Headphones

Hello,

I would like to discuss something that has come to my attention recently, and is really bothering me... the importance of the headphone cable. For the past 10-15 years, I was under the belief that the quality of the cable was of little importance. I remember reading countless articles comparing "high quality" cables, to crappy "coat hangers" made of metal, and all the articles and reviews always said that no one was able to tell the difference in audio quality.

Still to this day, when I google, "does headphone cable affect sound quality", all of the results all say the same thing. The cable quality does not matter, and it's all a placebo or snake oil affect.

So over the years, I have consistently purchased whatever the cheapest / generic replacement cable I could, whenever I needed a replacement. Not that I go through them very often, but I would say a cable usually would last 4-5 years, and either wear out on it's own, but get damaged due to my own fault. The two headphones I use the most are the AKG702 and the Sennheiser HD600s. I would usually purchase the replacement cables from amazon, or walmart, or whatever cheap cable I could find at a local shop. They have all been generic brands, like the NewFantasia replacement cables that are all over amazon.

After receiving the replacement cable, I have always been happy or content, thinking that the replacement cable sounded the same, and there was no loss in audio quality from my previous cable. So I can't really say that these replacement cables sound bad, but also it's possible that my ears just don't remember the original sound quality that came with the original cables.

Well recently I purchased a replacement cable for my AKGs from Hart audio. There was sale going on, and I have a little more disposable income than I did in the past, so I thought I would treat myself. I purchased a custom miniXLR to 1/4 jack cable, with a custom length that would keep the cable from being ran over by my office chair, and a cool pattern that matches the headphones. And to my surprise... there is very noticeable difference in quality between my new hart audio cable, and the regular generic ones.

Now I don't claim to be an audiophile, or someone with super ears or anything like that. I'm just a normal guy, who enjoys decent headphones. And TBH, I'm a little shocked right now, as to how much of a difference the higher quality cable makes. Switching between the cables, and listening to the same songs, at the same volume, I can clearly and easily tell the difference between the cables. There is a wider range of highs and lows, and precision that comes from the hart cables. The tiny little background sounds, all come in clearer, and sound better than the cheaper cables.

So how could this be? How could so many people and so much research claim that there is no difference? There are so many websites and videos out there, even from people claiming to be "audiophiles", that say the cable does not matter. Do people just keep quoting the same old study from the past? Were the "high quality" cables of the past, really no different from the generic cables? Are the "new high quality" cables, made of some better material, that wasn't available 10 years ago? Honestly I have no idea... but whatever it is, I'm a little annoyed right now! I've been missing out on better sounding headphones for the past decade, and I didn't even know it. So anyways, I just wanted to share my experience with others here... if you have been using generic replacement cables for your headphones for a while, it might be a good idea to try a newer higher quality cable, and see if you have been missing out on better sound.

Disclaimer: I am not claiming hart cables are the best, and I'm not sponsored by them or anything like that. I just purchased a cable from them with my own money from them, and decided to share my story. I'm guessing other brands of high quality cables will give similar improvements, but I have no idea because I haven't tested any.