Why pick on cables ?

[BS5711]

Thank you for the reply! Appreciated!

How about these GUcraftsman cables: https://www.amazon.com/GUCraftsman-Strands-Headphones-Replacement-MrSpeakers/dp/B09TPB1143?th=1?

Or Norne silvergarde cables?

GUCraftsman make nice quality cables, I have several.

They will do custom work if you give them a good clear request via their Ali Express store. I had them make several adapter/ extension cables.

 

[gregorio]

Should I buy a new cable or add XLR to 4.4 mm adapter cable?

As it’s a portable device, I’d probably want to go for a new cable, simply on the basis that it’s fewer things to carry around and plug in, and will probably weigh less.

How much does that adapter cable affects the sound signature?

A tiny, inaudible amount.

If I buy a cheap chi-fi adapter cable, does it mean that it’s the weak link and disturbing that Meze’s cable and amp/dac chain’s beautiful harmony?

An amp/DAC does not have any “beautiful harmony”, it either accurately reproduces/amplifies an electrical analogue signal or it doesn’t. Also, all consumer audio cables are effectively “cheap chi-fi”. Expensive “audiophile” cables are just relatively cheap chi-fi cables with a huge mark-up from some intermediary distributor/retailer. Lastly, a cable or cable adapter will never have an audible effect on the signal unless it is faulty or the wrong cable or adapter for the job.

G

 

[Ryokan]

I bought a cheap pigtail adapter and sent it back because compared to a one piece adapter it sounded noticeably worse. The more connectors you add to the chain it usually degrades the sound in my experience.

 

[bigshot]

Is that based on controlled blind listening tests, or is it just your impression? Because how you acquire your experience matters to how valid it is.

 

[Ryokan]

Is that based on controlled blind listening tests, or is it just your impression? Because how you acquire your experience matters to how valid it is.

Took it out the packaging, plugged it in, straight away could hear a difference, changed to a one piece adapter which sounded much better, switched again to be sure and it darkened (audiophool term) the sound. Put back in packaging and returned.

 

[bigshot]

There you go. Next?

 

[Ryokan]

So I should've persevered using it because you say it wasn't tested properly?

 

[bigshot]

No, you can do whatever you want for whatever reason you want. I’m just saying that your advice isn’t worth much with sloppy listening comparisons. You either shouldn’t be offering your “experience”, or you should be clear that you’re just guessing.

 

[Ryokan]

You either shouldn’t be offering your “experience”, or you should be clear that you’re just guessing.

Thought I was by saying - 'in my experience'.

I thought ears were mainly for listening with

 

[2leftears]

I bought a cheap pigtail adapter and sent it back because compared to a one piece adapter it sounded noticeably worse. The more connectors you add to the chain it usually degrades the sound in my experience.

I don't see the logical connection here, or are those two sentences two unrelated statements?

Because AFAIK a pigtail adapter does not have more connectors than a one-piece adaptor, unless I misunderstand what you mean by a pigtail adaptor.

 

[BS5711]

Not picking on you @Ryokan but our experiences can easily be misleading and unless the experience was based on solid assessment it may not reflect reality.

I was using a Chord Mojo over the weekend with a set of DCA Aeon Noire which I usually use with one of two cables one with a 1/4 inch plug and the other with a 4.4mm plug.

I have a ddhifi 4.4mm to dual 3.5mm adapter specifically designed for the Mojo but on this occasion I pulled out the DCA factory cable that has a 3.5mm plug with a screw on 1/4 inch adapter and used that for about an hour, obviously no adapter needed.

I later swapped to the different brand 4.4mm cable and the adapter and instantly noticed that the music was much softer feeling with less sparkle in the treble and a generally less engaging feeling.

If I was a typical “audiophile” I could have accepted that experience as proof that all these little things matter but I didn’t believe that was the case so I dug deeper. Turns out after restarting the track and assessing again and went back and forth between the cables/adapter, my initial impression was completely faulty and the difference cables and adapter sounded identical.

I have previously set up a test with a series of adapters between different terminations so that there were something like 6 or 7 adapter connections, also didn’t make any audible difference.

As @2leftears pointed out the short adapter cable has no more contact points than a small one piece adapter there is simply wire in between them rather than a metal strip.

You may have heard a legitimate difference but likely only if the adapter was faulty in some way. I had a cable that had a short due to a small blob of excess solder on one of the close spaced soldering points on the 4.4mm plug. Fine at low volume but would short at higher loads and current requirements in the very low impedance headphones. I pulled the outer barrel off the plug along with the heat shrink and with some magnification saw the imperfection. I cut the excess solder off, replaced the heat shrink, screwed the barrel back on and problem solved.

Sideline related point. People often dislike adapters claiming the mechanical connection points will degrade sound. However, they don’t seem to stop to consider that a typical cable has 7 or 8 mechanical contact points already (single ended and balanced respectively) and if you have a look at the contact points they are sometimes less the substantial and robust. The centre pin on the IEM end of an MMCX for example is tiny with a very small contact area.

 

[theveterans]

I bought a cheap pigtail adapter and sent it back because compared to a one piece adapter it sounded noticeably worse. The more connectors you add to the chain it usually degrades the sound in my experience.

I can see this happening on the analog stage since cable resistance will matter significantly hence causing an audible FR especially if there's a short cable in between the connectors

For digital connections, I find adapters to be useful for tweaking the sound. I actually use combinations of adapters, including the infamous Apple CCK especially on the digital side to fine tune the sound.

 

[bigshot]

Absurd.

 

[BS5711]

Literally, and I mean that in the true meaning of the word, nothing comes as a surprise around Head Fi anymore.

 

[Ryokan]

I can see this happening on the analog stage since cable resistance will matter significantly hence causing an audible FR especially if there's a short cable in between the connectors

It was a cheap pigtail, $20 so I wasn't expecting much, I was hoping not to hear a difference, but it was really disappointing, tried it twice and that was enough for it to go back. Would a $400 one be any better? no idea but not spending that much to find out. It convinced me to just get a properly terminated cable and do away with adapters.
I've read that putting extra 'links' in the audio chain will always degrade the sound slightly, but obviously don't know if that's correct and only have my ears to judge which are not reliable and change throughout the course of the day. I was just stating my experiences with adapters and to me something either sounds an improvement, the same or degrades the sound.