My lovely Audeze LCD-3 (Pre fazor) headphones factory cable have given up. The left side is noisy and needs some wiggling to work properly.
Did a few test and everything points to the cable.
I still have the factory balanced (XLR 4 pin) cable that came with the headphones, too. Unused. Brand new.
Note : I need 1/4" single end for my MZ2 amp…
Therefore here are my options, as I see it.
A. Get a custom adapter (4 pin XLR female to 1/4").
B. Get a new cable replacement / upgrade, altogether.
Is there any benefit to upgrading to a completely new cable at all?
Would I get the same fidelity using a high end adapter (say from Moon Audio?) and the original Balance cable that I previously had with my Factory Audeze 1/4" cable ?
Or would a cable upgrade would really benefit me, here?
(Not super keen on spending a huge amount on a cable either…)
@M0N, I know you wlll be my voice of reason for this dilemma!
mostly get an upgrade cable if you want a different look and feel. Sonically it could be a bit better, but you would have to spend quite a bit and it would only make sense if the rest of your chain is here to stay. Getting an upgrade cable for sound quality improvements is the least bang for your buck place to invest money in your chain.
An adapter is fine, but if you never use XLR, I would recommend getting an SE cable as the adapter is a bit clunky and annoying imo. Also, you can get a cable for not much more than the price of an adapter
If you did like the stock cable’s build and feel and would like to just get that, I have an extra I could sell. If you end up wanting a budget after market cable instead, try hart or periapt.
Totally my thoughts on cables… Probably the less bang for your buck / biggest diminishing return…
I was mostly happy about how my whole setup sounded. I most importantly don’t want to degrade that!
Personally not a big fan of the original cable build, but not enough to look at replacements.
You have great performing chain and can get some benefit from an upgraded cable that the average consumer would not.
You seem to like your headphones and chain, so this will be the last little tidbit to put it into place.
The mini-XLR connector is one of the more popular ones, so I think you would not find any trouble finding nice cables on the used market (which is what I would recommend).
you can get a replacement cable straight from audeze i believe for $150, it’s a nice cable but i feel a little overpriced for what it is imo. My recommendation for a nice custom cable in the $100 range is a OIDIO Mongrel cable. really nice braided fabric cable that has a great build and sound. https://oidiosound.co.uk/headphone-cables/audeze/mongrel-lcd-empyrean
If you are comfortable doing your own soldering and have a multi-meter, the least expensive option here is to replace the XLR with a quality 1/4" jack.
