Toxic Cables - The Appreciation Thread - Page 2

Amuses me when i read that people say spending money on cables is a waste of time. A good headphone can be transformed into something great, with the right cable. Same with a tube amplifier - get the right tubes and the sound is transformed.

Everything in the link has to be good to get the most from it. Simple rule of thumb.

yep, everything needs to be good........ thing is, good cables are CHEAP, very cheap actually, and don't require the use of exotic expensive materials (also, expensive is not a guarantee of "better"). 

Outstanding products and service by Frank (Toxic Cables)

 

I recently purchased 3 sets of OCC Silver Cables from Frank (Toxic Cables).  I could not be more pleased with my decision and experience.  Despite the distance (UK) and 6 hours of time difference, I received very prompt responses from Frank--I do not believe this man sleeps--which greatly help me make the right choices.  Toxic Cables are very well made products--braiding, sleeving, soldering and terminations  are first rate--with excellent sound (if one assumes that cables themselves make sound).  They represent very good values.

 

The greatest improvement I heard was with my Audeze LCD-2:  more presence (details), better soundstage and (thank goodness) tighter, faster bass with more impact, though a slight bloom in the upper bass (the Achille's heel of the LCD-2) remains.  Well, for less than $300, I did not expect miracles; I believe I got my money's worth with the OCC Silver Toxic Cables. I bought both the sleeveless cable--as light as a  feather and no microphonic intrusions that I could hear--and the version with black-cloth (?) sleeve which is heavier than the naked cable but still lighter and more flexible--and black!--compared to my grey Cardas Cables.

 

The improvement on the Hifiman HE-6 was more modest but still audible. The already tight bass was rendered tighter with more texture (timber?); it still packs quite a wallop! The HE-6 sound clarity improves a smidgeon-- more details (against a quieter background?). Alas, the HE-6 edgy midrange and sometimes hissyy treble remains unchanged for the most part, though I did not expect ANY OCC silver cable to be able to correct this problem.  The Cardas cable, which I also own, seems to do a slightly better job of reducing the HE-6 edginess, but the OCC Silver from Toxic Cable is superior everywhere else.  The sibilance  (Sssssssss...) is far worse with my HD800 equiped with an OCC silver cable( from another provider) and once again was slightly reduced but not tamed nearly well enough by the Cardas. The Toxic Cable OCC Silver mates best with the HE-500 (borrowed from a friend), which does not have the hissy fit in the treble that the HE-6 does. And the bass impact was nearly the equal of the LCD-2, not nearly as deep but far less boomy.   

 

For the HD800 and the HE-6, I am impatiently waiting for Frank's new and not-yet-available Venom Copper which I hope holds the promise of finally taming the edgy upper-midrange of the HE-6 and the hissy treble of both the HE-6 and to a larger extent the HD-800.  I am particularly sensitive to these areas which may not be a problem for other people. Frank also has a pure silver cable with silver XLR mini-connectors which, unfortunately I cannot try yet until I found an acceptable DAC/Tube Headamp with balanced XLR headphone outputs, sufficient gain and impedance matching to service all my headphones. MY Burson Audio  HA-160D does a very good job everywhere but could not suppress the edginess/hiss. A borrowed Redwine Audeze Edition came very close but ran out of juice with the low-sensitivty HE-6.  The Apex Pinnacle, at $10 grand, is and will remain out of my price range--to put it in perspective, this beauty costs as much a a small car.

 

Back to Frank, the construction, fit and finish and performance of his Toxic Cables (OCC Silver) are very, very goog and make these products good values.  The customer service was exemplary.  Shipping via FedEx was surprising fast despite the long distance and the product delivery time overall was quite acceptable--as long as Frank continues to NOT sleep at night. 

 

Thank you Frank.   

Generally yes. However I have found with more expensive partnering equipment that often higher grade cables can make an audible difference (not always as you say). The piccilino cable for instance is very expensive, but the silver and gold construction brings the sonic benefit of both silver (very clear, but sometimes a little 'thin') with copper (not as transparent as silver but with plenty of bass impact).

 

I have heard fantastic cables on lesser systems and they make little difference, even when they can on a higher end system. its the law of diminishing returns, you can often spend a lot of money chasing that extra 10%. Some people either are happy with what they have, or can't afford to keep chasing minor improvements.

 

Also, you guys might like to see Franks work on one of my R10 headphones over here http://www.head-fi.org/t/608294/sony-mdr-r10-some-tlc-and-a-recable-for-an-old-set

 

Looking forward to hearing them again, when I can prise them from Franks hands.

Edited by zardon - 5/10/12 at 1:46am

I must concur with all the positive voices here, truly appreciating Frank's work, aka Toxic Cables!

 

Having had some experience of his products (copper / silver plated copper for the HD650 and LCD-2), the first thing that hit me was the absolute perfection of his master craftsmanship. Those words are easy(ish!) to say, but it is rare indeed to find the genuine article, and Frank is the real deal. I too have had experience of swapping emails with the man as he works on a cable at 05:30, having started work at 11am the previous day! When indeed does the man sleep?!

 

With experience of his low-priced models, I felt safe to take the step up to the pure silver (with 1% gold), Silver Poison, and I'm certain I will love it! It has not taken long for his products to gain a degree of "mass appeal" here in the hallowed halls of Head-Fi, and I think his pricing has a lot to do with that. I haven't seen any of the big names really serving this niche market with cables for cans of high quality while abbreviating price tags to less than 3 digits... But as we know, Frank doesn't just dip his toe into the tip of the 2-digit price range, he dived in and came up with several models to choose from - and they're better than competitors costing two or more times the price (again, mentioning no names).

 

So, suffice to say that I'm quite excited about the forthcoming arrival of my very own sheathed Silver Poison!

 

The TC silver / gold really is fantastic stuff.

 

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm getting pretty excited! 

Frank, I don't know how you keep up with cable orders man, you're probably busier than I, and being one guy instead of two, you seem to have been doing a stellar job at keeping up with orders!

 

I'm flippin BURIED in work!

Hey Frank, just out of curiosity, what do your Silver Poison sound like if you didn't add any gold to it?

 

They would sound like cake without the icing!  

 

 

Edit:  But I'd still like to hear anything else Frank might want to add.

 

Mike

Edited by zilch0md - 5/11/12 at 6:14am