# Effect of silver cable on headphones



## chrislangley4253

Hey guys, 
   
  In a couple days I'm going to recable either a pair of my portapros or ksc75's with silver. I'm trying to decide which pair I'd like better with the silver. What effect do you think that silver has on the sound sig? It seems I have seen a lot of people saying that it makes the headphones a bit brighter. Is this true in your opinion or does it just make things clearer as a whole? I've yet to receive my KSC75's. But I know they are known to sound a bit different. I'll have to decide which pair to put the silver on based on the sound and what I expect the cable to do. 
   
  any opinions are greatly appreciated.


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## chrislangley4253

I'll probably just end up recabling whichever pair I expect to use the most. It might be a factor other than sound that decides this.. I haven't gotten my hands on the ksc75s yet. I'm not sure I'll love them as much as the portapro.  Still I'm curious what you guys think silver does to the sound.


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## Mad Max

Stranded OCC copper is where it's all at.  =p


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## chrislangley4253

Quote: 





mad max said:


> Stranded OCC copper is where it's all at.  =p


 


  holy crap that stuff is expensive! I hope you were joking lol. I had to check my sanity when I was buying silver for portapros. i bought the cable as part of a combo deal and I figured I could always use the cable on another set of headphones if i wanted to.


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## Mad Max

I'm actually not.  =(
   
  I'd stock up on the stuff, but too expensive indeed.
  And for such a high price, the insulation is really wussy.
   
   
  I've tried uncryo'd OCC silver.  Thick bass, textured mids, and sparkly treble - nice coloration, but I like stranded OCC copper best.  Or you can go with Mogami wire and keep it reasonably cheap.  $1 a foot which includes shielding and four wires to boot.  You can think of it as $0.25 per foot of wire with free shielding thrown in, lol.
   
  Even cheaper is mil-spec wire off of fleabay, colored sound as well but okay I suppose.  Real good strength.


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## chrislangley4253

I have a 4 conductor and 8 conductor cable coming made out of 28AWG solid core bare silver wire. the 8 conductor is going on my grado's. the 4 on either the ksc75's or portapros. I've modded both and the kramer mod does good things to both, moreso to the ksc75s. but, I find the ksc75s too bright. I'm burning them in with various noise and sweeps for the next 48 hours or so and finalizing the mods on both pairs so I can A/B them. Pretty sure the portapros are getting the cable though. Nothing against the ksc75s. I'd highly recommend them, I just prefer the portapro for comfort and sound. I'll update with pics when I do the recable.


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## Uncle Erik

Why not just buy a brighter headphone, if that's what you're after?

Silver won't show a brighter frequency response when measured.

However, you can actually measure the frequency response of different headphones. No one argues that.

No one argues whether an equalizer makes a difference, either. You could use one to put the frequency response where you like it.


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## chrislangley4253

My main goal with replacing the cable was to have a nice cable.. I didn't really come in with a plan to make a pair brighter (in fact, thus far, I think the ksc75s are too bright). I just hate flimsy cables. I came across a good deal on a pure silver cable, so thats what I went with. Then I found people stating that they think that silver cables make things brighter. seeing as i prefer the portapro on all fronts right now (still giving the ksc75's a chance to change with burn in) and I don't think I would mind it being a bit brighter (if this happens to occur) I'm going to recable it. 
   
   I don't expect anything specific out of the silver cable. Just for it to be nicer than the flimsy stock cable on my portapro. However,  I will update if I feel like it does have an effect on the sound. 
   
  In all honesty, I don't expect any change, except for how nice the cable feels and looks. I will always pick up my portapros often, no matter how hi-fi my rig gets.. I know this for a fact and I don't feel bad for sinking some money into them to have a nice cable  they are just too fun. I always use them on poorer recordings, they can present bad recordings in a really nice way. Sometimes my grados just absolutely kill an album because the album was produced poorly and they show every bit of it.
   
  I will also update if i feel my 8 conductor cable has an effect on my grado's. This, I expect to be a bit of an upgrade, but a cable is a cable. I knew that coming into it. I wanted to take my modded grado as far as I could before I stopped working on it. Do I expect it to make a huge difference? Not really. But, no harm in trying it out and I get a cool looking/durable cable in the process.


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## Chris_Himself

I get PM's everyday on how silver affects headphone sound! I think most headphones can benefit from it, it's really how much time and (not that much money) you'd want to put into them.
   
  I love recabling Grados and Sennheisers since I dont have to route anything through the headband.
   
  Recabled Grados honestly take them a step up. ALO had these recabled SR-225's I bought back in the day in their gorgeous Litz braid copper and they were the bees knees! I'd easily buy those again over a SR-325/RS-2 these days if I didn't have the option to DIY!
   
  I just bought a pair of SR-60's just to recable and demo versus my 225's right now with and without silver. This should show how similar they really are underneath! Gotta get rid of that pesky button too...


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## chrislangley4253

Quote: 





chris_himself said:


> I get PM's everyday on how silver affects headphone sound! I think most headphones can benefit from it, it's really how much time and (not that much money) you'd want to put into them.
> 
> I love recabling Grados and Sennheisers since I dont have to route anything through the headband.
> 
> ...


 


  have I been saying effect instead of affect this whole time? *embarrassed face*. My silver cable is gonna be a side by side litz braid for the grados and he did something unique with the portapro cable to keep it flexible. I'll update with pics when they arrive this week. Please update when you compare your 60s and your 225s. I'd also recommend removing the driver cloth and maybe poking a few holes in the cloth behind the driver.. 2-4. you won't see too much of a difference with 2, if you like it though. I'd easily recommend 4 and that you don't go beyond that. Also, There is a lot of hype on putting dynamat on the back of the magnet of the driver. I did it, and I think it helped clean up the sound a bit. But, no promises seeing as I couldn't A/B it. 
   
  -Edit- You can't remove the button on the 60s without moving the grille. I wasn't sure if you knew this or not


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## estreeter

You certainly wont have any problems getting recommendations if you post 'Looking for a bright headphone' in the Headphones forum - the Head-Fier aversion to anything bright seems to dovetail nicely with persistent cries of 'Im NOT a basshead, honest, Im not .... '   
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  There is a huge future out there for anyone prepared to build V-shaped headphones, amps and dacs. Midrange ? We dont need no steenkin midrange !


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## chrislangley4253

Quote: 





estreeter said:


> You certainly wont have any problems getting recommendations if you post 'Looking for a bright headphone' in the Headphones forum - the Head-Fier aversion to anything bright seems to dovetail nicely with persistent cries of 'Im NOT a basshead, honest, Im not .... '
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  I'm a bit confused as to what you are getting at estreeter.


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## estreeter

That makes 3 of us.


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## Uncle Erik

People come around to the mids, eventually.


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## estreeter

Quote: 





uncle erik said:


> People come around to the mids, eventually.


 


  What stuns me, UE, is the amount of time it takes many of us to realise that the mids are where the music lives. I havent read anything about silver in cables (any cable) that has made me want to dash out and pay for a silver cable.


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## chrislangley4253

Quote: 





estreeter said:


> What stuns me, UE, is the amount of time it takes many of us to realise that the mids are where the music lives. I havent read anything about silver in cables (any cable) that has made me want to dash out and pay for a silver cable.


 
  I only did it because it was a good deal and i thought it looked neat and might present some benefits sound-wise. I would surely think it will live up to any copper cable. But, I don't know this for sure.


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## dilpal

Quote: 





estreeter said:


> What stuns me, UE, is the amount of time it takes many of us to realise that the mids are where the music lives. I havent read anything about silver in cables (any cable) that has made me want to dash out and pay for a silver cable.


 

 Ya ,it took me almost three year from my first purchase ( crative EP-630).


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## Chris_Himself

Quote: 





chrislangley4253 said:


> have I been saying effect instead of affect this whole time? *embarrassed face*. My silver cable is gonna be a side by side litz braid for the grados and he did something unique with the portapro cable to keep it flexible. I'll update with pics when they arrive this week. Please update when you compare your 60s and your 225s. I'd also recommend removing the driver cloth and maybe poking a few holes in the cloth behind the driver.. 2-4. you won't see too much of a difference with 2, if you like it though. I'd easily recommend 4 and that you don't go beyond that. Also, There is a lot of hype on putting dynamat on the back of the magnet of the driver. I did it, and I think it helped clean up the sound a bit. But, no promises seeing as I couldn't A/B it.
> 
> -Edit- You can't remove the button on the 60s without moving the grille. I wasn't sure if you knew this or not


 


  Ehh... I cringe about poking holes in anything and irrevocably changing it. I'm more about cookie cutter solutions to things. I like my driver cloth, it makes them look like speakers 
   
  I've heard a difference with just Mogami Gold microphone cable in place of what these normally come with. I wish Grado was upfront about exactly what they use in their cables, from the low end to the high end. I figure the recable on the 60 should yield quite dramatic effects in the midrange, also going to a 4 connector cable should reduce the noise floor as well. I read Bilavideo's thread on this and it wasn't around when I was messing around with cables for these and I was glad that he heard a difference too since I thought I might have just been crazy haha! HeadRoom has been pushing Cardas for years and all their cable compositions are super top secret meanwhile Homegrown Audio sells you the bleeding edge quality components so I mean even the respectable vendors still believe.
   
  What I really don't understand is how I can benefit from a recable when I'm plugging into a Grado extension cable.... it's worked before though and it makes no difference if I use the extension cable or not so the Grado unit is very high quality apparently.


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## chrislangley4253

Quote: 





chris_himself said:


> Ehh... I cringe about poking holes in anything and irrevocably changing it. I'm more about cookie cutter solutions to things. I like my driver cloth, it makes them look like speakers
> 
> I've heard a difference with just Mogami Gold microphone cable in place of what these normally come with. I wish Grado was upfront about exactly what they use in their cables, from the low end to the high end. I figure the recable on the 60 should yield quite dramatic effects in the midrange, also going to a 4 connector cable should reduce the noise floor as well. I read Bilavideo's thread on this and it wasn't around when I was messing around with cables for these and I was glad that he heard a difference too since I thought I might have just been crazy haha! HeadRoom has been pushing Cardas for years and all their cable compositions are super top secret meanwhile Homegrown Audio sells you the bleeding edge quality components so I mean even the respectable vendors still believe.
> 
> What I really don't understand is how I can benefit from a recable when I'm plugging into a Grado extension cable.... it's worked before though and it makes no difference if I use the extension cable or not so the Grado unit is very high quality apparently.


 
  The thing about poking the holes.. is that the two holes, is a very subtle change. So long as you think your grados can benefit from a bit more bass, you are safe doing it. I have a feeling if you poke 2, you will poke 4. And even after 4 you will want to poke more, but I advise against it. I love my grados they way they are, but they get a bit bassy sometimes. It really depends on the recording and the artists intentions.
  I'm glad to hear that you have heard improvement and to see if I do as well. I also will be using a 10ft CARDAS extension. It will be interesting to see if I think this affects the sound.


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## b0wl1ng

Interesting, slightly off thead, yesterday whist off work I was trying out various LODs to compare the sound signature, copper,copper/silver hybrid, and silver, the silver was  the best,more detailed and a slightly better sound than the others, small margins granted, but the better of the four , next best was the copper/silver hybrid.


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## chrislangley4253

Quote: 





b0wl1ng said:


> Interesting, slightly off thead, yesterday whist off work I was trying out various LODs to compare the sound signature, copper,copper/silver hybrid, and silver, the silver was  the best,more detailed and a slightly better sound than the others, small margins granted, but the better of the four , next best was the copper/silver hybrid.


 


  huh.. I've heard similar things from other people. I find it particularly interesting when digital cables have an effect.


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## estreeter

Digital cables ? A LOD cable passes an analog signal from your DAP to your amp - not sure what part of that makes it a 'digital' cable.


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## Pricklely Peete

Put the pint down estreeter and reread what the lad posted...
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  Peete.


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## chrislangley4253

Actually, I was thinking that a LOD was a digital cable for whatever reason.. I don't know why. But, it obviously isn't. Makes more sense that the material would have an effect to me on analog cables.


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## Mad Max

Quote: 





pricklely peete said:


> Put the _gallon_ down estreeter and reread what the lad posted...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 fixed your typo, sir


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## chrislangley4253

and then it was a thread about drinking . I should be putting on the cables this weekend at the very latest. 
   

   

   
  I decided to go with the Portapros BTW.. The ksc75s are just too damn sparkly


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## estreeter

A gallon ? Meh - unless you two have got a KEG waiting, the evening will have to progress without me. And chicks. But no fat ones - my first wife is still out there somewhere - be afraid, be very afraid. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Er, where were we - oh yeah, that cable certainly looks nice, Chrislangley. Few of us are totally immune to the aesthetics of nice cables.


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## chrislangley4253

thanks  I only partially bought it because I think silver cables look badass..  I wear my headphones more than shoes, I'm allowed to make them look neat. I've yet to see what it does to the sound. Probably nothing a nice thick copper cable wouldn't do. *shrugs* However, you must admit the nice thin braided silver cable is going to be great for the portapro. Considering that I wear those pretty much 24/7 when I'm not at a computer I was cool with putting a bit of cash down on a nice cable.


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