[tvolpe1600]

  For better sound than a Sennheiser stock cable and at a similar price, it would be far better to buy an after market premium cable from Moon Audio, ALO, etc.  The Senn cable is ok but on my HD800 when I replaced the stock cable with a Moon Audio Black Dragon cable, the sound was significantly improved -- more detail, transparency and bass.  Better overall.
 
I see no reason to ever buy a Sennheiser stock cable, especially at those prices.

 
Yes, my point exactly. The outrage over the Senn cables is about the pricing, not whether you should go balanced or just DIY. They should cost 50-90 bucks. They are stock cables. For that much money, you can get a superior balanced cable from not only Moon, ALO, but Forza Audio Works (if you're in the EU) or BTG here in the US. I have no stake in any cable company, but want to provide a few links because I think this is a giant rip off by Senn.
 
http://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=37
http://btg-audio.com/webstore.htm#!/~/product/category=2609076&id=17894638

 

[thegrobe]

Balanced and single ended cables should both be supplied with a flagship. Audeze does it right.

These cables are ridiculous- they are basically the same as stock but with a different plug? At this price? Shame. I'll be chopping the 1/4 plug off my new HD800 cable and putting a Neutrik XLR on it at a total cost of $6 and 6 minutes, thank you.

 

[Canadian411]

  For better sound than a Sennheiser stock cable and at a similar price, it would be far better to buy an after market premium cable from Moon Audio, ALO, etc.  The Senn cable is ok but on my HD800 when I replaced the stock cable with a Moon Audio Black Dragon cable, the sound was significantly improved -- more detail, transparency and bass.  Better overall.
 
I see no reason to ever buy a Sennheiser stock cable, especially at those prices.

I am really curious, can you really tell the differences between the stock cable vs upgraded Moon/ALO cables ?
Maybe just me but I don't hear any differences, that's why for me recabling is waste of money other than going balanced.
Someone needs to educate me on this.

 

[Canadian411]

   
Reterminating a stock cable into a 4-pin XLR? 15 minutes.
 
Very easy procedure. How much time/cost is it for Sennheiser to put a 4 Pin XLR onto a cable instead of a 1/4"?  Pretty much nothing. 
 

15 minutes to braid cables or just attaching the sockets/connectors ? you must have really really fast hands.  I can't.
 
I am trying to make exact ALO Reference 16 cables, so 16 conductors, 8 going into each drivers.
Probably will take me more than an hour but still you beat me and cost to make 10 feet ALO is less than $300 including the Furutech connectors.

 

[Audio addict19]

LOL wow and i'm struggling to get a Senn HD 650 and amp for under 500 or a little over. The new aftermarket cable would be more then my amp and DAC.

 

[tvolpe1600]

I am trying to make exact ALO Reference 16 cables, so 16 conductors, 8 going into each drivers. Probably will take me more than an hour but still you beat me and cost to make 10 feet ALO is less than $300 including the Furutech connectors.

 
Cool! What kind of wire? (And what supplier did you use?)

 

[Skyyyeman]

 
I am really curious, can you really tell the differences between the stock cable vs upgraded Moon/ALO cables ?
Maybe just me but I don't hear any differences, that's why for me recabling is waste of money other than going balanced.
Someone needs to educate me on this.

Yes, there was a significant improvement with the premium upgraded cables -- in my case from Moon Audio.  I've done it on the Senn HD25, HD600 and HD800 and the improvement was quite dramatic. It was readily apparent to anyone who listened to them.  And it didn't take extensive listening -- it was apparent in the first few seconds.  Several friends, after hearing the improvements on my phones, went out and bought upgraded cables for their own rigs.
 
That said, the difference will certainly vary between various headphones and cables -- the more revealing the headphone and the better the upgraded cable, the more apparent any difference will be versus stock.  
 
Based on experience, I certainly think you would hear a difference on a hp like the HD800 and with cables of the quality obtainable from Moon, ALO, and other top names. But on other phones - perhaps not so much, and maybe not at all if the phone is not that revealing, or the stock cable ain't too bad to start with, or the upgraded cable is not of sufficiently good quality.

 

[Jodet]

  Anyone who gives into this is a fool. For the price of the HD700 and HD800 they should come packaged with these cables. The hifi world needs to learn when to say NO or the prices will just keep going up.

 
+1
 
 
Ok, maybe more 'foolish' than 'a fool', but you're right about the 'should come packaged'.  

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 

  For better sound than a Sennheiser stock cable and at a similar price, it would be far better to buy an after market premium cable from Moon Audio, ALO, etc.  The Senn cable is ok but on my HD800 when I replaced the stock cable with a Moon Audio Black Dragon cable, the sound was significantly improved -- more detail, transparency and bass.  Better overall.
 
I see no reason to ever buy a Sennheiser stock cable, especially at those prices.

I am really curious, can you really tell the differences between the stock cable vs upgraded Moon/ALO cables ?
Maybe just me but I don't hear any differences, that's why for me recabling is waste of money other than going balanced.
Someone needs to educate me on this.

No one would, except in sighted testing when one is expecting the change. Been there. 

 
This balanced cable works perfectly for HD800 and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221219807298?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[OICWUTUDIDTHAR]

  No one would, except in sighted testing when one is expecting the change. Been there. 

 
This balanced cable works perfectly for HD800 and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221219807298?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 
that cable is incredibly low quality (im not talking sound)
 
It feels super cheap, the plugs don't fit the connectors in the hd800 properly and it's not very long at all
 
IMO the CH800S is the nicest cable ive ever used for the hd800, yes the price is ridiculous, it should cost about $200 and even thats pushing it.

 

[Skyyyeman]

  No one would, except in sighted testing when one is expecting the change. Been there. 

 
This balanced cable works perfectly for HD800 and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221219807298?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Are you saying better cables don't matter re sound?  That improvements in sound are all in one's mind?   Strongly disagree, and I guess you're bringing up the ongoing cable debate which is strangely prevalent on this site but almost no where else in the world -- not amongst the manufacturers of equipment, manufacturers of cables, professional users in studios and elsewhere, musicians, reviewers both in print and online, and most audiophiles worldwide.  And that includes me.
 
But you have your opinion and so be it.

 

[mcandmar]

   
that cable is incredibly low quality (im not talking sound)
 
It feels super cheap, the plugs don't fit the connectors in the hd800 properly and it's not very long at all
 
IMO the CH800S is the nicest cable ive ever used for the hd800, yes the price is ridiculous, it should cost about $200 and even thats pushing it.

 
Actually, i found my HD650 version was very well made, and used genuine Neutrik connectors.  Or is it the protective outer sleeving you dont like?

 

[OICWUTUDIDTHAR]

   
Actually, i found my HD650 version was very well made, and used genuine Neutrik connectors.  Or is it the protective outer sleeving you dont like?

 
yes, i was referring to the sleeving, it feels very cheap to me. Also the two-pin plugs that connect to the hd800s were incredibly loose (to the point where sometimes if I moved my head, they  would fall out)

 

[mcandmar]

The only thing i don't like about the cable is its rigidity. It doesn't like to twist so it can be tricky to coil up, and will just uncoil itself like a spring when you let go.
 
I haven't had any issues with the HD600/650 connectors, but you could easily replace them, its not like snipping the ends off a $79 cable is the end of the world

 

[MineTwine45]

This may sound like the dumbest question ever asked, but what do balanced cables do exactly? (I'm a noob at all this high-end audio stuff right now)