Hart Audio Modular Headphone Cables REVIEW – Made In Texas
I became a customer of Hart Audio some three years ago, when desperately looking for a short 4.4 mm to 4.4 mm pentaconn cable to connect the EarMen Tradutto DAC to the CH-Amp. Because that DAC is so small, it does not have an XLR port. And since those 4.4 mm balanced circuits were somewhat new in desktop equipment, the selection was limited.
Hart Audio offered the best value in my opinion. At the time, I also needed a 4.4 mm balanced headphone cable for my Sennheiser HD 600, and got one from Aliexpress. And whereas there was nothing really wrong with that cable, it actually was a repurposed spindly earphone cable with a standard length of 120 cm, which is somewhat short for a headphone.
Stock headphone cables from companies like Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic typically come in 1.8 m or 3 m lengths. The EarMen CH-Amp, I used to connect my Senns to has this weird functionality that the volume sets itself abruptly back to zero when the headphone is unplugged…or the plug even pulled on. Now figure my continued frustration with too short a cable resetting the amp’s volume to zero ALL THE TIME.
I needed a new headphone cable and looked around…but good-quality third-party headphone cables are rather expensive in my opinion and Hart Audio’s pricing appeared reasonable. But…Hart Audio’s website is somewhat confusing for old people like me. With a bit of help, I decided on the HC-5 modular cable, which I ordered with 4.4 mm and XLR interconnects.
Hart Audio is a small company, established in 2019 in Tyler, Texas, that offers a plethora of headphone cables (and other interconnects) both prefabricated and custom made for essentially all makes and models. All their cables and interconnects have in common that they are manufactured in-house using oxygen-free Mogami copper from Nagano, Japan.
Fun fact: Japan is an island arc with related magmatism [“Fujiyama”]…copper, along with lead and zinc, belongs to the associated volcanigenic massive sulphide (“VMS”) deposits. Japan’s biggest VMS deposit is in Kuroko, Akita Prefecture.
Oxygen-free means there are no oxygen atoms between the copper grains that may compromise conductivity and cause oxidation in the long run. Mogami copper cables are durable and therefore widely used in recording studios.
Hart Audio’s cables come with textile jackets that make them pliable. But textile is prone to catching dirt if you don’t wash your hands as opposed to cables with (rather sterile but easily washable) PVC jackets.
My Hart Audio headphone cables are built well and are relatively light, they do not transmit noise, do not tangle, do not introduce static shocks to my ears, make a solid connection, and are comfortable against my skin. And they constitute good value. Whether they sound better than stock cables…depends on the stock cable in each case. I cannot make any universally valid statements. But they certainly do not sound worse.
Alberto is one of our guys with golden ears, and he has equipped his three Sennheiser headphones with Hart Audio cables. Have not heard any complaints from him. And I cannot complain either.
One criticism: Hart Audio cables come in a 4.5 ft standard length, which is short for my purpose as mentioned above. They offer custom length (pricier, longer preparation times) and I prefer 6 ft. If you order from Canada, make sure you avoid UPS and insist on USPS snail mail as the latter do not charge >$30 CAD brokerage and collection fees.
My latest order was the HC-6-B cable for the Sennheiser HD 550 and we had a misunderstanding about the length. In this case, Hart Audio corrected my mistake and sent me another 6ft after the 4.5 ft cable. The HC-6-B twist-locks perfectly into the HD 550, as good as the stock cable, and now I can connect the cans to balanced circuits. The equivalent non-modular Sennheiser 4.4 mm balanced cable costs about twice as much as the Hart cable, which is, with all respect…a joke.
In summary, I am happy with my snazzy red Hart Audio headphone cables and also glad to support a small boutique company. And no, I was not asked by the company to write this review, neither will I receive any kickback for it.
I just purchased a Sennheiser 800S headphone as reviewing reference, and therefore submitted an order for a HC-13 cable to…you guessed it… to https://hartaudiocables.com/
Until next time…keep on listening!
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