Audeze LCD-3

My new 4-pin balanced headphone cable has arrived:





I ordered it from Stager Silver Solids: https://stagersound.com/silver/frames/overview.html

Product page: https://stagersound.com/silver/frames/specs-f.html

It's constructed of solid core silver wires with teflon insulation.The conductors are spiraled and then held in place with clear polyolefin heatshrink sleeving. It's 2m long and cost $245. It's a bit unwieldy and rigid due to the nature of the stiff solid core wiring, but it's flexible enough.

Initial impressions versus the stock cable which is constructed of braided OCC copper.

With the Stager cable, the first thing I noticed was that I didn't have to turn up the volume knob on my Phonitor X amplifier as high to get to the same listening level that I was just at with the stock cable. Cable buffs will have to let me know if this is because of it's capacitance/inductance or something.

Secondly, there was more agility in the lower midrange and bass frequencies, along with a polished and pristine quality to the high frequencies. Because of how quick the bass was, it seemed to extend even deeper, down in to subterranean levels on some tracks. Overall, the sound came across as very quick and rhythmic, with no frequencies being abnormally accented.

When I hooked the stock cable back up, I realized that it colors and bolsters the midrange details. This makes for a fun and engaging listen, as it gives you something to "lock on" to and follow along as it makes it's ebbs and flows. Bass did not extend quite as deep, but seemed to exhibit a slight mid-bass bump, that again made for a fun listen. Highs were extended and accurate, and fairly similar to the Stager cable, albeit with a tad more brightness on the attack. I thought this was interesting, as it is fairly opposite of how you'd typically expect a silver cable to be a little bright/forward up top.

Both cables provided good depth and space, creating a convincing soundstage for the music to expand into. I have to give a slight edge to the stock cable for it's downright fun factor and engaging quality, but the Stager silver cable is arguably more transparent and accurate, as well as extending further into the depths of bass that these Audeze headphones are capable of.

I hesitate to outright proclaim that one is "better" than the other, because I think they both have their strengths and ideal use cases.

Testing out a prototype/pre-production Audeze headphone cable from Audio Note UK that Peter Qvortrup was nice enough to send me!

Sounds noticeably different than the three other Audeze headphone cables I have.

Sometimes I wish there was no difference between headphone cables, because it would be hell of a lot easier to just write "Nope, no difference, they all sound the same!"

I haven't heard any other headphones that can move me to tears like these can, simply because of how good they sound.

When I listen to them I feel hot, I feel my blood pumping. They make me feel alive. They provide a truly emotional and visceral listening experience.

Or, I could be having a minor stroke.

No I have not, but I know my fellow enthusiasts @msg and @rooftop59 are fans of the Philips headphones.

Hey those look pretty slick! Unfortunately from my trials, I've determined that headphones with perfectly round ear cups don't really work for my ears.

I need something like my Sennheiser HD600 headphones that have a more ergonomic/anatomical shape to the ear cup.

Speaking of closed backs, I just ordered these to try out: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SRH1540--shure-srh1540-closed-back-mastering-studio-headphones