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Audio Cables: The Dragon Cable Experience

 

Here, we'll get into some of the more specific details of what we make our cable with: design, geometry, ergonomics, sound signatures of certain cables, and pairings. Be assured there is a cable designed specifically for your need - and if there isn't - we can make it. Dragon Cables are designed with one thing in mind: that nothing comes between you and your music.

You can skip ahead to a specific Dragon Cable type by clicking the link below:





Audio Cables: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Are all audio cables created equal? We would argue that they are not. This guide covers everything you'll need to know about audio cables and to determine if high-end audio cables are ultimately worth it. From materials to sound signatures, we'll also give you insight to how we make our award-winning Dragon Audio Cables and see first hand what they can do for you. Here at Moon Audio, we're only concerned with making your music sound its very best, and audio cables that use premium materials is one of the easiest ways to acheive that.

About Audio Cables

Sound Signatures and Materials

The Dragon Cable Experience

Conclusions and FAQ

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Dragon Cables

We customize cables for virtually every pair of headphones on the market. From connectors to sound signatures, the possibilities are endless. Each line of our Dragon Cables has been engineered to bring out the best in headphones with specific characteristics. Read more about our different cable ty

Silver Dragon Cable

Silver Dragon Cables

Made up of 4 x 99.99998% UP-OCC stranded silver 24AWG Teflon insulated stranded conductors, our Silver Dragon conductors are free from impurities and have virtually no crystal boundaries. Silver is the most efficient electrical conductor with less resistance than other metals used in cables, like gold, zinc, and aluminum. It can improve the listening enjoyment of most high-end headphones and it has lots of details, great energy, a fantastic soundstage with lots of air.

High-purity silver conductors provide the most detailed and resolute sound signal possible. The sound signature of the Silver Dragon is detailed an analytical; instrumentation is clear and distinct, especially in the treble ranges. Bass frequencies are tighter and more controlled. It is a great candidate for darker sounding headphones or headphones that have a bloated bottom end.

For example, headphones such as the Sennheiser HD650 (a darker/warmer sounding can) or headphones like the Hifiman HE-500 and the Audeze LCD-2 & LCD3, which are planar magnetic driver headphones and warmer sounding headphones. The Silver Dragon V3 will add detail and clarity to the top end and provide a cleaner more transparent sound. With closed headphones such as the Denon AH-D7000 & AH-D5000 the Silver Dragon will tighten up the bottom end and control the bass better.

The Silver Dragon V3 is not a good choice for a thin-sounding headphone like the AKG K701. Nor is it a good choice for a forward sounding headphone such as the Grado RS-1, which is very much like a studio monitor or an up close and personal sound. However, there are still folks out there that are detail freaks and want to push or tip things more forward so we have actually re-cabled both of these examples with the Silver Dragon V3. As Drew explains, it just depends on what you are trying to do and your affinity for sound. Lastly, the Silver Dragon V3 is also a good choice for a phone that has a bloated bottom end like the Ultrasone Pro 900. It will tighten up the bass and make it more defined.

We have improved the Silver Dragons conductor's properties in this Version 3 cable as these conductors are free from impurities and have virtually no crystal boundaries. The conductors have almost no distortion compared to ordinary silver conductors. Each conductor is made up of a special varying sized stranded geometry. The silver strandings are mixed with Kevlar standing's to reinforce the conductor making it stronger overall and less prone to failure due to the harsh constant flexing that headphone cables experience.

Audeze LLCD Headphone with Dragon Cable

Each conductor is encapsulated in a Teflon casing. The conductors are then surrounded by cotton and a thin layer of aluminum foil. It is then protected by a 100% coverage silver plated copper secondary shield and placed in a polyethylene jacket for further protection. To improve its flexibility, we are no longer using a Techflex jacketing as we did with our previous versions.

A variety of connection options are available for your downstream connection such as the mini plug, RCA, XLR and a whole host of others. We custom build these in house to your connection specifications. The cable can be used in either a single-ended or balanced design. The wire is soldered to a connector using high-quality Cardas silver solder.

Pairs Well With:

Dan Clark Audio Ether 2 Headphones


Black Dragon Cable

Black Dragon Cables

We use 4 x 21.5AWG Teflon insulated stranded conductors using pure single crystallized UP-OCC pure copper with 7N purity 99.99998%. This means more music, clarity and sound quality gets to your ears as purity in cable construction, cable design and quality of materials make a noticeable difference in the sound quality of your headphones.

Each conductor is made up of a special varying size stranding geometry. The copper stranding is mixed with Kevlar stranding to reinforce the conductor. Making it stronger overall and less prone to failure due to the harsh constant flexing a headphone cable receives.

The conductors are then surrounded by cotton and then a layer of Teflon tubing. The new v2 version is now also double shielded and placed in a polyethylene jacket for further protection.

 

Audeze LCD Headphone with Black Dragon Cable

The Headphone connectors are soldered directly to the conductors of the cable. The splicing method used by other cable companies using a stock cable's connectors is a poor method. We have developed many of the hard to find connection options utilizing plastic injection molded connectors. Great expense has been taken to bring as many hard to find connection systems for the most popular headphones. If you can't find the connection system you desire please contact us.

The wire is soldered to the connector with Cardas silver solder. The overall quality of the materials used for the Black Dragon cables translates to durability and making sure your cable can perform at peak performance for longer than other, less efficient stock cables.

The Black Dragon is warm and smooth with a musical presentation. Copper strands enhance the body, shape, and immediacy of the music. The detail and expansiveness of the Black Dragon make it a flexible fit where a broad range of musical genres are played. It can also improve bass frequencies on bass-light headphones.

The smooth, musical quality makes it a perfect fit for headphones that tend to sound a bit edgy or bright. Despite its warmth, the Black Dragon does not have a laid back, lush sound. It is much closer to a neutral sound signature, making it a very natural sounding cable.

Pairs Well With:

Bronze Dragon Cable

Bronze Dragon Cables

Bronze Dragon cables have 8 x 99.99998% UP-OCC Stranded Copper conductors per cable, surpassing our Black Dragon IEM headphone cable V1. Used in just the right ways and proportions, copper helps add warmth to expand and strengthen sound from bass guitars, cellos, and deep vocalists like Barry White.

Designed for portable headphones, this cable features a single-entry design for use with Sony WH1000-MX3, Sennheiser Momentum, and similar headphones from manufacturers like Bose, Ultrasone, and AKG.

The Bronze Dragon Portable cable is designed for listening on the go with headphones like the Sony WH-1000MX3, Sennheiser Momentum, and similar single entry connection headphones. The Bronze Dragon helps create a warmer presentation with bigger and fuller body, adding bottom end strength and muscle. Our new Dragon cable is musical without becoming lush or bloated and features a flexible cable that's perfect for on-the-go applications.

With a warm presentation, Bronze Dragon strengthens the bottom end without becoming bloated. Bass guitar and cello are full and immersive, creating a musical that's not too lush. The warmth and fullness of the Bronze Dragon create the muscle needed to round out a flat signature.

Pairs Well With:

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones

Audeze LCD-i4 In-Ear Headphones

Blue Dragon Cable

Blue Dragon Cables

The Blue Dragon headphone cable is a neutral and natural sounding cable which is great for vocal performances.

It is a good fit if you want to improve clarity and dynamics in your headphones and do not want to add coloration. Furthermore, if you do not want to tip the headphone forward or back, then the Blue Dragon is a wonderful choice.

The Blue Dragon Headphone Cable has been designed to match the Silver Dragon headphone cable but with a high purity copper conductor using the Ohno Continuous Casting Process. The Blue Dragon has the same geometry structure as the Silver Dragon only it uses UP-OCC pure copper. It is also the best bang for the buck custom headphone cable on the market today.

Each conductor of the Blue Dragon is made up of a special varying size stranding geometry. The copper stranding is mixed with Kevlar stranding to reinforce the conductor. This makes it stronger overall and less prone to failure due to the harsh constant flexing a headphone cable receives. The conductors are then surrounded by cotton and then a layer of Teflon tape.

This most recent version is now also shielded and placed in a polyethylene jacket for further protection. The Blue Dragon is also quieter than the previous version with no microphonics.

The Blue Dragon is our value full size headphone cable. Using copper strands, it combines the neutrality of the Black Dragon with the clarity of the Silver Dragon at a lower price point. The Blue Dragon is a good fit for improving dynamics without adding coloration. Its calm and neutral sound make it a great place to start with premium cables.

For example, the Sennheiser HD600 has long been one of the best headphones for classical music on the high-end headphone market due to it's smooth, warm sound signature. The HD600 is not as dark and laid back as the Sennheiser HD650 and so the neutrality of the Blue Dragon V3 is the better fit for the HD600 signature. It is a great cable for a wide variety of music genres.

If you are using a very warm tube amp and a forward headphone, the Blue Dragon is also a good choice to keep the sound signature the same. The Blue Dragon V3 is also the most flexible of the full-size headphone cables and makes a good choice for headphones that use a single entry connection point like many of the Ultrasone headphones.

This Blue Dragon headphone cable can be a replacement cable for Sennheiser HD800, HD650, HD600 and HD580 headphones or any other Sennheiser headphones that have the 2-pin connection system.

AEON 2 Open Headphones

We also modify it for Ultrasone, Sony Qualia, and any other headphone that uses a connector attachment system. This headphone cable can also be hardwired to Grado's, and Audio Technica headphones. If it can be done, Moon Audio can modify it!

Moon Audio also recently added specialized Blue Dragon cables for Shure full size headphone models and the Sennheiser HD700.

Pairs Well With:

Dan Clark Audio Ether 2 Headphones

Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Headphones

Silver Dragon USB Cable

Dragon USB Cables

Dragon USB Cables

In much the same way as the headphone cables, USB cables can adjust the sound signature of your digital music through USB audio transmission. Standard USB cables are not up to the task of large bit rate information. The materials of the Dragon USB cables are designed to handle large capacity data transfers with ease, ensuring that every bit of your high-resolution audio is being delivered to your high-fidelity system.

The Dragon USB cables comes in Silver, Black, and Blue variants. The sound signatures of each are similar to their headphone cable counterparts, and like them, can be customized with many different connection types according to your personalized needs.

Pairs Well With:

Blue Dragon Power Cable

Dragon Power Cables

Stock power cables can sometimes lack proper shielding leaving it exposed to outside interference in the signal, leaving your music to compete with external noise and other factors. We have a Blue Dragon and Black Dragon variants on the power cable, each offering different options to match specific systems better.

Blue Dragon Power Cable

The Geometry has been slightly altered from the original blue dragon power cord to add more flexibility. The outer jacket is much more pliable to make the dreaded IEC connection droop less of an issue and the overall outer diameter (OD) is around 11mm which was reduced from 12.5mm, to help with flexibility. The conductor size remains constant at around 12awg.

We have retained the UPOCC copper conductors. The Geometry has been slightly altered from the original blue dragon power cord to add more flexibility. The outer jacket is much more pliable to make the dreaded IEC connection droop less of an issue and the overall outer diameter (OD) is around 11mm which was reduced from 12.5mm, to help with flexibility. The conductor size remains constant at around 12awg.

UPOCC stands for Ultra Pure Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC). This is not a material but a way of extruding copper to prevent any impurities and fractures in the crystalline structure of the wire. The wire is drawn very slowly to cast as an almost perfect single crystal small diameter conductor. The resulting purity and the size of the cast wire makes a tremendous difference and there is less damage to the near-perfect cast state. We find this UPOCC process produces a very clean and close to neutral sound in our copper-based cables. We double shield the cable to ward off all outside interference. Shielding is paramount in power cables, not only to protect it but to eliminate the power lines from corrupting your line level interconnects in close proximity.

The cable can be covered with a layer of Techflex braiding for added wear protection and good looks. Contact us for this option. We will be offering the cable with either the Cardas Rhodium male and female connectors. The Cardas power connectors feature a copper base with a Rhodium over Silver plating. As an upgrade option, we will be offering the Furutech FI-28(R)Connectors. These utilize α (Alpha) pure-copper rhodium-plated conductors. For the Shuko EU or European connector option, we are utilizing the Furutech FI-E38 (R). Other country options are available via special request. Please contact us for pricing.

Black Dragon Power Cable

A new geometry has been developed to create a noise free environment. 4-11Awg Stranded high purity slow drawn Copper conductors are used per cable in a star Quad configuration. Each conductor is made up with a special selection of stranding sizes. 2 for the positive and 2 for the negative. this yields a 8awg total size per signal polarity All conductor are wrapped in Teflon tape which is the next best dielectric after Air. Teflon tape is a way to reduce the overall thickness of the casing to reduce the dielectric value. The 4 conductors are then twisted together and Teflon taped as well.

The cable has a single 100% coverage shield but can be doubled up for noisy environments plus it is relatively flexible. The cable is covered in 2 layers of Techflex braiding for added protection and good looks. The male outlet used is a Furutech FI-11M (gold) 15A/125V 3-PRONG PLUG Black plug that is Alpha Copper based with a 24 karat gold platting. The female IEC outlet is the Furutech FI-11(gold) 15A/125V 3-PRONG PLUG Black plug that is Alpha Copper based with a 24 karat gold platting. The cable is dead quiet and rejects all EMI and RFI interference. The cable is good for 15 and 20amp rating. 20 Amp versions come with the Furutech FI-31M (gold) 20A/125V 3-PRONG PLUG Black plug that is Alpha Copper based with a 24 karat gold platting. We also stock Schuko and UK Furutech Plugs as well as an upgrade path to the Top Line Furutech Plugs.

Blue Dragon - Cable Design

  • Conductors: 3 x 12AWG
  • Material: 99.99998% UP-OCC Copper
  • Construction: Varying Size Stranding
  • Solder: Cardas Silver Solder
  • Insulation: CL3
  • Shielding: Foil, Braided Wire Shield
  • Jacket: Blue PVC

Black Dragon - Cable Design

  • Conductors: 4 x 21.5AWG
  • Material: 99.99998% UP-OCC Copper
  • Construction: Varying Size Stranding
  • Solder: Mudorf MSolder SUPREME Silver-Gold mix
  • Shielding: Foil, Braided Wire Shield
  • Jacket: Black Polyethylene

Pairs Well With:

Bryston BIT20 Power Conditioner

Dragon Inspire IHA-1 Tube Amp