CRITICALSHOT
100+ Head-Fier
We have a winner! The cable is actually Magically Majestic! I thought I might end up with buyers remorse but I am extremely happy and I appreciate the advice you gave.
CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE
- Thread starter magiccabbage
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Wow! How did you manage to get it that fast after only ordering on Sunday? It will get better after a bit of running-in.
+1 for Sablon, I recently swapped my Supra ethernet for Sablon and I'm happy w/ it. Would try their USB but planning to move to I²S in near future.
CRITICALSHOT
100+ Head-Fier
I have no idea as it shipped from London to New York. I can't complain, my patience when waiting is horrible. I turn into I little kid!
CRITICALSHOT
100+ Head-Fier
My M-Scaler just arrived and it took the Dave to the next level. No negatives and only substantial improvements. It did wonders to the soundstage on Agnus Dei from the above album.
DaveRedRef-III
500+ Head-Fier
On the subject of USB Cables I have tried all the following and even bought a number of them 1) Chord Electronics free USB cable, 2) Chord Sarum T, 3) Supra USB, 4) Tellurium Q top line USB cable, 5) Synergistic Research 2nd top of line USB, 6) Vertere Pulse HB USB, 7) Danacable Trustream, 8) Mad Scientist Black Magic USB, 9) Final Touch Audio Callisto
Bear in mind I am not connecting my USB cable to the Dave, I am connecting to the Blu MkII M Scaler which connects to my Dave via Dual Coaxial.
All USB cables affected my overall sound but the two I most favoured for my system were 8 & 9. I currently use 9 not because I would say it is particularly better than 8 (both are exceptional imo) but it is a better fit for the sound of my speakers which are a little bass light. The Black Magic adds a little upper bass and definitely adds presence which I like but do not need with my current speakers. The Callisto gives me more bass, thicker mids and sweeter top end and more importantly is just a little better at closing the gap to a linear frequency band in my system. The callisto has great 'weight' imo. The lower mids are well represented. This became more apparent to me as I improved my electrics with superior cables and fuses.
I have been on a 'no cost-barrier' crusade for the last 18 months to take my system to a higher level. I was confident my Dave and M Scaler had more to give and they did. This started with a new Power amp progressed with acoustic room treatment, new cables (digital, analogue and electrical), Grounding Block and even Synergistic research HFT's and ATM.
The thing about the latter 'passive' room treatments from SR is that they do not add, they subtract the room noise that is interfering with your linear frequency band and believe me it is interfering until you do something about it. The crap that is going on in our rooms when music is playing is horrendous. Eventually if you address this you are left with a true representation of the output of your system, so be careful what you wish for!
For instance I used to like my Danacable but when I paired everything down to the bare bones sound coming out of my speakers it became clear to me that there was a tiring high frequency prominence with this cable not unlike ringing. So the moral of the story here is that cables should be used to balance your system imo but the better you get it the more it will make you critical. A Green SR ATM placed between my speakers on the mantle shelf was the final piece of the jigsaw for me. As close to a perfect frequency/tone balance when using the Callisto USB on my system.
I think for me the overall goal is trying to achieve the most linear frequency balance when choosing cables for my system. When compromised, the dynamics do not deliver for the majority of my music collection and if the dynamics are then compromised on the linear frequency scale so in the drama and musicality for a big chunk of my library. There are some great cables out there and I will not be selling my Black Magic USB or Townshend Interconnects and speaker cables even though I don't currently use them. If I ever change my speakers I may need them. Its all about balance imo.
Bear in mind I am not connecting my USB cable to the Dave, I am connecting to the Blu MkII M Scaler which connects to my Dave via Dual Coaxial.
All USB cables affected my overall sound but the two I most favoured for my system were 8 & 9. I currently use 9 not because I would say it is particularly better than 8 (both are exceptional imo) but it is a better fit for the sound of my speakers which are a little bass light. The Black Magic adds a little upper bass and definitely adds presence which I like but do not need with my current speakers. The Callisto gives me more bass, thicker mids and sweeter top end and more importantly is just a little better at closing the gap to a linear frequency band in my system. The callisto has great 'weight' imo. The lower mids are well represented. This became more apparent to me as I improved my electrics with superior cables and fuses.
I have been on a 'no cost-barrier' crusade for the last 18 months to take my system to a higher level. I was confident my Dave and M Scaler had more to give and they did. This started with a new Power amp progressed with acoustic room treatment, new cables (digital, analogue and electrical), Grounding Block and even Synergistic research HFT's and ATM.
The thing about the latter 'passive' room treatments from SR is that they do not add, they subtract the room noise that is interfering with your linear frequency band and believe me it is interfering until you do something about it. The crap that is going on in our rooms when music is playing is horrendous. Eventually if you address this you are left with a true representation of the output of your system, so be careful what you wish for!
For instance I used to like my Danacable but when I paired everything down to the bare bones sound coming out of my speakers it became clear to me that there was a tiring high frequency prominence with this cable not unlike ringing. So the moral of the story here is that cables should be used to balance your system imo but the better you get it the more it will make you critical. A Green SR ATM placed between my speakers on the mantle shelf was the final piece of the jigsaw for me. As close to a perfect frequency/tone balance when using the Callisto USB on my system.
I think for me the overall goal is trying to achieve the most linear frequency balance when choosing cables for my system. When compromised, the dynamics do not deliver for the majority of my music collection and if the dynamics are then compromised on the linear frequency scale so in the drama and musicality for a big chunk of my library. There are some great cables out there and I will not be selling my Black Magic USB or Townshend Interconnects and speaker cables even though I don't currently use them. If I ever change my speakers I may need them. Its all about balance imo.
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DaveRedRef-III
500+ Head-Fier
One other take away from this process I found was to never judge a cable without first doing everything possible to ensure the minimum of vibration in the cable. Some flexible cables can be slightly fuzzy in their images as a result of simple vibration but once stabilized they can show they have the beating of others. This is true of the Callisto. I just had to use a little ingenuity to get the best from it.
EDIT:
Here is what I did. Small plastic box placed under the cable to reduce vibration before it goes into the M Scaler. This improved image stability.
EDIT:
Here is what I did. Small plastic box placed under the cable to reduce vibration before it goes into the M Scaler. This improved image stability.
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A quick update to answer my own question for posterity.
I sourced some DSD512 files, and I had the same issue playing them direct to DAVE (DAVE shows DSD512, but no audio comes out). When I switched the mode from PCM+ to DSD+, everything works as expected.
My take away is that to play DSD512 content, you need to have DAVE in DSD+ mode (with PCM+ limited to DSD256)
Great write up!
If I may, you may want to reach out to Mark at Sablon Audio. His new 2020 USB cable basically ended all my USB experimentation (including a bunch of DIY stuff) within the first minute of listening. I suspect there are a demo cable or two circulating around your side of the pond. Just fantastic for revealing the coherence and transparency of DAVE (and mScaled DAVE) in an incredibly natural way.
DaveRedRef-III
500+ Head-Fier
Ray
Thanks for the comment.
Do you have any links to the new Sablon USB cable for 2020?
Thanks for the comment.
Do you have any links to the new Sablon USB cable for 2020?
CRITICALSHOT
100+ Head-Fier
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/sablon-usb-cable-2020-model.29912/
The site is not updated with the new cable. You have to email him regarding the price and the availability. I ordered mine on Sunday and got it on Tuesday (London to New York).
Triode User
Member of the Trade: WAVE High Fidelity
On the subject of USB Cables I have tried all the following and even bought a number of them 1) Chord Electronics free USB cable, 2) Chord Sarum T, 3) Supra USB, 4) Tellurium Q top line USB cable, 5) Synergistic Research 2nd top of line USB, 6) Vertere Pulse HB USB, 7) Danacable Trustream, 8) Mad Scientist Black Magic USB, 9) Final Touch Audio Callisto
Bear in mind I am not connecting my USB cable to the Dave, I am connecting to the Blu MkII M Scaler which connects to my Dave via Dual Coaxial.
All USB cables affected my overall sound but the two I most favoured for my system were 8 & 9. I currently use 9 not because I would say it is particularly better than 8 (both are exceptional imo) but it is a better fit for the sound of my speakers which are a little bass light. The Black Magic adds a little upper bass and definitely adds presence which I like but do not need with my current speakers. The Callisto gives me more bass, thicker mids and sweeter top end and more importantly is just a little better at closing the gap to a linear frequency band in my system. The callisto has great 'weight' imo. The lower mids are well represented. This became more apparent to me as I improved my electrics with superior cables and fuses.
I have been on a 'no cost-barrier' crusade for the last 18 months to take my system to a higher level. I was confident my Dave and M Scaler had more to give and they did. This started with a new Power amp progressed with acoustic room treatment, new cables (digital, analogue and electrical), Grounding Block and even Synergistic research HFT's and ATM.
The thing about the latter 'passive' room treatments from SR is that they do not add, they subtract the room noise that is interfering with your linear frequency band and believe me it is interfering until you do something about it. The crap that is going on in our rooms when music is playing is horrendous. Eventually if you address this you are left with a true representation of the output of your system, so be careful what you wish for!
For instance I used to like my Danacable but when I paired everything down to the bare bones sound coming out of my speakers it became clear to me that there was a tiring high frequency prominence with this cable not unlike ringing. So the moral of the story here is that cables should be used to balance your system imo but the better you get it the more it will make you critical. A Green SR ATM placed between my speakers on the mantle shelf was the final piece of the jigsaw for me. As close to a perfect frequency/tone balance when using the Callisto USB on my system.
I think for me the overall goal is trying to achieve the most linear frequency balance when choosing cables for my system. When compromised, the dynamics do not deliver for the majority of my music collection and if the dynamics are then compromised on the linear frequency scale so in the drama and musicality for a big chunk of my library. There are some great cables out there and I will not be selling my Black Magic USB or Townshend Interconnects and speaker cables even though I don't currently use them. If I ever change my speakers I may need them. Its all about balance imo.
Thanks for all that. You have reawakened an interest in the Callisto cable that I started a few weeks ago but then did not pursue because I got diverted by other stuff. However I have now arranged for one to be sent to me on Monday to try . . . . . . .
CRITICALSHOT
100+ Head-Fier
Where have you finally settled and why as to HF Filter: (ON) or (OFF)?
CRITICALSHOT
100+ Head-Fier
Do you still follow this general rule and why?
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