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In Reply to: RE: Hi-End Headphone Cables posted by Duster on September 28, 2020 at 17:29:13
Spectrum Cu is 28 AWG, which would be fine for the "normal" headphones, the types that can be powered from the small/medium headphone amplifiers or even from garden-variety op-amp headphone jack of receivers, e.g. Sennheiser HD6/7/8 series, AKG K7xx series, Audio Technicas, etc.
But IME, the hard-to-drive headphones that demand lots of power need heavier AWG cable to avoid sounding anemic and lean. Most of these will be planars, e.g. Audeze LCD4, Hifiman Susvara, Abyss Phi, etc. Current TOTL favorite Raal SR1a ribbon headphones, which represent a super-low 0.2 Ohm load requires headphone cables with very low resistance if driven from speaker amps via adapter box.
One of the better-sounding headphone cables I've tried with planars is the Norne Silvergarde series, which is OCC silver litz, 20 AWG x4 (x8 can be ordered). This sounds as good as one can reasonably expect given the pure-silver sound signatures, which is probably being balanced well by the heavier AWG. The cost is high. (See Link)
Double Helix is a crowd favorite, and one can draw some design inspirations from various designs on site, but their TOTL headphone cables are even more costly.
https://doublehelixcables.com/products/headphone-cables/
VH Audio no longer seems to be selling the Spectrum wire by itself, but the V-Quad Cu24 or Cu21 would make nice headphone cables terminated with 4-pin XLR cable on amp end, which is what headphone enthusiasts want these days for their balanced amps.
Follow Ups:
I cannot comment on hard to drive headphones, since the headphone rigs I use are rather typical. I was concerned about 28 gauge for a headphone cable build, but found that many stock headphone cables involve fine gauge wire, with 24 AWG being a relatively large gauge for what is considered a typical headphone application. I considered 28 AWG for a 5 foot length to be sufficient for a pair of efficient AKG headphones.
Solid core twisted pair conductors are rare based on durability for use as a headphone cable conductor, but presents the same type of audiophile benefits as when used for other audio signal cables. What's most notable about the Spectrum Cu cable is the AirLok dielectric and the very robust jacket, with a Teflon tape wrap over the precision twisted pair for excellent flexibility while being very protective, and with an outer diameter that is small enough to fit two of the cables into an Oyaide 6.3mm connector, with extensive modification of a Neutrik/Rean mini-XLR connector at the load end.
With a pair of VH Audio V-Twist rca interconnects and a custom V-Twist/V-Quad USB cable placed upstream, I find the tonality of the Spectrum Cu to be balanced, neutral, and fast sounding, with excellent spatial cues, ambient information, and inner detail vs. typical stranded conductors, as well as what I consider inferior fiber reinforced fine gauge litz wire. There are many ways to skin a cat, and this particular high-performance DIY build is one of them.
all the headphone cables I made featured solid core 28g wires. FWIW I talked with a world class electrical expert and he explained why such thin wires could work well for planars but not necessarily for box speakers. I am guess that all that translates to headphones.
Agree that the stock wires are super thin and there are benefits with solidcore thin wires for headphones.
Cut to razor sounding violins
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