Audiophile Terminology Guide – Part One

Cables –

A cable transfers the signal to the earphones/headphones unless your headphones are wireless.

Don’t buy into the “audiophile” myths surrounding cables, as they make absolutely no difference in sound quality.  Some people claim copper or silver sounds best, but the basis for this is very much anecdotal, in our opinion.

We have tested hundreds of cables with some of the best earphones on the planet, but unless it somehow changes the impedance, I have never noticed a difference.

A poorly designed cable or a damaged/defective cable will, however, have an adverse effect on sound reproduction.

Custom cables can add desirable aesthetic qualities, and a well-designed one will have a low microphonic level (cable noise from movement). Additionally, there are some valuable developments in the cable world, like the Dunu Hulk cable, which will allow you to switch the type of input without purchasing a new piece of hardware.

Additional Cable Terms:

Wire Guage and Strands

• The gauge is usually referred to as the thickness of cables. Sometimes this is just one piece over a specific thickness core material such as copper. In other cases, a headphone cable can be made up of a braid of multiple cables.

• Strand is simply the thin metal wires that make up the cable.

Cinch –

It is located after the cable splitter, where the cable is split into left and right channels.  Not all headphones have a cinch, but you can easily make a DIY cable cinch by using a small cable tie to tie around the left and right channel wires tight enough to grip them but still loose enough to slide back and forth.  Remove excess Zip tie.