[hifuguy]

Well here we are again, trying to use words to describe the degree of musical engagement, faithfulness to the original musical event and how a product has emotionally touched us and allowed our music to make us feel. We all love music in its own right, yet for us (you know who you are), we seek to transcend (just) listening to a stereo (headphones or speakers) and instead hear what the musicians (or at least the Mastering Engineer) heard and felt. As we know all too well, that’s a difficult boundary to crack. Yet at the same time, once you know it’s possible, and especially after you have experienced it, it’s addictive and it beckons to us.
 
With the help of Head-Fi and all of you, I believe I have found it… my end game headphone setup. It consists of a Sennheiser HD-800S. I’m a self-confessed detail and soundstage freak. Yet at the same time, I know from many past mistakes, that it is all too easy to mistake brightness, for detail. It’s a painful and costly mistake. The second ingredient in my secret sauce, is the little, lovable, incredible Chord Mojo DAC/Headphone Amp. All the nice things you may have read in other threads and pubs are true; in spades. The Mojo brings a special musicality to everything you put into it. Details, musicality, the wholeness of the music, yet with separation of all the individual musical lines are there for the listening. The Sennheiser’s “S” modification, coupled with the musicality and detail of the Mojo, are my personal cup of tea. Besides that, it’s portable… add an IEM and go, but I digress.
 
All of the above leads me to the very special final ingredient… the WyWyres “Platinum” Cable. For you see, as much as I liked the Mojo and the 800s, I was still being nagged that I was just short of the magic. The Platinum cable just adds an extra dash of the qualities that us audiophiles value… detail, resolution, soundstage, low-end extension, midrange clarity, and my beloved detail/sparkle, while magically avoiding harshness and brightness. Check, check, check and check. In short, that magic. The best thing that the Platinum brought to my final end-game system, is that I no longer find myself wishing for more highs, or more lows, or a more pronounced (or laid-back) midrange… indeed, instead of trying to change the sound, I find myself swept away and I go TO the music. It’s a big, big difference.
 
In the end, the headphone, the DAC, the headphone amp, AND the headphone cable all matter. They don’t call it a system for nothing. Bottom line, I love the 800s, the Mojo and the WyWires Platinum combo. They are magic together and they exceed to total of their sum. That being said, your preferences and musical tastes could easily be different than mine.
 
So you probably already know all about the 800S and the Chord Mojo. The “Platinum” WyWires cable is a bit more unknown. That’s because it’s new and I don’t even think that it has appeared on the WyWyres site just yet. I only found out about it because some discussions in a WyWires thread that was discussing the other headphone cable in the WyWires line, the Red. The Red Headphone cable has gotten wide-spread praise, but the Platinum has been judged as being better… as it should, for yep, it costs more. I have not critically compared them, so I can’t help you there. Sorry. But I can share with you some thoughts and details that I got from the founder of WyWires, Alex Sventitsky himself.
 
Alex tells me that the differences between the Red and the Platinum headphone cables are considerable. Differences include: a different wire and dielectric combination using Teflon as the primary insulator in addition to cotton. The Red uses only cotton as insulation. The wire is different and there are actually 6 conductors instead of the 4 that the Red uses. The + and – poles are also asymmetrical on the Platinum. Alex agrees that the Platinum is the better sounding cable, as it should be. Cost wise, WyWires sells the RED sells for $299 (or $349$ for 800/800S Sennheisers costly connectors). The Platinum is “destined” to sell for $599 (Sennheiser $649). BUT the REALLY BIG news here is that Alex has it on “early-bird” special pricing of $420 (Sennheiser $455) through the end of July 2016. Yep, that’s a whopping 30% discount.
 
So, if you’re looking to add that last bit of magic to your headphone system, I’d contact Alex ASAP. He's a great guy to deal with. He even made my Platinum cable all black for me (it looks awesome)! If you’ve only heard your 800S with the stock cable (and probably any other good headphone for the matter) then I would humbly submit you don’t know how good it really is… yet. I use the Mojo for headphones, main speaker system and on the road with IEMs. It's incredible, everywhere. Just for the record, I have no connections to/with Sennheiser, Chord or WyWires… this is just from the heart, paying it forward for all of you guys who have helped me here on Head-Fi. Happy Listening!

 

[oneguy]

The Platinum is a great cable for sure!

 

[514077]

  Well here we are again, trying to use words to describe the degree of musical engagement, faithfulness to the original musical event and how a product has emotionally touched us and allowed our music to make us feel. We all love music in its own right, yet for us (you know who you are), we seek to transcend (just) listening to a stereo (headphones or speakers) and instead hear what the musicians (or at least the Mastering Engineer) heard and felt. As we know all too well, that’s a difficult boundary to crack. Yet at the same time, once you know it’s possible, and especially after you have experienced it, it’s addictive and it beckons to us.
 
With the help of Head-Fi and all of you, I believe I have found it… my end game headphone setup. It consists of a Sennheiser HD-800S. I’m a self-confessed detail and soundstage freak. Yet at the same time, I know from many past mistakes, that it is all too easy to mistake brightness, for detail. It’s a painful and costly mistake. The second ingredient in my secret sauce, is the little, lovable, incredible Chord Mojo DAC/Headphone Amp. All the nice things you may have read in other threads and pubs are true; in spades. The Mojo brings a special musicality to everything you put into it. Details, musicality, the wholeness of the music, yet with separation of all the individual musical lines are there for the listening. The Sennheiser’s “S” modification, coupled with the musicality and detail of the Mojo, are my personal cup of tea. Besides that, it’s portable… add an IEM and go, but I digress.
 
All of the above leads me to the very special final ingredient… the WyWyres “Platinum” Cable. For you see, as much as I liked the Mojo and the 800s, I was still being nagged that I was just short of the magic. The Platinum cable just adds an extra dash of the qualities that us audiophiles value… detail, resolution, soundstage, low-end extension, midrange clarity, and my beloved detail/sparkle, while magically avoiding harshness and brightness. Check, check, check and check. In short, that magic. The best thing that the Platinum brought to my final end-game system, is that I no longer find myself wishing for more highs, or more lows, or a more pronounced (or laid-back) midrange… indeed, instead of trying to change the sound, I find myself swept away and I go TO the music. It’s a big, big difference.
 
In the end, the headphone, the DAC, the headphone amp, AND the headphone cable all matter. They don’t call it a system for nothing. Bottom line, I love the 800s, the Mojo and the WyWires Platinum combo. They are magic together and they exceed to total of their sum. That being said, your preferences and musical tastes could easily be different than mine.
 
So you probably already know all about the 800S and the Chord Mojo. The “Platinum” WyWires cable is a bit more unknown. That’s because it’s new and I don’t even think that it has appeared on the WyWyres site just yet. I only found out about it because some discussions in a WyWires thread that was discussing the other headphone cable in the WyWires line, the Red. The Red Headphone cable has gotten wide-spread praise, but the Platinum has been judged as being better… as it should, for yep, it costs more. I have not critically compared them, so I can’t help you there. Sorry. But I can share with you some thoughts and details that I got from the founder of WyWires, Alex Sventitsky himself.
 
Alex tells me that the differences between the Red and the Platinum headphone cables are considerable. Differences include: a different wire and dielectric combination using Teflon as the primary insulator in addition to cotton. The Red uses only cotton as insulation. The wire is different and there are actually 6 conductors instead of the 4 that the Red uses. The + and – poles are also asymmetrical on the Platinum. Alex agrees that the Platinum is the better sounding cable, as it should be. Cost wise, WyWires sells the RED sells for $299 (or $349$ for 800/800S Sennheisers costly connectors). The Platinum is “destined” to sell for $599 (Sennheiser $649). BUT the REALLY BIG news here is that Alex has it on “early-bird” special pricing of $420 (Sennheiser $455) through the end of July 2016. Yep, that’s a whopping 30% discount.
 
So, if you’re looking to add that last bit of magic to your headphone system, I’d contact Alex ASAP. He's a great guy to deal with. He even made my Platinum cable all black for me (it looks awesome)! If you’ve only heard your 800S with the stock cable (and probably any other good headphone for the matter) then I would humbly submit you don’t know how good it really is… yet. I use the Mojo for headphones, main speaker system and on the road with IEMs. It's incredible, everywhere. Just for the record, I have no connections to/with Sennheiser, Chord or WyWires… this is just from the heart, paying it forward for all of you guys who have helped me here on Head-Fi. Happy Listening!

Oh!  The pain.  I love my Red, but you've provoked a fit of upgrade-itus.  I found Alex a great guy to deal with.

 

[yellowblue]

I bought the Platinum for my HE-1000 (with adapters for my HD-800 and my Ether C) and after 150 hours it should be fully burnt in. I am using the HE-1000 with a microRendu and a Chord Dave. The cable makes a big difference, more than I thought, even as I knew that the stock-Hifiman cable was crap.
 
The Platinum took away the "smear" from the HE-1000s mids and treble - they are presented in a way more accurate way now. Even most of the brightness has gone. It is like looking through a clean window after wiping away all dirt which you haven´t been aware of being there.
Men the most important thing for me is the accuracy of soundstage. Being a little diffuse with the stock-cable, now every musician is "nailed" on the right place of the stage, creating a feeling that you are in the same room as the musicians. Depth of soundstage is phenomenal with the Platinum. Bass is better integrated, faster and dryer (I mean that in a positive way). Voices sound more natural and neutral without loosing body. 
 
The treble is far more delicate and and less blurry. In the beginning I missed some details the HD800 give me in the treble- region. I will still choose my HD800 when I want to hear recordings with the high klicking sound of picking an acoustic guitar (like Chris Isaac - Wicked game), and with all the records where I want to hear a little extra sparkle (when I am in the modd for that). But I am aware of that the HD800s sometimes can overemphasize the treble (even with the SD-mod). With the Platinum I think the HE-1000 plays the treble in a more accurate and delicate way than the HD800. You get more than enough sparkle with the HE-1000 and the Platinum, don´t misunderstand me, but not with the sheer treble-energy the HD800s have.
 
I am experimenting with the different filters of HQPlayer just now and with the Platinum-cable the HE-1000 turned into a tool reproducing the the most subtle changes (especially in the mids) and the same time they don´t loose their relaxing sound. 
 
Those who want to get more sparkle from the HE-1000 (though maybe on the cost of treble accuracy) maybe will choose a silver cable for the HE-1000. But if you search for a really authentic way to get into music this might be a cable for you

 

[fortunate son]

I stumbled across this old thread which led me to try the Platinum with my HD800 headphones fitted with Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads. The balanced MIT Vero Refernce cable is my favorite HD800 cable. But the balanced WyWires Platinum is nice to have for harsh recoridings. Either cable provides a truly beautiful sound with the Liquid Platinum amp and NOS tubes, but the Vero Reference is my cable of choice to get the most life like sound from the classical music recordings I enjoy the most.