Beagle
His body's not a canvas, and he wasn't raised by apes.
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2001
- Posts
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- 3,474
munch munch munch...the sound of me, the disbelieving cynic eating crow...
kwkarth, DarkAngel, nezer, kelly, jude, KR, MacDEF et al were right...hearing is believing. I should have known better than to doubt the golden ears.
Went for a medical this week and then stopped at my local hi-end dealer just for a look-see and chat with the owner. I inquired about the availability of the Cardas HD600 cable in Canada, and he opens a drawer, pulls out a large zip-lock bag and places it on the counter in front of me.
There it was. The Cardas smurf cable. I stared at it, stared at the red and black Sennheiser plugs, picked it up, put it back down.
My first thought was that it was a form of entrapment. The cable was RIGHT THERE, begging for me to buy it. How could I let this chance go by. All the glowing Head-Fi reviews and comments were going through my head like a rolling newsreel. I inquired on the price. $250 (Canadian). Ouch. It's just wire. Wire cannot make a significant difference.
But to hell with it. Even Neruda loved it. Gotta go for it. I opened my wallet, plunked down the plastic and said "I'm in".
Having been listening exclusively to Grados for the past two weeks, I had to reacquaint myself with the HD600, which I did for a full evening. I began to enjoy them again, but was convincing myself that it was not complete, in anticipation of the "big improvement" which was forthcoming.
Out with the old, in with the new. I made a MD compilation of various things on both CD and LP. I found a comfortable area to do some serious listening. I plugged my "new" HD600 into the RA-1 and gave a listen to "Look Who's Alone Tonight" from Robbie Nevil's 1986 debut LP and "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" from Daryl Hall & John Oates CD Big Bam Boom. After a couple of minutes of listening, the first think I realized was that there was an openness in the bass, a transparency which allowed for distinct separation of information in the bass range. Bass guitar was easily distinguishable from kick drum. It was like a veil was removed which allowed me to more clearly "see" bass notes, especially very low ones. Dynamics are left to their own devices.
I moved on through some of Dylans "Blood On The Tracks" LP and became more accustomed to the new "sound". The move from CD to LP was like a window opened and some fresh air wafted in. By the time I got around to "Power Failure" and "Song For A Dreamer" form Procol Harum's Broken Barricades LP, I was fully aware of the magic that the Cardas cable was capable of, or more accurately perhaps, it was the magic that the Cardas cable was allowing to pass through to my ears. Robin Trowers layered guitar pieces were easily audible as well as discernable, and the ebb and flow of the music was totally unimpeded. Carly Simons voice on "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" was clear, full and natural. Tracks like "Dreams", "Gold Dust Woman" and "I Don't Want To Know" from the Rumours LP lived and breathed, the lead/background vocal parts sounded scary real.
The best way I can describe the new sound is that there is no 'sound' per se. The Cardas HD600 take on some of the favorable 'characteristics' of the AKGK501 in that it presents music and instruments and does not draw attention to specific details of same. Everything simply exists as music and you listen and enjoy. One just assumes a very flat frequency response and is not drawn to specific peaks or valleys. Nothing is exaggerated, nothing is slighted. It takes a while to realize that all the treble is there, in correct proportion and energy. What is missing is grain and distortion. The "broken down into specific parts" characteristic that bothered me about the stock HD600 is totally gone. I now hear the musical whole, everything gels properly. And overall, it's like removing a clear pane of glass and looking out an open window. And I can assure myself that the RA-1 is delivering a clear signal to the HD600.
I hate admitting that wire makes this big a difference, and I certainly have no explanation for it, other than perhaps the quality (or stiffness?) of the wire is assuring superb timing of the signal reaching my ears. Unless there is some clever sonic sleight-of-hand going on. Maybe I'll go back to the Grados in a months time and rediscover those too. Who knows.
I also find it interesting that neither the plug nor the pins are gold plated. Maybe Cardas does not believe in gold?
Anyway, I feel somewhat of a fool and a hypocrite, having been so cynical towards some of the positive comments and claims towards this cable in the past. I apologize for doubting people on something they had experience with and I did not, other than my own personal experience of not having heard large differences in cables.
For any HD600 owners who do not have the Cards cable, go get it posthaste!
kwkarth, DarkAngel, nezer, kelly, jude, KR, MacDEF et al were right...hearing is believing. I should have known better than to doubt the golden ears.
Went for a medical this week and then stopped at my local hi-end dealer just for a look-see and chat with the owner. I inquired about the availability of the Cardas HD600 cable in Canada, and he opens a drawer, pulls out a large zip-lock bag and places it on the counter in front of me.
There it was. The Cardas smurf cable. I stared at it, stared at the red and black Sennheiser plugs, picked it up, put it back down.
My first thought was that it was a form of entrapment. The cable was RIGHT THERE, begging for me to buy it. How could I let this chance go by. All the glowing Head-Fi reviews and comments were going through my head like a rolling newsreel. I inquired on the price. $250 (Canadian). Ouch. It's just wire. Wire cannot make a significant difference.
But to hell with it. Even Neruda loved it. Gotta go for it. I opened my wallet, plunked down the plastic and said "I'm in".
Having been listening exclusively to Grados for the past two weeks, I had to reacquaint myself with the HD600, which I did for a full evening. I began to enjoy them again, but was convincing myself that it was not complete, in anticipation of the "big improvement" which was forthcoming.
Out with the old, in with the new. I made a MD compilation of various things on both CD and LP. I found a comfortable area to do some serious listening. I plugged my "new" HD600 into the RA-1 and gave a listen to "Look Who's Alone Tonight" from Robbie Nevil's 1986 debut LP and "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" from Daryl Hall & John Oates CD Big Bam Boom. After a couple of minutes of listening, the first think I realized was that there was an openness in the bass, a transparency which allowed for distinct separation of information in the bass range. Bass guitar was easily distinguishable from kick drum. It was like a veil was removed which allowed me to more clearly "see" bass notes, especially very low ones. Dynamics are left to their own devices.
I moved on through some of Dylans "Blood On The Tracks" LP and became more accustomed to the new "sound". The move from CD to LP was like a window opened and some fresh air wafted in. By the time I got around to "Power Failure" and "Song For A Dreamer" form Procol Harum's Broken Barricades LP, I was fully aware of the magic that the Cardas cable was capable of, or more accurately perhaps, it was the magic that the Cardas cable was allowing to pass through to my ears. Robin Trowers layered guitar pieces were easily audible as well as discernable, and the ebb and flow of the music was totally unimpeded. Carly Simons voice on "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" was clear, full and natural. Tracks like "Dreams", "Gold Dust Woman" and "I Don't Want To Know" from the Rumours LP lived and breathed, the lead/background vocal parts sounded scary real.
The best way I can describe the new sound is that there is no 'sound' per se. The Cardas HD600 take on some of the favorable 'characteristics' of the AKGK501 in that it presents music and instruments and does not draw attention to specific details of same. Everything simply exists as music and you listen and enjoy. One just assumes a very flat frequency response and is not drawn to specific peaks or valleys. Nothing is exaggerated, nothing is slighted. It takes a while to realize that all the treble is there, in correct proportion and energy. What is missing is grain and distortion. The "broken down into specific parts" characteristic that bothered me about the stock HD600 is totally gone. I now hear the musical whole, everything gels properly. And overall, it's like removing a clear pane of glass and looking out an open window. And I can assure myself that the RA-1 is delivering a clear signal to the HD600.
I hate admitting that wire makes this big a difference, and I certainly have no explanation for it, other than perhaps the quality (or stiffness?) of the wire is assuring superb timing of the signal reaching my ears. Unless there is some clever sonic sleight-of-hand going on. Maybe I'll go back to the Grados in a months time and rediscover those too. Who knows.
I also find it interesting that neither the plug nor the pins are gold plated. Maybe Cardas does not believe in gold?
Anyway, I feel somewhat of a fool and a hypocrite, having been so cynical towards some of the positive comments and claims towards this cable in the past. I apologize for doubting people on something they had experience with and I did not, other than my own personal experience of not having heard large differences in cables.
For any HD600 owners who do not have the Cards cable, go get it posthaste!
