New cord for HD 485?

[dosquito]

The cord on my HD485 got messed up. I am going to order a new one. Will there be any upgrades in getting a different cord from the stock one, and if so do you have any recommendations?

 

[dosquito]

Also, are there any headphone amps worth buying for <$50? Recommendations please. Thanks guys I really appreciate it

 

[Biggiesized]

Here are the two things I've read about "exotic" cable upgrades:

1) They "open" up the sound and everything is more clear

2) It's physically impossible for them to change anything regarding the sound--placebo effect on most people.

I'd fall in the latter camp. I can't ever see spending $100-200 on a single headphone cable.

 

[Biggiesized]

Also, are there any headphone amps worth buying for <$50? Recommendations please. Thanks guys I really appreciate it

I've personally done a ton of research on boutique headphone amps, usually the portable ones, and I've concluded that they're all overpriced. That doesn't mean they don't function well, but I just don't see them as having a lot of bang for your buck.

WmAx, a respected member here, likes to refer the Behringer Xenyx 802 headphone mixer as a great headphone amplifier. Sure it looks unaesthetical because it's a headphone mixer, but it functions transparently to your source. It only costs ~$100 so I'd recommend that.

I'm thinking of purchasing one myself, but I have to figure out if my sound card (Creative X-Fi Elite) can drive a 300 ohm load first.