[Ableza]

I love the way my Alpha Dogs sound except for the noticeable microphonics and cable thump.  It can be quite prominent and causes me to listen at higher levels than I likely normally would.  The heavy cable that comes with the ADs seems like it should be well shielded - although I'm not certain of the cause for the mechanical noises.  Does anyone else experience this, and if so have you discovered a cure?

 

[Dave74]

Yes, I experience this as well.  I try not to move the cable around to much while listening, other than that an after market (custom) cable would be the best solution and might even further improve sound quality.  But I do agree that the micro phonics can be annoying. 

 

[aamer23]

Just waiting for delivery of the AD's, Did you guys change out the cable and did it stop the noise

 

[Ableza]

The noise is still there with the two cables I have tried.  It must be something about the way the phones themselves are designed.  It's annoying, but no so annoying that it keeps me from thinking the ADs are the best sounding headphones I've tried yet.

 

[aamer23]

which cables have you tried so far, i suppose you have checked the front end already to see if the noise is related to any other part of the system

 

[Ableza]

Stock Mr.Speakers cable and Q-Audio French Silk custom cable.  Both exhibit bad microphonics.  There is no electrical noise in my system, by the way.  All the noise I hear is being caused by mechanical movement of the headphone cable rubbing on my clothing.  So far the most effective solution has been to clip the cable at the split to my shirt, or to sit like my head is in a vice and not move it.  Very annoying.  None of my other headphones or IEMs have been this bad so it must be a byproduct of the Alpha Dog design.  If they didn't sound so darn amazing otherwise I would be replacing them..

 

[aamer23]

my local supplier for cable has van damme tour grade microphone cable which seems to be well shielded
so I will try this first to see if I get better SQ than the std AD cable

 

[aamer23]

268020000 silver plated OFC cable i have this as an ext for the AD cable so i dont hear much noise.

 

[Ableza]

With no program playing, wear the Alpha Dogs.  Move the cable around.  Rub in on your shirt.  Hear that?  That's what I'm talking about, not noise in the system.  And if you hear nothing, then I want to know the make and model of the cable you are using.

 

[aamer23]

Ah ok mechanical vibrational noise transmitted through the cable to the cups. the cable i have mentioned is my ext cable and it is not transmitting any vibrations at all. however, in the next week or so i will have a full custom cable made up then i can tell you if there are any vibrations as i have a metal double female 6.3 mm plug between the AD cable and the ext cable 

 

[Ableza]

  Ah ok mechanical vibrational noise transmitted through the cable to the cups.

 
That is called "microphonics."

 

[Claritas]

Putting the cable in a sleeve helps some (that's the standard workaround), though the cause of the problem is the cable's inflexibility.

That is called "microphonics."

Colloquially. Technically, it's called "cable-borne noise." "Microphonic" is used for tubes and other active components. Either way, it's annoying as hell.

 

[Ableza]

Yes... well, actually microphonics is a term describing any translation of mechanical energy (such as vibrations) into the audio signal stream, but I get your point.  What sort of sleeve do you mean?

 

[aamer23]

 
thats the cable my ext is made from the outer insulator is much softer and has better vibrational absorption 
than the AD original cable at least to the touch

 

[Claritas]

What sort of sleeve do you mean?

Nylon or paracord, amongst other options. Here's a bad photo of a cable I bought from ZMF: