[ElectronicTonic]

I have the same cable (in red) and I have no complaints. Well built and very little microphonics. While I agree that an upgraded cable can make a difference, I'm firmly in the camp of those that feel the difference is not worth the high cost of custom big buck cables. 

Cool, I'm glad to hear it's working for you. Yeah, I just wanted a shorter cable with a 3.5mm option.

 

[LTSFBH]

  I tend to believe the difference is more in durability than anything, except when anomalies pop up. In this case, I seriously can't imagine what difference a $40 aftermarket cable would be.
 
The notion that headphone companies will put all this money into R&D and charge high amounts for their headphones and then give them cables that hamstring their sound quality is just ludicrous, to me. By what motivation would a headphone company ever not give their headphones a cable that would make it sound as good as possible? None of them sell "upgrade" cables, so there's no money to be made, the only outcome is people having a worse impression of the product than they should.

My feelings exactly. Along with durability, another reason to "upgrade" or change a cable is if it suffers from bad microphonics. But even that can be a double edged sword. I needed a replacement for my HD598. I bought a custom cable in the $40 range and it is by far the most microphonic thing I've ever heard. Just plugging it into an amp sounds like someone hitting the outside of the left cup with a pencil. And if the cable touches anything, it sounds like a buzzsaw. A case where the original cable was far superior than the upgrade.   

 

[DavidA]

THIS is the cable I just ordered, I should have it by Friday.

had a similar cable from my old GF, I sold it for her here on head-fi once I built her a new one, here are 2 pictures of it:

 

It was just a touch microphonic but only with certain articles of clothing or against hard objects.

 

[Marlowe]

  I tend to believe the difference is more in durability than anything, except when anomalies pop up. In this case, I seriously can't imagine what difference a $40 aftermarket cable would be.
 

I'm not looking at this cable as an upgrade but only because the 3m stock HD 700 cable is too darn long for me to use comfortably. I use them at a couple of locations in my apartment and am never more than a couple of feet from my amp.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  I'm not looking at this cable as an upgrade but only because the 3m stock HD 700 cable is too darn long for me to use comfortably. I use them at a couple of locations in my apartment and am never more than a couple of feet from my amp.

Fair point. I'm similarly close to my amp as well (actually it's always right beside me). I might snag a short one myself...

 

[rlisin]

I changed the cable on my HD700s for 2 reasons, one being that the stock cable is too long, too heavy and 6.3 mm, (I wanted something portable), the other that I always consider resale and I've seen ads for HD700s with broken cables - meaning that the stock one is not as sturdy as it appears, and I know that with a broken cable I wouldn't get a good price. 
 
I bought a cheap ($5) cable locally and it sounds every bit as good as stock. It is much thinner, but also 3 times shorter, so that probably balances out. It will probably break after a few months, but what do I care, I got a spare and I can buy more.
 
Oh, and it's been mentioned before, but Sennheiser cable 083380 for HD212 and HD477 ($12-18, depending on the country) fits HD700. It's much thinner, lighter and flexible, and while it is 3 m long, if can be easily shortened and re-plugged.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

  I tend to believe the difference is more in durability than anything, except when anomalies pop up. In this case, I seriously can't imagine what difference a $40 aftermarket cable would be.
 
The notion that headphone companies will put all this money into R&D and charge high amounts for their headphones and then give them cables that hamstring their sound quality is just ludicrous, to me. By what motivation would a headphone company ever not give their headphones a cable that would make it sound as good as possible? None of them sell "upgrade" cables, so there's no money to be made, the only outcome is people having a worse impression of the product than they should.

 
I'm with SomeGuyDude here.  Why would a headphone company develop a great product only to be killed by supplying a POS cable?  Electrically you're not going to see much differences between the stock cable and and aftermarket one.  Yes, there will be exceptions always.  The build quality is going to be the biggest differentiator.  My stock cable from Senn is connected to my main amp where it sits while the cheapo Chinese short cable I bought off of Amazon is connected to my HD700's and Valhalla 2 next to my computer.  I'm sorry, but I will never spend over $50 for an aftermarket cable.  To the people who do buy those outrageous cables, how about sending some of that money my way.  I could use it for my rent!

 

[DavidA]

   
I'm with SomeGuyDude here.  Why would a headphone company develop a great product only to be killed by supplying a POS cable?  Electrically you're not going to see much differences between the stock cable and and aftermarket one.  Yes, there will be exceptions always.  The build quality is going to be the biggest differentiator.  My stock cable from Senn is connected to my main amp where it sits while the cheapo Chinese short cable I bought off of Amazon is connected to my HD700's and Valhalla 2 next to my computer.  I'm sorry, but I will never spend over $50 for an aftermarket cable.  To the people who do buy those outrageous cables, how about sending some of that money my way.  I could use it for my rent!

The only issue I had with the stock cable was that it always kinked up on me, tried a few ways to straighten (hanging with a weight, heat gun, hot water) it out but gave up after 2 months.  Built my own using Mogami cable, one long one for living room area and a short one for my GF when she used to use her HD700 with a Fiio X3 when she walked our dog, she has since started to use a custom Ypsilon I built, lighter, and sounds better to her with the X3.
FWIW I had a 2 high end cables ($400+ from Forza and Double-Helix) but they were for my HD800 and HE560 and didn't hear any sonic difference from the Mogami or Canare cables.  I do think they are beautiful and very well made but can be a bit heavy, more so for the 3m lengths that I had.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  The only issue I had with the stock cable was that it always kinked up on me, tried a few ways to straighten (hanging with a weight, heat gun, hot water) it out but gave up after 2 months.  Built my own using Mogami cable, one long one for living room area and a short one for my GF when she used to use her HD700 with a Fiio X3 when she walked our dog, she has since started to use a custom Ypsilon I built, lighter, and sounds better to her with the X3.
FWIW I had a 2 high end cables ($400+ from Forza and Double-Helix) but they were for my HD800 and HE560 and didn't hear any sonic difference from the Mogami or Canare cables.  I do think they are beautiful and very well made but can be a bit heavy, more so for the 3m lengths that I had.

I can definitely agree that for practicality purposes an aftermarket cable is useful. I'm swapping mine out just because (like you) mine keeps kinking up and worse gets under the wheels on my desk chair. 
 
I get the feeling that with the expensive cables you're paying more for the craft that goes into making them than anything. Those things are practically works of art. 

 

[buke9]

I'm with SomeGuyDude here.  Why would a headphone company develop a great product only to be killed by supplying a POS cable?  Electrically you're not going to see much differences between the stock cable and and aftermarket one.  Yes, there will be exceptions always.  The build quality is going to be the biggest differentiator.  My stock cable from Senn is connected to my main amp where it sits while the cheapo Chinese short cable I bought off of Amazon is connected to my HD700's and Valhalla 2 next to my computer.  I'm sorry, but I will never spend over $50 for an aftermarket cable.  To the people who do buy those outrageous cables, how about sending some of that money my way.  I could use it for my rent!

I'm sorry but your post just hit me the the wrong way. I'm sure it was meant in jest as I hope but I work damn hard for the money I make and I dont think it is a good thing to think those that do are doing something wrong and should pay your rent.

 

[ElectronicTonic]

Does anyone happen to have a Modmic 5/4 combo with the HD700? If so, have you had any issues with the magnet so close to the drivers? Looks like there's only one place to stick the magnet piece, the only flat piece on the ear cup. I probably should have asked these questions before I purchased one....oh well.

On a separate note, I'm really enjoying the HD700. It took a bit for my brain to get used to their sound signature, but liking what I'm hearing now. Also couldn't pass up on the current price.

 

[dobigstuff]

   
I'm with SomeGuyDude here.  Why would a headphone company develop a great product only to be killed by supplying a POS cable?  Electrically you're not going to see much differences between the stock cable and and aftermarket one.  Yes, there will be exceptions always.  The build quality is going to be the biggest differentiator.  My stock cable from Senn is connected to my main amp where it sits while the cheapo Chinese short cable I bought off of Amazon is connected to my HD700's and Valhalla 2 next to my computer.  I'm sorry, but I will never spend over $50 for an aftermarket cable.  To the people who do buy those outrageous cables, how about sending some of that money my way.  I could use it for my rent!

GumbyDammit223:
 
Some Headphone Companies supply the "stock" cable because they would have to charge an additional $400-$800+ for an upgraded cable.  I have the HD 700's and the aftermarket cable tightened the Bass, cleared up the mids and tamed the highs.  Keep in mind some listeners may not be able to tell the difference between their "stock" cable and the "upgraded" cable.  This also depends on music type, DAC, Interconnects and power cords and AC filter.  (Not trying to force anyone to upgrade their Headphone cable)
 
Happy listening.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  GumbyDammit223:
 
Some Headphone Companies supply the "stock" cable because they would have to charge an additional $400-$800+ for an upgraded cable.  I have the HD 700's and the aftermarket cable tightened the Bass, cleared up the mids and tamed the highs.  Keep in mind some listeners may not be able to tell the difference between their "stock" cable and the "upgraded" cable.  This also depends on music type, DAC, Interconnects and power cords and AC filter.  (Not trying to force anyone to upgrade their Headphone cable)
 
Happy listening.

 
I swear every time someone tells me a cable helped the sound, it fixed literally whatever the perceived flaws are of the headphone. If it's a bright headphone, it tames the highs. If it's a warm headphone, it toned the bass down. Like the cable seems to know what EQ a headphone needs and applies it as necessary.
 
This argument makes no sense anyway. $800 for an upgraded cable?? Next you're gonna tell me if you put your FLACs on a special thumb drive it helps clear up the 1s and 0s so they sound prettier. 

 

[DavidA]

   
I swear every time someone tells me a cable helped the sound, it fixed literally whatever the perceived flaws are of the headphone. If it's a bright headphone, it tames the highs. If it's a warm headphone, it toned the bass down. Like the cable seems to know what EQ a headphone needs and applies it as necessary.
 
This argument makes no sense anyway. $800 for an upgraded cable?? Next you're gonna tell me if you put your FLACs on a special thumb drive it helps clear up the 1s and 0s so they sound prettier. 

LOL, Maybe that's why the cables cost so much, signal driven parametric EQ built-in that is connected to the brain by thought waves, you think it and the cable does the corrections

 

 

[Metrops]

   
I swear every time someone tells me a cable helped the sound, it fixed literally whatever the perceived flaws are of the headphone. If it's a bright headphone, it tames the highs. If it's a warm headphone, it toned the bass down. Like the cable seems to know what EQ a headphone needs and applies it as necessary.
 
This argument makes no sense anyway. $800 for an upgraded cable?? Next you're gonna tell me if you put your FLACs on a special thumb drive it helps clear up the 1s and 0s so they sound prettier. 

 
Haha, loving this conversation on cables. I also stand on the same point as you. They might make a small difference but not something you can hear, especially on these headphones which come with decent cables. It must have a built in AI within the cable to change the sound signature, that's why they are expensive.