Anyone purchasing a Double Helix Cable soon?

[jrisles]

This is a somewhat odd request but I will put it out there none the less - this is the online world after all. I have had to resort back to headfi listening at home due to the fact my kids are beginning to get a little older and they just detest the type of music I play on my main 2ch system. Everything I love they hate because it is not on the top10 pop charts. Given i have a decent headfi setup i don't mind listening to headphones. I have a pair of Audeze LCD-2's that i purchased sometime ago and at the time I also purchased a great Stefan AudioArt Endorphin cable. I also own a pair of Senn 600's but the cable i have for that is nowhere near as good as the cable i have for my LCD-2's. I was looking at purchasing yet another SAA cable for the Senns. The SAA Endorphin cables are NOT cheap but they are amazing and I am a little reluctant to purchase another SAA Endorphin cable when i have one here that I would like to be able to use for both headphones.  Then it occurred to me that perhaps someone made an adpater that i could convert the SAA LCD-2 cable to fit my Senn HD600's? I started googling and low and behold someone does make such an adapter. The company is called Double Helix Cable (DHC) But there is a catch - to purchase an adapter you have either had to have purchased one of their cables or purchase one at the time you purchase the adapter. How frustrating which defeats the whole purpose of attempting to do this economically. So if anyone is considering purchasing a Double Helix Cable in the foreseeable future please pm me if you would be willing for me to add this purchase to yours. Who would think that getting an adapter would be this difficult? Arrrghhh .... 

 

The link to the item i am wanting to purchase is below

 

https://doublehelixcables.com/product/triple-threat-headphone-adapters-1-cable-for-all-headphones/

 

If you are aware of anyone else who makes this type of adapter then please by all means comment below.

 

TIA

[eLicky]

How about this?

(Link Here)

Edited October 7, 2019 by Ewok209

[jrisles]

4 hours ago, Ewok209 said:

How about this?

(Link Here)

 

Thanks for that. Looks Chinese made? But great price. 

[eLicky]

9 minutes ago, jrisles said:

 

Thanks for that. Looks Chinese made? But great price. 

Yes will be Chinese made.

Who's do you point the finger at, the Chinese for supplying affordable alternatives or custom companies who are overcharging and placing restrictions on their orders.

You be the judge  

[jrisles]

1 hour ago, Ewok209 said:

Yes will be Chinese made.

Who's do you point the finger at, the Chinese for supplying affordable alternatives or custom companies who are overcharging and placing restrictions on their orders.

You be the judge  

Totally 100% agree with that statement and from experience Chinese made goods are just getting better and better. I will give this a shot because i don't see how i could lose. It really does surprise me that these adpaters are not more readily available. I know that if I were to contact SAA they will just advise me to purchase another one of their cables!

[Neo]

@jrisles

Why not contact SAA and ask if he can make an adapter for you. He’s got all the parts and will be the same metallurgy as your existing Endorphin cable. The place with a cheap connector mention above also sells top of the line Nordost cables for around $100 so one can imagine the quality of the adapter you will be getting. 
I own two cables form Stefan Audio and absolutely love them with my Sennheiser headphones and wouldn’t dream of placing a cheap adapter from aliexpress in the chain.

Just a thought, one of the headphones  i have is a Sennheiser HD500 and I had the cable made specifically for it when I ordered E-series for HD650.

Neo

[jrisles]

2 hours ago, Neo said:

@jrisles

Why not contact SAA and ask if he can make an adapter for you. He’s got all the parts and will be the same metallurgy as your existing Endorphin cable. The place with a cheap connector mention above also sells top of the line Nordost cables for around $100 so one can imagine the quality of the adapter you will be getting. 
I own two cables form Stefan Audio and absolutely love them with my Sennheiser headphones and wouldn’t dream of placing a cheap adapter from aliexpress in the chain.

Just a thought, one of the headphones  i have is a Sennheiser HD500 and I had the cable made specifically for it when I ordered E-series for HD650.

Neo

Thanks Neo. I will ask the question of SAA as i am currently in conversation with them about sending over my 600, 650 and LCD2 for SAA modification that they offer for these cans. But I suspect that if they did offer them they would make them available for purchase on their website in much the same way Double Helix do? I also suspect their answer will be along the lines that they recommend another SAA Endorphin purchase for the 600/650. I already have the SAA Equinox cable (currently called E-Series) which i purchased when i bought either the 600 or 650 second hand. I can't quite remember now as it was a bit of a while ago. And the Equinox is also amazing but I suspect the Endorphin cable is a step up given the price difference between the two cables. I love the LCD-2 but because i listen to music hours on end in the evening the LCD-2's are not as comfortable for long term listening I find.

 

So you bought two E-Series cables from SAA? One for the 650 and one for the 500? I am not familiar with the termination of the 500 but would of it been possible to also have just requested an adapter for the 500 so you only had to purchase one cable? Was that a consideration at the time?

[Neo]

20 minutes ago, jrisles said:

But I suspect that if they did offer them they would make them available for purchase on their website in much the same way Double Helix do?

Considering the costs of the cables on the individual basis and the clientele that purchase them especially the Endorphin series to pair with their premium headphones, they would just buy another cable. The wear and tear on the connectors  from swapping over between cables over time would be considerable also and that’s also something to consider in your case.

Perhaps an E-series cable would be an additional consideration instead of the adapter and also since you getting the Sennheiser modded instead of the connectors in the ear cup, direct wire connection to the drivers. Yes you can’t upgrade the cable, but the SAA cables have a wonderful synergy and compliment the Sennheiser range ( first hand experience ). You will not have to in the long run and you eliminate the common weak link that is the connectors to the headphones. 
Neo

[Neo]

The connector is one sided with 2.5mm going into the left ear cup on the Sennheiser HD500. I’m not very keen on the adapters as it is another link which can introduce its own thing into the equation. 

[jrisles]

5 minutes ago, Neo said:

Yes you can’t upgrade the cable, but the SAA cables have a wonderful synergy and compliment the Sennheiser range ( first hand experience ). You will not have to in the long run and you eliminate the common weak link that is the connectors to the headphones. 

I already have an E-Series cable for the 600/650 and an Edorphin for the LCD-2. I am just looking for an adapter to fit the LCD-2 Endorphin to my Senns. But I take your point about swapping the adapters out all the time. But have maybe 2 or even 3 adapter sets would perhaps still prove to be a more economical approach to purchasing another Endorphin cable. I mean it is a bit frustating when i see this beautiful made and sounding Endorphin cable I have at home and I simply can't plug it in to my Senns as well.

Edited October 7, 2019 by jrisles

[jrisles]

I have sent an email to SAA about the adapter and I sent them the link to the Double Helix Cable site showing them what I mean. I will let you know the outcome of this exchange when I receive a reply.

[Neo]

You would still have the issue of durability as connecting the Endorphin to various adapters will invariably take its toll on the cable connectors themselves. So issues like  intermittent contact due to wear of the metal, loss of plating(as an example if the connectors are gold plated)

See what SAA say but their main goal is delivering the best sonic purity from your headphones and they may view these adapters from experience as major step backwards. 
Neo

[jrisles]

As promised a follow up post from SAA re the DHC adaptor mentioned in this thread. This was their response to me in an email;

 

<begin>

Hi Jeff,

 

You're welcome.

 

We do not sell the HD800/S headphones, so it would be a good idea to look for a set and send them to us along with the other headphones to have the Mods done all at the same time.

 

We don't sell or recommend adapters because they can degrade the performance of the headphone. 

 

But, we recommend you give DHC adapter a try and see how you like it.

 

Thank you and please let me know if you have more questions.

<end>

 

Interesting response that they recommend trying the DHC adaptors? I didn't think SAA would provide them because they would already offer them for sale on their site which they do not. 

 

Still I have a lot of adapters of other things - like RCA to XLR and single 4pin to left and right XLR balanced and I am unable to discern any noticeable sound quality degradation with these connectors.