[HungryPanda]

I bought a nice cable from custom cans and love it

 

[Progisus]

I bought a cable for my Utopias from Custom Cans. Top notch!

 

[PeteMtl]

Hey guys I have been looking for a new cable for my 6XX for a while and was wodnering if spending the money on something from custom cams is worth it? I have gone through 3 cables now, the original one and 2 from amazon. I take care of my headphones, they lay flat on my desk when I am not using them and are not getting thrown around or anything or dropped however without fail it seems about 6 months to a year of usage, one headphone will start cutting out and if I wiggle the cable it cuts in and out. I love these headphones and have hated not using them, but I do not want to keep spending 30+ dollars a year to keep using them. I see some of the amazon cables have really bad reviews and they have broken off inside of the headphone etc so I am worried about continuing to use anything from there. Is it worth it to spend the money on something from custom cams and would it be more durable and last me longer without having to be replaced?

I don’t want to be a party pooper, but what’s wrong with the genuine Sennheiser cable ? Actually Sennheiser has two versions: one with a standard plug end(with mini plug adapter available) and one with a mini-plug end (with a standard plug adapter available). Both are 9ft long. The first one is a bit thicker and is the same as the one provided with HD650 or HD660S. The second one is the same as the one provided with HD600. Both cables are sold as acccessory remplacements available from Sennheiser in many countries. Both are relatively cheap (15$-25$ depending of countries, a few bucks more if you buy the adapter). Both cables are 100% compatible with HD580, HD58X, HD600, HD650, HD6XX and HD650, as well as the HD25 series. I cannot see what’s wrong with these genuine cables. Why should you buy a third party cable? May be for the looks, but I do not agree that these third party cables makes your headphone sound better: please do not believe this snake oil argument, it is simply not true. So I would recommend that you order genuine cables from Sennheiser, they are resistant, they are relatively cheap, and they are in my opinion as good as it gets in terms of sound throughput quality. Again, if you mind colored and special textures cables I may understand going to a third party offer, but in any other case I would strongly recommend to stick with Sennheiser genuine cables.

I must say that I bought a third party cable recently for my HD58X. The only reason I did was because the cable offered on Amazon had a microphone and remote included on the cable, in order to use my HD58X with my iPhone, using it for music but also for phone calls with the microphone.The cable is relatively good quality and shorter (4ft), ideal for portable use. But for home use on both my HD6XX and HD600 I use 9ft genuine Sennheiser cables as described above.

 

[Lunatics]

I thought I explained my issue in my post which is that they don't last for more than a year. I would rather spend 100$ on something of quality that will last me than continue to spend 25$ every 6-12 months.

 

[PeteMtl]

I thought I explained my issue in my post which is that they don't last for more than a year. I would rather spend 100$ on something of quality that will last me than continue to spend 25$ every 6-12 months.

I am surprized. I own many Sennheiser cans, many cables and I have not had any of them fail, ever. Even my vintage HD420sl form the ´80s still has its original cable going strong, and back then I was rougher with my cans than I am now (I am in my early fifties now). By the way this vintage cable is compatible with HD600/650/660 series, same endings. You must be very rough with your gear to break your cables every year... are you a DJ?

 

[Lunatics]

I don't mean to be rude but did you even read my post? Everything you have asked is specifically in my post about why I want a better cable, as well as what I do with them. They literally sit flat on my desk unless I am wearing them. They are 6xx maybe the quality is different than your 40 year old headphones I don't know what to tell you. I am happy yours have lasted so long and that's great for you. Mine lasted less than a year brand new but yes, it's entirely my fault and I spoke them on the ground after every YouTube video I watch.

 

[GearMe]

Like Pete, I stick with the cables the manufacturer provides as well unless they fail or lack required functionality...which they haven't for any of my Senn cans over the years. FWIW, given the number of HD6x0 cans out there, the community would most likely be aware of a quality issue regarding OEM cables.

Regardless, sorry for your bad luck with your Senn cables!

For my own curiosity, I checked Senn's site for the cost of an HD650 cable. It was $10.99 with free shipping; a cost-effective solution if they continue to work as promised.
https://en-us.sennheiser.com/accessories--hd-650--cable

That aside, I get that you don't want down time from repeated cable breakage!

So...I'd see solving this problem one of three ways:

1. Order two Senn cables for $22 and you'll have a spare. My guess is you got a bad original cable and that you'll never use the second cable -- unless you have really bad luck with cables...or you're a tad harder on them than you perceive yourself to be! BTW, were the Amazon cables also Senn or third-party?

2. Order a third-party cable with a multi-year warranty (ideally from a long-standing, respected cable maker). If that cable is $100, hopefully it provides some other benefit (functional/cool looking/etc.) from your perspective. If it doesn't, then you might as well order 8 OEM cables and save yourself $12

3. Try your hand at building some cables...may be something you enjoy while allowing you to 'rest easy' that you can replace a broken cable in an hour! If you do enjoy it, you could build cables for other folks and maybe get a little side hustle going

 

[Progisus]

I don't mean to be rude but did you even read my post? Everything you have asked is specifically in my post about why I want a better cable, as well as what I do with them. They literally sit flat on my desk unless I am wearing them. They are 6xx maybe the quality is different than your 40 year old headphones I don't know what to tell you. I am happy yours have lasted so long and that's great for you. Mine lasted less than a year brand new but yes, it's entirely my fault and I spoke them on the ground after every YouTube video I watch.

Try Surf Cables. I have bought from them for my 650 to my old Pono player and also as a replacement. Very good quality and strong build.

 

[megabigeye]

@Lunatics, I just scanned the Amazon reviews (command-F "cable," "wire" and "cord") and came across only 6 claims of failed cables in 824 reviews, which is a 0.7% failure rate. Not bad in my book.

The way I see it, there are two possibilities:
1) You've had extremely bad luck with cables. Are the replacement cables you purchased original Sennheiser or cheap third party? The chance of having three stock cables break is about 0.00003%. The chance of one stock cable and two cheap-o replacements is possibly higher, but without knowing which cables it's hard to know for certain. I'd stay away from the cheap knockoffs unless you're certain of their quality.
... Or...
2) There's another problem. It could be many things: a faulty connection within the headphones, you being less gentle than you realize, a fault elsewhere. Have you tried fully trouble shooting the problem? Tried other headphones with your amp? Tried another amp? Tried unplugging and re-plugging the cable from all connections? Is there a possibility that somebody (or something) else is damaging your headphones? Maybe an animal is chewing them or they're exposed to high heat? Significant other/friend/roommate rolling a desk chair over it? I don't know, I'm just spitballing. You could (and should) test the cable with a multimeter; if you don't have one, maybe a friend or relative does (and if nobody does, a cheap one will work and only costs ~$10; just make sure it has a continuity setting).

Anyway, of course you're free to buy a new cable if you want to, but if it were me I'd want to make sure that my money was well spent and that I'm not just going to run into the same problem all over again. It just seems to me that having one stock cable fail is rare, having more than one fail is statistically almost negligible.

 

[tafens]

I thought I explained my issue in my post which is that they don't last for more than a year. I would rather spend 100$ on something of quality that will last me than continue to spend 25$ every 6-12 months.

If I understand correctly only the first included Sennheiser cable broke and a couple of third party replacements?

I have bought a couple of HD650 cables from Sennheiser direct to replace the cable included with my two HD6XX (because my amps have 1/4” connectors, the HD6XX cable has an 1/8” plug with adapter and I’d rather not use an adapter, plus it’s a bit short). No problems over almost 2 years of daily usage.

Could be your included cable was a bit dodgy to start with. I’d say get two (just to be sure) of those $11 original HD650 cables from Sennheiser direct, they’ll probably hold up, but if they don’t, you have cables for two years anyway

 

[Lunatics]

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Cable-SENNHEISER-Headphones-HD650/dp/B0028PGXRE

This is the cable in particular I had ordered because when I had searched around previously, the official sennheiser website never came up, maybe because I searched for 6xx cables instead of 650. These ones from amazon seem to be actual sennheiser cables, have their logos on them and everything however cost more when buying from there. On the first page alone there are 2 1 star reviews now from people who have had the same issues I have, as well as saying they have had issues with their cables in the past and take care of them. Lots of other reviews saying every cord stops working after 6 months. When I originally started having issues with my headphones and was googling to troubleshoot it, the most common response and thing to check was replacing the cables to other people having the same issue with one end intermittently cutting out when the cable moves. It does not seem to be a specific rare case for me that I am the only one who has had issues with cables. In fact, even going up to the 4 star reviews you find people saying they have gone through 5 or 6 of these cables over the years of owning their HD 600 headphones. Honestly, it seems to be the biggest problem with their headphones and seems to be a fairly common occurrence.

When I also searched amazon, I found multiple other 3rd party cables with reviews of people having the pins snap off in the actual headphone and being unable to get it out. I have a pair of K7XX which seems like it has a cable that sticks out farther and could potentially be more prone to breaking and I have had these headphones for longer and never had a single issue, I know that I take care of my equipment that I spend significant amounts of money on. I have no problem spending more money on a better cable if it seems like it will be more reliable or not have issues as other 3rd party ones I've seen that break in the headphone. I may buy one set for $11 to have as a backup in case something breaks again or get me up and running but I will probably end up ordering something else as well and hoping for better quality.

 

[PeteMtl]

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Cable-SENNHEISER-Headphones-HD650/dp/B0028PGXRE

This is the cable in particular I had ordered because when I had searched around previously, the official sennheiser website never came up, maybe because I searched for 6xx cables instead of 650. These ones from amazon seem to be actual sennheiser cables, have their logos on them and everything however cost more when buying from there. On the first page alone there are 2 1 star reviews now from people who have had the same issues I have, as well as saying they have had issues with their cables in the past and take care of them. Lots of other reviews saying every cord stops working after 6 months. When I originally started having issues with my headphones and was googling to troubleshoot it, the most common response and thing to check was replacing the cables to other people having the same issue with one end intermittently cutting out when the cable moves. It does not seem to be a specific rare case for me that I am the only one who has had issues with cables. In fact, even going up to the 4 star reviews you find people saying they have gone through 5 or 6 of these cables over the years of owning their HD 600 headphones. Honestly, it seems to be the biggest problem with their headphones and seems to be a fairly common occurrence.

When I also searched amazon, I found multiple other 3rd party cables with reviews of people having the pins snap off in the actual headphone and being unable to get it out. I have a pair of K7XX which seems like it has a cable that sticks out farther and could potentially be more prone to breaking and I have had these headphones for longer and never had a single issue, I know that I take care of my equipment that I spend significant amounts of money on. I have no problem spending more money on a better cable if it seems like it will be more reliable or not have issues as other 3rd party ones I've seen that break in the headphone. I may buy one set for $11 to have as a backup in case something breaks again or get me up and running but I will probably end up ordering something else as well and hoping for better quality.

Maybe you have been very unlucky with the Genuine Cable, but in any event I would seriously doubt that a more expensive third party cable will buy you a better stronger cable. I agree with other recent posts: your best bet for a strong cable is the Sennheiser Genuine cables, regardless of the price. Moreover, the genuine cables from Sennheiser happen to be less expensive than most third party cables. And it’s not because they are cheaper made, believe me, quite the opposite. It makes no sense to buy a 100$ cable thinking that it will be more solid. If your Sennheiser cable ever fails again (and probability is that this will not happen), at least a 10$-15$ expense will not be the end of the world for your wallet. If you cannot find genuine Senn cables on Amazon, try buying it from the Sennheiser website or call your local Sennheiser representative in your country, it is probably less expensive to buy directly from Sennheiser than on Amazon. I own many headphones, mostly Sennheiser’s, have a look at my signature, I never experienced any problems with the cables on any of them (except those badly designed 2.5mm cables on the older version of the Hifiman HE400i, but that’s another story, get the 3.5mm later version of you buy Hifiman HE400i). I think you may buy another genuine Senn cable with confidence, and if unlucky again, at least it will not ruin you. There is no way those 100$ cables have a longer life expectancy than genuine Senn cables. No way. You may buy third party cables of other reasons, I respect that, but not for that solidity reason, I assure you. I simply don’t buy this.

 

[charlescc2]

You guys have any go-to 2.5mm balanced cables that you trust? I'm probably going to be buying the 6xx and wish I could just roll with the stock cables but I need 2.5mm balanced so that my ES100 can drive the headphones properly. I see a couple options on Amazon in the $50 range, but without any ratings for the most part I don't know how much I should trust them. Then I'm seeing cheaper ~$25 options on AE such as this:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32934020492.html

 

[BobSmith8901]

You guys have any go-to 2.5mm balanced cables that you trust? I'm probably going to be buying the 6xx and wish I could just roll with the stock cables but I need 2.5mm balanced so that my ES100 can drive the headphones properly. I see a couple options on Amazon in the $50 range, but without any ratings for the most part I don't know how much I should trust them. Then I'm seeing cheaper ~$25 options on AE such as this:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32934020492.html

I've bought a couple of different cables from eachdiy2017 on ebay (Lunashops)--a 3.5mm balanced for my HD-6XX and 58X's and another 2.5mm balanced for my HE-4XX. In fact, in your link, the black cable for $23.00 down the page in the lower left is identical (except for the termination) to my 3.5mm balanced that I bought for my Senns. He makes well made, inexpensive cables and in my experience he's been a reliable seller with fast shipping. His cables are one of the best deals out there.

 

[charlescc2]

I've bought a couple of different cables from eachdiy2017 on ebay (Lunashops)--a 3.5mm balanced for my HD-6XX and 58X's and another 2.5mm balanced for my HE-4XX. In fact, in your link, the black cable for $23.00 down the page in the lower left is identical (except for the termination) to my 3.5mm balanced that I bought for my Senns. He makes well made, inexpensive cables and in my experience he's been a reliable seller with fast shipping. His cables are one of the best deals out there.

Despite my linking the white cable I was considering buying the black one you mentioned that is listed as a related item. Coincidentally it is sold by vendor Lunashops. It appears I had my eye on a cable from the exact vendor you are recommending on eBay, except on AE. You've basically provided validation on the product I was hoping to get, and you've also provided me an eBay alternative, although I've never had a problem with AE. So thanks a bunch!