Cables CAN make a difference, but should you care?

[@GoldenSound]

Probably worth noting: The impedance of the CA1A is 0.2 Ohms. Roughly 160-3000 times lower than other headphones. When Resolve says that you need a low impedance headphone for cables to make a difference, that's not meaning 63 Ohm or something, the reason the cable makes a difference here is because the cable could actually be almost the same impedance as the headphones themselves. With any normal headphones you'd need an outright broken cable to get obvious differences

[@tradfi950]

or differences at all, especially about material(snake oil)

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@tradfi950 your comment is hard copium.

[@TECHNICKER_Cz]

this

[@rene837]

Yea, if you wanted that kind of change, just add an inline resistor to the cable and you basically have the same effect.

[@soulfulfool]

@@rene837 yep its about feel and look of the cable but I also notice difference between copper and silver cables 😂 call me stupid but silver cables sparkle better at highs and tighten the bass

[@killthrash]

As a cable-maker, I 100% agree with Resolve here. Rather than trying to "EQ" with my cables, I optimize for 1) Reliability w/ good connectors, 2) Shielding, 3) Ergonomics, 4) Asthetics

[@Ezees23]

The "shielding" part is often the overlooked part that matters most after reliable connections and low R/C/Z......

[@lazarus1194]

If i need shielding i use aluminum foil…. Not on an hat but on the cable😅 cheap and very helpful!

[@ufopulse]

I made a connector for ur mom

[@juanblanco7898]

​@@Ezees23 Indeed! Shielding totally makes for an audible difference.

[@Yeastextract]

@@lazarus1194how are you grounding the shield?

[@lummond]

Fact: IEM eartips influence frequency response more than $5k USD Effect Audio IEM cables. That come with a display case, btw. A display case. For a cable.

[@danieljohnson6370]

ROFL!

[@shinigamigamingincYT]

you can put your old one in it to show of

[@sexdefender86]

those cables do look beautiful a lot of the time. craftsmanship is off the charts, but not $5000 off…

[@pjmt29]

Yeah I find tip rolling does more than the cables but I also like a good looking cable.

[@athenovae]

@@pjmt29 ditto! I do love me some aesthetic expression 🥰

[@Notabigboi]

Joke's on you. My Stax don't have detachable cables. get rekt

[@Tirth-Patel]

Stax supremacy 😎♥️

[@RyuMasterEX]

Mod them

[@HansProbs]

😂🤣

[@VitorValeri]

There are currently Stax models with a detachable cable. Get up to date.

[@rishabhs2010]

😂

[@Guerilla_law3516]

This company’s continued willingness to deeply criticize, and in this case actively debunk products, they themselves sell, reflects incredibly well on their integrity.

[@breh9320]

Which company??

[@GBR9794]

@@breh9320 yours

[@resottolamontagna904]

@@breh9320 this youtube channel has a store too.

[@thesonnytackettshow7949]

We supply iems for onstage for opening acts and local acts and studio filming also. Every Iem we have has an upgraded cable. The biggest reason for this is the stock cables are usually uncomfortable to wear, and give the Iem a “cheap “ look also. Comfort, being very soft and pliable is a must if you’re performing onstage for three hours.

[@athenovae]

You should look at the Truthear Hola stock cable 😊

[@thesonnytackettshow7949]

@@athenovae I’ve got that one on the way right now to test. After watching one of the videos of it online I thought it would be great to have one with a decent cable. If it’s really good it’s too bad they don’t sell it separately. We buy a dozen at a time in each color. The Zonie cable works great for the budget iems like 7hz, Wan’er, QKZ-HBB, etc, and comes in six colors and different connections. We’ve got about $40-$50 in each budget unit with cable upgrade and Comply foam tips. I will be stage testing the HM Pro, the Zero, the Hola, the Cadenza, the Khan, the Truthears Zero, The Hexa, and a few more over the next few weeks . Then we’ll go up to the mid level. We just occasionally furnish high end units as most clients of that caliber have their own or customs, but we stock a few just in case. I’m looking forward to that Hola, be here Monday. All the best, Sonny T

[@athenovae]

@@thesonnytackettshow7949 that’s awesome! Can’t wait to hear how it goes. All the ones you’ve listed have “the audiophile approval”, but would be interested to hear from the stage-use end ☺️

[@CLaudiusClemensJimmy]

and ooh look at 64 audio's stock cables? for more than $2 grand it makes me wanna cry.

[@thesonnytackettshow7949]

@@athenovae yeah that Hola cable is pretty cool. Here’s our take on cables! We change the stock ones out for upgrade cables because most stock cables are rough against the skin , and 4hours onstage can get uncomfortable. The Zonie cable is $17 and soft and looks good. So; does a high end cable make a difference? Very little at all if it’s under 2 meters. But if that same cable is 20+ ft, that’s when you start to hear differences. It’s the same with speaker cables, line and mic cables, etc. For instance ,A 20’ speaker cable on a speaker , the speaker has an Spl of 100. Put a 100’ cable on that speaker and the Spl will drop to 95? Same goes for in ears, except the cable is so short there’s hardly any difference. There’s a drummer we deal with that uses iems but uses a cable instead of a pack, total about 30’. His feed is about 1/4 more in gain and volume than the other members. At 4’ , you’re not Goinna hear any difference, so yeah, comfort and build quality are mainly why we upgrade our cables, not sound. All the best, Sonny T

[@sidesaladaudio]

This is something that really needed to be said. A case of "yes it 'can'... but you shouldn't worry about it too much" Thanks for covering this

[@duewest9801]

I was skeptical, but this convinced me to take the plunge and order my very own JPS Labs Aluminata cable. For a cool $11,000 I cannot wait to hear the "total lack of spectral smearing of highs and lack of midrange glare, with an ability to extend yet define low bass frequency like no other AC chord", all thanks to their proprietary "Optimized Field Matrix" and End of Line technology which "dissipates reflections within the chord itself, allowing bass to sound tight and detailed while clearing the air in the mids and highs". Best money I've ever spent, thank you guys.

[@ElvenSpellmaker]

LOL

[@riseuplight]

Ooh I'm going to look into that

[@ResolveReviews]

Amazing lol

[@davemartin8686]

Hahaha perfect take on this nonsense

[@mortcola]

But if you listened to the video, you never would have spent that money…

[@audio_tron]

The key thing is to soak the cable in snake oil for two weeks. That’s when the magic happens.

[@residentzero]

Do you know where I can buy a jarr?

[@poopandfartjokes]

@@residentzerosilly, the best snake oil doesn’t come in a jar. It comes written on the package.

[@greaterbayareahero1401]

Oil immersed cable makes a difference. You may laugh but it does make a difference.

[@MateuszMarek]

This reminds me a little bit about cables for guitars. Only guitarists are looking for cables that don't affect the tone. For those who are not familiar: guitarists are looking for cables with the lowest possible capacitance. The reason is (simplified) higher capacitance - more roll-off at the high frequencies. Of course, sometimes, this effect is desired. But this is an exception to the rule, for guitars who know what they want and what they are doing. So what can increase capacitance? Long cables, coiled cables, or just poor-quality cables (clarification: good quality, lowest capacitance cable can be made for 3$ per meter + 8$ for 2 high-quality mono jacks, so rather cheaply + soldering skills and time). Conclusion? Headphone cables are overpriced and it is hilarious that musicians are doing everything they can to make sure that cables do not affect the sound, yet audiophiles are looking for cables that do change the sound.

[@AlainKapture]

Please please please, make a video comparing single ended and balanced output (at same power) to tell us if balanced is always better for headphones!

[@FireStorm4056]

Outside of noise, any differences in sound quality are due to the circuit designs themselves, rather than SE/BAL having some inherent difference. In other words, if a piece of gear has an awesome BAL output but the SE output sounds like crap, that's because the designer simply implemented a crappy SE circuit... nothing to do with SE inherently. Best bet is to read reviews and get as much feedback as you can on a piece of gear to determine whether its outputs are well-designed

[@thecompanioncube4211]

​​​@@FireStorm4056 agreed. It's gonna be a way too broad of a topic to cover as it'll vary so much from one amp to the other. Typically we should fix the budget of the amp, and see what falls in that range, then see if SE or BAL sounds good on those amps, not choose BAL blindly coz so someone said something about cross cable interference

[@Ringleader3rik]

Got awfully close to a Zeos reveal there.

[@arthurhaywood2184]

Three things I’ve learned not to discuss with other people: Politics Religion Cables

[@gwapster13]

The best upgrade cables are those that are very flexible, tangle free, lightweight, no cable noises, and look good. It won’t sound any better.

[@bradengould609]

As was mentioned in the video, I do not believe that the cable material or size makes any audible difference to the vast majority of headphones. However, I do believe in buying customs cables for their increased build quality, materials, aesthetics and overall improvement to the quality of life. As I am sure plenty of us know that sometimes OEM cables can be stiff, springy or just bad quality and that buying a nice replacement cable can make the whole headphone use experience much better.

[@timpecker2527]

Before this video you would of said no headphone at all. You are just back peddling. Its really obvious.

[@bradengould609]

@@timpecker2527 I can't help but be somewhat confused with what you are saying? What I am saying in my comment is that having a nice cable that is softer and more malleable improves on the experience as they are simply nicer to use, I just don't believe they make any audible sound difference.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@bradengould609 but thats factually wrong. Humans are able to hear extremely minuite differences in volume at FR peaks. Far far smaller than the 2 to 4 db differences seen in the video. Something like a campfire Andromeda will absolutely be effected by cables with different impedance loads. Resolve already talked about this in this comment section. There's no opinion here, you are wrong.

[@bradengould609]

@@enjoshi-godrez8775 I am not trying to be factual I am just stating that I (myself, not any other person) cannot make out a difference in the audible capabilities of aftermarket cables. This isn't to say that on a headphone like the ones in the video with very low impedance that I wouldn't notice any difference, just on the headphones I use I never thought I could notice a difference. Maybe I could have been clearer in my original message that I do not deny the facts that the cables can change the sound signatures, I just guess my hearing isn't good enough.

[@bradengould609]

Never realised how controversial the quality of my hearing could be, but the more you know I guess

[@zemessargs]

I really appreciate you folks making a real effort to look into the cable thing. However, I do think that assuming frequency response is the only possible measurement that could show a difference between headphone cables could be missing other measurements that might show a difference. For example, your colleague, GoldenSound, rightfully often complains about amp manufacturers measuring THD at 1 kHz, for example (if I remember correctly), and notes that this value may be completely different at other frequencies. Similarly, we could pretend that "bits are bits" and claim that all digital-domain equipment is the same, and that all digital cables, transports, etc, are the same so long as 1's and 0's make it across uncorrupted - but that's not the right measurement for that circumstance. To be sure, I think frequency response is interesting to look at, but there are so many other possibilities. Music isn't a sine sweep. What about impulse response? What about distortion across the frequency spectrum, perhaps as multiple frequencies are played at once? I just think it's too simplistic to call the matter solved, especially when so many other cables (interconnects, speaker cables, etc) make such an obvious, audible difference.

[@ResolveReviews]

In order for it to make an audible difference in terms of harmonic distortion products, something would have to be VERY weird/wrong with it. As for impulse response, it doesn't tell us anything not already available in FR. The reality for this stuff is that while sometimes it might seem like there's more going on than FR, that's really the key metric for good reason. Where the analysis breaks down is that what you see on an FR graph isn't necessarily how you'll perceive it, because headphone behavior can vary substantially depending on the head that wears them.

[@GregoryfromTrier]

So true...

[@zemessargs]

@@ResolveReviews ABC So, I’d be curious to know why you’d say frequency response is the “key” metric when there is so much it doesn’t sufficiently describe. I’m not suggesting I necessarily know what the right metric is, but I do feel I know that FR isn’t enough. For example, I think everyone would agree that a Utopia EQ’d to look exactly like an LCD-4 won’t sound like an LCD-4 (or vice versa). And what about DACs? Would a Mojo providing a sine sweep produce the same FR as a Dave? Probably, but would you argue they’re the same DAC? What about analogue interconnects, digital interconnects, and power cables? Would swapping any of those out produce a different headphone FR - at least one sufficiently distinguishable from seating variation? Probably not, but I don’t assume you’ll debate that all of those are snake oil. Ultimately, FR response is a (good) tool in the toolbelt, but not one that will describe many intricacies that can exist between components. As such, the only fair assessment that can be made is that headphone cables do not alter FR (for higher impedance headphones) in a meaningful way, which is a statement *only* about FR, and not enough to say that they don’t (or do) affect microdetail, jitter, transparency, noise rejection, distortion, etc - all of which can noticeably affect the end result. This is the mistake that ASR makes time and time again - thinking that one or two measurements are able to describe everything that can be heard. I appreciate and support the effort to lend objective credence to anything, but it’s important to not overstate results that are, by definition, incomplete.

[@SmutnyJoe]

@@ResolveReviews First of all, I really respect your effort in general and this video in particular. I'd like to dive deeper into this topic. Supposing the FR metric shows all that's necessary and EQing the FR of your headphones is almost everything, does it mean that you can transform, let's say, Hifiman Sundaras into Final D8000 just with EQ? And if you could somehow use the same pads with the same clamping force from the headband, would they sound perfectly the same? I mean, maybe they would, I don't know, but I'd really like to.

[@ResolveReviews]

@@zemessargs So, I'm sympathetic to the idea that there's more to this stuff than what our current ANALYSIS of FR is able to make sense of, and by that I mean that what you see on a graph doesn't perfectly predict what the experience is going to be. The reason for this is that headphones behave differently depending on the head that they're on, and that includes the measurement rig - and so by all accounts there could be something else going on at the ear drums of individual people that explains that missing info, especially the fine-grained elements. This is also why you can't EQ a Utopia to look exactly like an LCD-4 and expect them to sound the same - you don't know what their respective FR is going to be at YOUR ear drum. Now, when faced with the problem of graphs not predicting these subjective elements of the experience, it's common for folks to try to look for other metrics that may fill in the gap, but time-based views like CSD or IR and so on (square wave)... they're literally just different, worse ways of looking at FR. Fix the FR peak and it fixes the 'ringing' you see in CSD, because headphones in general are minimum phase devices. And for every time you think you can correlate something, there's immediately a counterexample. The only time there might be something unpleasant going on that's indicated by a different metric would be to do with excess group delay, meaning it's not strictly minimum phase. But you wouldn't even need to look at the CSD to determine that. To answer the second part.... between a Mojo and a Dave, yeah the FR would be the same, but... without doing an ABX test it's not really possible to determine if they sound the same to people. My gut tells me folks would have a hard time telling them apart in a blind test, even if the DACs themselves are different. But, I also haven't done that test. I HAVE tested a lot of expensive source equipment, and generally find there's no meaningful difference, except in cases where we'd expect there to be a difference - like with certain topologies pairing well/poorly with a given set of headphones, output impedance synergies, or tube amps for example.

[@guystpierrecomposer]

I'm a sound engineer and I work a lot with Eq. Frequency response on 2 headphones like Hifiman edition XS and Arya can be really close. But I think that if you match exactly the eq on both, the Arya will still have more definition, separation, resolution... is there a reliable way to mesure why Arya sound better? I was very skeptical on interconnect wires but when I finally compare lo and hi tiers audioquest cables, there was an audible difference that I can not match with professional eq... BUT I would not pay crazy money for wires because mastering have WAY more impact on my enjoyment! And that is why I love the mojo's 2 eq ;)

[@MichaelSidneyTimpson]

It would be great for you to take on the issues of balanced vs. unbalanced next. Perhaps burn in too.

[@rokiedecentra9656]

i think this is a good video covering when it can make a difference and how it will not matter for most people....

[@BlackthorneSoundandCinema]

This video shows an example where the conditions were just so that objective data showing the difference could be gathered to present. Meanwhile many people invest their money and claim that they are experiencing improvements and changes between cables, but we must disregard and deny their experiences because it is subjective, and the objective data that can be produced doesn't support their shared experiences, so they must be wrong. I think it would be interesting to investigate cables and explore subjective experiences to see if the host would shift his perspective into believing that there are possibly differences that objective data cannot show. I would enjoy watching the host grapple with his own perceptions and the possibility of damaging his credibility by being unscientific and contemplating the practice of denying the validity of one's own perception no matter how convincing perceptions might become in the absence of objective data. One really good pair of headphones with a really good amplifier and a pile of premium expensive cables made of exotic materials. I would like to see that.

[@thirdkey9]

This was an outstanding analysis and valuable perspective. I’m so burnt out on the topic but glad I watched. Thank you.

[@radioactivehalfrhyme]

You weren’t burned out on the topic. The topic just needed to be burned in. 😈

[@foldspacenavigator6011]

@@radioactivehalfrhyme Indeed😆

[@aratafreecs3445]

I am someone who buys new cables with almost every headphone, but only for the reason that most stock headphone cables suck. They're often either too stiff or make noises in your headphone when they rub against your clothes, or both and are too long or too short almost every time.

[@jeffsmith2283]

For reference a copper wire 0.5mm in diameter has a resistance of 0.087 Ohms/m.

[@MisterChibs]

This vid is a total PSA. I do buy aftermarket cables for my headphones, mainly because I can customize the look, length, and termination. I always wondered if the uber expensive options would make a difference and now I'm glad I didn't splurge on them. This video was such a practical and thoughtful approach. Thank you!! 🍻

[@rene837]

Funny things is, I posted a comment on the subreddit r/headphones a few months ago in that I said that cables can make a difference in certain scenarios, especially with highly sensitive/low impedance drivers of IEMs and was downvoten into oblivion by people who have no clue what they were talking about ^^

[@samburden5053]

@Sam W no they think it literally doesn't make a difference. They were objectively wrong. Stop defending erroneous conjecture even if its what you want to hear.

[@rene837]

@Sam W I was pretty clear in my comment that the only difference is due to the added resistance in front of the low impedance drivers and that such cables basically behaving the same way as high output impedance sources. I guess people were just mad that I challenged their opinion with reason.

[@ElvenSpellmaker]

@@rene837 But how low impedance did you mean? Even very low impedance IEMs won't show any measurable difference with different cables. These headphones are less than 1 ohm and that's a really rare scenario.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

@@ElvenSpellmaker they will show a measurable difference. All impedance changes do. Keep coping about your erroneous grift.

[@samburden5053]

@Sam W aw, you had to add a clause to justify your bullshit 😂. All headphones are effected by impedance deltas. We can hear differences in audible thresholds way smaller than the 2 to 3db in the video.

[@matthewdavies2057]

I agree, with one small caveat. Conductor gage. Some cables are made with such thin conductors to make them more pliable and easier to wear that I have to wonder what's being lost along with the metal inside. Granted we're not conducting DC amps but there must be a limit beyond which the sound is altered. Someone should do a test to find that number. The "Best Above" number.

[@Greg.Siucrazyforaudio2016]

It's always let me down with stock cables with all/most iems , upgrade with usd $40-50 cable , is a full upgraded in sound quality in a superb way, bass more presents-thumpier , mids-vocal more clearer , highs are more sparkling , it's not about how good the cable upgrade , it's all about how bad the stock cables are - totally rubbish including ( shuoer s12pro ). Thank You . Cable upgrade for iem is a must for me !!

[@eruilluvitar]

I think you missed the most important manner in which cables matter: quality of life. Stiff or otherwise unwieldy cables suck to use day to day (looking at you HiFiMan and Focal). Replacing them with something more supple (eg, Hart Audio Cables) can make a huge difference!

[@squirts1]

He didn't miss it... that's not the point of the video and it's also highly subjective, which again... is not the point of this video.

[@eruilluvitar]

@@squirts1 Lol I know it's not the point, but for me it is the single biggest difference a user is going to notice. Especially when you pay $6k for a Susvara or a Utopia and get a cable that feels either like a condom stuffed into a surgical tube or one that better fits the description of a spring than a cable.

[@AverieS820]

He does mention it, at 10:02 Use whatever cable is ergonomically good.

[@squirts1]

@@eruilluvitar yeah I don't disagree with you on that. It just seemed like a negative comment regarding the content of the video that IMO didn't make sense considering the video topic.

[@bergennorway]

I think cable length can make a difference, together with dimension of copper wire. When I bought a new shorter and thicker cable to my Sennheiser HD600, there was a slight difference also, just like the result from the test here.

[@ubacow7109]

Length does cause the longer the cable the greater the loss in signal, but at headphone distances it's not really that significant. It's like how HDMI 2.1 with 4k120 can't be too long or you drop frames or cut out, before you need to switch to an optical cable for longer runs.

[@thecompanioncube4211]

Ergonomics trumps all of the sound benefits in my eyes. I wouldn't want to wrap half a kg cable just to get 2% sound improvement

[@tomtang8708]

You may need to outline that the impedance of the CA1A is only 0.2 Ohms where 99.9% headphones have impedance at least 16 Ohms and the title (only the title) may be a bit of misleading.

[@12P14D22C]

the problem is that this in NOT the discussion. Nobody is saying that the worst cable avaiable can be bad for sound quality or something. The problem comes from a nice quality but affordable cable, like a chinch cable for 15€/$ and another high end shaman licked piece of magic that costs 1000€/$ or more. The problem is that the high end cables actually are WORSE because they have to be. A nice solid cable with OFC and a enough of it for the purpose is the best u can get ( audible ) but for those high end cables to justify their price when u switch your cable they need to sound diffrent, the money one spent at them then suggest to them that diffrent equals better because its a "better" cable. Which is plain wrong. They for examble run their cables far away from one another introducing capacity factors to the cable etc.

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

Well... 'better' is an entirety different question. This is just an explanation of why in some cases they can in fact make a difference. How people parse that information for preference goes down a very complex rabbit hole full of confirmation bias, psychoacoustics, and... In some cases, genuine preference for impedance-based FR change. Ultimately that's extremely difficult to navigate since you can't know what people are actually basing their reports on if it's not in a controlled environment.

[@AtamanTube]

Oh look, April came early this year! :) Nice video, really liked it.

[@talktomenowxbmc]

I purchased Sennheiser IE600. The cable it comes with is horrendous. I purchased $60 replacement cable from Amazon (copper) and I’m disappointed. With original cable sound is spectacular. Natural sound and you can actually feel vibrations of the instrument. Especially on some less busy tracks like music of Andreas Vollenweider. That magic was lost with this new cable. Initially I thought it was mine own bias but swapped cables couple times and definitely I heard the difference. Music pulls me in. It’s more engaging. My conclusion is this is not about measurements or EQ. Let me make clear. IE 600 is an exceptional EIM. But new copper replacement cable made it sound similar to any other chi-fi earphone.

[@Rozzjd]

Hi. I have ie600 too. What model did you buy(to avoid it) ? And what do you recommend? Is GUCraftsman any good (around $60)? How about Tripowin Mirage 30awg?

[@talktomenowxbmc]

@@Rozzjd I bought GUCraftsman single crystal silver cable $130. Works great and music sounds even better than with original cable. Highly recommended.

[@jonahp4613]

A paper published in 2021 by Milind N. Kunchur showed that cables do improve sound quality in a measurement different from frequency response. They improve the time-based domain of the signal… decreasing decay time…improving resolution. This effect is mostly noticed on cheaper headphones with less resolution and poor decay time. That’s why audiophiles with higher quality expensive equipment don’t notice any improvement.

[@eddsson]

Flawed papers can be ignored. Buffoon is what he is, lol.

[@guybuddy1]

Regardless if it "improves" the sound or not... Wire gauges(mass or strands) of copper wire and its insulation(thickness) does change sound comparatively. This is a fact and there is no arguing about it. If you're really interested, go read about Resistance, Capacitance, and Impedance. Whether if you can hear the difference or not, it depends on how different the cables you are testing(how much more copper one has over another/ length), how good your speakers(IEMs or headphones) reproduce frequencies, and how good your ears are(both physically and neurally). All that being said, I think it's probably snake oil if you're paying more than 100 bucks on a single cable unless you really like the way it looks, which I think is up to you.

[@WillieBloom]

As money is a finite resource, I prefer to spend the money on headphones, aftermarket earpads, amplifiers and vacuum tubes. Sure, I've dabbled in cable upgrades and even tried some silver cables, but it didn't do much for me beyond the aesthetics. It was early in my foray into head-fi and everyone had me convinced cables would make a difference. I'm not saying cables do not make a difference. I'm saying it's what "they" said, and "they" say a lot. I'm not going to talk smack about any particular brand but there is one guy on the interweb who makes really nice cables and explains all the "science" about OCC and strand counts and insolation while also dispelling bunk like using 24k gold as a conductor (micro-plating connector surfaces excluded). Aesthetically, very pleasing. I was "lucky" because I got a number of cables and adapters before he got *really* expensive. I have also tried some silver cables from a supplier who at the time had decent prices. Damn if I could tell a difference (the answer is a resounding "no"). Here's the thing - and I'm blotting my ignorance to the world but some have claimed to do this: You can use a copper wire hanger or copper from a cheap throw-away electrical cable and make a headphone cable that will sound the same as some of those brands that charge thousands of dollars - thousands! - just for copper cable and all the fancy-schmancy insulation. You probably know of many brands that charge these kinds of prices. These are the cables that weigh more than your headphone amp and cost orders of magnitude more than some very good headphone amplifiers. I can argue against myself all day long but is all copper really made equally? Does not the quality of the cable, setting aside the gauge of the copper to match the output impedance of the amplifier and the impedance of the headphones, make a difference? It *seems* like it should. But I honestly don't know and I'm not going to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to find out. Then there's the issue of cables which you get with your headphones. Some cables are not aesthetically pleasing and some are just damn annoying. Case in point: HiFiMan cables. I'm not trashing HiFiMan as I really enjoy their headphones. HiFiMan cables are very good at eliminating microphonics (which is a thing) but the "wet noodle" feel of the cables is not for me. I purchased cheap replacement cables on Amazon and they work just fine. I cannot discern any audible difference between the stock cables and the aftermarket cables. I said I would not talk smack about any particular cable manufacturer by name-dropping but I do want to make an honorable mention. I live in Sweden and here there is a company called Jenving who make Supra Cables. As it is a Swedish company you can find their products in both boutique shops and big-and-cheap stores. They don't make headphone cables but they do make every manner of data- and interconnect cable one could ask for, as well as speaker cables, power cables and power strips which is the mainstay of their business. To me, Supra Cables are the biggest bang-for-buck on the market, clearly under the point of diminishing returns. If you can get passed their signature baby-blue color, they're great. Ethernet, coaxial, fiber optic, HDMI, USB, RCA, XLR - I use them all. For my 11.2 home theater setup where all cables are behind the walls and ceilings, they do the job and aren't close to being the most expensive. Not by a long shot. I am going to start making my own cables just for kicks and giggles. Not to save money, as the initial investment for soldering will cost a bit, but just to experiment. Just for something to do. I can't make anything else in this hobby but I can teach myself to solder and make cables. Well, I could in theory also make a tube amp but that's a steeper learning curve. Cables, that I can do. I will continue to follow this very interesting topic but I don't think it will ever get resolved. There is one thing though which I think is good to keep in mind. Some products are made for people who can afford to buy things the rest of us can't. Doesn't matter if it's a ladies leather handbag or audio cables. People with means will purchase things you and I can't afford even if it doesn't make a damn bit of difference. And you know what? So would I.

[@WillieBloom]

@enovasia I try not to be a hypocrite. Thanks for the friendly reply!

[@mrpmj00]

I love my Cardas Parsec RCA cabes/interconnects. Apple Music

[@sebQbe]

This really shouldn't be controversial

[@masterxyr]

and yet some people still think the Earth is flat

[@chipsnmydip]

It's controversial because of money: some people can afford to use or try these things, and some people can afford to speculatively post on KZbin.

[@PartyMusic775]

Cables don't make a difference except A,B,C,D,E,F,G, I've compiled a list of over 6 exceptions to "cables don't make a difference", to the point where the list of exceptions is starting to make the case the cables make a big difference!

[@cargath]

I don't think anyone who argues that cables don't make a difference would say that we can't make cables that deliberately change the sound signature. But that's not a desirable thing. At least for the most part. Vinyl and tubes distort the sound in a particular way that people like, so if someone likes to use a cable that distorts the sound in a way that they prefer that's totally cool. Just be honest in the marketing around that cable about how it influences the sound. It's just that all these snake oil companies market their cables to objectively sound better, i.e. more neutral / accurate to the source. I'd rather cable companies sell their products based on looks and materials. People buy fancy cables for their mechanical keyboards and no one would argue that those perform better. Buying a slightly expensive third party cable that just looks cool and tangles less is something many audiophiles would probably be into.

[@kendoglarson5419]

There is no snake oil when the cable is different type of metal. Cca, Ofc, Occ, silver coated copper, pure silver, pure red copper, etc....i measured them and I know because I have spectrograms and there is a lot of difference. Interestingly some upgrade materials yield similar properties as mp3 vs wave so it's a big deal unless you can't tell the difference in those types of music files when played back. 😉. Cable material affect the ceiling, the separation and the peak strengths. So, it's worth upgrading from ofc to OCC.

[@Sweetaccord]

A larger point about cables is to switch to a balanced cable from a single ended. For larger audio effects than just a cable by itself, tip rolling, audio recording quality, source, and (if using IEM's) insertion and EQing like you mentioned.

[@PartyMusic775]

Probably worth saying: galvanic match at the connection site, shielding from EMI and RFI, microphonics. You dismiss that cables usually won't make a difference based on signal dB and while that's correct, the three things just mentioned are VERY COMMON issues in EVERY cable and do change the sound. In my personal anecdotal experience, these issues exist enough in most stock cables, that an upgraded and well-shielded cable will produce improved results. Also, a beginner audiophile will not know you are talking about "apples to apples" comparison and not single-ended vs balanced comparisons, so we should caution them that balanced cables do produce different results (depending on equipment.) But it's also worth noting that you are using an assumption that's already debunked for at least 5 years, regarding our concept of "audibility." Any discussion on audibility and differentiation of quality need to catch up with the science from 2016, 2017, and 2018. It turns out that our assumptions about consciousness and audibility, like most assuming, make an ass out of you and me! You see, most people erroneously assume that the definition of "audibility" is identical with "what can be consciously detected in A/B testing." All previous audio science studies were built on that assumption, and now that assumption has been proved false, we can no longer use that assumption: Recent science shows that the parts of the brain that do "conscious differentiation" (awareness of a difference), are a completely different part of the brain from the parts that create emotional reaction to music AND the parts that "synthesize" a composite representation (overall experience) of the music. What we've now learned from science is that: Consciousness can: 1) selectively "focus" on only a small fraction of the composite, 2) cannot access or focus on some parts of the composite at all, 3) is only aware of a small fraction of the composite at any one time, 4) the act of the conscious focusing creates a kind of "Heisenberg uncertainty" where the mere act of observation alters the qualities of what is being observed, 5) the act of analyzing or "trying to differentiate" distracts from a normal experience of the music, as it allocates cerebral resources away from how they are used when constructing a "whole field morphology" experience, which I guess is a fancy way of saying "you hear more when you let go and stop TRYING to hear more" 6) only access a sliver of total experience Therefore, the science is not settled one way or the other about what constitutes a "tangible difference." At the time of this comment, I'm not aware of any studies have been done to measure if the "inaudible" differences in cables produce differences in the "whole field morphology" experience, or not, BUT... Many numerous studies are well beyond 5 years old now, that show different "favorability" reactions to music that was not audibly differentiable via AB testing! The same music contained or lacked different INAUDIBLE content, couldn't be differentiated by AB tests, but produced statistically significant "favorability" reactions when the listening took place over longer durations of time. This jibes with what some audiophiles experience, often after weeks of listening to a new DAC or AMP, where they suddenly get a visceral realization that it's underperforming compared to a previous setup, or alternatively, think, "hey, is my brain fooling me or did I just become aware my sound quality is now subtly better?" None of the science tests were done on different cables. They were done with inaudible changes to frequency response characteristics. It is intriguing to wonder if higher quality cables introduce "inaudible traits" in the sound signature which would also be picked up. I don't know. I am not claiming it does. But we now know that AB differentiable audibility is only a fractional component of the sum total of musical experience. However, I wouldn't be surprised in the least, if we later find that "inaudible" traits between cables turn out to make differences in the majority of the musical experience that conscious AB testing has no awareness of or access to. Cheers

[@astifcaulkinyeras]

Because the cable resistance makes up a larger portion of the total circuit resistance it makes sense that a low impedance headphone is more affected. But, whether a high end $2000 multi-strand 24AWG cable or $5 single-strand 26AWG Wal-Mart cable, both will use conductors with total resistances in the milliohms. For a 4ft cable you would need a single strand of 34AWG to even reach the point where the resistance changes by 1 ohm. Even increasing a single 24AWG from 4ft to 20ft only changes it by 0.4 ohms. When running stranded conductors in a cable the resistance change is far less. Besides a less "microphonic" cable material, what you're mainly paying for are things that don't affect sound like thick insulation, pretty sheath, pretty connectors, hand soldering, etc. Look at how little the whopping 10 ohm adapter changed the sound for the Truthear Red, which is a 17.5 ohm load. EQ will ALWAYS be better than buying a cable.

[@rodiko2]

It would be cool to see a guidance video on solid state dac/amp stacks. I am getting very confused by all these discussions about spl, how much watt do I need for headphone sensitivity/impedance, and also about headphone power calculators showing that some amp and headphone combination will produce too much noise, but can't you regulate this with a volume knob?

[@SuperMadpom]

On some amps you'll find you only have to move the volume knob a quarter turn before you take you eardrums out. You also pick up lots of hiss. I've got ifi iematch 4.4mm plugged into Naim Atom HE so that I can run super sensitive IEM from it without hiss. Volume on that can be capped so thats less of an issue.

[@latle111]

Genuine question. How does a bigger vs smaller soundstage differ on the frequency graph?

[@dmark2639]

I don't think it does. Maybe you'd see something related to phase, but in reality we don't have a standard way to measure soundstage and imaging other than listening and reviews.

[@michaelshaffer4005]

Thanks for the confirming my experience as well… … and now… when to expect a difference between SE and balanced…

[@GFG2gifted]

In the car audio world. Oxygen free multi strand heavy guauge wire is sought after and heavily influnces your car audios capabilities. With my experience i completely hear a massive difference in car audio. Im already considering buying some "better" cables for my iems.

[@Ty_7]

I've been very confusing with impedances and how they can be affected by additional sources whether it's adapters, cables, etc... This helped. Thanks.

[@bily9923]

A detail in which the effects of impedance, capacitance and magnetic permeability are very noticeable is the decay of the sound (what it takes to dissipate the energy of a certain sound). Very noticeable in the deeper bass frequencies in some IEMs (In Ear Monitors). But in IEM the effect that the tips make, and a good fit becomes much more noticeable at sound. In the 7hz Timeless for example, with the TRN T-Ear red tips, they become clearer, with better bass, and soften the treble peaks. To the point that I prefer them to the AE revision

[@TheHEADPHONEShow]

In the vast majority of cases, with headphones, time domain information is directly proportional to frequency response, since headphones are usually minimum phase. But... There are some IEMs that aren't strictly minimum phase, although whether you'd see a meaningful change in CSD for those isn't obvious.

[@bily9923]

​@@TheHEADPHONEShow Apart from the big difference caused by the controller technologies used in IEM: dynamic (DD), balanced armature (BA), planar-magnetic, pizoelectric, electrostatic... * And what these vary in the attack and decay times of the notes / of each sound. I feel warmer (with more energy and depth of bass), and a greater delay in the fading of sounds with pure copper cables (I like BQEYZ ones); And instead a colder / analytical sound with the silver ones (TRN T3, OpenHeart, ...). (* To those who haven't done it, I recommend trying, one day, some good pure BA IEMs [like Moondrop S8, TRN BA15,... ], a piezoelectric like BQEYZ Spring2, Winter... And compare with a good pure DD, or hybrid) There are cheap headphones that are good, but they come with lousy cables, which improve incredibly with other better cables (example TRN V90 + TRN T6 cable; The difference to the serial cable is like overnight). Tracks to play for testing the efect: "For the Glory" - All Good Things "Havana" - Camila Cabello (Cover por J.Fla) kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2K1ZYVuaZJ4hqM "Great Guitar Solos" - Gabriel Cyr Guitaris tkzbin.info/aero/PLm91UJG6KclYgF2Z3jZDnLQo_9IwFnQi2 "Mysterious" - Official MV [Raven of the Inner Palace - Opening]. (At the middle of playback) kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmiykGaOm9Jsg9E // kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH7Wk6qaaLh7ps0 Waggaki Band - 拍手喝采 (Hakushu Kassai). kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6Stn6mbd9uigtk Wagakki Band - 焔 (Homura) + 暁ノ糸 (Akatsuki no Ito) // 1st JAPAN Tour 2015 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqDRhZV6ebKMoNk (Shamisen and Koto [traditional Asian instruments] are interesting for their range of registers, and the variety of options for the player to sustain the vibration of the strings / notes over time) IEMs I've tried with: Those already mentioned 7hz Timeless ; & Timeless AE 7hz i99 KZ ZAS (exaggerates the prolongation in time of drums, and bass in general) RAPTGO HOOK [I have tried with the variant xHBB] BQEYZ Spring2 (good cable 4 core pure copper) Veedix SilverString TRN V90 , VX, BA15, ST5 Shouer S12Pro, D13, EJ07M Moondrop Starfield, Kato Audio sources: Shanling M3X, M3Ultra PC with ASUS ROG Strix X570 E Gaming Motherboard (High quality Dual OP Amplifiers 120dB output SNR; Adaptive impedance; SupremeFX Shielding Technology [independently layered circuit tracks]; Compatible with up to 32 Bits/192 kHz)

[@JB-ol3xo]

He asks a question early about folks wondering if cables are a good way to "level up" or get more out of what they already have and the answer; not really. If you go into buying cables expecting easily noticeable sonic differences then you're playing a losing game. However, if you like the way a cable loks, and more importantly if it's an ergoniomic improvement, and even more importantly if you're not spending moeny that you would otherwise need for something else, then go wild.

[@viciogamergd8061]

Kz Silver Blue gives the best possible sound (0.11 resistance). And its $15, there's no better sound than that, you can spend more but only for comfort, durability, etc. Everything except sound. (That was about the frequency response) It can change the loudness off it, but you can just swipe the volume up or down at preference. Best objective combo meassurably / you dont need to spend more for any better sound: Dongles: Hiby FC3 ($50-$79)/ Hidizs S8 ($75) / Apple Dongle ($8) (Most dongles nowadays are great and sound the same but this are the ones I know are completly flat frequency response, best transparency, lower distortion and higher dynamic range) I've tried FC3 and Apple dongle and they sound the exact same, wich is good, it means both have flat FR. Dac-Amp: Topping L30 II ($150) And you can pair it with the E30 II amp ($150) Cables: KZ Silver Blue ($15) Tripowin Zonie ($20) IEM: To your taste, it could even be the Tangzu Wan Er as your engame IEM and you're good to go. Wan Er and Truthear Nova are the ones I like the most

[@bladeofky]

Great explainer and diagrams. Thank you!

[@XeonX__ASMR__METAL-experiments]

Thanks

[@LucaTheStar]

This is a very informative video, thank you for your beautiful tasty objectivity

[@J_SAMa]

Great vid. Slight addition needed for what you said around 9:10 (just in case snake oil believers nitpick). Cables aren't purely resistive, they can have some inductance and capacitance too since the majority of them have the signal and ground cable running right next to each other. This means you *technically could* make a cable that changes the group delay measurably, by about some nano/microseconds, all while amplitude frequency response stays the same... Wouldn't audible obviously!

[@Ober1kenobi]

8:30 Would it also be safe to say, in some capacity, that though some people may be using a 4.4 balanced or any kind of balanced connector, the 'ecosystem' probably isnt balanced overall because of the reasons you mentioned. The cable is, the cable might be to the DAC/AMP/DAP output but different to the headphone/IEM etc

[@Vantavimeow]

The only time I've noticed a tangible difference was with the stock fidelio x1 cable which was extremely long and fairly high impedance. There was a few forum posts around at the time, though no one wanted a heavy 3 meter skipping rope cable regardless.

[@imosolar]

Cables are filters

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

I use my earphones with a qudelix 5k. If i move one peak curve by even 0.1db, I immediately hear a difference, and its not even minor, its enough to completely change the presentation of the song. I have no doubt that a cable having even the slightest impedance difference will have some effect on most low impedance headphones, good or bad.

[@Florianski]

If its such a big difference your device probably isnt functioning properly. Try it again on a desktop setup and use eq there. You wont hear any difference with 0.1db adjustments.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

​@@Florianski sorry I over exaggerated. Its not a "big" difference. The lcd i4s are just excessively easy to hear the difference in eq profiles because they have absurdly low distortion. You can run each channel in mono (because its balaced) and they sound identical. There is no problem with any of my chain, i am just able to here the presentation difference because its at particular frequencies that affect my hearing the most. Studies of shown how sensitive we are to difference in bass frequencies, as most instruments including the human voice still have harmonics below 200hz that we can hear, changing bass tones by 0.1db will effect the reproduction of its harmonic frequency response, noticeably.

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

​@@Florianski keep in mind. Any eq software on a computer is still affected by Windows sound mixer. Its objectively worse than what the qudelix is doing with its physical chip, and I know this because i have used APO before I got the qudelix.

[@masterxyr]

Really enjoyed your stance here, Andrew. I am so tired of catering to opinions for agreeableness or in 'your too', keeping a returning 'customer'. Let's all just put Tibetan quartz on our amps to shield them from bad vibes and cover our cables in nonexistium so that the neutrinos from the sun don't kill that sweet range between 1 and 2k.... urgh. People's mouths are inversely correlated to how science and facts and being able to prove something to be repeatable is...

[@masterxyr]

a tangible difference, and a better difference, are not the same.

[@chipsnmydip]

Hey, if that Tibetan quarts puts off a significantly strong ferro-electric field, why not?

[@_andreas_]

I spent 50€ on a teflon coated occ cable, with an air core, for my Technica E70's. It's the most cost effective upgrade I've done for better separation and clarity. Low noise usb card > Jitterbug FMJ > Ipurifier3 > Mojo2. A darker background makes it easier to discriminate between things. Many are actively destroying their hearing by listening to unnaturally bright sound due to pollution. They even take pride in the self-destruction.

[@Goodbutevilgenius]

Next you'll be attacked by the color pink and seek to protect your eyesight with special polarized sunglasses.

[@latle111]

My conclusion from accepting the video and its points is that. With a low impedance headphone like the Raal here. You get a massive difference. 6 db of difference. I can only conclude as impedance goes up, difference goes down but there is still a difference. Whether someone hears it depends on the quality of their ears.

[@neonwither]

I'd like to make you aware of the pinned comment about these headphones, the CA-1A having an impedance OF 0.2 OHMS... Now if this makes a 6db difference with the cable, how much of a difference do you think other headphones will make? For example the HD800s is 300ohm as are a lot of other headphones and that would equate to them BEING 1,500x TIMES MORE impedance. Even something like the Hifiman Susvara with an impedance of only 60ohm has a difference of 300x TIMES more impdedance. Do you think you can still hear the difference? There is an extremely limited number of headphones that you would see an audible difference in this cable. On top of that, since most custom cable makers use subjective terms instead of objective measurements, you can't even determine what difference if any difference will be made by a cable, where as you can create the exact difference you want on an eq software. I think you forgot resolve's most important point at the end of the video. You can get the same audible difference in the highs by just using software EQ which is much more predictable as well, and free. Edit: upon reading it again, the difference in the frequency response ie. the difference at the highs is not even 6db. The entire frequency response is raised by 6db which can easily be done by turning up the volume on your device or amp. The actual difference in FR at the highs is about 2 db which is going to result in even less audible differences than what is already inaudible at higher impedance headphones.

[@AresWasTaken]

A couple years ago I got an aftermarket cable to replace my focal vacuum cord and noticed the headphones were slightly louder at the same knob position on my amp. I figured it's probably just a difference in impedance. Anyhow, never buy cables for sound, only buy cables for ergonomics.

[@Amphibax]

I have bought cable upgrade for 15$ IEMs not for sound but just for comfort. Those cheap cables tend to make tangeld mess just by looking at them spending another 10-20$ on a nice cable is so worth it just saves so much time and stress

[@qboogie]

So well put. I appreciate the clarity of your language in explaining your findings. I've heard clear differences when cable swapping in only two major cases, also involving low impedance (but not ultra-low) headphones: the meze 99 classics and AB-1266 TC. The rest of the other cans I've owned/tried had negligible differences when cable swapping

[@PartyMusic775]

negligible AUDIBLE differences in near-term comparison, does not equate to long-term favorability of the whole musical experience, since we can't consciously differentiate but a mere fraction of the whole experience

[@qboogie]

@@PartyMusic775 Please, go on

[@JustTryGambling]

You’re measuring the difference between a Ferrari and a Lamborghini. Yeah one may be slightly better, but they’re both incredibly expensive and high performance. The main market does not compare here. I want to see an expanded test with lower end, more popular headphones and IEMs. I’ve heard a few IEM and cable pairing that do actually change the sound. Less low end more treble, slightly more dynamics in the mids. I want you to explain that.

[@dvnwllms]

I wish the silver theory had been put to test here too. For years people have been saying that a noticeable amount of treble is proportionate to the amount of silver contained in a cable. It's almost gospel now to people who believe it but as always proof is nowhere to be found other than "trust me bro."

[@enjoshi-godrez8775]

True. The more measurements that are conducted, the more transformative the conversation can be. Its disappointing that it took this long for it to just get started. Before this, we were just spinning our wheels.

[@mattrismatt]

Agreed. There is more to sound than frequency response. Human ears discern of the subtleties in the music while electronics simply measure voltages and amplitudes.

[@chipsnmydip]

Maybe not in every case, but if you are a buyer it is a damn good heuristic. I've had some copper cables that were dark or midrange heavy, but never a silver cable. And copper cables that were as treble lifted as the average silver are also less common.

[@shinigamigamingincYT]

So to summ it up. *_IF_* a cable is making a difference it is just acting like a fixed EQ. Ergo you could just use an EQ instead (that probably exists anyways in some stage of your setup) Also you could tune it more to your liking or even later on if your perception is changing or if you are changing the music genre. And getting it for more volume is unreliable and only on edge cases, also it would only help if a stronger power source would lower your clarity.

[@ChrisStoneinator]

That's... not how any of this works.

[@craigharryman4500]

Speaker cables can have capacitance that is frequency dependent. This can smear attacks in muasical passages with sfpz.

[@miaomiaochan]

That thicc cable towards the beginning looks sturdy enough to use to pull a boat...and probably costs as much as a boat.

[@ferna182]

Worth mentioning, cables by themselves cannot "add" anything, they are a passive object, energy cannot be created out of thin air... They can at best act as a filter and "remove" stuff, like we see on the FR graph that after compensating for volume, there are some frequencies missing on the high end. Now, would you want your cables to be filtering out your music wether you like it or not? I dunno, I'd rather use an EQ. Also I don't think it was ever in question that -under certain scenarios- you will have measurable differences... try a regular cable and then the same exact cable but make it 10 miles long and you will notice a difference too...

[@RobNotANumber]

I have the Sennheiser HD660s (OG) and I like them. The only thing I didn't like was the length of the cable at my desk. I got a new cable. The sound difference was incredible. The headphones were clipping like mad. I had to EQ the hell out of them to make the headphones listenable again.

[@shawdeviant]

I Think people should look into getting different cables if they to make their headphones/IEMs look/feel different.If you have a crappy feeling cable that is rough or scratchy, if you want to colour match your headphones with the cables or if it's for some other convenience issues like needing a different plug or If your IEMs didn't come with a cable that has a mic for calls and that's something you use your IEMs for. My point being,if you have a shitty headphone/IEM that sounds horrible,even the most expensive cables in the world is not gonna change that and if it already sounds good but you just want to change the sound a bit, EQ is the answer not some fancy cable...

[@alexossan2829]

Ah this explains my long time question about how people generally agree that balance cables make a difference for really long connections and high power outputs, like on concert stages, and how some people claim that cables don't make a difference for over-ears but do make a difference for IEMs. In the end it's the imepdence relationship.

[@draconidmike]

the cable thing is more obvious with speakers that run in much higher current but for headphones, it is more on the physical side, because we are moving the cable so much, durability and comfort are mostly the issue

[@isaacmack1316]

I find that copper has a warmer sound, and the silver has to bright of a sound stage for me.

[@poopandfartjokes]

🤦‍♂️

[@theonlyegg]

The second you pulled that other cable up from off screen, I burst out laughing.

[@christopherviers8302]

Nice video with great information... Concerning cables, I am more interested in the pros & cons of balanced cables vs. single-ended cables, regarding their performance capabilities...

[@BehrensTrumpet]

The advantage with true balanced cables and Quad balanced cables compared to SE cables is mainly external noise. Balanced cables removes most, quad removes even more. A simple test you can do at home is lay the cables on a powerbrick that is in use 🙂 Balanced cables are more sensitive to how its coiled when in recording/live work, but for home hifi that wont be a problem. As a recording engineer I always keep the SE lengths as short as possible and always use balanced when possible

[@christopherviers8302]

@@BehrensTrumpet Your reply is greatly appreciated... thanks a lot...!!!

[@KaneAmaroq]

@@BehrensTrumpet To be fair, this is pretty much only true between devices, 'balanced' sound from an amp to a transducer does not have CMNR. It's just power delivery, which CAN benefit some extremely low-sensitive headphones like HE6/Susvara/1266 if you're lacking on SE. Or if the amp is designed around balanced output, then oftentimes that output is engineered a little better than the SE output. But it depends on the individual device for that part.

[@BehrensTrumpet]

@@KaneAmaroq That's why I say "True balanced". So called "balanced" cables between amp and headphones is not really balanced. It's basically just mono block amping and each channel has its own + and - or power and ground. "Balanced" headphone cables and amps are really only usefull for "cleaner" power through f.ex. less electrical crosstalk and usually more watt power.

[@redstang5150]

It just boggles my mind that someone would spend huge money on cables to effectively EQ the sound. No problem with spending a reasonable sum to make the cables look/feel/lay/smell better. But to change the sound?

[@docgify]

Resolve,sir,i enjoy the elegia as a great closed back can but my open back is the audeze sine DX,not really a popular choice but it does a just what i want it to do…..now im mild to moderately deaf and a composer and performer ,a professional musician,and the elegia does an amazing thing for my hearing it corrects the frequencies im lacking,the consonants become clearer etc…..im in love with the elegia,thankyou focal!!

[@docgify]

Ive been deaf since birth so there are sounds,textures ,frequencies that ive never heard that other people know and love….and yet i write hits,that have great melodies….

[@docgify]

I guess you might say i can when im mastering and in production mixing the final cut(from old dat tape and 8 inch audio tape days,cut and paste or tape together audio splices )i am pedantic and obsessional about frequencies and certain audio being clean so clean ,and yet ive found a certain amount of dirt in audio keeps it enjoyable but a truly clean recording can be a joy ecstatically as well(audio ecstasy)

[@FinFu509]

Cables do make differences. The question, however, is that are those differences good? To me, when I find a headphone I like, I want to trust its designer for the cable selection and stick with the its original cable. But yeah, sometimes it’s still fun to just try some other cables out just for fun. (Or for my conference calls as the original one does not come with a mic 😂)

[@2slowpoke929]

I think somewhere down the line at the top of the chain a guy did go "This cable can make a change but* -10 page long essay with graphs, paragraphs, explanations, addendums later- " and the message only became more and more dumbed down to "cables DO make a change" which is honestly the hardest part of the audiophile rabbit hole. Too many asterisks that *COULD* make a change for that specific scenario with that specific set of gear but god when there's about thousands of headphones and IEMs on the market with hundreds of different amps and dacs to choose from with millions of genres, mixes, songs it is definitely one of the worst rabbit holes to get into.

[@manleycreations6466]

I only listen to music in near absolute zero temperatures. It's the best conditions for conductivity so it obviously sounds the best. It's the way the music was meant to be heard. So what if my blood freezes, my music sounds amazing!

[@barbiegamaestan456]

Impedences is the main factor cable sound imo. The combination of the amplifier output impedence, cable, and headphone together should be considered.

[@TheModeRed]

What about the difference between balanced 4.4mm vs unbalanced vs 3.5mm iem cables? I know that matters to some DACS for volume, but does the balance matter to sound?

[@Synflood-dot-txt]

Resistance and balanced only means the signal won't degrade over large distance (they use xlr which is balanced for things like concerts where they have to drag them for a good distance )

[@iguana662]

these cable things is base on a simple theory that "higher frequency electric signal tend to run at the surface of the cable" and the conductivity of the material that the cable is made. so for people that want to find yourselfe a cable: copper make the warm sound because treble being reduce, copper with silver coat give v-shape feeling sound and full silver cable give your headphone what it's suppose to be but more detail. these can only be feel with very sensitive iem or headphone🤪🤪!!!

[@hartyewh1]

HA!! VINDICATION! My gold plated toslink cables were worth the investment after all. Jokes aside, I had an IE80 years back and it was the pinnacle of sound so far I had heard, but when I got some fancyish hand-made cable for it I felt that it maybe sounded a bit more open, full, big, something. After two years of using it it broke and I had to get a new stock cable and I really didn't enjoy using it. Sounded somehow flat. That's my only anecdotal experience of cables mattering. Wish I still had it to try and see if I can spot something more clearly.

[@jopar3292]

Just listening to 2x ADLC Driver (32ohm) IEM and tried 1x Pure silver cable then 1x Graphene cable and 1x Single Crystal Copper cable (all 4.4mm 2 pin balanced) - Very clear audible difference between each one - tonality, bass level, treble clarity. Quite surprising at the differences to the degree that at a blind test people would easily believe there was 3x different IEM.

[@lowtech42]

I agree from my own experience. I've used both copper and silver balanced cables, along with a more expensive 6N OCC cable with my IEMs and the sound differences were clear (and scaled up in price from my small sample size)

[@MePaul747]

Guys just getting into this stuff. Bought a pair of 560s’ from a father of one of my friends. He got them at Xmas and said they didn’t fit his head. They are in amazing condition and he only wanted £50 for them. Is there any point in upgrading the cable? I don’t like the dongle, I’d prefer a threaded adapter. Any recommendations?

[@VQR420]

Put simply, if you increase your cable impedence from near null to several ohms, you're changing the power your HPA can provide. Some amps like the Topping A90D give the most power at around 12 Ohm, whereas the L70 gives most power at around 30 Ohm. What was the impedence of that big hefty canble? I could see it adding enough impedence to better optimize the impedence load for maximum power. Practically speaking, that would explain why you got similar FR with greater volume.

[@prashant141082]

Hi Andrew, Great review. Just checking if Meze 109 Pro will benefit with a cable change?

[@MrBlitzpunk]

The reason i don't believe that cables makes a difference in sound (other than impedance) is that whatever fancy material your cable is using, the internal wire connecting the female pin of your headphones to the positive&negative end of the driver is still probably a 2mm copper wire or something

[@howequalspeace]

Yea but the rest still changed. You can't change something and not have the output change slightly. Now, whether you can hear that change is another story

[@Ezees23]

That thin-gauge wire inside most HPs are very, very short - hence, they don't need to be "chonky", since their properties are insignificant compared to much longer cables. IOW, the longer the cable - the thicker it must be to pass the signal without signal losses.....

[@MrBlitzpunk]

@@Ezees23 im mostly talking about the cable material, people claim that X coated Y cable produce Z sound characteristic and so on. Would all that really matters if the end connection is still a regular copper wire?

[@olenronning5868]

Dare I ask… what about copper vs silver?

[@TheKent2288]

I’ve heard more than a few reviewers mentioning relationship be SQ and impedance but never seen anyone test the theory. Isn’t it quite easy to have a bunch of cables, measure their impedance, then compare their FR? Then prove that cables with same impedance sound exactly the same or not? If proven then we can push for cable makers to publish their cable impedance. Just my two cents as a layman, not sound engineer.

[@akshaj_sandhu]

what's with the ear on the bottom left?

[@thinhleduc7885]

i do believe cable make small changes, and by small i mean really small. If you already fked up buying a wrong iem and praise to EQ god it can be saved. Otherwise just move on, also that 2000-4000-5000-6000$ cable is really valuable because it come with free oil to apply to your skin, audio and skincare at the same time

[@Jefafa73]

And here I am with a Hart Audio cable for my Ananda's simply because the stock Ananda cable is atrocious and I like the look of the Hart cable.

[@Jason75913]

Hey, man, you didn't cover that audiophile silver-plated copper cable measure 1000000x higher capacitance than regular copper cables. Your average copper cable presets headphone amplifier outputs with a few _picofarads_ per foot of extra capacitance in series with the headphone, but a silver-plated copper cable presents several _microfarads_ of capacitance instead. Couple this with most headphone amps, especially op-amp based amps, are designed to only drive a few nanofarads or up to one microfarad of capacitance and you've got a definite recipe for coloration of the sound, even throwing op-amps into oscillation.

[@undefeatedmc]

I've tried using super cheap wires off consumer headphones with very thin conductors and they always lose bass and make the sound thin in any 32Ohm headphones. I wonder how high the resistance gets if your cable is too thin.

[@residentzero]

This is true, exactly my experience with my k371 using a cable with mic, was way thinner and changed the sound a lot losing quality, especially bass. Put the stock cable back again and the sound revived with power. And I didn't believe in this until then