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Cardas Parsec Headphone cable

Cardas

Parsec Headphone

$220 - $340

Cardas · Headphone Cables

The Cardas headphone cable that started it all, refined: a very flexible shielded star quad with the richness, warmth and detail Cardas is known for.

Price is for one complete headphone cable (both channels).

Build your cable

4 × 23.5 AWG
Golden Ratio Litz conductors
Shielded
star-quad geometry
Alcryn
rubber jacket, very flexible
1–3 m
shown; 0.5–5 m and custom to order

Parsec Headphone Cable arranges four 23.5 AWG Cardas Litz conductors with Golden Ratio stranding and PFA insulation as a shielded star quad bound in carbon-impregnated FEP tape, under a super-flexible Alcryn rubber jacket that slides without snagging clothing. The design is close to Cardas's original headphone cable from 2003.

Cardas lists the legendary benefits — richness, warmth, detail, non-fatiguing, musical — and calls it one of its most versatile and successful products. Standard terminations are a Cardas 1/4 in stereo plug and Sennheiser HD650 connectors; many others are available.

Key technologies

  • Ultra Pure Cardas Copper. Grade 1, 99.9999% pure oxygen-free copper, drawn and annealed slowly through silver dies, then given a single poly-nylon coat to prevent oxidation and crosstalk between strands.
  • Golden Ratio scaled Litz conductors. Multi-stranded conductors in which each layer of strands steps up in size by 1:1.618 from the centre outward, a Cardas patent that controls strand resonance.
  • Any termination. Cardas stocks a large and growing selection of headphone connectors and amplifier plugs; the selector shows the common ones, and others are available on request.
  • Made in Bandon, Oregon. Every Cardas cable is built and hand terminated at the Cardas factory on the southern Oregon coast, and carries a transferable lifetime warranty.

Choosing length and terminations

  • Pick the amplifier end to match your amp or DAC: 1/4 in for most desktop amplifiers, 4-pin XLR or 4.4 mm Pentaconn for balanced outputs, 3.5 mm for portables.
  • Pick the headphone end by model; if yours is not listed, Cardas almost certainly has the connector — ask us.
  • 1.5 m to 2 m suits a desk; 3 m reaches an amplifier on a rack from a listening chair. Cardas prices in half-metre steps and builds any length.
  • Parsec is a single shielded star-quad cable that splits at the headphones; balanced builds use the four conductors as two isolated pairs.
Specifications
Type Headphone cable, both channels
Conductors 4 × 23.5 AWG; Grade 1, 99.9999% OFC Litz, Golden Ratio stranding, PFA insulation
Geometry Shielded star-quad, four conductors bound in carbon-impregnated FEP tape
Outside diameter 0.204 in (5.2 mm)
Amplifier end 1/4 in TRS, 4-pin XLR, 4.4 mm Pentaconn or 3.5 mm TRS (others on request)
Headphone end Sennheiser HD800 family, Sennheiser HD600/650 family (HPSC), 4-pin mini-XLR or 3.5 mm mono pair (others on request)
Lengths 1 m to 3 m shown; 0.5 m to 5 m and any custom length to order
Sold as Single cable

cardas.com · Specifications and pricing from the Cardas Spring 2025 Retail Catalog. Cable lengths are metric; Cardas builds any length to order.

Where it sits in the range

Cardas headphone cables run from Parsec to Clear Beyond; all are built to order with the amplifier plug and headphone connectors you specify.

We stock or demo select Cardas lines and can order anything in the catalog, from Iridium to Clear Beyond.

Plan your cabling with Pearl Audio

Pearl Audio is an authorized Cardas dealer in Portland, Oregon, a short drive from the Cardas factory in Bandon. We can measure your runs, recommend terminations for your components, and special-order custom lengths and connector options. Call (503) 222-2599 or email sales@pearlaudio.com.

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