little while ago, I did a little review of all of the Sennheiser cables I've heard. I concluded that the Moon Audio Blue Dragon was my personal favourite, but other cables also performed strongly, notably the Zu Mobius for those with a taste for a brighter sound from their Sennheisers, and the Equinox for those looking for a more balanced sound. The strengths of the Blue Dragon included a rich, substantial, warm, three dimensional sound with deep bass.
Moon Audio have now issued a new version of the Blue Dragon, which is quite different and deserves a new review. I have been running the Ver 2 in continuously for a few days, but unlike the previous version this cable sounds great right of the box, and has not changed its sound significantly over that time.
The construction of the cable is also different to the first version: it is much thinner and more flexible, and comes in black rather than the blue of the previous one (although I rather liked the blue).
As you can probably tell from the name of this thread, I like the Blue Dragon V2 very much. The changes over the previous version are not all improvements, but on balance I think it is the best Sennheiser cable yet to appear, and addresses some of the issues that made some people prefer the alternatives, particularly the Equinox. One strength of the old cable was a very substantial sound, with instruments and vocals given real solidity and three dimensional presence, as well as deep bass. The trade off, however, was a slightly heavy sound, with the bass a shade over-emphasised, and a slight loss of focus compared to other cables. This was a trade off I was happy to make, but the new cable has addressed these issues. The V2 sounds less substantial, and less weighty, particularly in the bass. However, it is much more focussed, with a faster, tighter sound, and is much quieter, with a totally black background and excellent resolution of low level detail. Although the bass is a little reduced, it is probably now more accurate. The cable is still a touch dark compared to others (especially bright cables like the Zu), but it is much closer to the balance of the stock cable, which for many of us represents an ideal tonal balance (even if the performance of the stock cable fails on other criteria).
The previous Blue Dragon was a slightly idiosyncratic cable which some loved, but some preferred the more balanced approach of the Equinox and others. I now think that those who preferred the Equinox might think again if they heard the Blue Dragon V2. The Equinox is a superb cable, and very well balanced, but I still think it sounds a little hashy in the background and just a shade too light - possibly the effects of its spliced connectors, which I still consider to be a limiting factor. The Blue Dragon V2 is now a much more balanced cable, with similar strengths to the Equinox, but with better resolution of detail and less hash, as well as a tonal balance that is, for me, slightly preferable. In other words, I suspect that those who heard both the Blue Dragon V1 and Equinox and preferred the Equinox, would be converted back the other way by the Blue Dragon V2.
There will remain those who prefer the sound of silver or silver-copper (though I've never understood why), and for many the bright, fast sound of the Zu suits their tastes with the Sennheiser 650s (which I acknowledge can sound a little sedate for some people). However, for those who prefer the warmth of copper cables, and a tonal balance that is closest to what the Sennheiser engineers designed for these headphones, I think the Moon Audio Blue Dragon V2 is the best Sennheiser 650 cable yet to appear.
Moon Audio have now issued a new version of the Blue Dragon, which is quite different and deserves a new review. I have been running the Ver 2 in continuously for a few days, but unlike the previous version this cable sounds great right of the box, and has not changed its sound significantly over that time.
The construction of the cable is also different to the first version: it is much thinner and more flexible, and comes in black rather than the blue of the previous one (although I rather liked the blue).
As you can probably tell from the name of this thread, I like the Blue Dragon V2 very much. The changes over the previous version are not all improvements, but on balance I think it is the best Sennheiser cable yet to appear, and addresses some of the issues that made some people prefer the alternatives, particularly the Equinox. One strength of the old cable was a very substantial sound, with instruments and vocals given real solidity and three dimensional presence, as well as deep bass. The trade off, however, was a slightly heavy sound, with the bass a shade over-emphasised, and a slight loss of focus compared to other cables. This was a trade off I was happy to make, but the new cable has addressed these issues. The V2 sounds less substantial, and less weighty, particularly in the bass. However, it is much more focussed, with a faster, tighter sound, and is much quieter, with a totally black background and excellent resolution of low level detail. Although the bass is a little reduced, it is probably now more accurate. The cable is still a touch dark compared to others (especially bright cables like the Zu), but it is much closer to the balance of the stock cable, which for many of us represents an ideal tonal balance (even if the performance of the stock cable fails on other criteria).
The previous Blue Dragon was a slightly idiosyncratic cable which some loved, but some preferred the more balanced approach of the Equinox and others. I now think that those who preferred the Equinox might think again if they heard the Blue Dragon V2. The Equinox is a superb cable, and very well balanced, but I still think it sounds a little hashy in the background and just a shade too light - possibly the effects of its spliced connectors, which I still consider to be a limiting factor. The Blue Dragon V2 is now a much more balanced cable, with similar strengths to the Equinox, but with better resolution of detail and less hash, as well as a tonal balance that is, for me, slightly preferable. In other words, I suspect that those who heard both the Blue Dragon V1 and Equinox and preferred the Equinox, would be converted back the other way by the Blue Dragon V2.
There will remain those who prefer the sound of silver or silver-copper (though I've never understood why), and for many the bright, fast sound of the Zu suits their tastes with the Sennheiser 650s (which I acknowledge can sound a little sedate for some people). However, for those who prefer the warmth of copper cables, and a tonal balance that is closest to what the Sennheiser engineers designed for these headphones, I think the Moon Audio Blue Dragon V2 is the best Sennheiser 650 cable yet to appear.
