Product Review

Excellent sound quality compared to Radio Shack adaptor

Posted by jtrimm from Philadelphia suburbs, PA on 2012-10-23
Posted on Cardas 1/4 to 1/8 Adaptor

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Works well with DragonFly
Cons: None so far...

I have a set of Sennheiser HD600's with the old blue Cardas upgrade cables with 1/4" plug (has it been 10+ years with these cans already?). I recently purchased an AudioQuest DragonFly which only takes an 1/8" headphone plug. I started with an Radio Shack adaptor. One of the problems is the weight/stiffness hanging off this small USB DAC/amp. The Cardas adaptor, with the 90 degree plug and short cable, puts less physical stress on the DragonFly. Sound quality is also excellent and a marked improvement compared to the Radio Shack adaptor (even right out of the box). I treated both the Radio Shack and Cardas headphone adaptor with Deoxit and Deoxit gold.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?

Vittles
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Excellent, couldn't ask for more

Posted by Vittles from San Francisco,CA on 2012-06-09
Posted on Cardas 1/4 to 1/8 Adaptor

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Right angle 1/8 plug plus more
Cons: None

Well worth the money! Just what I needed: A well made right angle 1/8 plug, connected to a ¼ end by several inches of flexible cable (to help keep movement of the ¼ end from having any effect on the 1/8 end). I used to have a Radio Shack adaptor sticking out of the side of my Total Bithead. Probably not the greatest quality to start with, but even if it was, to have an adaptor sticking straight out (vs right angle) always seemed like a dumb idea to me, but that’s all I could get. The body of the ¼ inch plug coupled with the body of the adaptor added up to a solid piece close to 3 inches long sticking straight out and only being supported/stabilized by its 1/8 inch pin. That’s a lot of leverage on that little plug. The slightest movement and a channel would go out. You always had to jiggle the plug, etc. Drove me nuts. The Cardas adaptor appears to be very high quality. I’m happy. I loaded music onto my smart phone, then run it through a Total Bithead to power an old set of Sennheiser HD 580 phones. All things considered, the sound is pretty amazing.

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Sound Ideas
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Senheisser HD 650, Headroom Ultra Micro Amp, Cardas adaptor

Posted by Sound Ideas from Montreal, Quebec on 2010-01-18
Posted on Cardas 1/4 to 1/8 Adaptor

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Excellent- wonderful musical synergy between cables, amp and headphones
Cons: none

This review is for the three above mentioned products I have purchased from HeadRoom in the last 3 months and the fine synergy between them, and not just the Cardas adaptor: After spending more than 20 years in the A. V. business one begins to realize that who you buy from is nearly as important as the product itself.The nature of music descriptions are quite limited and full of cliche simply because words and sound do not mix easily.In some cases the equipment reviewers sometimes just furnish us with the words we want to hear and can identify with. In many ways describing music is like trying to describe a fine wine or a wonderful painting.Of course,it should be a personal experience, but all personal experiences are shaped by many outside influences. This leads me to the importance of good personal advice in sound. This means that people who are credible and who are interested in your choice of music and the way best to express it given the factors involved[ including making a price and suggesting the appropriate product] must take the time to listen and, in short,care. We all know that we can buy products at other places and perhaps at a slightly discounted price, but I can assure you I have never experienced purchasing any product on the web that came with such professional and personal recommendation as it does at HeadRoom. And, the price was also very competitive. Sound is difficult to buy when you cannot hear, but you can trust these people at HeadRoom to hear for you.
Daniel A. Montreal,Quebec

11 out of 18 people found this review helpful. Did you?

aimlink
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Very good adaptor

Posted by aimlink from Kingston, JM on 2010-01-16
Posted on Cardas 1/4 to 1/8 Adaptor

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Appreciated flexibility and it's sonically neutral
Cons: Mine broke so reliability may be questionable

I got this adaptor to use with my HD650's upgraded with a Cardas Cable.

The right angle plug format is a nice idea to help in the protection of the 1/8" plug that's more fragile than their big brother, the 1/4". The fit is secure and the flexibility of the short length of cable does add to the ease of use.

Sonically, it's excellent.

Unfortunately, I began having issues with a channel cutting out and this would be fixed by twisting the 1/4" connection point. So I haven't had a good experience with reliability. A one off fluke? I don't know.... Despite this, I'd still recommend it because of it's sonic excellence and fine ergonometrics.

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mugglesman
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Good accessory

Posted by mugglesman from Saskatoon, SK on 2010-01-15
Posted on Cardas 1/4 to 1/8 Adaptor

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Does what it should
Cons: Cheap looking

This does what it should without imparting any significant sonic signature, at least with my audio technica ATH-AD700. It looks cheap, but is the best of its kind made as far as I know. Recommended!

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diegoeffio
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good product

Posted by diegoeffio on 2010-01-15
Posted on Cardas 1/4 to 1/8 Adaptor

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: doesn't affect sound quality
Cons: looks cheap!

definetly an inprove over the stock sennheiser adaptor in terms of flexibility and tension

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