Different cables do sound different

Well, thats true, but IEM cables have usually more cores. More resistors in parallel means lesser overall resistance…
So the core count should also play a big role…

3 Likes

Right. More cores is a good way to reduce resistance when small cross sectional area is a goal. It turns out that current generally travels in the outer layer, call it the skin, of a conductor. More cores increases the total skin area, which essentially increases the cross-sectional, area through which charges can travel.

2 Likes

well…
I didnt think of an iem cable as one “piece” (i feel a little dumb now), but yeah…
I can agree :smile:

I am not a scientist but I’ve watched at least 3 or 4 fifteen minute videos on the subject. So we’re even. :wink:

1 Like

Lol. That’s very “patriotic” of you :laughing:

1 Like

Are OIDIO cables good? Thinking of possibly buying one for some Fostex cans.

They have got lots of good recommendations.
Was my second choice when i wondered about ordering a custom cable.

Solid option.

1 Like

I use the fiio lc-2.5d with the FH3 and am really very happy with it. It sounds really better than with the standard cable, which is probably mostly done because of it is balanced. Only the right mmcx connector is now a little looser than the left.

Nice! So do I…

2 Likes

@Resolution What difference do you hear between the two FH3s with the different cables?
The change from SE to balanced should actually reinforce the DD bass through the additional power.
With the lc 2.5d, in my opinion, it improved the details, bass speed (not quantity) and heights.
For me, however, this is perfect because I lacked the heights before.

I dunno about changing any sort of sound quality, but they are really nice cables and definitely worth the money, I love my one for my t50rps even if I’m not much of a fan of the headphones anymore :sweat_smile:

3 Likes

Yeah JT makes dope cables :+1: just a shame I can’t persuade him to do more IEM ones though lol.

1 Like

I find that the silver cable doesn’t change the frequency response much, if at all, but the output feels lighter. Bass frequencies don’t feel as heavy. Everything sounds faster. silver also sounds as if it has slightly more clarity. I find the biggest difference in the soundstage and especially imaging.

All this might sound like “improvements” to the sound but I wouldn’t call it that. It’s just different. It’s still the same source hitting your ears. A different cable or IEM will never change that, but there are small differences in different cables. Everything adds up. Source, dac, amp, cable, IEM, tips and your ears and brain.

1 Like

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t this only true for AC?

2 Likes

You are correct. Since audio signals are AC I didn’t worry with the distinction. This is an AC effect because the movement of charges back and forth creates magnetic fields that push free electrons to the outer layer of a conductor.

3 Likes

The boys come through at HF Guides and show theoretical is not the same as practical. I’ve read in previously and seen a couple of trusted sources state the same that the AC fed to speakers is so small that that designers consider it DC and therefore “skin effect” when being sold as an issue to be solved in speaker cables is in fact BS.

I know the words you used, but not what you try to say.

1 Like

I’ve been thinking about all of this for days and have some conclusions for everyone that might be helpful takeaways…

  1. If you don’t care about squeezing all the quality out of your audio possible, never worry about your cable. To hear the differences cables can make, you need high quality sources, a dac/amp capable of pushing that level of fidelity and power through the cable and an IEM capable of enough detail to hear the differences. If you’re listening to YouTube or MP3 files, stop reading now.

  2. If you are an audiophile trying to get as much from your audio as possible, everything matters. So before you even think about upgrading your cable, you should make sure you already have quality gear and sources that will allow a higher quality cable to make any difference.

  3. Some cables can actually sound poor. Some might not even be a good match for your IEM. You might be able to get away with the cable that came with your IEM, but it is possible that your cable might be holding your IEM back from its full potential.

  4. Any audiophile should have a great standard cable around just to understand what a good cable the majority have agreed upon is “good” quality and reliable to compare other cables to.

  5. If anyone is interested in what a different cable might be able to bring to the table, a good bet would be to get a great quality copper, and silver cable to compare. The biggest differences in sound characteristics come from these two different metal types.

  6. No one needs to spend a fortune for a cable to attain high quality sound. It is important to have a quality cable that delivers the best audio rich signal to your IEMs but that is attainable without spending $1,000.00 on a cable.

  7. The difference different high quality cables make in the grand scheme of everything is incredibly minute. It should probably be one of (if not the very last thing) anyone even thinks about when trying to squeeze ever drip of quality out of their music enjoyment.

  8. Different cable materials aren’t necessarily better. They sound different. It is subjective to the listener as to which they prefer.

  9. You may not even care about how a cable sounds. The comfort, weight, connection type/simplicity and appearance might be all you care about. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a cable for reasons other than its audio quality. Those reasons alone are probably more important to most when they will possibly make a larger impact on the enjoyment of your gear than the minute sound differences different cables might make.

Feel free to argue any of these points or add your own. It benefits us all in our audiophile journeys. :slight_smile:

9 Likes

Those are some well-reasoned and well-presented thoughts!

I think I agree that the cable is probably the last piece to fuss over for sound reasons. Ergonomics are another factor to consider with cables, though. Adding to the discussion above about multi-core IEM cables (or headphone cables or speaker cables or even interconnects) between @MazeFrame, @db_Cooper, @Joeses01, and myself, another thing multi-core wires do is increase the flexbility of the cable. For iems this is even more important than with headphones as iems are so light and only stay in the ear by friction. A too-stiff cable will decrease the fit quality.

3 Likes

@WaveTheory the piece of gear that would solve the scientist in you for measurements is a 2 port network analyzer. Those devices are are amazing at characterizing anything. We had to use a 2 port network analyzer for testing out different soldering techniques in the past when dealing with amplifiers and oscillators in circuits.

And yes… We had to look at at interconnects and apply transmission line theory for less than 5 mm of trace. Granted most of those tests are done to measure the parasitics at high frequencies. If you are really curious and as an engineer, transmission line theory is your friend.

2 Likes