Smaug loves gold and I love shiny hi-fi cables very much. Shiny things usually costly but when it comes to IEM upgrade cables, my point of interest circles around under 100$ or less. As of now, I have many budget cables and ISN Audio cables are very good among them. Recently OE Audio released their OE Audio 2DUAL OFC cables and I would like to thanks Penon Audio for sending the MMCX 3.5 mm version to me for review. I have also used OE Audio Mini IEM Cable Adapters earlier, so let’s see how their first-ever cable is?
Specifications of OE Audio 2DUAL OFC Cables
- Length – 1.2M/ 4ft,
- Core – 4,
- Conductor – High purity Oxygen Free Copper,
- Coating – PU/Teflon,
- Connector – 2 pins 0.78 mm or MMCX,
- Termination – 2.5mm Balanced, 3.5mm Single-Ended, 4.4 Balanced, Type C, Apple Lightning,
- Weight – 15 grams approx,
- Resistance – 0.3 ohms (Test instrument – HTC Instruments DM88).
Buying Link – Here
IEMs used with Origin in this review
Anew U1, LZ Z04A, Moondrop Kanas Pro and BQEYZ K1.
Presentation, Design & Build Quality of OE Audio 2DUAL OFC Cables
The Cable comes inside a sleek and square white box. Branding has been done on the front side of the box and specifications printed on the backside. I am really sad seeing that 180 days warranty logo, but I don’t think anyone worries about it. After pulling the ribbon on side of the box the cable comes out which has been placed inside a foam cavity. So the presentation is decent.
First of all the cable is super lightweight. The only weight it has, in the stainless steel covered 3.5 plug. The extra bump near the ground part of the 3.5 mm plug is not there so using this cable with your DAP/Phone inside leather cover could be problematic.
At first glance, the whole cable feels very fragile but it’s not. From 3.5 mm plug to Y splitter two separate ( 2 core inside each) cable lightly twisted and after that moved to each channel. No memory wire has been used so you can use this cable in any direction.
Both the Y splitter and MMCX connector’s outer part is made out of hard plastic which is ok but could have been stainless steel too. No chin slider is there and doesn’t know why I really feel that this particular cable is ideal for MMCX Earbuds. The overall design of the cable is good but build is decent. Though the 3.5 mm plug and MMCX connectors are good in quality.
Sound
The main point of using budget upgrade cable is due to the thin improvement of sound which some people even can’t notice. One thing is clear while using the OE Audio 2DUAL OFC Cable, the shift of sound is quite big and can be easily noticed.
I have seen all my OFC cables always increase the entire lower frequency part but strangely this time it did totally opposite. Mid-bass part decreased hugely but a good slam on the sub-bass region can be noticed. With OE Audio 2DUAL OFC Cable, Mid-range is more transparent in comparison with stock cables.
There is definitely a boost in the higher frequency part, which could be good or bad depending on your IEM. When using with LZ Z04A this boost really helped but with Kanas pro, it’s not. If your current IEM is suffering from an early roll of treble you can surely try OE Audio 2DUAL OFC Cable. No such improvement in Soundstage or Imaging has been noticed.
Conclusion
In their first attempt, OE Audio has created a budget-friendly decent cable. The 3.5/2.5/4.4 mm version may don’t have the charm but if you want to buy a cable with integrated C or Apple Lightning, then it could be a game-changer especially when the availability of earphones cable with Apple Lightning is very Limited.
Graphic Designer by Profession, and Music is my hobby. Can’t recall when I had started digging the Audiophile rabbit hole, but this Website was created in 2019 to showcase my passion for music. I am not an Audiophile, I call myself a Music Enthusiasts and my goal is to pass that enthusiasm to my readers.