Hi
@bettyn, did you see my post regarding
multiple aftermarket headphone cables?
Just to reiterate, if you have the budget and want the best cables, go for Double Helix Cables.
If you don't want to pay that much but still want amazing cables, PETERK and Moon Audio Dragon Series will be great.
If you want a cable at a budget, Forza AudioWorks.
Head-Fi'ers have made other suggestions too, so do research them all, lots of choice!
Two things I would like to say:
- Do NOT opt for gold and copper or gold and silver cables. Gold is a poor electrical conductor, worse than copper and really, really worse in comparison to silver.
This is really basic, school science, never mind advanced academia.
Those who like their gold infused cables may do so because of different tones in terms of sound, previous unknown knowledge of gold's electrical properties, placebo, or buyer's remorse.
- Having silver in a cable, whether as a combination between copper and silver, or pure silver alone, does NOT mean music will be cold, analytical, harsh, sibilant, etc. It is thought these ideas are borne from the way humans observe certain colour cues, because warmer colours like copper and gold give the impression of warmth, whereas silver, titanium and aluminium give of a colder impression and feel.
Silver cables, especially pure silver, if done well, allow music to be effortless, organic, holographic.
Lastly, I personally don't think cables themselves have specific sound signatures. The whole point of getting audiophile cables is to have better electrical conductivity, lower noise floor, and reduction of noise itself from EMI, RFI, etc.
By reducing noise, the amplifier you use will not need to unnecessarily work and amplify any noise coming from the cable, and the transducer (speakers or headphones/earphones) won't need to playback that noise.
You cannot get rid of noise completely, but the more that noise is diminished in cables, and the more noise floor is lowered, then the amplifier has more power and reserve power to amplify music rather than noise, as does the transducers to playback music rather than noise.
Noise also affects DAC's and phono amp's but I hope you get the general gist.
Increasing electrical conductivity is also key; this means electrical signals from source to amp to transducer can be quicker, thus reproduction of music more accurate (whether that is neutral or musical depends on your equipment and tastes of course; music should be fun to you). The fastest known speed of source to ear of audio is
real life music, and that cannot be replicated, but using advanced equipment and better cables, we can try to be just as fast.
So, for me, when some says this cable sounds
this or
that, I translate that as the cable having reduced certain noise but not others (own noise, or allowed some other noise to get through), as well as how good of an electrical conductor that cable is. We can only make opinions on how a cable sounds compared directly to another cable.
The big thing to understand is that noise is audible, and can be from the entire gamut of the sound frequency (whether audible or not). Noise is not specific to a set of frequencies. I hope this highlights how difficult for manufacturer's, in many industries including audio, find it difficult to reduce noise, but we are much better at this than ever before.
In my case, my
Double Helix Cables Elite Molecule 22 OCC Silver Litz (22AWG) 4-Wire balanced cable does indeed sound different to my previous
DHC Molecule Elite Fusion (copper and silver litz) 4-Wire balanced cable that I use with my Audeze EL-8 Titanium headphones.
The differences are similar to what I spoke about pure silver cables; my new DHC Molecule Elite 22 Silver cable is breathtakingly effortless, supremely holographic, almost no grain when I listen to music, and much wider and taller soundstage.
My previous DHC Molecule Elite Fusion was amazing over the stock El-8 cable but it now sounds a bit congested, grainy. and a tad slower, than my new silver cable.
I don't attribute this solely as 'sound signature' for each, but that one cable is better at lowering noise and has better electrical conductivity over the other. I could have only made these impressions by directly relating one cable to another. For example, if I described the sound difference of my older DHC Molecule Elite Fusion over the the stock EL-8 cable (and I had never heard the silver one), the comments I made about the my Silver cable would describe the Fusion cable vs stock.
It is difficult to wrap anyone's head regarding cables and benefits, but the above is my take on this.
As long as you research well, and continue to get the support of this community, you'll be fine.
Good luck on whichever cable manufacturer you choose by the way, and let us know who you choose and what cable you went for ^^
