illquid
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2011
- Posts
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- 10
I too have had a few weeks now with the cables from user Chris_Himself and his partner Ted. Been meaning to get some writing up earlier but my pc crashed both times after I was halfway through and I gave up! It has meant I've had some extra time with them though!
Chris offered to make me a cable after my poor and frankly disappointing experience with the Athena cables from Effect Audio / Studio off ebay. I'm not the only customer disappointed with their work, if you read some of the negative feedback they have received. Those cables were over $100 whereas Chris offered me his for $50 plus my unwanted Athena cables that I shipped to him (prices will probably differ based on what you want on your cable). In return I received a 45" (shorter than standard) 28AWG 4 strand silver cable terminated with a Neutrik right angled (cheap standard and durable, plus my LOD was already a Neutrik, so it would match) and included intl shipping to the UK.
The best part about buying from Chris has been his excellent service. Over the whole course of the transaction, he was very communicative and we ironed the specifics of the cable. I didn't have a vast array of demands but what I did want, I was very specific about and Chris came to me when he was unsure, which greatly reduces the chances of disappointment when receiving the product. Although I have to admit, the buyer isn't always right, so make sure you're asking for something that you will actually like rather than guessing! I decided on a minimal Y split made of sleeving as I didn't want too much weight and a wood choker as they looked great in the photos Chris supplied as examples. For spending $50, it really shouldn't be expected that you'd get so much of Chris' time but his passion really shines through I felt, although I guess it depends on how much work he's got going on at the same time.
The timeline after paying (after our discussion on the specs of the cable) was a couple of days when he made them up and sent out very promptly after finishing by Ted, the cables arrived in a week, so US buyers expect a shorter timespan.
What did it look like? Here you go:
The light background didn't do the wire justice. As you can see, I went with no teflon sleeves, just the bare wire in its tubing.
The fine details were spot on, unlike the Athena cables, personal care had been taken on every part.
Additional clear tubing around the connectors and a small amount of memory wire for durability (I wear my TF10s hanging down so don't need ear guides/memory wire).
Hand rolled pins filled with epoxy, won't fit flush with your TF10s, but personally, I kind of like the rustic homemade look of them. Perhaps Chris can work out something for you, if you want a more "pro" look, I don't know. It's not something that bothers me.
Y split using heat shrink as I asked, very minimal look that I wanted and was still done very neatly.
Braiding extremely neat and tidy, I do like the look of silver too as well as the superior physical qualities. As you can see, very thick wire used.
I hooked the thing up to my portable setup that I use on a daily basis (ipod touch 3g > silver LOD > ibasso T3D):
I did some A/Bing with stock UE cables, I'm not a believer in sonic "memory", the Athena cables have been out of my hands now for a month after a couple of hours of listening, other than a distinct impression of the over sensitive highs of that cable, there's little credibility to A/Bing to memory of the sound of them. Also not a believer of wire burn in, perhaps convinced on things with moving parts, but definitely not of cables.
The Highs - I'm a massive basshead these days, and I have quite sensitive ears to high frequencies (guess its my "youth"), so treble representation is fairly important to me. I feel that this is the cable's best part, whilst nothing is ever night and day. The treble using this cable is clear and strong without the sibilance and harshness that I get with the stock cables, this really surprised me as I kind of already accepted that the TF10s treble was just never going to sit right with me. The treble is still too strong, which personally, I would prefer less of, which is more a facet of the nature of the TF10s, but the treble sounds better in quality too which is key and something I appreciated about some the songs I generally have to turn down in volume when it comes on.
The Bass - The bass is tighter and exact, with the stock copper, the bass is boomier, I guess its a matter of preference. You can always choose a pure copper wire from Chris. But this is exactly what one should expect with silver, more precise bass and certainly no less in quantity. The key however is that because the bass is more accurate and less boomy is how it affects the mids, which is why this crazy order exists.
The Mids - Coming from regular use of SM3s, which present Mids smoothly and prominently. I was surprised that how good the TF10s sounded with both cables in the Mid range. Vocals were not as smooth and not as lush, but weren't buried under the high/bass prominence that most ppl talk about. But one aspect of the cables from Chris were that due to the bass being more precise, you don't get that muddiness that comes from boomy bass clouding the lower mid range, which can perhaps be the reason ppl think the TF10s bury the mids. I found the mids less prominent as one would expect given the nature of the TF10s, but still very clear and well presented.
Overall, the silver cable gives accuracy and perhaps makes the TF10s less V shaped in that the whole spectrum is presented more precisely, perhaps not unreasonable then to see more difference in the highs and lows as that is what the TF10s have the most quantity of. I would say that the differences are overall subtle but clearly there and I certainly wouldn't choose the stock over the silver in sound quality terms. But there is more to factor in.
First of all, it's not a free choice. Personally, I would recommend that if you have no issues with the stock, not to change out of curiosity, you're not missing out on a whole new world, these are I reiterate, SUBTLE differences. Second, thick wire is not as flexible as your stock cables, but that goes with the territory, thick wire is also technically better in it's physical attributes, its a compromise between SQ and practicality that some won't like. It's much more rigid as you'd expect and you don't want to be bending the wire so it won't roll as tight, I'd say the stock can be rolled around 2 fingers, 28AWG is more like around 4 fingers, therefore carrying it in your UE metal case is not that viable, ask for thinner wire if you prefer flexibility. Thirdly, if you enjoy quiet listening on the move, the microphonics on this cable will make that impossible, the rigidity coupled with the fact that I only have tubing mean that any movement will be amplified, this is compounded by the wood choker which can rattle a little when moving. But I STATE, the microphonics is also my responsibility as this is what I asked for! I would recommend people to ask for a bit of tubing as a choker (or maybe Chris can make some sort of rubber/silicone one as a vibration dampener? Just thinking off the top of my head) to minimise some level of additional micrphonics and perhaps sleeving, but a large part of the noise is just the fact that the wire is thick and rigid and prone to vibrations therefore you will not negate this fact unless you get thinner wire.
However, the cable is incredibly well made and I therefore expect it to be durable, which is what I'm paying for, the rest of the aspects were decided by me. One thing that can't be argued is for the amount of labour and materials and the looks of the thing given its price, I can't help thinking how stupid it was to purchase the Athena! If you care about any SQ improvements over everything else, and perhaps into more home listening, then I would fully recommend Chris and Ted's wires for a bespoke service.
Chris offered to make me a cable after my poor and frankly disappointing experience with the Athena cables from Effect Audio / Studio off ebay. I'm not the only customer disappointed with their work, if you read some of the negative feedback they have received. Those cables were over $100 whereas Chris offered me his for $50 plus my unwanted Athena cables that I shipped to him (prices will probably differ based on what you want on your cable). In return I received a 45" (shorter than standard) 28AWG 4 strand silver cable terminated with a Neutrik right angled (cheap standard and durable, plus my LOD was already a Neutrik, so it would match) and included intl shipping to the UK.
The best part about buying from Chris has been his excellent service. Over the whole course of the transaction, he was very communicative and we ironed the specifics of the cable. I didn't have a vast array of demands but what I did want, I was very specific about and Chris came to me when he was unsure, which greatly reduces the chances of disappointment when receiving the product. Although I have to admit, the buyer isn't always right, so make sure you're asking for something that you will actually like rather than guessing! I decided on a minimal Y split made of sleeving as I didn't want too much weight and a wood choker as they looked great in the photos Chris supplied as examples. For spending $50, it really shouldn't be expected that you'd get so much of Chris' time but his passion really shines through I felt, although I guess it depends on how much work he's got going on at the same time.
The timeline after paying (after our discussion on the specs of the cable) was a couple of days when he made them up and sent out very promptly after finishing by Ted, the cables arrived in a week, so US buyers expect a shorter timespan.
What did it look like? Here you go:
The light background didn't do the wire justice. As you can see, I went with no teflon sleeves, just the bare wire in its tubing.
The fine details were spot on, unlike the Athena cables, personal care had been taken on every part.
Additional clear tubing around the connectors and a small amount of memory wire for durability (I wear my TF10s hanging down so don't need ear guides/memory wire).
Hand rolled pins filled with epoxy, won't fit flush with your TF10s, but personally, I kind of like the rustic homemade look of them. Perhaps Chris can work out something for you, if you want a more "pro" look, I don't know. It's not something that bothers me.
Y split using heat shrink as I asked, very minimal look that I wanted and was still done very neatly.
Braiding extremely neat and tidy, I do like the look of silver too as well as the superior physical qualities. As you can see, very thick wire used.
I hooked the thing up to my portable setup that I use on a daily basis (ipod touch 3g > silver LOD > ibasso T3D):
I did some A/Bing with stock UE cables, I'm not a believer in sonic "memory", the Athena cables have been out of my hands now for a month after a couple of hours of listening, other than a distinct impression of the over sensitive highs of that cable, there's little credibility to A/Bing to memory of the sound of them. Also not a believer of wire burn in, perhaps convinced on things with moving parts, but definitely not of cables.
The Highs - I'm a massive basshead these days, and I have quite sensitive ears to high frequencies (guess its my "youth"), so treble representation is fairly important to me. I feel that this is the cable's best part, whilst nothing is ever night and day. The treble using this cable is clear and strong without the sibilance and harshness that I get with the stock cables, this really surprised me as I kind of already accepted that the TF10s treble was just never going to sit right with me. The treble is still too strong, which personally, I would prefer less of, which is more a facet of the nature of the TF10s, but the treble sounds better in quality too which is key and something I appreciated about some the songs I generally have to turn down in volume when it comes on.
The Bass - The bass is tighter and exact, with the stock copper, the bass is boomier, I guess its a matter of preference. You can always choose a pure copper wire from Chris. But this is exactly what one should expect with silver, more precise bass and certainly no less in quantity. The key however is that because the bass is more accurate and less boomy is how it affects the mids, which is why this crazy order exists.
The Mids - Coming from regular use of SM3s, which present Mids smoothly and prominently. I was surprised that how good the TF10s sounded with both cables in the Mid range. Vocals were not as smooth and not as lush, but weren't buried under the high/bass prominence that most ppl talk about. But one aspect of the cables from Chris were that due to the bass being more precise, you don't get that muddiness that comes from boomy bass clouding the lower mid range, which can perhaps be the reason ppl think the TF10s bury the mids. I found the mids less prominent as one would expect given the nature of the TF10s, but still very clear and well presented.
Overall, the silver cable gives accuracy and perhaps makes the TF10s less V shaped in that the whole spectrum is presented more precisely, perhaps not unreasonable then to see more difference in the highs and lows as that is what the TF10s have the most quantity of. I would say that the differences are overall subtle but clearly there and I certainly wouldn't choose the stock over the silver in sound quality terms. But there is more to factor in.
First of all, it's not a free choice. Personally, I would recommend that if you have no issues with the stock, not to change out of curiosity, you're not missing out on a whole new world, these are I reiterate, SUBTLE differences. Second, thick wire is not as flexible as your stock cables, but that goes with the territory, thick wire is also technically better in it's physical attributes, its a compromise between SQ and practicality that some won't like. It's much more rigid as you'd expect and you don't want to be bending the wire so it won't roll as tight, I'd say the stock can be rolled around 2 fingers, 28AWG is more like around 4 fingers, therefore carrying it in your UE metal case is not that viable, ask for thinner wire if you prefer flexibility. Thirdly, if you enjoy quiet listening on the move, the microphonics on this cable will make that impossible, the rigidity coupled with the fact that I only have tubing mean that any movement will be amplified, this is compounded by the wood choker which can rattle a little when moving. But I STATE, the microphonics is also my responsibility as this is what I asked for! I would recommend people to ask for a bit of tubing as a choker (or maybe Chris can make some sort of rubber/silicone one as a vibration dampener? Just thinking off the top of my head) to minimise some level of additional micrphonics and perhaps sleeving, but a large part of the noise is just the fact that the wire is thick and rigid and prone to vibrations therefore you will not negate this fact unless you get thinner wire.
However, the cable is incredibly well made and I therefore expect it to be durable, which is what I'm paying for, the rest of the aspects were decided by me. One thing that can't be argued is for the amount of labour and materials and the looks of the thing given its price, I can't help thinking how stupid it was to purchase the Athena! If you care about any SQ improvements over everything else, and perhaps into more home listening, then I would fully recommend Chris and Ted's wires for a bespoke service.
