Do expensive headphone cables significantly change the sound of a headphone? My honest opinion. 0:01, Intro. 14:08, A look at a few cables. 18:00, Conclusion.
i think you missed the most important point of not acknowleaging the cable material. Silver, copper, gold, mixed, cable architecture and strand purity will govern the science of sound. The difference when comparing copper and silver is noticable. also the manufacturer making the cable contibutes to quality.. its difficult to find the perfect cable on your first attempt, but the signature of sound can be chane with using cables.
Thank you for this video, William. A thing I love about your videos is that you don't only make reviews, you teach valuable things, like when you explained about bass boost, I didn't know about that. Keep doing your videos the way you've been doing them. Keep up the good work 👏🏻
"certain" cables change sound for sure (e.g., if buying an IEM with a generic cable, often swapping to other generic cables yield no perceivable difference). the thing im interested in is how much is the actual total cost of making those expensive cables and whether it is easy to replicate by other companies that mass produce cables for cheaper price. for example, I tested the stock expensive cable that came with a summit-fi IEM, and I tried to swap to other chi-fi cables with proven good measurements or approved by the community. After trying the other cables, with one of them sounding clean and natural on the IEM, the stock expensive cable was the only cable that gave it its unique warm coloration that other cables I tested did not. (note: i am not saying one is better or worse, but simply the color of the sound is different for sure) So the important question is not how much difference, because it (can be) all the difference. the question im interested in is whether those cables can be easily manufactured/purchased for 10x cheaper on aliexpress, or if the certain combination of materials and stranding/shielding actually make them unique to their brand and generic "well-measured" cables, while they sound like each other, may not sound like the overpriced ones. If that is indeed the case, then we are stuck with the overpriced ones for the stock intended sound. Or alternatively, a cheap alternative might actually exist coincidentally somewhere on aliexpress, taobao, etc., but you'd have to buy a bunch of them and play lottery which ends up costing a lot of money potentially not even scoring the right one. So what I'd do is to never purchase those overpriced cables. However, if there is a unique coloration in the stock cable designed to synergize with the IEM (e.g., company matched it or tuned with it), and you want to be faithful to it, then you can buy it if you break yours. EXCEPTION: The exception is that if there are many feedback on another cable where credible listeners all state that the other cable improves upon the existing characteristics of the stock cable, then you can overspend on that cable if that's what you desire, since it is better than buying 100x random cables to play lottery by yourself. But yes, if your IEM is tuned/matched with a cable that doesn't sound generic, then from my experience, even though the generic good cables sound good on it, you need the stock cable (or proven alternative) to keep the unique stock signature/coloration. That being said, this doesn't apply to ppl who slap on their fav eartips/ear pads on every new purchase, because those ppl are oblivious to the fact that a stock tuning/sound/color exists, since eartips/ear pads change the sound easily and those ppl don't care. for those ppl, any random "good" cable is enough because those ppl have never heard the original sound nor do they care.
Thank you to share your knowledge and opinion with us - I made the same experience (with the difference of balanced and single-ended cables/output). Most with the headphones delivered cables are alright and you do not have to spend hundred of dollars or euros on a "better" cable. And don't buy your headphones from a seller that wants you to believe this... only to increase sales.
I swap out cables on my headphones for just a couple of reasons: If one is way too long or way too short, or if one is too stiff or won't straighten out. I use Periapt and I have a couple of Audiophile Ninja cables. None of these are over $80. They serve me just fine on my Meze, Audeze, HiFiMan, Dan Clark Audio, and Sennheiser headphones. Good enough for me. If a more expensive cable sounds better OK, but it's not an area within the rabbit hole that I want to explore. To each his/her own. I'm 62 so I don't hear as I did when I was a kid.
good review William, first cable that I ever heard a real difference on was the meze sliver balanced cable with my 99s and i'm sure it was mostly the balanced connection that made most of the difference, I find the softness and compliance of the cable is what is most important, stiff cables that coil as you move become very distracting. The meze silver is a very nice, light, compliant cable that doesn't distract me when im listening, I use it on all my cans except for my ZMF where my preferred cables are form Audio Ninja, a third the price of the meze silver, sound great and are soft and non coiling
Thanks for doing this. Can't quite understand people spending thousands of dollars on cables I must say. Slight upgrade, why not I guess. For reliability and aesthetics if anything. Anyway, thanks for doing the work!
I definitely believe, particularly with planars which perform the best with more power, that balanced cables sound better than single ended. This because with balanced outputs you get more power per audio channel. However, it's roughly the same effect as hitting the gain button on the amp. Really efficient headphones don't sound a lot different with balanced or single ended. The material the cable is made from shouldn't make a ton of difference, but if someone said it does to their ears, so be it. My life doesn't change either way, so let them believe it! I'll never spend hundreds of dollars, or more, on a cable. I do enjoy my custom Hart Audio cable and I love that I can swap the connector on the end. Hart does good work and it's affordable!
Using the same equipment and also track then quickly changing the cable on the same headphone can show you some differences. Sometimes its hard but sometimes the difference its clearly there. My advise get a solid quality cable but do not go for crazy expensive ones.
I have done the exact testing you talked about. But you don't need 2 identical systems. Just one system with an Amp that can push 2 identical headphones at the same time. Such as my Flux Labs Volot. I used the Marantz CD and network streamer to the RME ADI-2 to the Flux Volot and had 2 identical Hifiman Arya that were both new hooked up (one for me and one I was sending to my cousin). I started with the stock cable on both and verified they sounded identical while both were playing the same track at the same time and then traded one stock cable for an expensive Silver cable. Not only that, I went on to do other testing such as does it sound different with the balanced cable vs SE. And I should mention here that the Flux Volot delivers the same power to both the balanced and SE connectors. This lets me keep both XLR and SE plugged in at the same time and have the same volume on 2 identical headphones. Needless to say, as you probably guessed and as common sense told me before the test, there is NO difference in sound between cables of a different type. There was also no difference in sound quality between the balanced and SE connectors on my setup (this could be because the SE connectors on the Volot are just a single XLR that has been split into 2 SE connectors, so they still arrive from a balanced origin). That being said, the placebo effect is VERY real and in practice today in many professions (such as pharmaceutical trials). So, if it makes someone THINK their gear sounds better, then good for them. I just smile, laugh and scroll when I see posts like that. It is their money to waste where they see fit. I am sure many people think we are wasting our money on expensive HP's too. Anyway, that's my $0.02
I have no idea if headphone cables make a difference as I've never tested it, but your test is flawed from the start because you assume everyone hears as you do.
Thanks for the video! Even if it did make a difference, the prices of some of the cables should make people pause and question what they are paying for. For everyone else claiming they can hear differences, well, you know the usual response: set up a listening test that is truly blind, maybe even double blind, and publish the results in a forum or post and let us see you pick out which cable is which. If you can't, then there are no differences insofar as human hearing can tell. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I haven't seen any such research. If you delve into this topic you only find people doing AB tests where they know what they are listening to, that does not count; preconceived ideas affect interpretation. Or you find people that did try proper tests, and came away realizing they got it wrong more often than not and they stop discussing this topic completely as far as sound goes. But no one wants to do that, because they have too much invested in their cables already. Also, cables actually look like snakes. Ahem.
I've never heard any difference between cables, and believe me I've tried, If I replace the original cable, it is only for reliability and aesthetics only.
Hello William✋I've been watching your videos for a few years now & as my grandson has a budget starting system with a Creek 20/20 integrated amp & a Revolver turntable what would you say about him adding a Headphone amp to his system to run his Sennheiser headphones.
I really cant tell a difference between headphone cables. However,, I believe that cables CAN make a difference! Particularly when you have a transducer thats hard to drive, and the amplifier in use isnt the strongest. Years ago, i bought the Tin P1 planar magnetic IEM. Reviews said it sounded great, but hard to drive. The TRS cable that came with it, powered by if IIRC a FIIO BTR5 sounded AWFUL. Then I got a balanced cable for it, and the power increase made a HUGE improvement. So, I go with nothing but balanced cables for my headphones now, the logic being more power equals possibly a thicker sound/tone quality, and a potential for better bass response and dynamics. HEDDPHONE definitely benefits from balanced cables on my amps...but for the most part, honestly, especially with efficient easy to drive headphones, I cant hear a difference.
The difference you just describe came from using the balanced output of your amp which normally puts out double to 4 times the wattage of the SE output. Yes this is only possible with a balanced cable.
I tried an upgraded silver iem cable on my new KZxHBB PR2 micro planar monitors because I assumed the included cables wouldn’t sound as good (thin wires, no braids, just flat) but to my surprise the “upgraded” cable opened up the treble too much and they became a bit too hot and somewhat fatiguing. This led me to believe the upgraded cable pairs better with darker iems that need a little boost in the treble. The stock cable does a great job taming the PR2 despite their cheaper build quality. Not all stock cables are throwaway garbage but can actually contribute to the over tuning and sound signature. Not sure of this is just a coincidence or if KZ actually paired the appropriate cable with this iem?
Pad rolling or changing the tips on IEMs is probably more significant (and cheaper). I really don't see the point in even spending the money on "nice" cables. If I get one as a freebie, sure - I'll use it.
Have you try koala cables Taijitu cable? I have two and they made big difference in sound. Made my HD800 soundstage wider and deeper and imgaing is a lot better. My lcd4 also get same result. I don't see many people talk about them. Maybe ask them for a cable to review?
How would someone strengthen the power supply area? I am using a surge protector, so are you recommending a certain type of surge protector or certain power cables? If so, which would you recommend?
Off topic... Just heard the new hedd headphones. The hedd2 sounds great and is way more comfortable. Hope you can get one to review. I heard a pre production , but production has started, or so I am told. Expecting around 2000. On topic... Cables are overrated, a certain minimum level is needed, but that goes more for the connectors. If you plug in and out a lot... Spend some more on cables with quality connects.
Guitar cables definitely make a difference to the sound of a guitar (i've tested it by recording with 1 cheap cable and 1 expensive cable, with all else being equal, and listened A/B afterwards. Definite difference) so i don't see why cables wouldn't make a difference for headphones too. But i haven't tested it myself
When I had headphones, I only bought cables for aesthetics and didn’t hear any differences considering I used run of the mill cables. Now, with IEMs, yes I can hear a difference between copper, silver and a combination of the two. Even with palladium coated fittings, I can hear the depth of the stage get deeper. I order my IEM cables from Penon Audio and I use the Penon Fan 2, EA500, Chu 2 and PR2.
I believe I can hear more differences from cable rolling than from tube rolling. But differences from cable rolling are very subtle, like so small that I don't care about it. EQ can make a bigger impact.
oh I can easily hear a difference between cheap and quality power tubes, with cheap shit my headphones are lazy and sounds too loose (even thou you need a transparent headphones not some colored bullshit with fake sound)
Headphone cables make a big difference for me. I use Fog City Audio cables and I clearly hear a significant improvement with my HIFIMAN XS I believe they are using inexpensive Mogami cables.
No need to get upset with your statements, because ... It's all about YOUR opinion! The things you experince is YOUR experience! And you state just that. That it's YOUR opinion. And ... We all can see your opinion is an honest one.
