[roflokek]

welp, mission failed, DragonScale ordered and I am never buying cables again.

let me join the club lol, I myself didn't plan to spend any penny on this sale but couldnt resist $87 DT600 and 39$ white epz Q5, mission failed

 

[nikbr]

I've ordered two Juzear cables - Pure and Limpid, and a few different tips - Coreir, W1, Velvet.

Must resist all the impulse purchases, brave up and go for Ascension once it's back in stock

 

[theintention]

Fair enough! I have noticed that I practically always agree with what you write and therefore it will be interesting to know your impressions when you'll receive it. Which IEM would you mostly pair it with? I imagine something that has blue in it... but that's not necessarily the case.

unsure if you meant me or @Echalon with this (as we both have impeccable opinions and fluffy cat pics) but I’ll be pairing it with my Neo 5 and MP145.

The case the Neo 5 came with is the same color blue and they look phenomenal together so I’m hoping the same rings true for the cable.

Excuse the cardboard box, it’s the best mobile Lego table I got at the moment LOL.

I was also looking for the DragonScale, but watching some japanese dudes forums, reviews and comments, It seemed that the DualDragon was a tier higher (also newer) than the DragonScale. It was also cheaper with coupons at this 11.11 so I went for DualDragon (86 euros + taxes).
The DualDragon has 8N OCC vs 7N OCC with a different type of cable material; and a weird 4.4mm + 3.5mm grounding tech that I didn't buy into, so I went with a normal 4.4mm.
(left: DualDragon; right: DragonScale)

I guess palladium is still more expensive than graphene.

Great deal too!

 

[PhonoPhi]

I think it’s less about the materials (silver for crisp detail, palladium for body), and more for the thickness and quality of construction. Ironically it is the resistance and capacitance of cables that often affects the sound, with better conducting cables transmitting a purer uncoloured sound.

You can get a cable made of those materials for a fraction the price (Xinhs has a nice example), but with the DragonScale I would expect the brightness of silver to be tamed by sheer thickness of the cable. It has other fancy features too, such as advanced shielding that they claim helps reduce interference. Having not tried it, I can’t say if it is actually any good.

Palladium is an inferior conductor compared to coinage metals (Cu, Ag, Au).
Silver is bright only if one hears past 100+ kHz.
Capacitance and inductance of IEM cables being any significant factor is a long-abandoned myth. Resistance does matter in a very straightforward way.
Coat hangers (rich and diverse iron alloys) are proven/acclaimed winners of blind cable tests NiceHCK had a good chuckle with "audiophiles" with few alloy cables of their...
(Repeating, just to be pedantic, and cables rhyme with IEMs like Trifecta, as per other hard-core "myths" along the great classics of Hans Christian Andersen).

On another note, not ordeing from Ali Express (banned them from my existence, finally), I opted to get "Project Red" on Amazon (one-day shipping, tomorrow will it come). $50 purely to compare with Castors - so "gather children", as Crinnacle nicely put it ( mature audiophiles are also more then welcome, of course) - I hope to tell you the story (limited time pending) about how Project Red can compete with toasters, pardon, Castors

 

[SlhDub]

What an embarrassment of riches this last couple of weeks... First the Oriveti OD200 a truly incredibly DD iem I mean flagship Totl sound, then The Muse hifi east 6 a fantastic all round DD implemented iem. Only for the ARTTI R1 to come and stir the hornets nest with incredible dynamic triple DD's.
The R1 is so cohesive it sounds like one driver that covers all frequencies with expertise. You do need to make sure you have the perfect seal, all hail Divinis velvet tips, to get the full deep dynamic bass effect, but when you do WOW!

The open airy, detail rich, yet authoritive bass, heavy signature is a marvel to behold.

With 11.11 around the corner it can be had for £57 which is a steal. Not only is it a beautifully designed iem it comes with a great cable available in 4.4mm or 3.5mm terminations (4.4mm all the way)

To say I recommend this is underselling how much you should just buy it.
If you listen to Rock, pop, EDM or JAZZ it's the bargain of 2023!
Enough said!

Impressive! coud you please do a quick comparison to Tangzu Fudu? i currently have the simgot Ew200 and id like to upgrade to something with more bass authority and better separation and i was eyeing the Fudu, especially for Hip Hop and EDM and today i came across this Artti R1 which so far i only read good things about and i am curious if i should go for the R1 or the Fudu.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Still undecided on what to do with $100 LEC from Linsoul. Torn between the Aladdin, Simgot EA1000, Tanchjim Oxygen, or getting a Shanling CD80. The Aladdin came in late. I had forgotten it. Anyone care to share their recent experiences and compare with any of these others if you own them. Not sure what I would get in the CD80 and whether buying the ECMini would be wiser?

BQEYZ Wind just posted my review loved it. Slightly warm , lush with amazing stage open backness. Definitely worth considering. EA1000 up there as well for me.

 

[kazinova]

Well, I caved and did buy something that wasn’t on my 11.11 list. At $62 the ARTTi R1 seemed too tempting to pass up. I’ll just lurk until there’s better deals for the GK200

 

[Vonbuddy]

BQEYZ Wind just posted my review loved it. Slightly warm , lush with amazing stage open backness. Definitely worth considering. EA1000 up there as well for me.

Unfortunately Linsoul does not have the Wind.

 

[Echalon]

Palladium is an inferior conductor compared to coinage metals (Cu, Ag, Au).
Silver is bright only if one hears past 100+ kHz.

(Cable discussion, feel free to skip this!)

This is always a touchy subject so I’ll begin by making clear that have seen many of your posts and have respect for your knowledge and experience.

Initially I also had the “cables don’t affect sound” attitude. Early in the hobby, I bought some cheap NiceHCK cables for the looks and was pleased that there seemed to be a slight improvement in sound over the stock cables I had been using. I didn’t think much about it until got a more serious cable bundled with the Venture Electronics Azure. There was no doubt that it sounded crisper and clearer. Since then I have experimented a lot with cables, though I have never bought really expensive ones. The following is based on my experience, as well as my training as a (former) experimental physicist.

There are a few things I’d like to unpick with the myths and realities of cables because there is way too much disagreement on this subject, and it really is not healthy for the community.

First, few would argue that a badly made cable of very inferior components does make everything sound worse. Once you have a cable that is made to an acceptable standard, you are more-or-less hearing the IEM as intended. Hopefully we agree at this point.

Most who have listened to a cheap silver cable and compared it to standard copper cable hear a difference, with the silver being thinner and brighter and the copper being relatively warm. This can be tested with $20 cables. Materials do have an effect, though what effect, how much of an effect, and whether there is any point in using anything beyond a basic cable is debatable.

At this point is should mention the snake oil. We have all seen wild claims that try to justify high prices. I make no arguments that a cable forged of dwarf-mined copper in the heat of Mount Doom and sprinkled with diamond dust will do anything for your audio setup! Let’s keep the discussion to the less wacky end of the market.

After-market cables are mostly of 2 types: upgraded cables with supposedly ever better materials and construction, and tuning cables designed to change the sound.

Upgrade cables seem to use ever more refined materials to make the cable as transparent as possible. Whether this is worth doing is a matter of personal taste, and the effects depend very much on the gear you are using. As with most things in this hobby, diminishing returns kick in fast, and you will get a lot more of an improvement going from a bad KZ stock cable to a well made $15 cable than you will when you go from that $15 dollar cable to a $50 cable.

Tuning cables are a different matter. They deliberately use materials and construction tricks to change the sound. Essentially it is a passive EQ. I use a cheap NiceHCK BlackCat to boost mids on my BL03 as I found the mid scoop too deep. My EPZ Q1 has a cheap silver cable that cuts through the muddiness of that IEM. Most IEMs don’t need such alteration, and it can often be done by other means (tips, filters, electronic EQ). But cable tuning is a thing, whether or not you wish to use it.

Digital signals are independent of the cable material, but the analogue signals that carry music into our IEMs are subject to frequency dependent effects from the medium through which they pass.

The point of this excessively long post? Please don’t simply discount cables as pointless. You don’t need to bother with them, but that doesn’t meant they don’t affect sound.

This is not intended as an attack on anyone. Quite the opposite. Just as our community has people who like EQ, or who buy flagship level gear, or purchase based on cosmetics more than sound, there are some who like to explore the sound effects of cabling. That doesn’t make us crazy or stupid. Ignore it or embrace it, please enjoy the audiophile hobby in whatever way works for you.

 

[Uncle00Jesse]

BQEYZ Wind just posted my review loved it. Slightly warm , lush with amazing stage open backness. Definitely worth considering. EA1000 up there as well for me.

Have you heard the Chopin? Would you put that set above the EA1000 and wind?

 

[helloh3adfi]

On another note, not ordeing from Ali Express (banned them from my existence, finally), I opted to get "Project Red" on Amazon (one-day shipping, tomorrow will it come). $50 purely to compare with Castors - so "gather children", as Crinnacle nicely put it ( mature audiophiles are also more then welcome, of course) - I hope to tell you the story (limited time pending) about how Project Red can compete with toasters, pardon, Castors

Why not Nova as well?

 

[Jaytiss]

Have you heard the Chopin? Would you put that set above the EA1000 and wind?

I have reviews of choppin and ea1000. I think both are solid.

 

[PhonoPhi]

(Cable discussion, feel free to skip this!)

This is always a touchy subject so I’ll begin by making clear that have seen many of your posts and have respect for your knowledge and experience.

Initially I also had the “cables don’t affect sound” attitude. Early in the hobby, I bought some cheap NiceHCK cables for the looks and was pleased that there seemed to be a slight improvement in sound over the stock cables I had been using. I didn’t think much about it until got a more serious cable bundled with the Venture Electronics Azure. There was no doubt that it sounded crisper and clearer. Since then I have experimented a lot with cables, though I have never bought really expensive ones. The following is based on my experience, as well as my training as a (former) experimental physicist.

There are a few things I’d like to unpick with the myths and realities of cables because there is way too much disagreement on this subject, and it really is not healthy for the community.

First, few would argue that a badly made cable of very inferior components does make everything sound worse. Once you have a cable that is made to an acceptable standard, you are more-or-less hearing the IEM as intended. Hopefully we agree at this point.

Most who have listened to a cheap silver cable and compared it to standard copper cable hear a difference, with the silver being thinner and brighter and the copper being relatively warm. This can be tested with $20 cables. Materials do have an effect, though what effect, how much of an effect, and whether there is any point in using anything beyond a basic cable is debatable.

At this point is should mention the snake oil. We have all seen wild claims that try to justify high prices. I make no arguments that a cable forged of dwarf-mined copper in the heat of Mount Doom and sprinkled with diamond dust will do anything for your audio setup! Let’s keep the discussion to the less wacky end of the market.

After-market cables are mostly of 2 types: upgraded cables with supposedly ever better materials and construction, and tuning cables designed to change the sound.

Upgrade cables seem to use ever more refined materials to make the cable as transparent as possible. Whether this is worth doing is a matter of personal taste, and the effects depend very much on the gear you are using. As with most things in this hobby, diminishing returns kick in fast, and you will get a lot more of an improvement going from a bad KZ stock cable to a well made $15 cable than you will when you go from that $15 dollar cable to a $50 cable.

Tuning cables are a different matter. They deliberately use materials and construction tricks to change the sound. Essentially it is a passive EQ. I use a cheap NiceHCK BlackCat to boost mids on my BL03 as I found the mid scoop too deep. My EPZ Q1 has a cheap silver cable that cuts through the muddiness of that IEM. Most IEMs don’t need such alteration, and it can often be done by other means (tips, filters, electronic EQ). But cable tuning is a thing, whether or not you wish to use it.

Digital signals are independent of the cable material, but the analogue signals that carry music into our IEMs are subject to frequency dependent effects from the medium through which they pass.

The point of this excessively long post? Please don’t simply discount cables as pointless. You don’t need to bother with them, but that doesn’t meant they don’t affect sound.

This is not intended as an attack on anyone. Quite the opposite. Just as our community has people who like EQ, or who buy flagship level gear, or purchase based on cosmetics more than sound, there are some who like to explore the sound effects of cabling. That doesn’t make us crazy or stupid. Ignore it or embrace it, please enjoy the audiophile hobby in whatever way works for you.

I apologize for starting this. "Palladium" triggered it - what a waste of a precious catalytic metal... (and I was writing a comment anyway).

I opt to respect your beliefs and beliefs of others for as long as they do not interfere with freedoms and beliefs of all of us.

After all, Watercoolers taught me that using $1k+ cables is a pinacle of this hobby, especially with 6-Ohm Trifecta

I hope that comparing "Project Red" will be a more constructive contribution.

 

[WAON303]

I get the notion that more expensive cables affect sound somewhat but the difference doesn't justify the ludicrous prices boutique companies like Effect Audio charge for their highest end models which I believe is a fat $5,000.

Can't be a cable atheist yet when I've never tried cables past 80 USD (I think the EST 112 stock cable is the most expensive I've tried so far.) but companies charging thousands for a single cable will always raise an eyebrow.

I'm wondering where the whole luxury cable rabbit hole started? Seems like it started with stereo cables around 20 years ago.

The earliest reference to super expensive audio cables I could find goes back to 2007.

 

[Echalon]

I apologize for starting this. "Palladium" triggered it - what a waste of a precious catalytic metal... (and I was writing a comment anyway).

I opt to respect your beliefs and beliefs of others for as long as they do not interfere with freedoms and beliefs of all of us.

Nothing to apologise about. We share a hobby, and I suspect we would agree on vastly more than we disagree about. After all, the exact nature of the wire used to connect our overpriced headphones (as my wife would put it) is a very minor thing!

I am sorry to unleash a wall of text in your direction. It was less aimed at you, rather than the wider community. Thank you for being a gentleman about it.