Headphone Cables
Cables can make or break your headphone listening experience. They are the literal connection from the audio source to your ears. Of course, the headphone itself is a huge part of the equation, but the quality, materials, connectors and so much more about the headphone cable can also drastically improve or reduce the quality of your music listening. Headphones can be just as varied as the people listening to them: different driver types, open-back or closed-back, various connectors, materials, etc. These things are all important when considering replacing or upgrading your existing stock headphone cable.
Why is the cable always an afterthought, when it’s just as important as the rest of your system? At Moon Audio, we use the best raw materials in our cables to unveil your music. We believe the materials matter and your audio cables should have the same care and craftsmanship that manufacturers put into their headphones. Audio cables are ultimately the connection to your music. The fact remains that cabling is often considered the last priority to that of the headphones and a means to cut down the overall production costs. It’s as simple as that.
Generally, stock audio cables are manufactured with subpar materials, metals with impurities, poor geometries, and an overabundance of layers to make them look and feel like a fire hose. Inconsistency and lack of quality control in stock cables can lead to poor sound quality and a veiled sound versus what the musician intended for you to hear and feel from the music. Dragon cables are handcrafted with the highest standards, materials, workmanship, and made to order according to your specific needs.
At Moon Audio, we create for you custom cables using the highest quality UP-OCC silver or copper conductors that can be manufactured. UP-OCC metals are void of impurities and are optimized for signal transfer and sound quality. We have one of the largest collections of audio and headphone connection options available online and we create limitless audio cable options depending on your specific audio gear and needs.
Correcting bad sound with audio cables
Materials matter. Copper and silver conductors can craft the signature and affect the overall tone of your music. If your headphones are too forward-sounding for the kind of music you like to listen to, don’t worry – pairing them with a Black Dragon cable will bring out more warmth and create a music presentation that should counter-balance the troublesome higher frequencies of your headphones.
On the other hand, if your headphones are too warm sounding, then pairing them with a Silver Dragon headphone cable will add more detail and resolution, plus tighten up the lower frequency response. There is always a perfect cable pairing depending on what sound signature you prefer or what music genres you listen to, we have audio cables to improve and enhance the sound quality of your headphones.
There may be some instances where you want uncolored sound, a more neutral and natural sound signature. In this case, go with the Blue Dragon. The Blue Dragon will lift the veil, clean things up, and improve detail but without tipping it forward or adding warmth.
The Dragon Cable Experience
We customize and hand-craftcables for virtually every pair of headphones on the market. From connectors to sound signatures, the possibilities are endless. Each line of our Dragon Cables has been engineered to bring out the best in headphones with specific characteristics.
F.A.Q.
Do high-end cables make a difference?
High-end audio cables use higher quality materials. Materials matter. Better materials mean better performance and longer life. The materials used in premium headphones and audio cables are irrefutably better quality than the materials used in OEM or stock headphone cables. This can translate to a number of improvements including better shielding, lower noise floor, natural dB boost, and overall improvement in clarity, soundstage, and definition of audio.
Do cables affect sound quality?
They can, depending on the types of materials they use. Factors like shielding can legitimately affect the amount of interference and noise that the audio signal will be subjected to. Long cable runs can act as antennas and shielding is quite important. Materials like copper and silver conductors and the quality of those conductors will affect the sound signature of the audio. Oxygen-free conductors also sound different from cables with oxygen-laden conductors. There are many factors that can affect the overall audio quality of your cable.
We only use copper and silver in our audio cables, through what is called UP-OCC. This stands for Ultra Pure Ohno Continuous casting. This is a process developed by Dr. Ohno of Japan. Conventional methods of extruding copper results in multiple and fractionated crystalline structure. Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) has a distinctive effect on your audio quality that some might find lacking. The UP-OCC process uses a heated mold for extruding, whereas other processes involve a cooled mold. The cooling process in UP-OCC takes place separately, resulting in larger crystal sizes and increased purity. So, from a materials perspective, the UP-OCC process is far superior to OFC.
Are good headphone cables important?
Cables are the connection to your music, so having good audio cables is especially important to improve sound quality. Poor quality cables and poor connections can lead to noise, static, audio cutout, and much more, negatively affecting the quality of your music.
What is a headphone cable?
A headphone cable is specifically made to connect your headphones to your music source. Your source of music can be a computer, phone, iPod or Digital Audio Player, a headphone amplifier and more. Sometimes stock cables that come with your headphone are incompatible with your existing equipment and an adapter might have to be used or you might need a custom headphone cable to connect your headphones to your audio gear. Headphone cables come in many varieties and qualities, which is why we think investing in quality premium cables affords you that the best materials are used to make sure your music can sound the absolute best it can.
Are balanced cables better than unbalanced?
Balanced cables are not necessarily better than unbalanced or single-ended. Again, it depends on the gear circuit design of the products in your sound system and how they are configured. To learn more about balanced versus single-ended, check out our guide HERE.
Do balanced headphones need to have balanced cables?
First off, a headphone itself cannot be balanced or unbalanced. It is a set of speakers, so it is unable to do common-mode rejection. The connections to the headphone, however, can be balanced or single-ended. Therefore, the question becomes is a balanced headphone amp or a single-ended headphone amp better? For the sake of this question, your headphone cable needs to have a compatible connector to your headphones and to the source. If your source is balanced, then you will require a balanced connector on that end of the cable. To learn more about the differences between balanced versus single-ended, check out our guide HERE.
How do you replace a headphone cable?
Replacing a headphone cable is easy. If you are having issues with your existing stock cable or are wanting to replace it with a premium cable, then all you need to do is Contact Us with your specific needs so we can create a custom cable tailored to your specific needs. Even if you have a headphone that has been discontinued, we have one of the largest inventories of headphone and cable connectors, so you can be sure we have a solution for you.
