[JohnnyOps]

Hi-

I'm a reasonably big fan of balanced cables in my main office rig, now trying to figure out if it's "worth it" in the IEM world. I'm unlikely to make a "major investment" to try out driving my KATO's with Line K's.

Has anyone tried Line T's (~$20) link here or other less expensive options available from AliExpress or elsewhere? Are they worth trying? The stock cable is obviously quite nice for a single ended cable. And I have balanced on my 7Hz Timeless, but I'm not about to go out and purchase a single-ended cable just to compare!

Am mostly driving with a Fiio Q3, in case that's relevant.

Thanks,
John

 

[dunring]

Balanced is just worth it if your amp puts more power out of that end and you need it. That way you can stay in middle gain most times and it always has less distortion than high gain.
It's really just a matter of durability, materials, and quality control at higher price points.

 

[JohnnyOps]

Wow, I love this perspective @dunring -- It's amazing the number of aftermarket cables that get sold. And I have to admit that while I prefer my open-back HD6xx and HE5xx with their balanced cables, it could easily be that my Mjolnir 2 drives them louder for a given volume dial setting and so I equate that with better sound, or it could be that because they have more headroom for a given actual volume it actually is better. In any case, I've already made the investment there. The question is whether I could possibly need it for IEMs where I'm using low gain setting already and not even at 40% volume.

You'll convince me to start re-trying my single-ended cables on my open-backs next!

Anyone else care to wade in and share the durability / materials / usability of the Line T, or have an opinion on its sound signature vs. other available cables from XINHS / Moondrop?

 

[BigGearHunter]

I bought a T-Line cable like 2 or 3 months ago to pair with my Moondrop Dawn 4.4 and it works beautifully. I ordered 3 more because changing cables when I want to change earphones is a pain. I do recommend them, price is super reasonable for what you get.

 

[JohnnyOps]

I bought a T-Line cable like 2 or 3 months ago to pair with my Moondrop Dawn 4.4 and it works beautifully. I ordered 3 more because changing cables when I want to change earphones is a pain. I do recommend them, price is super reasonable for what you get.

Fantastic! You’re the first person I’ve heard from who has actually got the T line cable!

Question- how would you compare the suppleness/bendiness and apparent durability vs the stock cable?

Thank you!

 

[karloil]

I purchased a Line T 2 months ago to replace a cheap Twipowin cable for my ES3. Good enough in my opion. You really can't complain, specially for it's price. Good build quality. I reversed the ear guide to correspond to the reversed polarity of Earsonics. No complains so far.

 

[BigGearHunter]

Fantastic! You’re the first person I’ve heard from who has actually got the T line cable!

Question- how would you compare the suppleness/bendiness and apparent durability vs the stock cable?

Thank you!

Like @karloil said, no complaints here. As far as how it compares to the stock cable, I'd say the sound is pretty much identical in all the models that have gotten paired with the T line, I didn't notice a musical difference that is significant enough to report. As far as quality, I like it a lot, only thing that could be improved is the chin cinch and even that is a nit-picky complaint

 

[karloil]

Like @karloil said, no complaints here. As far as how it compares to the stock cable, I'd say the sound is pretty much identical in all the models that have gotten paired with the T line, I didn't notice a musical difference that is significant enough to report. As far as quality, I like it a lot, only thing that could be improved is the chin cinch and even that is a nit-picky complaint

Yep, nothing to really complain about it. Well built, works as intended and doesn't break the bank.