haslaughz
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These Grados are 7 feet long. Denons are 9 feet. What gives? Why is the length so long?
Why are these headphone cords so damn long?
- Thread starter haslaughz
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jerg
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Because they were meant for home (audiophile) or work (professional e.g. mastering) use. Nowadays you can find newer decent headphones meant for portable market and those have shorter (e.g. 3~4 ft) cables.
PFULMTL
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I'm using a coupler to attach two cables so my cable is about 12ft long. I'd rather have the cable lying on the ground than in mid air.
Draygonn
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Long cables are useful at home/office for when you need to move around.
I also use a cable extension. My listening chair is on the other side of the room from my computer, its nice to be able to listen in both locations.
haslaughz
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Makes sense. Which leads to my next question: what are some cord management techniques you use?
RushNerd
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Quote:
You can use cable management on your desk to control this. Otherwise, for home use it's a huge plus, because there is less chance of something bad happening if you are moving around.
You can use cable management on your desk to control this. Otherwise, for home use it's a huge plus, because there is less chance of something bad happening if you are moving around.
MalVeauX
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Heya,
I agree.
But then again, cables are the biggest weak link of all headphones (at least, most headphones) too. Not only are they too long, they're often not detachable and are not very durable. I think it's atrocious really that you can buy a high-end headphone for $1000 or so, and the cable is not detachable, and it's really long, and it's just a rubber coated thing. Then you get a $150 headphone that has a detachable cable. How annoying is that? Super annoying to me. I hate that they offer 10 foot cables. I think they should give you a 4~6 foot cable. And then give an extension cable that matches, but is not required to use of course, for folk who need that 10~12 foot cable (who are they?).
I get my permanent headphones re-cabled to have detachable cables, with nicer cable too, shorter, with extensions, generally braided with a sheath/mesh covering. Brian over at BTG Audio does phenomenal work for this.
Sadly it's generally expensive to do this. But I don't see why manufacturers cannot do a better job with cables and general accessories. Ultrasone, Sennheiser, AKG, Hifiman, Shure and some others already do detachable cables, but not all the models do, and the cables are still often just very meh, and just rubbery things, too long, too short, etc. Some headphones straight up are atrocious when it comes to cables (XB500, Phillips Uptowns... oh my god awful cables, ruins the headphones). So I pay a premium to re-cable my headphones. I find it completely worth it too. I've done a few re-cables that costed more than the actual base headphone which seems really dumb, but if you love a particular headphone, it's easy to enhance it and not think about the "real world cost" and more the "adjusted cost" based on your preference for it (the DT770 for example).
Very best,
I agree.
But then again, cables are the biggest weak link of all headphones (at least, most headphones) too. Not only are they too long, they're often not detachable and are not very durable. I think it's atrocious really that you can buy a high-end headphone for $1000 or so, and the cable is not detachable, and it's really long, and it's just a rubber coated thing. Then you get a $150 headphone that has a detachable cable. How annoying is that? Super annoying to me. I hate that they offer 10 foot cables. I think they should give you a 4~6 foot cable. And then give an extension cable that matches, but is not required to use of course, for folk who need that 10~12 foot cable (who are they?).
I get my permanent headphones re-cabled to have detachable cables, with nicer cable too, shorter, with extensions, generally braided with a sheath/mesh covering. Brian over at BTG Audio does phenomenal work for this.
Sadly it's generally expensive to do this. But I don't see why manufacturers cannot do a better job with cables and general accessories. Ultrasone, Sennheiser, AKG, Hifiman, Shure and some others already do detachable cables, but not all the models do, and the cables are still often just very meh, and just rubbery things, too long, too short, etc. Some headphones straight up are atrocious when it comes to cables (XB500, Phillips Uptowns... oh my god awful cables, ruins the headphones). So I pay a premium to re-cable my headphones. I find it completely worth it too. I've done a few re-cables that costed more than the actual base headphone which seems really dumb, but if you love a particular headphone, it's easy to enhance it and not think about the "real world cost" and more the "adjusted cost" based on your preference for it (the DT770 for example).
Very best,
MegaMushroom
500+ Head-Fier
Cable management? In the case of my Ultrasones I use the cord as a belt. Keeps it out of the way, prevents grab and runs, and keeps my pants up.
ete203
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Hahahaha! That's really funny, and not a bad idea!
Hahahaha! That's really funny, and not a bad idea!
Uberbob102000
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That's actually rather ingenious...
As for my home setup, it's not so much the length of my HE-400 cable that bothers me just the specific way it moves. I can't really explain it, other than no matter where I put my amp/DAC it seems to quickly find where it can be in the way. I'll likely get them recabled at some point, as I want to pick up a pair of HE-500s as well.
MalVeauX
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Heya,
It's the weight of the cable. I found the same issue with all the Hifimans (300/400/500). The nice thing is that if you get an aftermarket cable made, especially a lighter weight one, it fits all HE series so you can use it on both your Hifimans if you have more than one. I hated how the weight of the cable changed the HE-500 in terms of how I wore it. The cable always ended up in my lap, or pulling on one side more than another due to it's weight draped around. The moment I had it with a lighter cable (see above), that went away and it feels a lot more like it's just floating on my head instead of being weighted down.
Very best,
Heya,
It's the weight of the cable. I found the same issue with all the Hifimans (300/400/500). The nice thing is that if you get an aftermarket cable made, especially a lighter weight one, it fits all HE series so you can use it on both your Hifimans if you have more than one. I hated how the weight of the cable changed the HE-500 in terms of how I wore it. The cable always ended up in my lap, or pulling on one side more than another due to it's weight draped around. The moment I had it with a lighter cable (see above), that went away and it feels a lot more like it's just floating on my head instead of being weighted down.
Very best,
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