[FrederikS|TPU]

So Steven Kelby was so kind as to arrange for me to loan a Jenalabs LiveWires cable. Last time around I had the pleasure of playing around with the 26 G SPC LW cable which I found to be very pleasing, both in terms of sound quality, microphonics and build quality (You can check that out here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/s...ctures-366379/).

The Jenalabs is a very different beast, for starters cables are massive I believe they are 22 G which is insane for use with in-ears because the pull generated by the cable it self is massive. Another major problem with the Jenalabs is that they are incredibly microphonic even as I am sitting here typing I can the cable gently brushing against my table.

The sound is awesome, more transparant and adds a boost to the highs and the lows. It makes the LiveWires quite sparkly with a less colored midrange. If I didn't know better I could have sworn that I was listening to a completely different set of in-ears when going from stock to the Jenalabs.

It changes the sound signature a lot more than the SK SPC cable did and to my ears it is a welcome one, but the microphonics is a major turn off as well as weight and stiffness. After listening to this cable I might try to get a Jenalabs cable for my Senns, but I am not sure it is worth the money. Presumably this LW cable will cost a hell of a lot more than the SPC one and in that case it so is not worth it. On a little side note Steven's craftsmanship is A+ right from the braid to the finish near the plugs. To bad the cable isn't suited for in-ears

On to the fun part:
Pictures

Cheers,
Frederik

 

[Libertad]

God like congrats man and enjoy!

 

[j2kei]

gosh those cables look so sexy ::drool::

 

[hockeyb213]

yeah those aren't going to be to practical for iems and I surely don't think they would go over ears to well but very cool anyways

 

[jinx20001]

yeh, damn sexy cables, but a much thinner version would be fantastic. i mean westone superiors no doubt

 

[-=Germania=-]

That is very similar to the first IEM cable I had made several months ago. (22awg stranded copper in clear PE Dielectric, unknown manufacture of wire)
I bet it does sound very different from the SPC stuff with a darker sound. In my experience it was no more detailed than the SPC (I used 30AWG and 22AWG). They do make for very nice big, full bass though.
I imagine that if this was used to make some very nice sounding ER4-s cables, though the stiffness would relegate it to home/office use IMO.

 

[hockeyb213]

does anyone know what a foot of jena labs cable costs?

 

[Duggeh]

Very ugly, causes microphonics and completely impractical for purpose. Six Moons would give it an editors choice award.

 

[takezo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeyb213 /img/forum/go_quote.gif does anyone know what a foot of jena labs cable costs?

as of today, both the 22 awg and 18 awg are $5 per foot.
you can order them directly from jena labs thru michael crock: mail@jenatek.com
he's easy to work with and sends out packages within 48hrs.

 

[hockeyb213]

5 dollars per foot? so I would have to order lets say 10-12 feet of the stuff for a normal headphone cable? I will send a email to them asking about it.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Six Moons would give it an editors choice award.

haha

 

[takezo]

depends on what a normal cable length is for you... for an iem you'd
want more than 2 feet but less than 9 feet... you'd need 4 wires of
equal length (one each for left, right and 2 for the ground wires).
so ordering 12 feet will allow you to make a 3 feet cable.

 

[hockeyb213]

besides the microphonics issue it is not such a bad idea sk will make it a lot more expensive but to make 4 feet of jena cable costs the same amount as I paid for my cable from him.....

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I liked the stevenkelby Jenna Labs cable with my Livewires that have SE530 drivers a little more than I did with my normal Livewires. There was some good synergy there. In the end I reported my findings and shipped you the cable due to the microphonics, always wondering if I should have bought it and used it for a full size headphone instead

The SPC cable is a good compromise for upgrade in sound vs microphonics and cost. The Cardas 33g Silver wire after 200 hours of burn-in is even better, but it is so thin as to be difficult to manage and use without tangling too easily. The Piccolino wire blew me away, I mean simply stunning, but it was picky about the amp and source and costs more than 2x what the IEM cost, so that was out of the question too.

Regardless, stevenkelby's work is always high quality!

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I liked the stevenkelby Jenna Labs cable with my Livewires that have SE530 drivers a little more than I did with my normal Livewires. There was some good synergy there. In the end I reported my findings and shipped you the cable due to the microphonics, always wondering if I should have bought it and used it for a full size headphone instead The SPC cable is a good compromise for upgrade in sound vs microphonics and cost. The Cardas 33g Silver wire after 200 hours of burn-in is even better, but it is so thin as to be difficult to manage and use without tangling too easily. The Piccolino wire blew me away, I mean simply stunning, but it was picky about the amp and source and costs more than 2x what the IEM cost, so that was out of the question too. Regardless, stevenkelby's work is always high quality!

Agreed, it is so impractical but sound great. I have ordered a SPC cable for my LiveWires because I too think it is the best compromise between, sound quality, cost, and microphonics / weight.

I am wondering if I should invest in a Jenalabs cable for my modded Sennheiser HD580s I think it will be a good match.