comfortPlox
100+ Head-Fier
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- Mar 20, 2015
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Cables are quite the controversial topic... The traditional saying in audiophile circles is that copper cables add bass ("warmer sound") while silver adds or emphasizes treble ("brighter sound"). That being said it has never been measured or proved in any scientific study that cables can affect sound quality this way. Some believe in it, some don´t. I personally don´t and consider cables a waste of money (it´s different if the reason is getting a lighter cable or for balanced connectors though). I think it´s a classic case of perception psychology where we transfer the look of the cable to an expectation of the sound.
They are also very expensive compared to the cost of the components used (an add-on cable to the SE215 will cost more than the IEM itself). Even if by some thus far unknown to science principles cables do in fact affect sound in the way cable manufacturers claim the difference is minimal at best and even then poor value for money compared to buying new IEMs if you ask me
EDIT: what do you use as the source by the way? If a smartphone, try a playback application that has high quality EQ and experiment by boosting the bass up a little. There are also standalone digital audio players (DAP) that have EQ functionality. Another option would be to run a small portable amp. Amplification usually makes the bass tighter and more impactful plus some amps even have a built-in bass boost function. Fiio for example makes good and fairly priced portable amps.
Thanks for the info on cables. I now understand that it could just be a myth, and it sure is pricey. I use my laptop. I may try bass boosting or an amp sounds good too!
Cuiter23, thanks for the custom iem option. I may consider it, but it seems quite pricey.