General Information

The Truth Replacement Cable is the first time that Dita is offering a replacement cable to the market.

With over 20 years of experience and expertise in high end audio cable manufacturing, Van Den Hul and Dita have created one of the best price vs performance upgrade products in the market. Featuring patented Van Den Hul 3T technologies, it is a combination of ground breaking technology as well as tried and tested methods. The internal as well as external braid and twist have been carefully calculated and calibrated to provide the best combination in clarity, detail retrieval as well as depth in bass extension.

Features:

Van Den Hul patented 3T technology carbon based cable technology (Also available in copper/Cu)
Available in MMCX and 2 pin configuration
The Truth cable with its recognizable cable viewer which highlights the intricate twist and braid used.
The Awesome plug allows for a multitude of configurations on the plug end for use on various types of players.
Available in 3.5 mm TRS and 2.5 mm TRRS
The latest 4.4mm Pentaconn connector will be available as an option soon.

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Latest reviews

ExpatinJapan

Headphoneus Supremus

4.50 star(s)
Apr 11, 2017

Pros: Excellent build, sound quality and interchangeable plugs

Cons: Cable can tend to coil

The Dita Truth Replaceable Cables With Awesome Plug (Silver And Copper) Review

- Expatinjapan

The Dita Truth Replaceable Cables with Awesome Plug

Impressions and review

-expatinjapan

http://www.ditaaudio.com/index.php/products/truth-replacement-cable.html

Via the Dita Facebook page:

`The Awesome Plug is created to solve a problem where many audiophiles face, Single-Ended or Balanced.
With an interchangeable 3.5mm or 2.5mm jack (4.4mm imminent), audiophiles can choose convenience and sound quality.
The Awesome Plug is now available on the Truth Replaceable Cable in silver or copper, 2-pin or mmcx.`

Whats in the box?

The Dita Truth Awesome cable and a 2.5mm balanced plug, and a 3.5mm single ended plug.

Specifications

The convenience and ingenuity of the awesome plug is both simple to use and exceedingly convenient for audiophiles.
One can choose either silver/copper then have a selection of plugs instead of having to buy several cables. This also saves on the usual wear and tear of connecting and disconnecting either two pin or MMCX connectors.

Making the Awesome plug shows Ditas continued commitment to design and the requirements of audiophiles.

From the Dita website:
`The Truth Replacement Cable is the first time that Dita is offering a replacement cable to the market.

With over 20 years of experience and expertise in high end audio cable manufacturing, Van Den Hul and Dita have created one of the best price vs performance upgrade products in the market. Featuring patented Van Den Hul 3T technologies, it is a combination of ground breaking technology as well as tried and tested methods. The internal as well as external braid and twist have been carefully calculated and calibrated to provide the best combination in clarity, detail retrieval as well as depth in bass extension.

Features:

Van Den Hul patented 3T technology carbon based cable technology (Also available in copper/Cu)
Available in MMCX and 2 pin configuration
The Truth cable with its recognizable cable viewer which highlights the intricate twist and braid used.
The Awesome plug allows for a multitude of configurations on the plug end for use on various types of players.
Available in 3.5 mm TRS and 2.5 mm TRRS
The latest 4.4mm Pentaconn connector will be available as an option soon.`

Build

Each cable has a window where on can see the cable weave inside.

Also useful for checking which cable version it is - silver or copper.

Switching plugs from single ended to balanced is easy.

The plug easily slides into place, then is secured by a thread ring/nut that locks it safely into place.

The sound

I tested the Dita Awesome Cables with the Opus#1 and iBasso DX200 using FLAC tracks.
I generally stuck with the balanced jack.

Each Dap has well over 400 hours each of play time on them.

I used mainly JVC Spiral Tips.

iBasso DX200 and the Dita Awesome Plug (silver) and Campfire Audio Vega.

The variations I received.

First up the Dita Awesome Plug Silver.
Although it is made up of several metals for convenience sake I will just refer to it as silver.

The silver version certainly adds more overall body to the music playing, a nice boosted sub bass, the bass itself getting a bit more thump yet retaining its distinction.

I really enjoyed it especially with the Campfire Audio Vega.

I suspect its the mysterious mix of metals that make up the Truth Awesome silver version that have rendered this to be not your usual silver cable.
3T is available on both silver and copper versions.
Usually silver cables tend to boost mainly the lows and the highs, or at least center their energy and focus at those areas.

The Silver versions seems to have a certain warmth to it, smooth, rounded, a nice mid section, yet also retaining the dynamic lows and brilliant highs.

When using with the Andromeda it retains the spaciousness and air that I have become accustomed to, vocals are wistful and liquid like. The sound although dynamic it retains that certain linearity that I love about the Andromeda.
Clarity, depth and extension.

The Campfire Audio Dorado seems not a good match, the way the Silver Awesome plug subtlety brings up some of the mid section doesn`t always agree with the Dorado designed sonic signature.
When combined with say The Pixies it certainly shines.

Turning to the Campfire Audio Lyra ii the silver cable certainly enhances the earphone, with its XXx signature with its rolled off highs that result in a lush and intimate experience, the Dita silver cable brights up the high end more and recesses the mid ever so slightly turning it more towards the linear.
I like it.

With the Nova which has a similar signature of XXx to the Lyra ii the experience is very similar, even more linear. Bass is strong, mids slightly tames, high end brought up.

But each to their own.

On to the Copper version of the awesome plug.

It certainly is different sonically from the silver version, more subdued over all.

Less detailed, more action in the mids, less highs, the sound stage is more intimate.

I preferred the silver version with the CA Vegas.

With the CA Andromeda it is a truly special experience, nice expansive sound stage, great separation, forward soaring vocals, excellent separation, exquisite detailing.

Turning back again to the Dorado, like the Andromeda the copper seems to be a good match on some tracks, but varies. Either an extreme V shape or the mids come up with mess with the intended sound signature of the Dorado.

With the Campfire Audio Lyra ii with its XXx signature the lows get quite low and yet the highs seems to be more prevalent. The mids are still there all lush and sensuous. Hit or miss.

The Nova seems quite airy with the copper cable, I had to recheck the window of the Awesome Cable to see if I had the copper indeed. Vocals seem a bit too forward for my preferences at times. Apart from that, the underlying dynamics are quite pleasing.

A general Head pie testing set up for cable and dap testing etc using a headphone splitter box and volumed matched gear using an SPL meter.

Overview

The Dita Awesome plug is an ingenious one stop cable solution for many an audiophile.
With its choice of several interchangeable plugs (2.5mm, 3.5mm and soon 4.4mm) one now only has to buy one (or two) cables.

Many now are familiar with Dita whether it be the Truth, Answer or the more recent Dream model.
They as a company proved their worth early on by delivering excellent products with smile and great customer service.

I have noticed that Dita always strives to be innovative and deliver real solutions in addition to good sound.

The Dita Truth Awesome Plugs are very easy to use and interchanging between the plugs is a stress free experience.

The cable itself can be prone to the serpentine like coiling of the Truth model cable at times. The ergonomics of it may be unpleasing to some.

As to be expected the packing, build and detailing are all top notch. It truly is a quality product.

One of course has to choose between either two pin models or MMCX models (perhaps Dita can release an adaptor at some stage - a two pin that clicks into the MMCX connector) then it truly would be an all in one solution.
I of course have reviewed the MMCx version only.

That is apart from the silver/copper choice that one is first greeted with.

Which to choose?

The silver seems to favor the more linear , reference or flat IEMs.
I did not enjoy it so much with V shaped IEMs, but also take into account I am not a V shaped sound signature fan anyway.
The silver also matches well with XXx signature earphones which have the highs rolled off, and brings the highs more back into play.

The copper also likes a linear earphone.
V shaped sound signatures can be a hit or miss depending on the track, it brings up the mid section which is nice.

The Nova seemed to match well with either which was surprising.

In all when one is choosing an aftermarket cable there is now a wealth of choices available on the market these days. Most of the established brands and makers are fairly well known by now and have been going for several years.

Dita have established themselves as a trusted brand and once again reached beyond our imaginations with their new release the Awesome Plug, a revolutionary idea in the expanded universe of audio cables.

Thank you to Dita for sending the Truth Awesome Plug to Head for review.

Reactions: CracKinGDucK

Layman1

Excellent review, thanks!
Having dutifully read your profile prior to asking this question, just wondering how you feel they compare to your ALO (Ref8) and Effect Audio cables?

audionewbi

Headphoneus Supremus

4.50 star(s)
Mar 4, 2017

Pros: Future proof design, transparent, light weight and as far as the cable material goes it is as good as one hope to get

Cons: Shielding material can be stiff and at times have a mind of their own.

Disclaimer: I initially wrote this for earphonia and I decide to also add it on head-fi. My original review can be found on the site. Also while I purchased full price for my cable it is important mention Dita audio was kind enough to also include the copper variety which I did not purchase for testing purposes.

I like to thank the owner of earphonia for editing my review and please note as always these are my opinion and nothing can replace your own ears.

I also like to thank dita audio for the chance to test both cable and also some picture that you are about to see within my review are directly obtained from their site.

Dita audio page: http://www.ditaaudio.com/index.php/products/truth-replacement-cable.html

Original review can be read here: http://earphonia.com/cable-reviews/dita-revolutionary-truth-replacement-cable/

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Intro:

Alright I’ll be the first to admit whenever I come across reviews about cables I mostly skip them, it is not that I’m a full blown out cable sceptic, no I do replaced my stock cable however it is never because I am after a cable that will allow me to “rediscover” my music again. If we all had a nickel every time we read that statement we all would own an Sennheiser Orpheus II by now. No I am not saying that those individual are lying, I do believe cables do alter the sound however my argument is should a cable do that? Should it be its job to do that?
I mostly change my cable for ergonomic purposes, and it should be no shock to read that till today I’m yet to be enlightened by a cable. Let’s just call me an enthusiast with a healthy level of BS immunity.
If you happen to read few cable review chances are you will come across the following conclusions:

Copper cable are warmer sounding, organic natural and overall has the most bass quantity;
Silver-plated OFC can sound harsh but not as harsh as pure silver, which leads to;
Silver is more resolving, revealing, colder, more treble extension, excellent bass extension but can be harsh sounding which leads to;
High quality silver will never sound harsh and those who hear a harsh sounding silver cable only have low quality silver cable.

The above is just a small example of cable material and arguments associated with it, if you dig deeper you’ll get more exotic cables which are mixture of various gold-silver, silver plated gold, gold plated silver and probably so many other variety that most of us will never hear about, those one are for the really cool kids.
The argument could possibly than include 4N versus 6N, ‘do we even have such high purity product available commercially?’ Basically in short the possibility of argument and point of view on such issues are plentiful and can make for good discussion if the parties are willing to do so in a mature way.

My view is this: Buy it, test it and if it works for you good for you. I am not the one who likes to mention the dollar value and open that can of worms. No I don’t always believe more money means better product. Sure I like to have high quality staff at low prices but sadly neither of the two is very well defined. For instant what is high quality in our hobby and where do we draw the line for a fair price? For me it is as simple as buying the best I can afford and what is best is simply a trial and error/research process based on a healthy census from the community I am part of and the sciences that is behind a product development. Having said that not all cable makers have science backing them, so we shouldn’t strictly care about fact and figures when it comes to sound as frankly the science of audio is too young and what is more diverse is how we all hear things.

Reviews don’t reveal much, nothing can replace your own ears and with that I like to go to the next stage of my writing, call it what you want but I don’t like to call it a review, as if I do so by my own logic what you are about to read is a collection of pointless statement that can never do the job of your ears. The way I like to write my audio experience is mostly how I like to read subjective account of events, since I lack formal training in this hobby I will never dare pretend to do that.

What you are about to read is my very subjective and informal account on Dita Truth cables; both the silver and copper variety.

Method:

While I did say I like to keep it informal I like to briefly discuss how I do my evaluation.

First I use a set of IEM/headphone that I intimately know. No point testing unfamiliar gears with more unfamiliar gear, not unless you are just auditioning the gears, right?

For this review I use a variety of IEM, all with MMCX type connection (I say this as there are people who believe sound can be coloured based on the connectors used and MMCX said to colour sound the most).

Just to mention the gears used the most are mentioned:

Ultrasone IQ: can sound wide in the right condition and very bright in the wrong condition (wrong condition are: bright recording, high output impedance sources, wrong tip)
AKT8iE: An impactful bass, warm sounding, a wide sound stage and an average depth. Has the potential to offer great dynamic in those classical music recording which offer such dynamic range. Responses very well with cable swapping and hence why I selected for my review.
Chord HUGO: Reference source and thanks to dual 3.5mm I can do direct A/B.
Lotoo PAW Gold: Another reference gear which I use for testing the portability/duality of the plug for portable use.

What got me into cable replacement at the start of this hobby was merely because my stock cable wasn’t functioning correctly and since I was spending money I wanted to I am spending my money wisely. I never thought much on how cable replacement cable can change the sound. To be honest I didn’t know it could and at start when I was reading the “APURESOUND ER4S” thread, a thread relating upgrade cable for the Etymotics ER4, the IEM that got me into this hobby and begun my interest in cable replacement, I thought the people in the thread were just making things up, I was reading the thread not out of interest of learning after a short while spending time reading that thread but I was reading mostly out of amusement. How things have changed for me!

Another reason why enthusiastic are forced to swap their stock cable with something else is when they like to use a balance amplification to drive the IEM/headphone. I am not going to discuss why such method of power delivery is preferred; I leave that to you guys to look into.
Balance amplification was first made popular in desktop usage. But slowly portable amp makers came with the claims that they can offer the same level of performance in a much more compact form. The first one that I got to know was Ray Samuels SR71B. Soon the movement was large enough for it to give rise to now having sources (iPod DAC, remembers those?) which offered line out in balance format. Slowly the DAC balance out was thing of a past as the DAP makers decided the market is large enough for them to take the best of the staking and make it in a compact format.

Basically the DAP maker claimed we no longer need amplifiers to achieve what balance amplification offers. They could offer the same level of performance for most IEM users in a much more compact format. The idea sounded good right? Well yes (depends on how you look at it) but the issue was and still is one thing: on what kind of balance connection do we settle on? At start the Kobiconn connectors dominated the portable amplifiers. Thankfully it never made its way to the DAP world. The 3.5mm TRRS to my knowledge was the first balance connection used in DAP, first used by HifiMan HM801 and still used in current Cowon flagship DAP, the Plenue S. That too had its issues, people kept frying their amp section by plugging into the wrong jack but nevertheless it was the only option available for those who wanted to have such connection. That was until Astell&Kern made an entrance to the DAP world, first they focused on single ended DAP but surely with introduction of the AK240 the 2.5 mm TRRS jack appeared to have informally become the new standard. Unofficial as it is currently it appears that it will not go away anytime soon despite the new 4.4mm JIETA standard, which adds yet another option for various DAP maker to implement.

As you can see it merely is impossible to just have one cable to cover ever possible option in an elegant manner. Various cable makers tried to do it, they offered noble yet certainly bulky option such as using the Kobiconn connectors somewhere in middle of the cable and allowing the user to change the bottom half to tailor their needs however the final product was just heavy due to part used and the final finish had a lot left to desire for. So if you belonged to the group of DAP collectors who happened to own more than just one DAP your options was to either get the bulky cable with multiple attachment or get a cable for each of your IEM terminated in your required connector. They were the only option till Dita decided to take the same mindset they applied to their debute products, Dita Truth and Answer, and produce an after-market cable that I see as a revolutionary product as far as modular cable is concerned.

Ergonomics:

It is not the most comfortable cable I own, the protection shielding wrap that used on the original IEM has made its way to this product as well. The cable discomfort isn’t due to irritation, not at all the discomfort is in how the cable has a mind of its own when it comes to wanting to stay straight.I like the ear guide used, it has no memory wire and it is very comfortable. Micro phonics is low however it can be eliminated if you know how to wear it.I find the plug size to be the same as the current popular after market jacks however what makes it bulky is the locking collar, more on this later.

Sound:

When it comes to sound I admit that I do not have the sophisticated hearing that most of your favourite reviewers have. I am not sophisticated enough to tell you I hear changes at let’s say 500 hertz or anything like that, by merely changing cables. When I listen to music I just play my favourite tracks and see how sound changes. My method is something like this: Plug the earphone to Lotoo paw gold, increase the volume till I reach a comfortable listening level, and swap the cable while maintaining the same volume. Adjust volume if require to reach the same level of comfortable listening and note changes. With that let’s discuss sound!

When it comes to getting to know the cable material component of Dita replacement cable there isn’t much information available. What is known is that the design is based on a 3T Van Den Hul patented design. What is that you might ask, I don’t know. There isn’t much available and it is a well kept secret. And reading into it will not make things more clear. For example according to the only link I have found about 3T and direct quoting from there “No application of Platinum, Gold, Silver or Copper in any percentage. This avoids product price changes due to wild market speculation.”
All I know it is an alloy and I have no idea of what. Here is the link for those who like to read more about it: http://www.vandenhul.com/cable-technologies/3t-true-transmission-technology

I am told both cable has the same internal 3T core design. What makes them different is the final cable coating. One has a copper coating and the other has a silver coating.

To my ears the transparency of both the silver and copper variety is identical. They are both able to reveal the Grea in the tests tracks I used. However at louder volume the two cables to my ears sounded different. For instance when I had the copper coated cable installed on the Ultrasone IQ an increase of volume enhanced the bass quantity. But in higher volumes the treble definition and I dare say extension of IQ improved when I had the silver model plugged. Also the silver variety sounded slightly brighter at the louder volumes. But that was only in loud volumes and at normal volumes I wasn’t able to detect any sonic difference between the two cables.

Another thing that will separate the two models is the silver variety requires more power. I find myself that I needed to increase the volume dial of my Lotoo Paw Gold when I swapped to the silver variety, playing the same tunes and using the same IEM.

When it comes to vocal the copper variety places more emphasis on the vocal and places them more forward whereas the silver variety has a better emphasis on string based instruments, but I really had to listen for them to hear them in such manner.

Now if I was to be perfectly honest I doubt I would be able to tell the two models apart in a blind A/B test.

As I said before I will not be the one who will say ‘when I added this cable an entire spectrum of sound was opened to me, it is like I never heard those music before’. In my opinion it is not the job of the cable to do this. Sure a good cable will improve on the sound but how do we define that improvement?

In my view cables should have the least alteration in the sound. A cable job is to be as transparent and least coloured as it can be. Great cables are able to remain uncoloured and at the same time reveal all the detail in the recording, of course assuming the source is able to extract those detail from the recording to begin with.
To me cable upgrade is the last thing an enthusiast needs to look into. After all a cable is just a bridge from the line out of your source to whatever it is attached too and if the source is lacking than the cable cannot magically add to the sound.

If you believe in the 90% syndrome that most audiophile believe in to me Dita model will easily fill in that last 10% in a cost effective manner. Imagine having one cable to cover all cases, whether you like to use a single ended source, balance you really have no reason to buy another entire cable. This is why to me this cable is price very reasonably. The technology behind the cable has a name that is trusted in the audio industry. You can be sure you are not just buying someone hobby, which is in no way a bad thing. What you are paying is a price for a cable that offers versatility for the futures. At this stage the unit comes with 3.5mm singled ended jack and 2.5mm TRRS balance jack so for now if you belong to those two group you are covered but I am sure they will release more accessories in the near future.

Recommendation:

If I was to recommend something to Dita it would be to see if they can perhaps introduce a smaller plug to screw on, as I find it a little awkward to pocket. Perhaps a straight plug can allow for reduction in dimension as I feel this might unintentionally put too much strain on the 3.5mm jack due to slightly bulky design. In terms of the overall dimension they are identical to most main stream high end after-market plugs, what makes them bulky is the locking collar which is very solid and firm. Perhaps by shortening the body of the plug in the lower portion after the locking collar it will bring the collar closer to the actual jack and as a result the bulk becomes less noticeable and it will place the collar in a position where its centriod isn’t too much of a strain to the fragile metal jacks. Whether that is possible I don’t know, as the saying goes ‘easier said than done!’

I am very happy about the cable that Dita has produced. Its modular design is future proof, and what that means is at the end in long term the end user will be the one saving more money as they no longer need to order more cable due to the unpredictable markets of the future.

I am told Dita is busy working to release various other connectors, with a new DITA 4.4mm to be release around Singapore Canjam 2017, which is where they will also be revealing their Dream product name Dita Dream, hopefully more to come about that in a near future. Need to mention what I just said isn’t directly sourced from Dita but from my sources who are close to Dita Audio.

Over all I cannot wait to see what they can come up with next. Will they ever enter the portable amplification world or perhaps the DAP world? Who knows and I can only hope they do.

Reactions: ranfan, glassmonkey, puppyfi and 1 other person

glassmonkey

This is the kind of cable more folks need to know about. One cable to rule all your connectors. Nicely done.

audionewbi

This cable is almost there, now what would be great if the IEM connectors could also be modular. Overall to me this is the future.

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DITA Audio replacement cable

General Information

Latest reviews

ExpatinJapan

Headphoneus Supremus

The Dita Truth Replaceable Cables With Awesome Plug (Silver And Copper) Review

- Expatinjapan

audionewbi

Headphoneus Supremus

Intro:

Method:

Ergonomics:

Sound:

Recommendation:

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