Harmonic Technology Photon amp interconnects

With the 4-figure price for a pair, you'll have to argue hard about your amazing optical technology wanked ICs instead.

And in the process of converting the electrons to photons and back again, they hideously distort the signal, prompting John Atkinson of Stereophile to write in the measurements section of their review, "If this review were of a conventional product, I would dismiss it as being broken."

So for your $2,000, you get a cable that distorts the signal worse than a cheap boom box would.

That's certainly something to brag about.

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You wouldn't have to.

Interconnects made out of steel bailing wire wouldn't distort the signal as bad as the Harmonic Technology Photon cables.

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What is going on now with these Photon cables ? In the Positive Feedback review, done by Bob Levi who has done many cable reviews, he says the Cyberlight interconnects sound "less tonally distorted than any metal based cables".



Since then, Harmonic Tech has an improved design called the Photon Cables. Supposedly lower distortion and better impedance matching.



Has anyone heard these, or better yet, done some comparisons ?



Have you heard of anyone that has ?

 

 

And Michael Fremer at Stereophile said that they're "the most significant single technological breakthrough I have experienced in my career as an audio reviewer."

 

Which just tends to prove my theory that the more you can manage to mangle the audio signal, the more the reviewers will rave about it.

 

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I recall a PF reviewer writing about how he heard a ghostly echo in a recording using a set of $10k cables, the brand of which I shall not name. He thought he was hearing stuff that had been uncovered by the cables when in fact it is well known to be a kind of distortion caused by the design!  Whoops! 

This is why I ask has anyone actually heard the improved design. I've heard some expensive silver cables, and did not like them at all, especially considering the price.



So far, I haven't read any negative listening tests, just negative sarcasm. I would also like to see a distortion test and more.



I guess I will have to get them on loan to know, but I at least wanted some feedback from an owner, or one who has tried them.

Haven't heard the newer ones, but even their older Cyberlights were very nice sounding.  They sound different from metal-conductor cables, and many will *love* that sound as being

"colorless" or "without signature."  It's somewhat true, but this colorlessness IMO IS a type of coloration, though one less objectionable than many, many mediocre metal

cables out there.  

 

Personally, I prefer a REALLY good metal conductor cable.

 

Interesting that hideous amounts of distortion and frequency response aberrations should sound "colorless" and "without signature" and be less objectionable than no distortion or frequency response aberrations at all.

 

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Frequency response, 100mV into 100k ohms (top) and 600 ohms (bottom):

 

 

THD+N (%) at 1kHz vs voltage into 100k ohms (top) and 600 ohms (bottom):

 

 

Distortion vs. frequency at 100 mV into 100k ohms (top) and 600 ohms (bottom):

 

 

Distortion spectra, 1kHz at 1 volt into 100k ohms:

 

 

Same at 100 mV:

 

 

Intermodulation distortion:

 

 

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For comparison purposes, here's the distortion spectra of a cheap pair of Radio Shack Gold interconnects:

 

 

The distortion you do see is just the residual distortion of the Audio Precision System Two Cascade that was used to make the measurement. In other words, the cables are for all intents and purposes, distortionless.

 

If someone wanted to mangle the signal as much as the CyberLights do, I'm not sure what I'd recommend. I don't think even a $20 boombox would do that much damage. Maybe find some old integrated circuit opamps from the 70's or something.

 

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Boy, Steve, I'm sold!

 

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