@uberwaltz I did some listening this morning with the Nordost Heimdall 2 cable, comparing it to the following:
- The "stock" single-ended Audeze cable for the LCD-4 which retails for $600 and is very nice in its own right.
- Cardas Clear balanced (two separate cables the entire length) cable which I believe retails for $750 in the configuration I have (I bought my pre-owned).
- Impact Audio balanced cable (bought for $100 on Etsy).
I listened to Ruby Baby by Donald Fagen to do my comparisons. I probably should have tried a few different songs with different characteristics, but that's something I'm really familiar.
I'll cut to the chase... they were more alike than different.
The Heimdall sounds a little better than any of them, it seems to let the music through with the least amount of distortion. Not that any of them sounded distorted, it just seemed clearer and had a touch more "air" and solid well defined bass.
The Cardas cable seemed to have a little more "body" and drive.
The stock cable was a little hard to judge because of the difference in volume between the balanced output on my headphone amp and the single-ended output. It sounded just a little "less than" the others, no obvious sins or major differences in sound quality.
The same could be said for the Impact Audio cables, they sounded very close to the Heimdall 2 and Cardas Clear.
The biggest difference are more in build quality.
The Heimdall 2 is really pretty, very light, and I don't think you would ever have issues with microphonics from the cable rubbing against itself. It's very smooth and seems not to curl up. It also comes with two single-ended adapters, one 1/4" and one mini. The terminations on the headphone end are _really_ thin and I could see damage happening if you're not careful.
The Cardas cables are built like a tank! The connectors on the amp end are huge, and since there are two separate cables, the thickness of the cable is the same the entire length. It's heavy and you notice it's there.
The Audeze cable is well constructed and uses a nice Neutrik connect on the amp side and Rean connectors on the heaphone end. The way it's braided, I could see it being a little noisy if it rubs against itself. This hasn't been an issue for me, my amp is a few feet away so it is always uncoiled.
The Impact Audio cable is also braided (I ordered mine in Seahawks colors!) and has an Eidolic connector on the amp end, not sure what's on the headphone end. Build quality is solid, the cable itself feels a little lighter than the Audeze braided cable. I had one nit with this cable, the splitter is pretty far from the headphone connections and when I'm sitting at my desk it sometimes catches on the edge of my desk.
So there you go. If you want to splurge and have a pretty cable that is really detailed and airy, the Heimdall 2 is the way to go. If you like your music to have a little more body and a really robust cable, the Cardas Clear is cheaper and really well made. If you want the best value, and want a custom cable, have the guy at Impact Audio make you a cable. He doesn't make any claims about sonic magic, he just builds affordable well made cables. All in my humble opinion as they say.
I continue to be somewhat of a cable agnostic. I can and have heard differences between them. Only in a couple of cases have I heard fairly dramatic differences. This was not one of those cases. I'm sure there are those with better hearing and/or gear (although mine is no slouch) that might hear larger differences. Go browse the head-fi forums for a while and you'll find that the "sound" of cables matters a lot to many of their members.
To me what matters more about cables is form and function.
In case anyone is wondering about the upstream equipment, I was streaming Qobuz from my PC via a fancy USB cable (I forget which one) to my MHDT Labs Orchid, using the Simaudio 430 HA headphone amp.
- The "stock" single-ended Audeze cable for the LCD-4 which retails for $600 and is very nice in its own right.
- Cardas Clear balanced (two separate cables the entire length) cable which I believe retails for $750 in the configuration I have (I bought my pre-owned).
- Impact Audio balanced cable (bought for $100 on Etsy).
I listened to Ruby Baby by Donald Fagen to do my comparisons. I probably should have tried a few different songs with different characteristics, but that's something I'm really familiar.
I'll cut to the chase... they were more alike than different.
The Heimdall sounds a little better than any of them, it seems to let the music through with the least amount of distortion. Not that any of them sounded distorted, it just seemed clearer and had a touch more "air" and solid well defined bass.
The Cardas cable seemed to have a little more "body" and drive.
The stock cable was a little hard to judge because of the difference in volume between the balanced output on my headphone amp and the single-ended output. It sounded just a little "less than" the others, no obvious sins or major differences in sound quality.
The same could be said for the Impact Audio cables, they sounded very close to the Heimdall 2 and Cardas Clear.
The biggest difference are more in build quality.
The Heimdall 2 is really pretty, very light, and I don't think you would ever have issues with microphonics from the cable rubbing against itself. It's very smooth and seems not to curl up. It also comes with two single-ended adapters, one 1/4" and one mini. The terminations on the headphone end are _really_ thin and I could see damage happening if you're not careful.
The Cardas cables are built like a tank! The connectors on the amp end are huge, and since there are two separate cables, the thickness of the cable is the same the entire length. It's heavy and you notice it's there.
The Audeze cable is well constructed and uses a nice Neutrik connect on the amp side and Rean connectors on the heaphone end. The way it's braided, I could see it being a little noisy if it rubs against itself. This hasn't been an issue for me, my amp is a few feet away so it is always uncoiled.
The Impact Audio cable is also braided (I ordered mine in Seahawks colors!) and has an Eidolic connector on the amp end, not sure what's on the headphone end. Build quality is solid, the cable itself feels a little lighter than the Audeze braided cable. I had one nit with this cable, the splitter is pretty far from the headphone connections and when I'm sitting at my desk it sometimes catches on the edge of my desk.
So there you go. If you want to splurge and have a pretty cable that is really detailed and airy, the Heimdall 2 is the way to go. If you like your music to have a little more body and a really robust cable, the Cardas Clear is cheaper and really well made. If you want the best value, and want a custom cable, have the guy at Impact Audio make you a cable. He doesn't make any claims about sonic magic, he just builds affordable well made cables. All in my humble opinion as they say.
I continue to be somewhat of a cable agnostic. I can and have heard differences between them. Only in a couple of cases have I heard fairly dramatic differences. This was not one of those cases. I'm sure there are those with better hearing and/or gear (although mine is no slouch) that might hear larger differences. Go browse the head-fi forums for a while and you'll find that the "sound" of cables matters a lot to many of their members.
To me what matters more about cables is form and function.
In case anyone is wondering about the upstream equipment, I was streaming Qobuz from my PC via a fancy USB cable (I forget which one) to my MHDT Labs Orchid, using the Simaudio 430 HA headphone amp.