Headphone Cable Calculator — Resistance & Signal Loss

For typical runs (1.2-1.5 metres) with headphones of 64 ohms and above, cable loss is well under 0.1 dB. With 32-ohm headphones, a standard 1.5-metre 26 AWG cable loses about 0.11 dB — right at the audibility threshold. For very low impedance IEMs (8-16 ohms) or very long cables, resistance becomes more significant. The biggest audible difference comes from cable microphonics (handling noise) rather than electrical properties.

Cable resistance forms a voltage divider with headphone impedance. A 1-ohm cable into 300-ohm headphones loses only 0.03 dB. The same cable into 16-ohm IEMs loses 0.53 dB, and the loss varies with frequency as driver impedance changes, potentially altering frequency response.

For headphones, 26 AWG is more than adequate for runs up to 3 metres. 28 AWG is fine for short IEM cables. Only go thicker (24 AWG) for very long runs or very low impedance headphones. Thicker cables are heavier and less flexible.

Balanced cables (4-pin XLR, 4.4mm Pentaconn, 2.5mm TRRS) eliminate crosstalk between left and right channels by providing separate ground paths. Whether this is audible depends on the equipment. The main benefit is often higher voltage output from balanced amplifier outputs.