[peter123]

Hi everybody,

I got the X2HR's over Christmas and as noted in previous posts the cable is rather long. I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation on what to get? I've seen a couple recommended on here already but I can't see any that ship to the UK...any help would be much appreciated!

Happy new year to you all!

I pretty much get all my cables from here these days:

https://www.veclan.com/engappliance_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=16

 

[Slater]

I’m currently using this with my X2s:
Anker ak-a7113091 1.2 m 3.5 mm 3.5 mm RED – Audio Cable (3.5 mm, Male, 3.5 mm, Male, Straight, Straight) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00R15B5TM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yf-sAb5KNZDKP
Could tell the difference to the stock cable.

I've used Ankers before and can attest that they're nice cables. Also Mediabridge cables (on Amazon) are good quality. On Aliexpress some of the Vention aux cables are good (there are some models that are junk though - you gotta look at the specs).

I'm currently using an APC AV Pro Interconnect cable. OFC copper, shielded, gold plated brass ends, braided nylon cover, etc.

As Peter posted, veclan is supposed to have nice cables. I see a lot of members using them.

You can also of course make your own cable - buy quality ends and a length of super nice quality silver plated wire from navships (John) on ebay (mil-spec, different shieldings, different insulators, many gauges to choose from, braided, flat braided, etc).

 

[Mr Trev]

I pretty much get all my cables from here these days:

https://www.veclan.com/engappliance_sel_one?eng_ApplianceVo.eac_id=16

What do you use for wire options?

The ones I see are either braided or a cloth sleeve - both seem prone to microphonics to me, especially with the X2 being single sided

 

[peter123]

What do you use for wire options?

The ones I see are either braided or a cloth sleeve - both seem prone to microphonics to me, especially with the X2 being single sided

Tbh I've never been bothered much from microphonics on full sized open headphones as I pretty much use them sitting (or laying ) still at home.

 

[Pharmaboy]

What do you use for wire options?

The ones I see are either braided or a cloth sleeve - both seem prone to microphonics to me, especially with the X2 being single sided

Check my post above about Ghent Audio. His #05 cable has no cloth covering & has zero microphonics, yet the shielding is substantial & the sound very good, certainly better than the stock cable. I never looked back.

Think I paid $17 for a 2M cable for my X2s...an amazing bargain IMO

 

[Mr Trev]

Check my post above about Ghent Audio. His #05 cable has no cloth covering & has zero microphonics, yet the shielding is substantial & the sound very good, certainly better than the stock cable. I never looked back.

Think I paid $17 for a 2M cable for my X2s...an amazing bargain IMO

I bought one of the 1/4 female to 1/8 male adapters from Ghent. Great quality - aside the sleeve.
Honestly, I never had an issue with the stock cable. There is some minor scritchy microphonics if I wear a shirt with collars, but not anything I can't live with. I also loove the stupid length. I only listen to them at home so having cable strewn about is no worry.
That said, if I can ever find a decent source for parts here in Canada - most places charge more for shipping than the actual parts, I'd go DIY

 

[audioot]

very good cable for the fidelio X2
https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/d15.html

 

[Pharmaboy]

very good cable for the fidelio X2
https://www.ghentaudio.com/part/d15.html

That's exactly what I have--an excellent cable for the X2s: sturdy/well made, no microphonics, and sounds very good.

When I ordered early last year, don't believe this "D15" option existed. But the "D05" option did (same no-cloth-wrapping Canare L-4E6S cable, my favorite), but w/6.35mm jacks on both ends. I asked Ghent Xu to change one of the 6.35mm jack to 3.5mm, and ended up w/exactly the same cable as you. My preference is 2M length, which works well on this desktop...

 

[Mr Trev]

That's exactly what I have--an excellent cable for the X2s: sturdy/well made, no microphonics, and sounds very good.

When I ordered early last year, don't believe this "D15" option existed. But the "D05" option did (same no-cloth-wrapping Canare L-4E6S cable, my favorite), but w/6.35mm jacks on both ends. I asked Ghent Xu to change one of the 6.35mm jack to 3.5mm, and ended up w/exactly the same cable as you. My preference is 2M length, which works well on this desktop...

That Paliccs 3.5mm doesn't seem too chunky plugged into the earcup? - that'd be my only concern

 

[Pharmaboy]

That Paliccs 3.5mm doesn't seem too chunky plugged into the earcup? - that'd be my only concern

"chunky" -- do you mean how it looks? Or that it's somehow too big and gets in the way?

The 3.5mm connector never caused any problems for me, doesn't rub against anything....every now & then I managed to pull out the cable (catch on something), but that's my own clumsiness.

 

[George Taylor]

I tried using the V-Moda cable I bought for my Fostex T40RP, and it works fine with the X2 as well. I'm not noticing any kind of sound degradation with it, but I'm no expert. The length works better for me than the originals. Less cumbersome. Now I may have to buy a second cable so I have one for each.

 

[Mr Trev]

"chunky" -- do you mean how it looks? Or that it's somehow too big and gets in the way?

The 3.5mm connector never caused any problems for me, doesn't rub against anything....every now & then I managed to pull out the cable (catch on something), but that's my own clumsiness.

Size wise. From the pics it looks big and heavy, but I could be way off - that's why I asked

 

[audioot]

That's exactly what I have--an excellent cable for the X2s: sturdy/well made, no microphonics, and sounds very good.

When I ordered early last year, don't believe this "D15" option existed. But the "D05" option did (same no-cloth-wrapping Canare L-4E6S cable, my favorite), but w/6.35mm jacks on both ends. I asked Ghent Xu to change one of the 6.35mm jack to 3.5mm, and ended up w/exactly the same cable as you. My preference is 2M length, which works well on this desktop...

Yes I have this fantastic link and tip from you.
For anyone who would like a different length of quality cable for his headphone

 

[surfinrobin]

First post so please be gentle! Finally took the plunge on a pair of X2HR's before xmas and am very impressed so far. I mainly use with a Rega P1 turntable, a Cambridge Audio pre-amp into a 25 year old Rotel 820 amp, where I plug the 'phones into.
So my question is I want to bypass the ageing amp with a dedicated headphone amp. Budget is around the £50-£150 mark, and have just pressed go on a Little Dot 1+ 6JI X2 through amazon for £92.
I've read somewhere that this should be a good pairing due to the impedance rating of both amp and headphones. Has anyone here paired X2's with LD1 for vinyl, and do you think this will be a signifcant improvement over my current set up? Or would you suggest another amp?
I understand a lot of these amps are dacs, but as i'm listening to vinyl I'm assuming this is a feature that won't interest me. That being said I do also listen to Spotify & BBCradio via Iphone6 and sometimes laptop, so would a DAC be of benefit here? I thought laptop already convert from digital to analogue before it gets to the 3.5mm output. Or do you plug in via USB which takes the conversion outside the laptop?

 

[Pharmaboy]

First post so please be gentle! Finally took the plunge on a pair of X2HR's before xmas and am very impressed so far. I mainly use with a Rega P1 turntable, a Cambridge Audio pre-amp into a 25 year old Rotel 820 amp, where I plug the 'phones into.
So my question is I want to bypass the ageing amp with a dedicated headphone amp. Budget is around the £50-£150 mark, and have just pressed go on a Little Dot 1+ 6JI X2 through amazon for £92.
I've read somewhere that this should be a good pairing due to the impedance rating of both amp and headphones. Has anyone here paired X2's with LD1 for vinyl, and do you think this will be a signifcant improvement over my current set up? Or would you suggest another amp?
I understand a lot of these amps are dacs, but as i'm listening to vinyl I'm assuming this is a feature that won't interest me. That being said I do also listen to Spotify & BBCradio via Iphone6 and sometimes laptop, so would a DAC be of benefit here? I thought laptop already convert from digital to analogue before it gets to the 3.5mm output. Or do you plug in via USB which takes the conversion outside the laptop?

Many here love their X2s/X2HRs (I'm the happy owner of X2s since 2016).

A lot going on in your question...try to address each point in turn:

• Little Dot 1: haven't heard it but just checked specs...800 mW at 32 ohms is probably more than enough for the X2s, though the way headphones and amps interface is beyond mysterious (output power ratings are only part of the puzzle). Sure, it's a "warm amp + warm headphone" scenario, but so what? I got probably the best sound of my X2s on the Cavalli Liquid Carbon, a warm amp (like I said, mysterious).
• Other amp: You may eventually want an amp with more power, just because certain headphones you may acquire need more/react well to more power (any planar design is among that group). An amp you may want to consider, new or used, is the Massdrop LC-X, their re-license of the Liquid Crystal's design (apparently same power, but somewhat larger case w/slightly different controls). If memory serves, that was dropped at ~$375 USD, and after all of them get delivered, no doubt a few will end up getting resold.
  • https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-alex-cavalli-liquid-carbon-x-amp
  • I love my Liquid Carbon...it has plenty of power; a seductive/warm sound profile; balanced outputs as well as single-ended; and sounds very good w/every headphone I've tried.
• Digital files vs TT/analog: If you run your TT's output (presumably via some type of phono preamp) to the headphone amp on its RCA inputs, so long as you have a volume control in one of the devices in that chain, you should be fine. But if you have digital files (ie, .wav, .flac, .mp3, etc) on the hard drive of a computer, things get more challenging, since you'll need a DAC to convert those digital files to analogue for routing to headphone amp. There are 2 general ways to do that:
  • Have the D/A conversion done by the computer's soundcard, then routed to HP amp (not sure of the cables required). Unless you have a very good sound card, this tactic typically underperforms a standalone DAC
  • If you have a DAC, you'd run a USB cable from the computer to the DAC; then RCA outputs from DAC to the headphone amp.
  • DACs range from dirt-cheap (and sounding like it) to crazy $$/audiophile stuff. The cheapest but still good DAC I'm aware of is another Massdrop exclusive--the Grace Designs S-DAC, which dropped at less than $100 (it also appears "bundled" with a different amp...another story). That drop is not active, but Massdrop being Massdrop, you can bet the ranch there will be another drop, and pretty soon.

(hope some of this helps)