I was wondering what's your take on silver/blue dragon cables from moon audio. Do they really make most headphone sound better? I would like to upgrade my hifiman he-500 cables one of these day and would like to know what you at head-fi think.
I was wondering what's your take on silver/blue dragon cables from moon audio. Do they really make most headphone sound better? I would like to upgrade my hifiman he-500 cables one of these day and would like to know what you at head-fi think.
Some think that they make them sound a little bit better and some think that it does nothing. Me? I love upgraded cables, not for the enhancement in sound(never been able to compare 2 cables) but because they feel SO much better. Seriously. I highly recommend an upgraded cable. Its just to your needs and a very light and durable cable(Moon Audio and Blue Dragon ones are atleast.)
Some think that they make them sound a little bit better and some think that it does nothing. Me? I love upgraded cables, not for the enhancement in sound(never been able to compare 2 cables) but because they feel SO much better. Seriously. I highly recommend an upgraded cable. Its just to your needs and a very light and durable cable(Moon Audio and Blue Dragon ones are atleast.)
At the OP, I do recommend upgraded cables because of the build quality and flexibliity, and because often, default cables are just absurdly long for home use as opposed to a studio. Furthermore, it's nice to support your small businesses and artisans here and other places (though you could make your own cables too if you wanted). They don't make a difference in sound though, as far as I know.
Some think that they make them sound a little bit better and some think that it does nothing. Me? I love upgraded cables, not for the enhancement in sound(never been able to compare 2 cables) but because they feel SO much better. Seriously. I highly recommend an upgraded cable. Its just to your needs and a very light and durable cable(Moon Audio and Blue Dragon ones are atleast.)
At the OP, I do recommend upgraded cables because of the build quality and flexibliity, and because often, default cables are just absurdly long for home use as opposed to a studio. Furthermore, it's nice to support your small businesses and artisans here and other places (though you could make your own cables too if you wanted). They don't make a difference in sound though, as far as I know.
Yep, I love upgraded cables for these reasons. Supporting hand-made things is great, and they feel great. As for the too long comment, I need all the 10ft that come with a lot of Mid-Fi - Hi-Fi headphones
I was wondering what's your take on silver/blue dragon cables from moon audio. Do they really make most headphone sound better? I would like to upgrade my hifiman he-500 cables one of these day and would like to know what you at head-fi think.
You write "Do they really make most headphone sound better?".
Personally I really doubt this but I would be delighted if it were demonstrated in a blind ABX test.
You will read anecdotal evidence of improvements with cables. You will see people saying "more airy" or "more defined bass" etc. However what is not understood is that all of these apparent sonic alterations are very well within the scope of suggestion and auto-suggestion.
I have an article on suggestion and auto-suggestion and there is a link in my signature.
The human perception of audio is extremely flexible and in fact its great strength lies in that flexibility, however it means that it is very susceptible to suggestion or autosuggestion.
The only way to remove the influence of suggestion and autosuggestion is with blind ABX tests.
This issue applies to assessment of all Hi Fi components.
You write "Do they really make most headphone sound better?".
Personally I really doubt this but I would be delighted if it were demonstrated in a blind ABX test.
You will read anecdotal evidence of improvements with cables. You will see people saying "more airy" or "more defined bass" etc. However what is not understood is that all of these apparent sonic alterations are very well within the scope of suggestion and auto-suggestion.
I have an article on suggestion and auto-suggestion and there is a link in my signature.
The human perception of audio is extremely flexible and in fact its great strength lies in that flexibility, however it means that it is very susceptible to suggestion or autosuggestion.
The only way to remove the influence of suggestion and autosuggestion is with blind ABX tests.
This issue applies to assessment of all Hi Fi components.
Be careful, mentioning blind tests is forbidden everywhere on these forums except the Science subforum. For whatever reason, it's a sensitive topic here, and being very anti-censorship, that's one thing I really dislike. But I guess people don't like finding out out they've grossly overpaid for their rigs.
That said, if people are happy with their setups, let them be happy! I do have a problem with science evangelists in that they often try to impose their points of view on others. Intelligent debate and trying to convince someone of facts and reality is one thing, but being condescending is another. If someone wants to spend $x0,000, I may think it's pointless, but it's their money, their call, and their enjoyment. No need to go bothering others.
There is more to cables than the question of sound quality.
The stock HiFiMan cable has durability issues.
You may need a different connector.
Personally I went with a Moon cable because they are shielded and I was having trouble with static ear zap.
On a side note I would recommend learning to solder as it is a very simple skill to pick up and drops the cost of cables by at least 50%.
X2 on the durability issues with the HE-500 original cable. For that reason and the micro phonics a replacement cable is worth considering irrespective of your beliefs on whether the cables can improve the headphones sound.
I just purchased the silver dragon v3 for my akg 712 headphones. I purchased a 15 foot cable with the furutech carbon fiber 1/4 inch plug. My initial impression is very positive with no time on it at all it just blew away the stock cable on the 712. There is much better clarity and much more apparent depth reproduction with the silver dragon v3 cable. While it was not cheap costing me over 500 bucks but with the cable upgrade I am enjoying the strengths of the AKG 712 even more. I was surprised at how lossy the stock cable is compared to the upgrade cable even with no time on it. It is noticeably louder at the same volume level I was listening to the akgs with the stock cable. It will hopefully even improve with some break in time. But the differences are already so much better I could just not go back to the stock cable.
I have a number of HFM cans and the cables are very much 2nd and 3rd rate (physically and sonically). I've done well with used high/mid end DIY:
- Black Dragon v1
- Arctic
- Belden, etc
However, a digital parametric EQ set properly and decent OFC cables will run rings against the most expensive cables with no EQ.
On another front re: HFM you can tune the round cup ones easily. The HFM's older round form cans have great drivers - but poor/meh pads, cables, large magnet surfaces, audible rear screen mesh, vibrations allow for mods to tune the sound - which helps put the HE-500 and HE-6 far ahead of most cans in the 2010-2020 period.
Tune them (HE-500), then EQ them, and watch the owners of almost every can under $1500 have their eyes roll backwards in their skulls when they A/B.
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