How to choose headphone cables - feat. Koala Taijitu and Gladiator Caesar
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- čas přidán 13. 07. 2024
- Gladiator Cables Caesar: gladiatorcables.com/caesar-line
Koala Audio Taijitu: www.koalaaudiocables.com/coll...
This video began as a review of the Koala Audio Taijitu headphone cables and the Gladiator Cables Caesar line of headphone cables, but it soon became apparent that there was an opportunity to compare different geometries and types or metal in these four wires. The Taijitu is a low strand count copper cable up against the litz designed Caesar cables which are monocrystalline pure silver, copper silver alloy, and pure copper respectively.
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00:00 Introduction
01:17 Glamour video
02:04 Models & pricing
03:59 Build & ergonomics - Gladiator Caesar
06:41 What to know when buying from Gladiator
09:34 Build & ergonomics - Koala Taijitu
12:27 Koala Taijitu design
15:37 Sound quality with Meze Elite
23:33 What I think might be going on
24:51 Gladiator Caesar silver vs Meze SPC upgrade cable
26:03 Cable matching with Vérité Open
29:50 Cable matching with Sendy Peacock
31:49 Final conclusions
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#audiophile #audioreview #headphones - Věda a technologie
Extremely interesting and insightful video! I love how articulate your description of your experience is that allows me to mentally picture the differences.
So glad it was helpful for you! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Happy to see gladiatorcables get some recognition, only have 2 cables from their litz line and I'm a big fan
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Glad you're enjoying the cables
What are they called? Let me guess, Strength and Honour.
I have been extremely happy with LQI Cables from Arlington Heights, Illinois. The Meze upgrade cables are also beautiful.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Mr Myers!
I'm considering the Copper Silver Harmony by Gladiator. Have you had a chance to try that one out. I have LCD-X
I haven't tried that one. The results are probably similar to the other copper/silver cable in the Caesar line that I have reviewed, but I can't comment specifically on the Harmony.
Could you take a look at PEXON PCs cables? I've bought their starquad headphone cable, and it has been great so far.
Please also review the CustomCans and Sky Audio cables, they seem to have good quality moderately priced options including litz copper cables.
Definitely, I’ve bought cables from both.
Good quality & value cables
Thanks for letting me know. I'll see if they'd like to send out some cables for review.
JT from Oidio Sound is great to deal with, they even offer re-terminating cables too.
Recommended
Had a very nice cord from those guy's. Do they re-terminate stock cable's?
Thanks for letting us know! I might reach out to them and see if they're interested in sending a review cable or two
I have made an order from Antonio around 2 months ago, and words cannot really describe how satisfied I am with the sound quality and overall quality of how the cable is built. My order was a pure Japanese silver litz cable for my 700UC by bose, the sound quality is absolutely noiseless. One of the positive things that are worth mentioning is how quickly Antonio has responded to my order and how absolutely wonderful he is to talk with about audiophile type of things. Nonetheless I do recommend checking out his cables.
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
👋 Have you gotten a chance to compare the Sennheiser M4s with the Kef M4s?
I've just received the Sennheiser M4s and will compare them with the Sony XM5s in the review. I might get a chance to compare with the MU7s too if they haven't gone back yet...
@@PassionforSound Nice one!
I just got a hand made cable from vikingweave. Looks like to me the hand made cables do sound better than the manufactured cables. There's much less heaviness in the sound and better details in hand-made cables
I'm not sure it's necessarily handmade vs manufactured so much as the quality of the wire being used for the cables. Glad you're enjoying your Viking weave!
@@PassionforSound great point quality is pretty different from a one-man show compared to companies
Absolutely. Nothing wrong with it, but some people don't like the handmade approach and the lack of systems/processes that can lead to occasional errors
Which cable has tighter bass? I want to get a cable that gives my LCD4 more bass slam. Tried cables from cardas to DHC and all makes the bass more bloated and sluggish
People all define bass slam a bit differently so it's hard to say for sure, but if you want to go away from anything bloated or sluggish, aim for a pure silver litz like the Gladiator Cesar pure silver option (you can buy silver litz cables from any cable makers though)
@@PassionforSound Silver is too bright and thin for me cant stand it. Copper is where its at
In that case, I can only recommend a nice copper litz built with a high purity (6N, 7N) copper
@@PassionforSound Got the Koala to try because they accept returns 😅. First impression with Audeze LCD4 is the sound stage is bigger. Bit like listening in a theatre and is deeper than my Meze copper+silver cable and Cardas clear. Detail is better than Cardas may be less refine, not sure but hard to tell because presentation and vocals are less "in my face" and everything is like further away not like meze or cardas cable and is very smooth. Every song is like easier to listen to. May be on classical song or jazz I can tell. Its not warm as Cardas clear but almost bright as meze. I like the bass, sounds bigger on my Audeze. Its not too bloaty like cardas but more like meze. I think bass is tighter but have to listen more to confirm but over all very interesting sound. I think its a good cable if you are not always pay attention to detail or doing AB but want to relax or multitask and enjoy the music. Are you sure your cable is not broken? I think its better than cardas and as good as meze but with bigger sound and may be more fun sounding but I think a bit too expensive for many people.
I think what you've described is exactly what I was hearing and describing. The sound of the Taijitu is great and does exactly as you said. I just felt like it didn't stack up on the price side of things.
Hello there! Great video overall, just would like to provide my experience with Gladiator cables overall to provide some insight for people that would like to buy from Antonio. I have purchased a few cables from him in the past, and some came in fine, and in good time, but others took up to 9 months to be completed, and the packages were supposedly "lost" in the process 2 times. He was horrible with communication and I had to badger him to give me updates even a month at a time, and really stay on top of him to provide photos that my cables even existed. When I finally got the cables after paying a rediculous amount for shipping because his service is so unreliable apparately, some of the cables were completely defective. He offered to "fix" them, which wouldve cost me over 100$ for shipping. It was a horrible experience all around, and I am not the first he has done this to. He still has a friend of mine who has been waiting over a year now for very expensive cables he ordered from him. Antonio is not a reliable business manager, and he is not to be trusted as a person to invest your money in.
Im sorry you also experienced this. People think that I was making stuff up...
But the saddest part is not that the guy is a con artis and a liar. The worst part is that Passion for sound is still making a 2nd video recommending his cables after knowing this from the 1st video...
Hello, please email me to make things right! I'm not sure what order you're referring about you or your friend but I don't want people to have a negative experience when ordering with me!
Hello Antonio. I have long since decided that I would never work with you again after being given such terrible customer service. My friend is still trying to get the cables he ordered so long ago, and is worried that you are scamming him. I will not reveal his name, but his order was to do with silver litz cables that are quite expensive, and it has been over a year since he placed that order, back in November 2021 I believe. No matter how you may try to make up for things now, I dont believe there is anything you can do to make up for my horrible experience, as well as my friends, and I advise anyone reading this comment to stay away from this mans business.
@@BluShady__ Hello, sorry to hear about your bad experience my plan isn't to make people's experience bad but good, also about your friend I'm not sure what order you're referring to since a year ago I was not offering litz cables, to be precise I did not even have my website up a year ago.
@@BluShady__ kindly tell him to email me or contact me through the contact on my website so I can resolve this issue
Can you help me? There are a huge number of headphone models. I was looking for an over-ear type, whether open or closed.
Its use is for series and films. I would like it to have a good bass but also a wide soundstage (surround, not just L/R).
What's your budget and where are you located?
@@PassionforSound max I think 800€.
Im in Europe.
Check out my Meze 109 Pro review - it could be perfect
@@PassionforSound If you had to do the typical ranking (A, A+, B, B+...) according to the technical capabilities of the headset, how would you do it? This helps me a lot.
Edition xs
Focal Clear Og
Meze 109 pro
Sivga sv023.
That's pretty hard to answer because I don't have three of those four here so it's all from memory. I definitely think the Clears and 109s are a tier above the XS and SV023. I also think maybe the Clears are slightly more technically capable than the 109s, but it's all from memory.
Hey, I bought the Arya Organic.
I find the tremble a bit fatiguing after some listening time. Do you have any cable or Dac/Amp recommendation?
Yes, the AO can be a little bit trebley. The Hifiman EF600 in NOS mode definitely could help with that. Not sure there are any cables I'd suggest to help though.
@@PassionforSound thanks for the answer. Yes i was thinking about getting the Ef600. How could the filter affect the tremble?
The NOS mode softens the attack of the sound compared to a Delta Sigma DAC or many oversampled R2R DACs. That slight softening can really help to take the edge off the sound without changing tonality too much.
@@PassionforSound is it kind of the same as the Ifi reconstruction filters on my ifi go bar?
It will be similar because it's altering the processing of the signal, but I haven't tried the iFi to know just how similar it might be. I suspect it will be quite different because the iFi is using a different DAC type (Delta Sigma) compared to the EF600's R2R DAC
I love gladiator cables, ordered 4 times from him and they all came out amazing
Glad you're enjoying your cables!
Thank you for an enlightening review… but it did leave me wanting. That is, when it comes to rolling cables and suspecting I can improve the sound quality from my headcans, what make me extremely wary is accepting that hp manufacturers understand the nuances of driver technology and shell acoustics, but at the same time they’ll deliver their product with inferior or barely adequate cable technology (?). That is, why would Meze sell you a flagship set of cans and make pay a premium for it, but then only provide a mediocre cable that would not be able to deliver what the cans were capable of?
I guess what I came away missing, is how, and when, to suspect that cable rolling will actually be beneficial and worth the money(?)
I guess that Lachlan will comment too, because it's an interesting topic.
My opinion is that 'stock' cables are generally fine, but as with power cords, headphone manufacturers know that, especially for the flagship models, most buyers will get themselves after market cables anyway. This characteristic of their customers forces them to make a choice, go for a cheaper cable and put the money in better cans, or invest in better cables and hope that their cans are still good enough versus the (usually stiff) competition.
That aside, for me personally, I would consider an aftermarket cable to get different length, perhaps a different connector/plug or perhaps a cable that is less stiff, makes less noise when rubbed against something, of just looks better. Sound-wise, differences are usually very small or often undetectable.
Well said, Alpha Niner. I think this is pretty much what it comes down to. I think part of the question is also bringing products in at a certain price level too so adding a $400-500 to the price for a top notch cable could be a step too far.
Then there's also the fact that some people refuse to believe that high end cables can make a difference so those people would likely be upset to be paying extra for the headphones to include high end cables.
I personally think it's a shame that manufacturers don't put the same care into their cable quality as their headphone quality, but it's also often only a minor upgrade when you get a quality aftermarket cable. The Meze Empyreans and Elites are one unfortunate exception to this rule where their stock cable really holds them back IMO
What do you think would be the best Gladiator cable for the Hifiman Arya stealth magnet?
I'd be sticking with the pure copper litz I think - the Aryas don't need any extra treble or clarity 🙂
1% change? I can't hear any changes when I swap cables
This can sound rude or elitist, but it's not meant to. Some people will be better at hearing sonic differences than others depending on your history of things such as playing music, etc. Like many things, the brain learns and grows in the areas where we spend more of our time and attention so people who've spent a lot of time closely attending to the finest details of sounds (e.g. musicians) will have a stronger ability to hear these types of differences. You might not be attuned to hearing these subtle differences and that's ok - it's potentially better for you because you don't have to worry about cables 🙂
I hope that reads with the respect that I intended it with.
Did not know that Gladiator Cables had been criticized. Well, I have good things to say. I purchased that silver cable from Antonio, a 4 Litz 5N Monocrystalline pure silver 20AWG per wire headphone cable. My Chord Mojo 2 loves that cable, and above all my headphones as well, which is given a bit more insight into the mids and up to the upper treble.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! There are definitely more positive than negative comments that I can see, but no-one is perfect and I thought it was important to flag that he's still essentially a startup and that's ok, but people need to know that and decide if they're ok with that before ordering. It seems most people are.
Which headphone cable to buy? Use the same headphone cable as top producers use. Obviously they would use to best. Right?
Actually no. Most producers aren't focussed on the gear
Cheers from Canada! Loving my gladiator cable. It's the pure silver utopia cable Antonio made for me.
Nice! Thanks for sharing your experiences
I got an Air Koala cable and it’s really microohonic more so than any others I’ve had. Also the cable you are referencing is 1300aud. Even more expensive than the Meze upgrade cable!! Spend that money on Da
DACs, amps and headphones and just enjoy your music. 😊
I'm afraid that I have to agree on this one. I'm all for a nice cable, but I think Koala Cables are a bit beyond what's reasonable for what you're getting.
"Single crystal of silver stretched into a wire" - Whoever came up with this they need a Nobel prize for such a ground breaking discovery and believing in it. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Also "higher frequencies might be travelling faster [through a wire]" is another great one - have you people taken any physics or chemistry classes? Because you must've failed an acoustics course. LOL.
Single crystal wires are a very well recognised thing that goes beyond audio and there is lots of scientific information about the speed and depth that different frequencies travel in wires. You should probably do some research before attempting to ridicule people over scientifically understood and proven principles.
interesting outcome.. nice to see reviewers call it how they see it... respect... got to order some forzaworks cables, myself...
The Forzas are great cables! Nice choice
I ordered from Antonio/gladiators for 3 times totaling in 7 cables, in my experience he's been excellent on time and quality, though I was very specific with the specific cable I wanted. Overall some of the best cables I've had no matter the price point
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Hang on, not long back i was reading from various cable suppliers that the signal travels on the outside of the wire so you need more strands so there's more outside surface area. Then the next level is litz so the extra strands have insulation separation to ensure the extra surface area isn't blended with other surface areas. Now I'm hearing that Koala cables thinks less strands is better. Would be awesome to see some actual science behind some of these claims from these companies.
I think the problem is that there are multiple scientifically grounded theories at play, but not enough evidence about which is actually perceptually preferable. My money goes towards the litz option though based on this set of cables
@@PassionforSound yes agreed. As someone who was taught electron theory as part of my work nearly 40 years ago I was surprised how little we knew of the why vs the noticeable results of observing what electricity does. I suppose quantum theory will get us to a proper understanding in the end but in the meantime it's too easy for folks who don't know much to just start doing things and make claims that their way is better. In regard to cables this video comes to mind czcams.com/video/bHIhgxav9LY/video.html It's interesting that from my day we were taught the power was flowing via electrons moving like in a water pipe and now I see folks agreeing that the energy is actually moving in a field around the wire not in it. It's worth a watch to see if it influences your thinking on cables.
That's a great video, isn't it? I actually linked to that in a review a while back (my power cable one perhaps?) It really got my mind racing about what that means for how audio cables are insulated...
Gladiator cables = best cables
Gladiator cables is scam! I ordered a cable a month ago and after payment I haven’t received any information or parcel from them.
Thank you Mr Lachlan for the kind words, I'm glad you've mentioned that it's only me that's doing everything so sometimes some things might be not perfect, about the mini xlr left right indicator the way I used to do it is the gladiator splitter helmet needs to look forward and the cables from the right will be the right and left for left but I have changed it since and I added a small red shrink tube for the right side. I'm glad you've enjoyed the cables and again I want to thank you for the amazing video.
That makes total sense about the splitter, but I'm glad to hear you added heat shrink because that will definitely make it easier
I have 2 of your cables but I have not spoken or dealt with you. I bought both from a friend here in Singapore. First one was a Gladiator silver (don’t know which silver exactly) for ZMF headphone and the second was a dual 3.5mm Japanese Copper Litz I bought it straight off Jake when he wanted to try something else. I am using the Japanese Copper Litz with my Susvara and wondering if I should get another cable for it.
first
Here for gladiator cables
It's disgusting that you are still recommending cables from this scammer.
It's not about sending faulty cables, this can happen to everyone and could be fixed. It's about him faking paypal receipts to pretend that he has refunded you, lying all the time and ignoring people.
Thank god that I had proof of everything and won the paypal dispute.
The guy is a pathological liar and you are still recommending his stuff, most likely because you are getting it for free.
You represent all what is wrong with this community.
Godspeed.
Hello, please don't spread lies 🙏🏻 we have sent you a cable and during shipping it broke we offered to fix it and after you had complained about wanting a full refund and to keep the cable we offered a refund which you claim was fake which it wasn't and then you blocked me and kept the cable
@@gladiatorcables9080 again telling lies. Most people know of what you have done. There's a lot of people affected by it. You did send me a fake receipt without a name on it, that's a fact and that's why I won the case
I blocked you after all this bs and I was still waiting for the fake reinbursement.
I have all the stuff saved on my phone and will gladly share it on Head-fi and other forums if you want to.
So please have the decency of shut up and recognise what you did wrong instead of keep on lying.
@@24h_ that's your experience, not mine. I got 0 reasons to make up stuff, please read the forums and you'll see that Im not the only one.
@Flamencoxderecho I've never Had any issues with my gladiator cables. Antonio has always been responsive and helpful. You're allowed to have your own experience and issues but when you begin to slander based off of lies it crosses into an intolerable line.
@@desertscrub66 what lies? Why I would I lie if I had a pleasant experience? Im just sharing what happened to me to warn people.
You can see on comments below that Im not the only one.
He needs to man up and apologise to people and start runnning his business in a honest way.
There's absolutely no evidence that cables make any noticeable difference to sound quality.
There's also no complete proof (going beyond rudimentary measures like frequency response) that they don't. There are also plenty of sound physics laws that explain how and why different metals, purities of metals and geometries of wire could alter the sound heard. Every cable is essentially a filter - as is every component in any signal path - so to think that they can't influence the sound is probably a less scientific position than to question if they do...
@@PassionforSound there's no scientific theory showing day make any significant difference. There's no randomised control trial showing they make any difference.
There's also no randomised control trial showing they don't and there are known physics properties such as inductance, capacitance and resistance, combined with understanding of how electromagnetic fields work and how electricity flows in wires that all tell us that cables are filters. I.e. the signal exiting the cable is altered by the cable. Therefore, different cable designs will filter the signal differently.
@@PassionforSound so do the electrical measurements and take them to the local University electrical engineering department and ask them to draw you an equivalent circuit and ask them to explain how different cables could make a significant difference to the sound. Maybe it could be a good thesis for a PhD student to work on. LOL
@@PassionforSound when you're starting to feel out of your depth get Wave Theory to help you.