[Akathriel]

I never really understood this. I have read in several places that it is easier to hear a difference in headphone cables (and speakers cables i assume as well) than in interconnects. Interconnects scale all the way up from ratshacks to stealth indras. Headphone recables dont cost more than 200 dollars. Why? Hypothetically, if you recabled your cans with indras would there be as much as a difference as using them as interconnects? More realistically what about recabling with Grovers or Oriteks? Please, enlighten me

 

[RnB180]

because headphone cables aren't suppose to cost more then the headphones.


the $200 cables you see are high end.
if you are looking for the super expensive boutique cables? you probably wont see those manufacturers building them because the demand is so low and not worthwhile investment.

 

[Zorander]

And they do not provide as much sonic change as changing the headphones themselves.

 

[Akathriel]

[/QUOTE]because headphone cables aren't suppose to cost more then the headphones.


the $200 cables you see are high end.
if you are looking for the super expensive boutique cables? you probably wont see those manufacturers building them because the demand is so low and not worthwhile investment.[/QUOTE]

So its simply a supply and demand thing huh. So would reterminating higher end cables for headphones be better than using them as interconnects?

Zorander, this seems kind of moot because its true with speakers too.

EDIT: uggh my quoting attempts were fruitless

 

[RnB180]

a fairer comparison would be speaker cables rather then interconnects.

Speakers cables dont usually cost then the speakers themselves.

Regarding the lack of interest from a manufacturer, Its expensive R & D for something that may have no market. Im sure if you contact a very expensive cables manufacturer, if you pay them enough they would probably make one for you.

 

[Akathriel]

RnB I edited my post because I didnt like the way it came out/changed my opinion. Which post are you responding too lol?

 

[Akathriel]

And I guess you are right that the price ratio from Speakers to Cables is different. I just assumed interconnects because both headphile and moon audio offer all their cable as both interconnects and headphone recables.

sorry for the double post.

 

[Zorander]

Nordost Valhalla family of cables are probably a special exception though. Their RRP is nothing short of astounding.

 

[mulveling]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander And they do not provide as much sonic change as changing the headphones themselves.

True, but unlike high end speakers, there are only a few reference level headphones to choose from. Once you've nailed down which of those you prefer and source/amp are determined, there's no place to go but the cable.

The L3000 with something like Cardas Neutral Reference might be spectacular, of course I'd never want mine hacked up like that and the ergonomics would be ridiculous. That's another limitation with high end headphone cables - ergonomics, microphonics, and interface must be considered, which really limits the design choices. Most top headphones have a hardwired cable, and the others use proprietary connectors, which would make it almost impossible to move a reasonable number of high end cables.

 

[Akathriel]

Nothing wrong with hardwiring a new cable your cans although I agree that it limits your options. What mulveiling said makes sense. The whole price ratio thing still bothers me. RnB argues that a cable will not cost as much as a speaker but the great thing about phones (compared) to speakers is their value. There are people on this forum who use 10000 dollar amps to drive 300 dollar headphones. That seems like a rather large disparity in price to me. So we have established that extreme high end cables arent made because there is no demand. But what about my question about reterminating interrconnects and hardwiring. You could establish if you liked the sound by using them as interrconnects first. Mulveiling I agree that this would be technically difficult. But if its possible, Is it worth it? (loaded question:both situational and subjective)

 

[sum]

Almost any cable manufacturer will custom build you a cable. Of course you then need to take apart your headphones or have someone do it for you. I have considered having Siltech recable my RS2s. When Cardas finally gets around to releasing their Sennheiser connector for my HD650s, I'm having custom Siltech cables made.

 

[Hirsch]

There are limitations to a headphone cable that simply don't exist for a speaker cable. For example, the connector on the Qualia 010 will accept a maximum of 28 ga wire. That's seriously thin. The only type of high end cable I can think of that might work in that application is internal tonearm wire. Nordost make one which is the right gauge, but isn't sold direct to consumers, only manufacturers. Whether it would be a good headphone cable is anyone's guess.

I still want to see a Virtual Dynamics headphone cable

 

[Patrick82]

They should make a thinner version of Nordost Valhalla or Stealth Indra specially designed for headphone use. They could set the price $200-400 for entry level, $500-700 for mid level, and $2000 for high-end.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I demoed some interconnects and I liked them so I had a cable custom made from the wire for my headphones (28g solid core). Mastergill had his sennhiesers recabled with cnr video cable. So definetly their are some custom options available.

Biggie.