[superjawes]

Just got my HE-400 cable from wjernst, and it has totally improved my SQ and opened up the sound stage, and--

Just kidding. One of the terminals on my stock cable came apart. The new one is quite nice. I think the softer jacket is much nicer, and it appears to have solid build quality. Also, it got here really fast. I doubt wjernst really had control over that, but it was nice getting it just a few days after ordering.

 

[madwolfa]

Highly recommend this guy's headphone cables: http://stores.ebay.com/ilikevenusaudio/
 
Handmade in Wisconsin, great workmanship and value. 

 

[conquerator2]

Nice thread

 

[Shazb0t]

Picked up a BTG Audio cable used last week.  Seems to be pretty good build quality for a decent price.  I've been using a banana plugs adapter he made me for about a year as well.  No hocus pocus advertising either, I recommend them.
 
http://www.btg-audio.com/

 

[Ruben123]

Went to the neighbours (cable thread) and read immediately about balanced cables (2x ground ?) and how much of a difference it made compared to normal (1x ground) cable. Is it an actual difference? Guess not. Tell me.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Went to the neighbours (cable thread) and read immediately about balanced cables (2x ground ?) and how much of a difference it made compared to normal (1x ground) cable. Is it an actual difference? Guess not. Tell me.

You talking about a headphone cable or an interconnect?

On a balanced interconnect cable, there is no ground. Pin 1 is shield, not ground.

On a headphone cable, using four contacts for both channels eliminates the common ground contact resistance that you have with a 3 contact TRS plug. That common resistance can technically produce a bit of crosstalk. Not know that it would be sufficient to actually be audible. And of course if you're using open-back headphones, it's pretty pointless.

se

 

[Ruben123]

As I quote:
 
"I just yesterday received Frank's Silver Poison, naked, terminated for the iBasso PB-2 and LCD-2.  Unlike many of you, this is the first time I've ever heard balanced output AND the first time I've ever heard my LCD-2 through anything other than the stock Audeze cables.  
 
That said, I can still proclaim that for me, going from single-ended with stock cables to balanced with the Silver Poison has brought about the second most dramatic improvement in my listening experience, after only the purchase of the LCD-2.  Seriously, this was huge.  It's a shame I have no way to discern the independent impacts made by going balanced vs. the contributions made by the Silver Poisons, but I am nevertheless stunned at what a difference this has made in listening pleasure.  "
 
I guess it's about the cables. I guess the effect's placebo.

 

[skeptic]

 
Went to the neighbours (cable thread) and read immediately about balanced cables (2x ground ?) and how much of a difference it made compared to normal (1x ground) cable. Is it an actual difference? Guess not. Tell me.

Ruben - most of the accounts you read to this effect are not likely due to the cable but rather because the amp in question has different se vs. balanced topologies.  For example, in a push pull amp, using all 4 channels (rather than 2 via the se jack) means 4x the power, double the noise (except common mode), double the distortion, double the slew rate, and double the output impedance.  All of these can potentially be audible, and the last in particular can be very audible with headphones with uneven impedance curves.  For example, purrin and others have graphed out how hd800's get a midbass boost (at the cost of bass tightness) as output impedance increases.  This means that many users who switch to "balanced" cables, and amp dependent, will suddenly hear their phones as sounding more full.  

I don't totally rule out that cables might sound different (particularly if they have high capacitance or are unshielded in a noisy environment).  But I don't believe my ears could discern any differences between decent cables in a DBT.  That said, conventional audio measurements are not totally complete as I understand them.  For example, almost no one measures for transient intermodulation distortion even though it is probably the reason (as I understand it at least) that many listeners like nonfeedback amps despite their "inferior" measurements.  Compare an O2, even a fancy one like mine with agdr's booster in it further improving offsets, transient current, distortion etc., with a good tube amp and it seems as though THD isn't telling the whole story.  (Or maybe we are all just striving to make up for the room effects missing with headphones?) 

 

[Ruben123]

That may explain quite a lot! Thanks for your taking your time.

 

[Buffington]

Have any of you tried cablesforless.com?  They have, for example, a "Super High Quality" hand-made 3' interconnect, made with Belden 1505A RG59 cable (which I believe is 20 AWG) and heavy-duty Canare or comparable RCA ends, for $23.99.  It's not returnable, except under special circumstances, but has a lifetime warranty.  Belden 1505A is probably not as good as 1694A (which I saw recommended on audioholics), but I don't know how much practical difference there would be.  I read one article on "myths in audio" that said any cable priced higher than $20 for 3 meters looks like a scam, but I'd be willing to "splurge" on this one, because it's still very cheap compared to the expensive high-end cables.  I haven't dealt with this company, so I was just wondering if any of you had.

 

[prot]

  Have any of you tried cablesforless.com?  They have, for example, a "Super High Quality" hand-made 3' interconnect, made with Belden 1505A RG59 cable (which I believe is 20 AWG) and heavy-duty Canare or comparable RCA ends, for $23.99.  It's not returnable, except under special circumstances, but has a lifetime warranty.  Belden 1505A is probably not as good as 1694A (which I saw recommended on audioholics), but I don't know how much practical difference there would be.  I read one article on "myths in audio" that said any cable priced higher than $20 for 3 meters looks like a scam, but I'd be willing to "splurge" on this one, because it's still very cheap compared to the expensive high-end cables.  I haven't dealt with this company, so I was just wondering if any of you had.

 
price-wise it's all ok ... and the cable specs & pics look pretty good too.
If anyone bought their products and can confirm the quality, I'll add em to the first post

 

[prot]

added http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=82777.
Thx money4me247

 

[dprimary]

  Have any of you tried cablesforless.com?  They have, for example, a "Super High Quality" hand-made 3' interconnect, made with Belden 1505A RG59 cable (which I believe is 20 AWG) and heavy-duty Canare or comparable RCA ends, for $23.99.  It's not returnable, except under special circumstances, but has a lifetime warranty.  Belden 1505A is probably not as good as 1694A (which I saw recommended on audioholics), but I don't know how much practical difference there would be.  I read one article on "myths in audio" that said any cable priced higher than $20 for 3 meters looks like a scam, but I'd be willing to "splurge" on this one, because it's still very cheap compared to the expensive high-end cables.  I haven't dealt with this company, so I was just wondering if any of you had.

1505a is good cable I have used miles of the stuff and 1694 as well. 1505 is very impressive for a RG59 cable it is good for 200 feet of HD-SDI video while 1694 will take you out to 250 feet., for digital audio bandwidths you could get over 500 feet out of either one. Both cables have been around for about 15 years and have held up well over the years
 
Here is some charts from belden
 
https://www.belden.com/resourcecenter/tools/upload/TB65-p11.pdf
 
And the HD-SDI chart
 
https://www.belden.com/resourcecenter/tools/upload/TB65_p28.pdf

 

[mrip541]

I have never believed that cables make a difference as i have never heard a difference in any cable... until now. I was in a bind and needed a cable, like, NOW, so walked over to BestBuy and bought their house brand cheap interconnect. Its effect was not subtle. So much bass was missing that i thought something was wrong with my amp. It was incredible. How can they sell this stuff to people? Do they engineer it like this on purpose or just not care?

 

[Steve Eddy]

I have never believed that cables make a difference as i have never heard a difference in any cable... until now. I was in a bind and needed a cable, like, NOW, so walked over to BestBuy and bought their house brand cheap interconnect. Its effect was not subtle. So much bass was missing that i thought something was wrong with my amp. It was incredible. How can they sell this stuff to people? Do they engineer it like this on purpose or just not care?

Cables, even the cheap hose brands, are low pass filters. They are flat down to DC so I don't see how yor cable could be losing any bass.

se