Lavricables Grand Silver Cable

This is a summary of the full Lavricables Grand review which is available in ichos-reviews.com.



Executive summary

The Grand is Lavricables top of the line cable. A premium awg-20 multi-strand litz cable with some of the best components available on the market made from 6n purity silver and Mundorf 10% silver solder.

A beautiful and well made cable which is very soft, it never gets tangled and it doesn't induce any microphonic noise. Someone could buy the Grand only for the great looks and the excellent build quality which are miles ahead than most stock cables.

The Grand is going to enhance all the sonic qualities of a high-end headphone system, given that you have one, or else you shouldn't bother and better seek the entry level Lavricables cables. The Grand cable is not some kind of a passive equalizer and please remember that all sound improvements are really audible but in a subtle manner. The Grand is not going to transform your system into something else but rather help extract every last bit of it's character and performance , something not necessarily positive if it is not up to the task.

A highly revealing cable with ultimate transparency that greatly improves resolution and refinement, extracts every last bit of detail but in a polite manner without inducing brightness, harshness or artificiality. The Grand is so absent from the chain that greatly improves the dynamics of the system by passing all the information without holding back nothing. It improves timbre realism and musicality while it engraves the holographic relief of the soundtage.

The Lavricables Grand is an upgrade cable that will help your already well matched headphone system to reach the summit of its capabilities.

Lavricables Grand Series
The great cable debate

This is all about a custom cable. Before we start, there is a great deal of debate on this subject, and I won't be shying away from that. The elephant in the room is the custom cable that replaces the freely supplied stock cable that came with your already expensive headphones. The one function of the custom cable is to improve the sound quality of your headphones. There are a huge variety of opinions out there as to whether the cable alone can make any difference to the sound quality of a headphone, no matter how expensive it is. Hitherto, the most I have spent on a cable, of any description, is perhaps £40, and that was to get a certain type of balanced cable that I didn't already have. This means that I am by no means an instant convert to the principle of a cable making any real difference to the sound of a headphone, which means that Lavricables, having sent me their statement product for my latest review, have no guarantees that I'm going to be enthusiastic about this particular product. That being said, I keep an open mind, I will give anything (within reason) a try, and I know that many of you out there have already taken the plunge and have shiny stuff hanging from your headphones.

For this review, I have plugged the cable into the HE1000 v2 Stealth Edition, a rich sounding favourite, retailing at £2000 in all good stockists. Lavricables were especially interested in my thoughts on these with the HE1000 although of course they'll work with any headphones that have 3.5mm sockets, and aren't the fixed cable variety.

About Lavricables
The company, Lavricables, are from Latvia. They make some very fine looking cables and they believe in the purity of silver stranded cables to improve your stock options. The cable, depending on your options chosen, will range from €469 to €969. I will be reviewing a 4 pin XLR terminated 2 metre cable, I also had a XLR to 4.4 balanced adapter fitted, to try the cable out on several amps. If you like what you see, I am sure that such a cable with adapter could easily be arranged.

About Burn in
The concept of burn in has been around since I have been involved in HiFi. Many companies recommend a period of time in which their particular audio products, ranging from speakers to cables, are given a gentle dose of music over a considerable period of time before their product settles down and performs at it's best. In similar fashion, when buying a new car, the advise was to not put the car above a certain amount of revs for the first 1000 miles or so. I had a replacement engine that I managed to break by not following the guidance as per rpm and readjusting after a certain mileage. Undoubtedly, a car engine is a finely tuned device and will generate huge amounts of heat while in use, and has many parts which must all work together perfectly. Could the same thing apply to a mere cable? I've made you think now, haven't I? The cable I received came with a 150 hours burn in procedure.This will cost an additional fee should you choose that option. The burn in procedure rather stole my thunder of attempting to answer the question "does burning in make any difference?" I could have done a before and after test recording, as is my usual way of things, but due to my Latvian friends wanting to guarantee that I received the cable at what they think is the optimal, this particular controversy can be avoided for this review. Look on that as a positive. I am able to devote more time to the more important aspects of Lavri's Grand Series, which is, is it any good? It's that simple, and yet, that complicated too!

I am a reviewer, and am more than happy to offer you my subjective opinion on any product that comes my way. To explain what I mean by the word subjective, this is an opinion based on no science. It is essentially a "feeling" for the item, and it is based on several hours of listening between the review item and a similar product. In this case, it was easy, all I had to do was unplug 1 set of cables and replace them with another, over and over again, to several songs , in several genres of music, from Classical to Pop, as my tastes are diverse, and I am no longer interested in what is regarded as "cool". I just like what I like. Of course, as a reviewer, my opinion will be deemed extremely important by both yourselves and Lavricables. However, I am happy to tell you that, not only do I get the opportunity to rate these cables. You do too! Yes - it's true. I have 2 recordings for you. They are recorded in lossless format. They are recordings of the stock HiFiMan cable and the custom Lavricable. They have been recorded using a set of binaural in ear headphones, the Sennheiser Ambeo. The Ambeo has been placed at the entrance to my ear canals. The Ambeo is then plugged into an ipad. The ipad is duly prepped for an audio recording. I have then placed the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth Edition Headphones

carefully onto my head, so as not to disturb the in ear mics. I press play to start the music, I press record on the iPad, and 7 minutes later, a binaural field recording of Peter Gabriel's SACD version of "Come Talk to Me" from the Album "Us" is ready to put into Dropbox. I repeat the same process using a different cable and recording 2 is done. Only the cables are different, the volume is not moved, the track is recorded in it's entirety, I am using the same head(mine) and the same equipment, in this case, a World Class R2R Dac, the Lampizator DAC4 which famously uses valves for the output stage, and a World Class Speaker/Headphone Amplifier, a McNeish Designs, which runs in pure class A and uses a no compromise separate power supply.

I have enclosed the 2 recordings for you to download, at no cost, with no ads or subscriptions etc. You will find them very strange sounding through speakers, as they have been recorded using headphones. This is therefore a headphones only moment. Before you read my opinion, take a listen:
The Stock Cable

Lavricables Grand Series

Have as many listens as you wish. Provided you use headphones, you should have a convincing experience. I'm hoping your brain will feed you yet more visual cues which will convince you that this is very close to demoing the cables yourself, in a shop, or a show, albeit without the pressure of having to make an instant decision as to whether there is any difference between the cables and, if there is, which cable is better, and, if so, how much better....


The results are in
I am, of course, anxious to hear your opinions, but I am equally sure you want my expert(!) take on this. Look; when push comes to shove, and in all seriousness, the Lavricables are an upgrade to the Stock Cable. I have used a headphone, costing around £2000, a DAC originally retailing at £5500, a headphone amplifier worth probably more than the DAC4 and a DSD track to highlight said differences. Arguably, such equipment is typical of the kind of clients that use custom cables, so I make no excuses for using such high end kit.

My impressions, for this field test are that the Grand Master adds more detail, a faster bass response and a cleaner sound when compared to the Stock Cables. I say this not knowing what you, my assistant reviewers, make of the experience. As is often the case in field tests like this, when I first put on the Lavricables, having listened to the Stock cables beforeheand, the differences grabbed me fairly immediately. I have deliberately used the word "fairly" in this context, because, honestly, I get the feeling of whether I prefer the sound before I can describe why I feel that way. Are you the same? Of course, detailed back to back listening over a course of time can alter those initial impressions, and I take great care and time over trying to keep a open mind, constantly looking for differences in vocal clarity, bass depth, overall balance of sound, the type of signature being produced, how close the instrumentation is to my ears, any harsh peaks. I can only do this by listening over and over again and giving my brain the task of picking up these differences without pressure. Only then am I prepared to reveal what I think to the World!
This was my impression for the top set up I have, and I used the Lavricable as was, without the supplied adapter. I next set myself the task of trying a cheaper DacAmp. The results on said Amp were a different story. Read on as to why......

Using the HiFiMan EF400
Did not give the results I was expecting. I am aware that there can sometimes be interference when using high grade silver cable, but I was not expecting it to be so noticeable with the EF400. The EF400 has 2 gain and 2 sample settings. High gain is not needed for the HE1000. I used it, of course I did! The interference was heavily amplified, and there was none with the stock cable. In low gain mode, the NOS setting caused twice the level of white noise as compared to the Over Sampling switch. Once the music was in full swing, the effect of the cable was less noticeable, but in the quiestest moments the white noise still clung on. Therefore, if you seek the Grand Master as an upgrade and you wish to use it on the EF400 in conjunction with your HE1000, I could not recommend this as an upgrade. The EF400 seems to prefer OFC cables and simply doesn't have the stomach to be able to digest the purity of a Lavricable.

My next test was on SMSL's Dac and Amp range, thus giving me the chance to check out the adapter.

Using the SMSL DO/HO100 Combo
What a delicious combo! I was relieved that, on first switching on, there was no white noise apparent. Nothing. strange... But good. The cables where still well ahead of the stock, even on such a humble setup. That wasn't quite what I was expecting. I moved the DO100(which is the DAC part of this little stack system) and the sound cut out completely on my Macbook. I then plugged it back in. No output. I unplugged, switched off, plugged back in and switched on. There was that white noise again! Hang on...have I made a horrible mistake? Is this the same cable I was using for the EF400? If so, would swapping the USB cable for a different one achieve different results? I may well be needing to eat a huge slice of humble pie at this rate....

With profuse apologies to the EF400.....
Replacing the cable eliminated the white noise interference problem. Instantly, immediately and totally. It was all about the cable! It just wasn't the Lavricable, or the EF400 not being able to take a silver cable, it was just a cheap usb cable that was on it's way out. Cables DO make a difference! Who'd have thought? The EF400, swinging away quite happily now, shows the SMSL stack a clean pair of heels and NOS is once more my weapon of choice on this R2R DacAmp.


Conclusion
The question I set myself before I started on this review was : "is there a difference between the audible sound quality of this cable over the stock one, and, if so, is the difference worth the money?" That is the problem that lies at the heart of the great cable debate. Can I hear the difference and should I be spending lots of money on a cable when I can upgrade the headphone instead? The answer I have arrived at is, yes, there is a difference between the Grand Master series and the HiFiMan stock. The cable is an upgrade. This particular upgrade will cost somewhere in the region of £600. Let us have a think about this and do some rough sums and see where that leads us. The HE1000v2 Stealth retails at £2000. The custom upgrade here will make them £2600. Is there an upgrade path to the HE1000 at that price point? I would say the next clear upgrade for the HE1000 lies with the HE1000SE. This retails at £3500. Maybe there is something in this, when one comes in at this market level..... Would £600 spent anywhere else in the chain improve the sound quality to the level the Lavricables give out? I'm assuming that anyone with the HE1000 has a decent source and headphone amplifier. If not, perhaps replacing an ageing source with something like the HiFiMan EF400 would probably make a better investment. However, if the average Lavricables customer base are already happy with their source and amp and want to squeeze that last % from the HE1000, without taking a risk and breaking the bank with ever more expensive headphones, notwithstanding the hassle of selling the beloved HE1000s for much less than their worth, then one can see how this custom cable rabbit hole might be worth falling into. Have I changed your mind?

Introduction to the review of Lavricables Grand​

Lavricables is a Latvian company specializing in silver cables that has been already present at Ear Fidelity. Michał reviewed their master line and found it quite compelling.
The guys at Lavricables reached out to us asking if we’d like to review their products, and after a quick and very pleasant chat, I decided to give it a go. We’ve chosen the Lavricables Grand series to go with my HiFiMAN Susvara, as there are no better headphones in the world to test cables with.
The Susvara is known for its incredible technical performance, which further helps in evaluating every single change to the sound of your setup. With that, let’s get right into it.

Packaging, Build Quality and Comfort​

The Lavricables Grand series comes in rather a standard packaging which contains a soft carrying pouch and the cable itself. No fancy accessories, wooden boxes, etc, which is something that I like to see in a product in this price range. Lavricables focuses on very high-quality cables without asking crazy prices, and this leaves no room for fancy packaging.

Nonetheless, it’s a cable, you don’t actually need anything more. I know that there are companies that do offer luxurious unboxing experiences with their cables, but the difference in price also plays a role there. With Lavricables, you’re just getting what you’re paying for – Nothing more, nothing less.
As for the build quality, I’m happy to report that the reviewed Lavricables Grand is a very high-quality cable that is exceptionally built and very good-looking at the same time. While it won’t steal anyone’s heart with its sublime and unique design (or lack of it actually), there’s absolutely nothing to complain about. The 3.5mm jack plugs that go into your headphones are of good quality, and they surely look quite pleasing. The splitter in my review unit is a carbon-infused one, which pairs well with the jack connectors, and it’s not too heavy and bulky. Thanks to that, the splitter area will not be problematic when it comes to comfort, but more on that later.



Lastly, the 4-pin XLR connector is from a company called Aeco. This is actually my first time handling products from Aeco, and I’m actually blown away. The XLR plug is heavy, very robust, and well-finished, which gives you confidence when handling it. It’s also quite a great-looking plug, and I don’t see any valid point to go for a very expensive Furutech over this one.

Apart from the metal hardware, the cable is made of 6n purity awg20 Cryo treated multistrand litz pure silver conductor. Yes, it’s quite a mouthful. What’s important though is that it’s a very, very high-quality material for an audio cable, the best from the best if you’ll ask some people on the web.

Overall, the actual build quality of the reviewed Lavricables Grand is quite exceptional, and having in mind the quality of the conductor together with great metal hardware, I’m actually very pleased by the asking price. Without even starting the sound paragraph of the review I can tell you that so far, this is priced more than fairly.
Let’s talk about comfort now. The Lavricables Grand is a very comfortable cable that gives me absolutely no issues when using it. While it’s definitely not the lightest and thinnest cable that I’ve ever used, it’s very soft and doesn’t hold the shape too much, so even after some time spent in your drawer it won’t get weirdly bent. There’s nothing really left to be said, it’s a comfortable cable that is just a joy to use.

Sound of the Lavricables Grand​

Let’s get into the most important thing now, which is the sound. As I already said in the introduction, I’ve chosen a cable to go with my HiFiMAN Susvara, as this headphone will let me pinpoint even the slightest change in tonality or in the audio quality itself.
When compared to the stock HiFiMAN cable, the Lavricables Grand definitely feels infinitely more premium, both to the eyes and to the touch. I don’t think there’s a single person on the earth that is a fan of HiFiMAN’s stock cables, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise, but still – had to be mentioned.
When it comes to the sound though, the difference is even more prominent. The Grand just pushes the Susvara into a completely different league when compared to the stock cable, let me explain…

Of course, after receiving the cable, I gave it around 100h of burn-in time. Whether you believe in this or not, as a reviewer, it is my duty to run this process to ensure proper performance. Lavricables actually offers a burn-in service on their cables when you’re ordering one, so this is something I couldn’t have skipped.
After that 100h period, I plugged the reviewed Lavricables Grand into my main testing setup, with is: XIAudio K-DAC-> Feliks Envy -> HiFiMAN Susvara. This is a very high-end setup that doesn’t have any major weaknesses on its own, but still, it gained a lot when I swapped the stock cable for the Grand.



The biggest difference I’ve noticed is in the speed and firmness of the sound. The Lavricables Grand pushes the sound to be more technically impressive, fast, snappy, and tactile. Long gone is the feeling of slight smoothness to the bass or lack of the ultimate control of the treble. The overall sound gets more nuanced, but more prominent and firm at the same time. For me, this is what a good-quality, the pure silver cable should sound like – uncolored, yet technically great.
Both detail retrieval and resolution experienced a boost that is easy to hear, yet it doesn’t have any side effects. It’s not like you get better detail in exchange for making the sound brighter or leaner. This is what cheap, low-quality silver sounds like, and we surely ain’t talking about one in this review.
Also, the soundstage gets more precise and spacious because of those changes, as the overall texture and airiness are both elevated. No, it definitely won’t make your headphones into soundstage beasts, but it might just get you a boost that is easily to spot, while not overdoing anything.

Luckily, the reviewed Lavricable Grand cable doesn’t really alter the overall tonality of your setup, which is something that the Envy + Susvara combination definitely doesn’t need. I’m still getting that insane richness and smoothness to the vocals, but now with a slight touch of refinement and technicalities.
Another important aspect of this cable is its treble performance. Pure silver cables have that common misconception about treble. A lot of people see silver cables as cables that boost treble response, resulting in a bright and analytical sound, which is very far from the truth. Yes, cheap silver do often sound like this, but we’re not talking about cheap silver here. The reviewed Lavricables Grand doesn’t add any unneccessary brightness or sharpness to the sound, which helps with pairing it with a lot of different headphones on the market. You don’t have to worry that it’ll get too hot.
To summarize — the Lavricables Grand is something that I would definitely call a high-end cable. It is meant to slightly upgrade the sound of your setup, rather than changing it, and this is exactly what this cable does. No side effects, no weird tonality changes, and no problems in the treble area. I can easily recommend this cable to anyone that is looking for an “upgrade” cable, as the performance of the Lavricables Grand cable is a definition of that meaning.

Comparisons​

Cross Lambda Apollo GB


Let’s compare the Lavricables Grand to the (probably) most expensive headphones cable in the world, the Cross Lambda Apollo GB.
First things first, the build quality is actually a thing where the Grand comes victorious, and while it could sound absolutely ridiculous having the price difference in mind, it’s just a truth. It’s softer, it doesn’t hold the shape as much, and it’s just a more comfortable, more premium-feeling cable of the two.
When it comes to the sound though, there’s just something about the Apollo GB which makes it the best cable that I’ve ever tried. Yes, I know that it’s easy to say as it’s the most expensive, but I definitely know that price often doesn’t mean a thing. However, the Apollo is even more detailed, and offers even better resolution, while sounding incredibly romantic and rich at the same time. The Grand is a pure silver cable, while the Apollo GB is a combination of 7N-HPPPOCC Palladium Plated Pure Copper, 7N-HPSPOCC Silver Plated Pure Copper, and 7N-HPOCC Pure Copper. This ensures that the Apollo GB actually has a “sound”, but it’s just something that really works wonders.

And yes, these cables are vastly different. The price difference is actually huge, and they perform in a different ways. The Grand is definitely altering the sound less, which might be highly desirable by many. The Lavricables Grand is DEFINITELY a better deal here, you can’t even argue with that. While not AS good as the Apollo GB, you can buy a lifetime supply of the Grand for the price of one Apollo, let that sink in.

Summary​

The reviewed Lavricables Grand is a fantastic choice if you’re in the market for a high-end cable to pair your high-end headphones with. Its build quality is exceptional, it’s comfortable and pleasant to use and to look at, and most importantly – it sounds like a good silver cable should sound like.

Fast, snappy, and detailed but definitely not thin or bright sounding. This is an “upgrade” cable, and it definitely delivers on that promise. I’m happy to recommend the Grand to anyone who is looking for a cable that will upgrade their setup, rather than change the overall sound signature. The Grand will be constantly plugged into my Susvara and it ain’t moving anywhere anytime soon.

Recommended.


Big thanks to Lavricables for providing the Grand for this review. I wasn’t paid or asked to say anything good or bad about this product, all of the above is just my personal, unbiased opinion.

Overview:

Up for review today is the Lavricables Grand 6n (99.9999% pure – 6 nines, get it?), 20awg (wire thickness – smaller # is bigger), silver (the best conductor of electricity) Rosson RAD-0 5ft upgrade cable. This pure cryo-treated (relieves the stress lines on wires that appear during the manufacturing process) silver multistrand Litz (multistrand individually insulated magnet wires – reduces skin effect and proximity effect) is available here: Lavricables Grand RAD-0. OK, look at the previous two sentences – I’ve never before had to explain that much technology for HEADPHONES, let alone a cable. I’m pretty sure we all just earned our electrical engineering degrees. All kidding aside, Lavricables REALLY knows their wire and cables – that’s a lot of technology for the wires that connect your amp to your headphones. There are cables out there that cost over $3k (if that’s your thing), and I’m not sure any of those can do better than this for less than 1/6th the price – pretty cool.

If you’ve never heard of Lavricables before, they are a company located in Latvia and they sent me the Grand for the RAD-0 in only 4 days for review (VERY fast shipping!) The Grand is available for many other headphones too if you would like to get one for your top-of-the-line headphones. They also have several cheaper lines: the Master Line is a 5n silver cable (99.999%) with awg22 wire (smaller wire diameter), the Ultimate Line is a 4-core 5n with awg24 wire (even smaller wire), and the reference line is a cheaper 5n with awg24 cable for lower-end headphones. Mine came terminated in a balanced 4-pin XLR as requested with RAD-0 3.5mm terminations for each earcup. Like the old Ford Model A joke, you can have any color you want for this cable – as long as it’s silver. You can get it wrapped in a black silk sleeve up to the splitter if you want, but it’s still going to have silver L and R cables. Some of the cheaper lines do have color options if that’s more important to you.



Build Quality / Comfort:

If you have no other reason to buy a cable than the stock one it comes with is terrible quality, get the Grand. This is the best quality cable I’ve ever had and that’s comparing it to the Moon Audio Silver Dragon and the Corpse Cable Gravedigger. The Silver Dragon was decent but started having connection issues in the left ear within a few weeks or getting it (at $500, that shouldn’t happen), and the Corpse cable ($250) is very microphonic and copper instead of silver (different sounds.) The Grand is solidly built and the wires are thick (20awg is thick) but still very flexible with the least amount of microphonics I’ve heard from a cable in recent memory. Oh, and Lavricables says that silver really needs 100-150 hours of burn-in time to sound at its best – they’ll do that for you, but it’ll cost you a bit extra – mine came burned it, thank goodness – I don’t have that kind of free time.

Also, the XLR4 connector is my favorite, I need every headphone to now come with this exact AECO connector. I have never before freaked out about an XLR4 connector, but this thing is just so heavy duty, with a tight fit and THE GREATEST click sound ever when it locks into my Burson. Yeah, that’s the weirdest thing ever to geek out about, but TRY it and tell me it doesn’t make your brain happy when it makes that chonky click sound. The splitter is a cool carbon fiber splitter and the 3.5mm connectors are a nice Lavricables branded metal set of connectors designed specifically for the RAD-0 (which just HAS to be special – it uses it’s own connectors.) I know that’s true because I tried plugging the cable into my JM Audio XTC-Open and they didn’t drive those headphones (a shame because they NEED an aftermarket cable option – no offense JMA.) My only gripe with the 3.5mm connectors is that they don’t say L/R, but they do have red on one (Right) and black on the other (Left.) So, cool tech, good quality, flexible non-microphonic, chonky/clicky XLR4 connector – check. But how does it SOUND?!



Sound / Source / Comparisons:

That’s an absolutely loaded question. Cables are often a source of disagreement between audiophiles where some people say they can hear a difference and other claim they all sound the same. There have been multiple studies done on the topic, so feel free to argue with THOSE people – not me. I swear that Lavricables likes to pick reviewers that are cable skeptics to review their products – it’s either hubris or confidence – I’m not sure yet which one. So, here’s what I’m going to do, I am going to switch back and forth between the Grand, the Gravedigger, and the stock cable at the same volume levels on the same songs to see if I can tell a difference. I’m going into this with no expectations or preconceptions (other than the stock cable being the worst because of the 6.3mm connector – I like balanced more) and as a firm believer that the only things that impact sound are the audio source and the headphones. Let’s see if Lavricables can change my skepticism.

So, for today’s test, I will be using the same 3 songs 3 times – the stuff I do for you guys. I’ll start off each song with the stock cable, then change the volume for the change to balanced and listen to the Gravedigger, then lastly the Grand. So, let’s get this test started!

The first song is one of my favorites for testing bass, and I know it well enough to know when things are missing/different. We’re starting with David Guetta’s “I’m Good (Blue).” The Stock cable requires 85/100% volume on my Burson Conductor 3X Performance (3XP) to match the XLR4’s volume level. The opening bass is pretty muted and in the background here with the hi-hats coming in clearly and the synths coming in very strongly. The sub-bass at 0:38 comes in strongly with good reverberation and very clean mids from the RAD-0 (which already has great mids and highs as is.) The bass at 1:22 comes in harder than the into bass – overall, the song sounds good, like it should with a big soundstage, forward mids, clean highs, and on the RAD-0 a slightly subdued bass. Up next is the Corpse cable at 73/100 on the 3XP. There’s a big difference here. The bass hits harder in the intro with more impact, the soundstage is wider, the mids feel cleaner with more sub-bass and the vocals have more presence – an overall more musical feeling to the song. That could be easily explained by the switch to XLR4, which the RAD-0 is often recommended with. Now, at the same 73/100 volume, the Grand has a little more soundstage and even more bass – everything feels tighter and more controlled. The vocals feel a little farther back, but still clean and crisp. The sub-bass has less reverberation than on the Gravedigger and the mids feel a little further away (bigger soundstage?).

For the mids test song, I’ve picked Limp Bizkit’s “Behind Blue Eyes.” The stock cable opens with good guitars and a good soundstage. The vocals come in clean and clear – no issues with the song, it sounds like it’s supposed to in the mid and high vocals. The guitars aren’t drowned out by the vocals and come in clearly the entire song. As this is an acoustic song, there are no drums, but the bass guitars can be clearly heard in the background. The sound from the Gravedigger has a more open soundstage with more sub-bass presence that the stock cable. The vocals are even clearer and cleaner than on the stock cable. The guitars are impeccable and the RAD-0 really comes into its own with a balanced cable. With the Grand, once again, there is a bigger soundstage and more sub-bass rumble that the stock cable and the Gravedigger didn’t even display. Guitars and vocals still come in clean with more instrument separation than the previous cables. The lower notes on the guitars really come more to the front – a really good representation.

Lastly, the high’s song is going to be Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” which opens with some nice strings before the vocals come in on the stock cable. The bass is there, but it’s missing the rumble you can get from the XLR4 cables. The vocals are also very forward, but kind of muddy with more reverberation than you want from vocals (especially female vocals.) It’s not bad overall, but this song can sound A LOT better. As evidenced by the Gravedigger. The soundstage opens up and the bass can be heard like it’s supposed to. The vocals are cleaner and just as present – it’s clear why these are one of the top copper cables. This is how the song is supposed to sound – there’s a big difference between this and the stock cable. So, how does the Grand sound? After a satisfyingly chonky click, the Grand comes in with the biggest soundstage, great bass, super clean vocals, and beautifully represented strings. It’s the best of the three, though the Gravedigger is close behind.

So, does the silver cable change the sound you hear? I don’t know, there are about 100 forums arguing both yes and no, but my notes above are the best I’ve got. Based on them, yeah, the soundstage increased on every song – the rest of my conclusions could have been more subjective, but the Grand sound great regardless. What did change the sound was the balanced XLR4 - there was certainly a difference there. Since most companies still don’t send balanced cables with their headphones, one of the Lavricables many choices would be a great option to upgrade to a balanced connector.



Conclusion:

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’re trying to decide on which cable you should get for your headphones, maybe even the RAD-0. Avoid the Moon Audio Silver Dragon, and pick between the Lavricables Grand or the Corpse Cable Gravedigger. Also, get a balanced connector, it does make a difference - on these headphones at least. If you want the cheaper cable that is black, performs at 90% of the capability, is highly microphonic, and is copper instead of silver, get the Gravedigger. If you want the very best build quality, silver coloration, a bigger soundstage, great sound, no microphonics while listening to music, and that chonky/clicky XLR4 connector, get the Grand. This cable is for the people who want NO weakness in their sound chain and who don’t see the need to spend $3,000 on what is basically the same thing from someone else. If you can get a higher quality cable from someone else, I have yet to see it or listen to it.

Wolfhawk’s Rating: 9.5/10