# Headphone cable length - at what length does quality get impacted?



## Joeybgood

Wondering at what length do folks feel that the sound quality becomes adversely affected? Does it depend on the  quality of the cable? Looking to have custom cables made and would love some input. tks!


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## Steve Eddy

Depends on the length and construction of the cable. Every cable has a certain amount of parasitic resistance, inductance and capacitance. How much depends on the length and construction. 

There are basically two areas of concern. The first is inductance and capacitance. These are the two factors that make a cable what's called a "low pass filter." This means that the cable passes the lowest frequencies, all the way down to DC, but will gradually roll off high frequencies at some point. If you don't have so much inductance and capacitance, it will only start rolling off high frequencies well above the audio band. But too much inductance and capacitance can bring this rolloff into the audio band.

The other concern is resistance. For a given cable, the longer its length the higher its resistance. How much will depend on the size of the wires used to make the cable. Normally this resistance will simply result in an across the board attenuation of the signal, which in itself is no big deal unless you're already listenening with the volume control cranked all the way up and it's not loud enough.

However the cable's resistance also adds to the amplifier's output impedance and defines the source impedance as seen by the headphone. For some headphones, like planars/orthodynamics, this isn't of any real concern. But for typical dynamic headphones, a high enough source impedance can result in audible changes in frequency response. 

There's really no simple answer to this question. But generally, if you're looking at lengths up to two or three meters, most any cable should be fine. Going beyond that, you'll probably want to pay closer attention to the properties I've mentioned above.

se


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## Joeybgood

Thank you for your input/feedback!! I am eyeballing some canare cables for which the asking price is for a 5' length but he will increase length up to 15' for no added cost. Do you feel that with this brand of cable I would be wise to stay with the 5' length? (keeping it under the 2-3meter suggestion you cited)


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## lsamod

steve eddy said:


> There are basically two areas of concern. The first is inductance and capacitance. These are the two factors that make a cable what's called a "low pass filter." This means that the cable passes the lowest frequencies, all the way down to DC, but will gradually roll off high frequencies at some point. If you don't have so much inductance and capacitance, it will only start rolling off high frequencies well above the audio band. But too much inductance and capacitance can bring this rolloff into the audio band.


 
 So can cables change the sound? I've heard people saying that the canare cables were warm......


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## Steve Eddy

lsamod said:


> So can cables change the sound? I've heard people saying that the canare cables were warm......




It's certainly possible if the cable's long enough, or is particularly poorly designed. But you'd really have to go out of your way to do that.

As for people's subjective impressions, they are what they are for a variety of reasons, not all of which necessarily have anthing to do with the cable. But this isn't the forum for discussing such issues.

Basically, you can take two approaches. You can go with what sounds best to you regardless of what reasons may be behind it, or if you want to discover whether or not the cable is causing an actual audible difference, you can take a more objective approach and do controlled listening tests. Both approaches are perfectly valid in my opinion.

se


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## BeatsWork

Bear in mind that many of the comments on Canare vs. Mogami and capacitance  etc. were probably influenced by people reading threads in pro music forums where they're contemplating very long runs from Mic to board. Someone smarter than I can provide the formulas but I'm skeptical that 10' would have a significant impact on cable designed to run hundreds of feet


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## ProtegeManiac

joeybgood said:


> Thank you for your input/feedback!! I am eyeballing some canare cables for which the asking price is for a 5' length but he will increase length up to 15' for no added cost. Do you feel that with this brand of cable I would be wise to stay with the 5' length? (keeping it under the 2-3meter suggestion you cited)


 
  
Do you really need a 15ft cable for how you use the headphones, or you just want to make the most out of your money and get that much? If it's the latter, and you're buying just the cable (and will solder the headphone pins and TRS/XLR plugs later), then why not just buy 15ft, cut it into two, make a cable out of one then save the other half for another cable? You might get a new headphone later, or break the still long 7.5ft long cable (that's one reason why some get aftermarket cables BTW - they can get it a short enough length to keep them out of the way but still long enough that they can bolt upright from their chairs without damaging anything).


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## Joeybgood

protegemaniac said:


> Do you really need a 15ft cable for how you use the headphones, or you just want to make the most out of your money and get that much? If it's the latter, and you're buying just the cable (and will solder the headphone pins and TRS/XLR plugs later), then why not just buy 15ft, cut it into two, make a cable out of one then save the other half for another cable? You might get a new headphone later, or break the still long 7.5ft long cable (that's one reason why some get aftermarket cables BTW - they can get it a short enough length to keep them out of the way but still long enough that they can bolt upright from their chairs without damaging anything).
 
 I do tend to like to have the extra length for moving around while I'm listening to music. I have a Grado 15' extension but I want to upgrade to a balanced amp so the grado cable won't be compatible  so I thought just  having longer XLR cables would be suit my needs. I like to get up and groove to the tunes when the music moves me...lol.. Music has an amazing ability to soothe, inspire and delight our senses. ya know?


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## BeatsWork

joeybgood said:


> I do tend to like to have the extra length for moving around while I'm listening to music. I have a Grado 15' extension but I want to upgrade to a balanced amp so the grado cable won't be compatible  so I thought just  having longer XLR cables would be suit my needs. I like to get up and groove to the tunes when the music moves me...lol.. Music has an amazing ability to soothe, inspire and delight our senses. ya know?


 
  
  
 FYI - you can see my review on Zynsonix extension option  http://www.head-fi.org/products/zynsonix-xev-headphone-extension-cable#  and balanced cable http://www.head-fi.org/products/zynsonix-trebuchet-hifiman-balanced-cable
  
 I am completely ADHD and have on many occassions yanked cables out of amp,  ridden over cable with office chair over hardwood floors etc. and had no effect whatsoever ....
  


joeybgood said:


> Music has an amazing ability to soothe, inspire and delight our senses. ya know?


 
  
 And to make you forget that you're tethered to something that doesn't move - or at least shouldn't


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## Joeybgood

beatswork said:


> FYI - you can see my review on Zynsonix extension option  http://www.head-fi.org/products/zynsonix-xev-headphone-extension-cable#  and balanced cable http://www.head-fi.org/products/zynsonix-trebuchet-hifiman-balanced-cable
> 
> I am completely ADHD and have on many occassions yanked cables out of amp,  ridden over cable with office chair over hardwood floors etc. and had no effect whatsoever ....
> 
> ...


 
 very cool~ I will definitely give that a whirl! I like that it also has the SE adaptors/connectors for it as well. Thanks for the 411 :-D If I had a dollar for every time I yanked the cord for one reason or another....yikes... I'm always afraid I have caused damage to the female end on the can because that seems to be the location that gets yanked the hardest(and gets jerked right out)! Tks again!


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## ProtegeManiac

joeybgood said:


> Music has an amazing ability to soothe, inspire and delight our senses. ya know?


 
  
 Not me though, I'm more of the soothe part - I stay in my seat to take in all the music. Im more of a hurricane that gets contained and dissipated by the music rather than a calm but warm sea that gets stirred up into a hurricane - basically imagine Vader's meditation chamber with a music system in it.


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## BeatsWork

protegemaniac said:


> Not me though, I'm more of the soothe part - I stay in my seat to take in all the music. Im more of a hurricane that gets contained and dissipated by the music rather than a calm but warm sea that gets stirred up into a hurricane - basically imagine Vader's meditation chamber with a music system in it.


 
  
 Wow.  I feel calmer just reading your post ....  Maybe you should record a sleep track http://www.dreamingwithjeff.com/


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## Joeybgood

beatswork said:


> Wow.  I feel calmer just reading your post ....  Maybe you should record a sleep track http://www.dreamingwithjeff.com/


 
 lol.. yes that is SO eloquently worded isn't it? !! I am not always up and groovin to the tunage , of course. All depends on my mood and , of course , what genre I'm listening too. If it's blues, rock, zydeco , bluegrass etc I'm getting my groove on.. If it's jazz or folk, trance etc, then I am eyes closed . lost in my own little world inside my mind. I like it there.. It's a happy place and they all know me !


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## ProtegeManiac

beatswork said:


> Wow.  I feel calmer just reading your post ....  Maybe you should record a sleep track http://www.dreamingwithjeff.com/


 
  
I'll try that - Vader was just the best example I can think of at the time because unlike a sociopath like Palpatine who didn't even seem really all that fazed by his lightning scars, but managed to put it to good use politically, he was literally burned and he's still battling the fires, medically/physiologically as well as mentally.
 
I'll try those tracks at home later where the internet isn't as bogged down 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  


joeybgood said:


> lol.. yes that is SO eloquently worded isn't it? !! I am not always up and groovin to the tunage , of course. All depends on my mood and , of course , what genre I'm listening too. If it's blues, rock, zydeco , bluegrass etc I'm getting my groove on.. If it's jazz or folk, trance etc, then I am eyes closed . lost in my own little world inside my mind. I like it there.. It's a happy place and they all know me !


 
  
In case you haven't heard of this one yet, here's a rock track composed primarily by the bassist/vocalist, so it can definitely get your groove going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHan_RwI_VU
 
And here's a funk rock track by my high school and college friends: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9sWw5hlSTU


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