[Nik]

Very good news...
 
So I need to buy a second Prion4 (I bought for my Abyss), when the Focal Utopia will arrive to my door?

 

[jelt2359]

  The adapter at the headphones end can be a trouble spot.  The constant assembling/de-assembling of the connectors at the headphones end will hasten the possibility of failure and if the failure is in the ear cups themselves, that spells trouble.  The cost of repairing the headphones will be high if you can get it done at all.

For me personally, this is a great reason to use adaptors. I don't want to be plugging cables in and out of my headphones, as I roll different ones. With adaptors, I plug cables in and out of adaptors, and leave the headphone forever plugged into an adaptor. I'd rather get cables repaired- not headphones. In a perfect world, all headphones would use the same connectors- like speakers.
 
Too bad the world is not perfect.

 

[vtvu]

Or you can buy a Danacable Lazuli Reference for your Utopia

Vinh

 

[ThatPhil]

  Or you can buy a Danacable Lazuli Reference for your Utopia

Vinh

Does that have a lifetime warranty or low cost re-terminations like DHC offers.

 

[CaptainCB]

Thanks for the continued replies. Including Vinh from Dana cables.

I think that my main concern about using adapters is this... Buying in completely to the benefits of making sure that a cable is everything you want... And the maker has minimized so many potentials for negative influences on the signal... If some of the most difficult to "get right" areas reside in the connector areas... Then for me to add two more connectors may have just seriously diminished all the good I did from including a cost no object cable in the first place. Maybe I am wrong in my thinking.

I do not tend to swap cables in a tube rolling fashion. But understand that I would deteriorate the connectors with each time that I do. So that too is a thought.

I am already leaning towards a prion setup. Will try to read up more on Dana though. For those who have prion... Am I right to assume that all of you also included spore isolation?

And is there any data for what might be the most robust connectors of any headphone manufacturer? Sounds like sennheiser are among the more fragile?

I again appreciate the input. And will not take this discussion much further here... It does directly relate to my desire to purchase an abyss... But starting to feel like I am high jacking the original purpose of this thread.

 

[Toolman]

And is there any data for what might be the most robust connectors of any headphone manufacturer? Sounds like sennheiser are among the more fragile?

 
Most robust: Utopia-Audeze-Abyss (here's staying on subject)

Most fragile: HiFiMan HE-1000

Just my experience...

 

[Beolab]

Yes many are using DHC cables with adapters, but me my self are not using any adapters for my Abyss, just straight 3-pin mini XLR, that is a very stable and robust connector type for the headphones, but i got a few other mini adapters so i can use for different headphone types

The Prion 4S is the very best cable i have ever heard and do greater diffrence than many amps and DACs do, that is very remarkable to me who is not a cable beliver from the beginning.

And to @Nik you can sleep safley!
You do not need to by a new set of Prions for your other headphones, if you hear any diffrence with Peters Iridium DHC adapters, i will personal buy you a new set of Prions.


I buy all teories about higher resistance and and so on, but it is the reality that matters, and if you cant hear or feel any diffrence, then just be happy and save the money.

Just order the cable with the correct connector for you main headphone and use adapters for your secondary and third.

 

[mulder01]

Abyss + Prion 4S makes it a $10k headphone tho...
 
Plus a quoted wait time of 3-5 months...

 

[matthewhypolite]

For those of you guys that are comparing the various headphones (abyss, focal, audeze) with various cables (dhc prion or complement/spore, superconductor)... How are you swapping the cables between headphones? Using adapters from dhc? Or are the cables completely dedicated to the cans?

I ask because I am trying to decide which plunge to take... Abyss or focal. And would love to be able to continue using my existing cable that I truly appreciate. And compare to one that would rival it... Prion most likely. But I would like for it to be flexible among current and future headphones.

Preferred methods for you guys?

I have the spore 4 fusion for my abyss and got adapters for all my other cans. I used the cable adaptors out of the same spore4. HEK, denon d700, utopia all using adapters.

 

[isquirrel]

DHC Prion 4S best cable DHC have ever made (& they have all been good) with the Adapter system as Fredrik mentioned its a win win solution. Best HP cable I have ever heard & I have a few.
 
First person I played them to and they were fresh out of the leather sleeve bought them. Here with duties and Taxes and a full set of adapters you are up forever $6K AUS, expensive but a good investment I even have twin XLR adapters for the amp end so I can use them with amps that have a 6.3MM (Large) jack.
 
My next shipment arrives end of this week, that will have both XLR and Single Ended Interconnects to go up against the best from Cardas, the latest Transparent Ref XL Generation 5 and MSB's latest cables. If they come out on top of that little test then Hats off to Peter (DHC) as he will have built a World class cable.
 
Something that no many people know is that Peter is a Molecular Biologist so he understands his metallurgy down to molecular level, and he is the only guy in the Cable world in my experience who does not BS you.
 
An example of this is, how many cable manufacturers think (Nordost) brag about using 6N Silver, a lot right. Well its all BS as his research found that the world's top refinery, Nikko Japan, doing the most cutting edge research, can only refine silver to six nines. 
 
 
 
 
So the very best cables are five nines silver 
 
Nikko's slide show says 6N is the limit for silver currently and that is for minute quantities of research grade material.
 
Now copper can hit 9N but nobody actually has 8N or 9N except researchers, and 7N is worth more than pure gold so even Nordost doesn't actually have it, they stretch the facts too.
 
​Prion4 is 210 strands with seven cores and two types of cores. Simply put it has more strands than any other cable built. TO give you an example - Siltech's TOTL Duchess Crown it's a modestly sized 4 wire silver OCC cable, it has 18 strands.
 
Hope this helps people to understand some of the details behind cables and hopefully allow you to tell when the marketing team has worked the facts into fiction.
 
None of this applies to Joe's cables, he uses a different tech entirely.
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

[CaptainCB]

Thanks for the VERY REAL reply isquirrel. i think it truly de estates the sub-industry to have pseudo science cloud what could be a very solid contribution to the hobby, art, and engineering of this "audiophile" world. I have no problem with giving into the "feel" of things. There is always an emotional component to listening to music. Otherwise... You're dead. But having quantitative facts to go on bring the brain to the same place as the heart. Cable naysayers be darned.... I appreciate keeping all the loose links in the chain as tight as I can afford to...

 

[scootermafia]

Yes many are using DHC cables with adapters, but me my self are not using any adapters for my Abyss, just straight 3-pin mini XLR, that is a very stable and robust connector type for the headphones, but i got a few other mini adapters so i can use for different headphone types

The Prion 4S is the very best cable i have ever heard and do greater diffrence than many amps and DACs do, that is very remarkable to me who is not a cable beliver from the beginning.

And to @Nik you can sleep safley!
You do not need to by a new set of Prions for your other headphones, if you hear any diffrence with Peters Iridium DHC adapters, i will personal buy you a new set of Prions.


I buy all teories about higher resistance and and so on, but it is the reality that matters, and if you cant hear or feel any diffrence, then just be happy and save the money.

Just order the cable with the correct connector for you main headphone and use adapters for your secondary and third.

Just to correct you, they're called "Ultrashort" or "Triple Threat," not sure where the word Iridium came from.

Using short adapters going into a headphone with one cable means less connection cycles on the original jacks of the headphone.  Any headphone cable end is highly reparable and stuff like HD800, Utopia LEMO, Audeze mini XLR, are not plugs we ever see getting repaired, they are pro grade plugs that can take many years of abuse.  It's up to the customer if they want to compromise a little and use adapters with one expensive cable vs. buying many less expensive cables, at the same budget.  

 

[isquirrel]

 
Just to correct you, they're called "Ultrashort" or "Triple Threat," not sure where the word Iridium came from.

Using short adapters going into a headphone with one cable means less connection cycles on the original jacks of the headphone.  Any headphone cable end is highly reparable and stuff like HD800, Utopia LEMO, Audeze mini XLR, are not plugs we ever see getting repaired, they are pro grade plugs that can take many years of abuse.  It's up to the customer if they want to compromise a little and use adapters with one expensive cable vs. buying many less expensive cables, at the same budget.  

When you "compromise" you are talking about design right and extra weight not compromising on sound quality ? Just to clarify

 

[scootermafia]

I've measured the resistance of adapters like this and it's really small, especially compared to all the resistors, caps, and board traces just inches ahead of the cable inside your amp or DAC, I don't think that anyone would be able to double blind test and hear a difference, and certainly it's not a complaint I've ever heard leveled by anyone who has used this sort of adapter.  If you're the sort of audiophile that just hates the idea of adapters, then nobody's forcing anyone to use them, they're a convenience and money saving thing, and anyone can build their own and have fun with it and see for themselves.  

 

[isquirrel]

I just some digging around seems DHC have a few awards, seeing as Dana seems to be trying to discredit the use of adapters. I wouldn't use them if they caused deg on the SQ, fact is he is using Lemo connectors - they are designed to be punished as they are a Pro connector. AFAIK best connector out there.
 
DHC PF Brutus award I just found