# Toxic Cables Viper Sennhesier HD650 Headphone Cable: Affordable Hi-Fi (Review)



## Austin Morrow

There are over a dozen aftermarket headphone cable makers known on the market today. While most of the popular brands steal the top positions when it comes to popularity and design schematics, sometimes the underdog can reign as the new champion in the world. Toxic Cables have done just that, they’ve managed to make a superior sounding and well built cable coupled with a very affordable price. The Viper is one of those cables that makes you re-think what is possible in an under $100 cable.
   
*The Design*
  Toxic Cables have a few different design schemes in place when it comes to the look, build, and feel of each cable. My Viper arrived in a naked sleeve (which is one of my favorite looks) but can also be ordered in a nylon sleeve and woven wired tight to the cable to give it that winded look. The Viper, being SPC, is one of the coolest and simplest looking cables that I have ever tested. The 26 AWG wire is perfect for a simple desktop setup and doesn’t interfere with anything. While I personally like the look of bulky cables, the small diameter size of the Viper really looks good in any system, and stands out among the crowd when it comes to the silver gleam that the Viper seems to give off in the right light.The actual build quality of the Viper is absolutely fantastic, and that’s putting it into a simple, easy to read statement. 
   
  The minute details of the Viper show a lot throughout the perimeter of the wire and parts, and feature some of the most well known DIY parts known to cable makers. The ViaBlue quarter inch plug is used by many cable makers and despite being quite expensive, is easily one of the best built and modern looking plugs. The matte finish is solid to the touch, and the gold plating is very durable, with a high amount of shine and tackiness (in terms of the gold adhering to the actual plug itself). The connectors seem to be made by Cardas (at least that’s where the majority of Sennheiser HD6XX plugs come from) and are kept perfectly in place by Toxic Cables branding on the sides of the connectors, which can also be seen on the cable splitter and on the termination end of things.
   
*Sonic Impressions*
  The Viper has all the usual characteristics of a pure silver cable. In a nutshell, the Viper is bright (which becomes tamed after a few days of burn in), extremely well extended on both ends of the spectrum, very sparkly, and a transient response that is to die for. I’ve always felt as if though silver cables seem to lack a bit when it comes to the lower end of the spectrum, and that same statement can be said for the Viper. It’s certainly not a downside, as Toxic Cables makes a copper cables, but silver tends to be a lot less meaty than copper. The low end still has the same amount of surge as a stock cable, but with a little bit more speed and agility in the attack and decay response of the notes. The midrange seems to be a little less full than what I would like (I love a lush and coherent midrange presence), but the Viper soars in both clarity and vocal pronunciation. Again, if you want a little more meat and body, go with a pure copper cable, but you’ll be loosing out on the clarity and detail retrieval.
   
  When you start to enter into the top frequencies, the Viper tends to soar yet again, with treble sparkle and detail retrieval being off the hook. The Viper can simply be described as one of the most cold (in a good way), detailed, and most brutally revealing cables that I have ever tested for the Sennheiser HD650. If you were to compare it to something like the Whiplash Audio TWag V2 HD650 cable, which is three times the price, you’d notice that the Viper soars in detail, but lacks in body, and that’ll be a personal preference among people. It’s comparing apples to oranges, detail versus warmth. Lastly, I feel as if the Viper has a superior soundstage and imaging experience. The depth of the HD650 is doubled, and the width seems to expand both left and right ever so slightly, and seem to have much more layering and proper instrumental separation than a pure copper cable.
   
*Final Thoughts*
  I have yet to hear a silver cable as detailed and revealing as the Viper from Toxic Cables. At such a small price, it’s easily one of the best values available on the headphone cable aftermarket today. The build, sonics, and price are totally unparalleled by that of higher end cables, and that includes some of the highest and biggest players in the game like ALO Audio and Double Helix Cables. Toxic Cables may one day take the crown as the most affordable and best cable manufactures of this century.
   
  More pictures:


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## cogsand gears

Nice review Austin. A good read.


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## gurus

Quote: 





austin morrow said:


> There are over a dozen aftermarket headphone cable makers known on the market today. While most of the popular brands steal the top positions when it comes to popularity and design schematics, sometimes the underdog can reign as the new champion in the world. Toxic Cables have done just that, they’ve managed to make a superior sounding and well built cable coupled with a very affordable price. The Viper is one of those cables that makes you re-think what is possible in an under $100 cable.


 
  Is this cable under $100?
   
  I could not find the Viper or any other (silver OR COPPER) headphone cable under $100 on the Toxic Cable website.


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## Toxic Cables

gurus said:


> Is this cable under $100?
> 
> I could not find the Viper or any other (silver OR COPPER) headphone cable under $100 on the Toxic Cable website.



I don't have half my items listed on the site, the shortest length for headphone cables I offer is 6ft, this costs £85 for the Viper and £75 for the Scorpion. Anything under 6ft, would still be charged as 6ft.


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## AKG240mkII

Quote: 





> The Viper has all the usual characteristics of a pure silver cable. In a nutshell, the Viper is bright *(which becomes tamed after a few days of burn in)*


 
  LOL !! 
  Besides the fact that you are listening with your eyes .. CABLE BURN-IN ?
  You GOTTA be joking, right ?


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## Ultrainferno

This thread sure has been nicely cleaned up


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## cogsand gears

Yes, much more concise.


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## Lex Tan

I have placed order from Toxic HD650 cable since early October 2012 but till today I have not received it. It was through this Head-fi.org that I contacted him via ebay for the cable. 
  Initially, I was told that the cable can be delivered within a month or two therefore I had placed the order from him. I contacted him and understood that he was busy with his tons of orders from his customers. I keep waiting for the cable and of course I did exchange email with him to understand on the status and he will tell me that "within 10 days he will send out the cable or the next batch will be yours". As months goes by, I become frustrated and committed a dateline for him but still I didn't receive the cable i paid for... 
   
  As of today I have already waited for 1/2 a year but still no sign of my cable and to a point i was thinking, is this vendor really exist in this world or is it really very difficult for him to craft the cable?
   
  I'm not too sure if anyone out there had encountered similar problem or perhaps I'm the only one who suffered this issue...


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## cute

Quote: 





lex tan said:


> I have placed order from Toxic HD650 cable since early October 2012 but till today I have not received it. It was through this Head-fi.org that I contacted him via ebay for the cable.
> Initially, I was told that the cable can be delivered within a month or two therefore I had placed the order from him. I contacted him and understood that he was busy with his tons of orders from his customers. I keep waiting for the cable and of course I did exchange email with him to understand on the status and he will tell me that "within 10 days he will send out the cable or the next batch will be yours". As months goes by, I become frustrated and committed a dateline for him but still I didn't receive the cable i paid for...
> 
> As of today I have already waited for 1/2 a year but still no sign of my cable and to a point i was thinking, is this vendor really exist in this world or is it really very difficult for him to craft the cable?
> ...


 
   
  Do what I did, buy the wire and DIY your own.....I had the same problem, cancelled the order, and a week later had built several for my HD600!


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## Toxic Cables

Quote: 





lex tan said:


> I have placed order from Toxic HD650 cable since early October 2012 but till today I have not received it. It was through this Head-fi.org that I contacted him via ebay for the cable.
> Initially, I was told that the cable can be delivered within a month or two therefore I had placed the order from him. I contacted him and understood that he was busy with his tons of orders from his customers. I keep waiting for the cable and of course I did exchange email with him to understand on the status and he will tell me that "within 10 days he will send out the cable or the next batch will be yours". As months goes by, I become frustrated and committed a dateline for him but still I didn't receive the cable i paid for...
> 
> As of today I have already waited for 1/2 a year but still no sign of my cable and to a point i was thinking, is this vendor really exist in this world or is it really very difficult for him to craft the cable?
> ...


 
  Can you please PM me your order details and i will look in to this. I do currently have a very long waiting list and have a batch of cables currently in the works.  As far as i am aware, i do not have any orders half a year old.
   
  Cute, Your complaint on the DIY thread was that you messaged me twice on eBay with no reply on how you could not add items to cart, yet since i replied to that post asking for your eBay user name, along with 2-3 separate PM's here asking for the same details, i received no reply from you.  I clear out my eBay inbox and reply to every message, so i too am quite eager to find out why, not 1 but 2 separate messages would not have been replied to, but without you providing me with your user name, i cannot check nor verify this. 
   
   
  Quick pic of the standard length cables being made in current batch.


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## ginetto61

Hi thanks a lot for the nice review. Beautiful cables indeed.
 Maybe i have missed it but* which amp did you use* for the testing ?
 Thanks a lot indeed,  gino


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