ddHifi BC120S Cable Review - Soft and Full Sound

 

General/Packaging

The BC120S comes in a very premium packaging, which is always the case for ddHifi’s product, it definitely does not disappoint when it comes to unboxing experience. The packaging comes with a storage case for the cable and also a cable organizer. Sadly, the BC120S’s design does not have an interchangeable plug this time, compared to Nyx Pro, but then again, not a major concern as I use 4.4 most of the time, there’s also a 3.5mm adapter from ddHifi which I use if I need.

Gears Used for Testing

• Letshuoer Mystic 8

• Spirit Torino Twin Pulse IEM

• Tanchjim Origin

Specifications (grabbed from product page)
Product Model: BC120S

Product Name: Surface Earphones Cable

Plug Type: 4.4 Balanced Plug

Connector: 0.78 Pins (3.5mm Long Type)

Conductor: High Purity OFC with Silver Plating, 4-strand Twisted Design

Core Conductor Structure: Litz Structure, Wire Diameter 0.10mm × 30 Strands

Shielding Conductor Structure: Litz Structure, Wire Diameter 0.05mm × 116 Strands

Wire Diameter: Single Strand 1.8mm

Outer Material: Transparent PVC

Length: 120cm

Build Quality

The cable itself is very well built, it is soft and doesn’t retain cable memory, hence making it very easy to store and bring out from storage,unlike the Nyx Net, the cable is not prone to tangling at all. The 0.78 2 pin jack is very solid. The 4.4 balanced jack is very solid as well and definitely does not lack any premium touch to it. The cable splitter is also very well built, basically nothing to fault in terms of build quality and overall look of it.

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression

*The cable has been run in for approximately 20-30 hours prior to writing this sound impression.

I have tested SPC based cables and despite having the same material, they all sound different in some ways, i am aware that this is a rather controversial topic, hence if you are someone who believes in cable, feel free to read further, else just skip this review/impression at once. The BC120S does improve several aspects of the sound, in terms of better note weight as well as a more spacious sound, mid bass has better punch and slightly better extension on the sub bass 

Listening impression
Letshuoer Mystic 8 with BC120S

• Compared to stock cable of Mystic 8, pairing it with the BC120S improved the note weight slightly, with a bit more texture and body on the mids and lows, treble is slightly more energetic yet it is not offensive, Mystic 8 with the stock cable sounded not as dynamic compared to pairing it with the BC120S

• I also noticed slightly better soundstage reproduction as well, the soundstage rendition gives a more wider perception and more out of your head kind if perception

• Vocal positioning doesn’t change much but slightly better texture on the vocals, improving upon what is already good with the Mystic 8

Spirit Torino Twin Pulse IEM (default nozzle)

• Twin Pulse IEM’s sound profile is very natural overall and BC120S do well in terms of synergy, somehow it made Twin Pulse a little bit more V shaped with slightly better extension on the sub bass as well as the highs

• The soundstage on the Twin Pulse is slightly more spacious sounding, in terms of width, slightly more out of your head, as well as better depth, using the stock cable, the soundstage is not as expansive, kind of like 2D-ish and in your head, overall quite flat sounding with the stock cable

• The vocal positioning however, is being pushed back by a little

• The treble has a little bit more energy now making the Twin Pulse a bit more dynamic and “alive”

Tanchjim Origin with default nozzle

• Origin’s sound profile is leaning towards neutral with slight warmth, The bass has very good quality but somehow, just a little bit lacking in terms of quantity on the mid bass region, with the BC120S, i somehow have better perception on the bass in terms of quantity

• Mids somehow are being pushed forward just a little

• Treble is slightly elevated, making Origin an energetic sounding set

• This pairing is good for those who want the Origins to be a little bit more energetic on stock nozzle 

Comparison (Effect Audio Ares S II)

• In terms of build quality, the jacks are more or less similar in terms of build quality

• Ares S II has 8 wire vs BC120S 4 wire

• Haptic wise, both are more or less similar, with the addition of ConX, which allows the user to change the connection type from 2 pin to mmcx, vice versa, similar to the offering from ddHifi’s higher end variant, Nyx Net

• Sound wise, the Ares S II is leaning towards a warmer tuning, this is noticeable when paired with a rather neutral IEM such as Letshuoer’s Mystic 8, note weight is slightly thicker with better body in the mid bass as well as a smoother treble

• Tested several IEMs with it and found it to have good synergy for neutral or brighter IEM, in which it gave a little body overall as well as smoother treble

Final Thoughts

Cable altering/improving the sound of the transducer is a very controversial topic, there are some who don’t hear any difference and there are those who are like me, who have the ability to perceive the changes/improvement. Do keep in mind that a cable will not make a bad sounding headphone/iem sound better, that aside, ddHifi BC120S is definitely a worthy investment if you are looking to improve or tweak a certain aspect of your headphone (soundstage,lusher mids and slightly better treble extension), this is the cable for you, also, without wanting to fiddle much with connection type such as from 2pin to mmcx and vice versa, this is it, without costing a bomb yet you get a premium offering from ddHifi

All in all, definitely recommending this to anyone who’s looking to tweak their IEM’s sonic performance or just looking for a step up from the stock cable.

*Received the review sample from ddHifi for the purpose of this review, big thanks to them for the support as always

Head over to their dealer ddHifi’s store to purchase one if you’re interested:

ddHifi BC120S Official Site Store - Non Affiliated

ddHifi AliExpress Store - Non Affiliated