[whirlwind]

This what happens when too much audio gear shows up at the same time....

I spy a ZMF headphone stand

 

[Monsterzero]

Any chance the $40 cable is your favorite?

No...not even close,unfortunately.

Well let us know the results! Hopefully the $900 isn't the best. I am open to cable swapping in the future.

Right now,again unfortunately,it is,but another that is a fraction of the price is about 97.9% close.

I spy a ZMF headphone stand

Yep!

 

[Zachik]

Right now,again unfortunately,it is,but another that is a fraction of the price is about 97.9% close.

Do tell... I have very recently upgraded all my interconnects, but did not really A/B.
I opted (after recommendation by trusted buddy) for WireWorld Equinox 7 which I got used for very reasonable price!

 

[Monsterzero]

Do tell... I have very recently upgraded all my interconnects, but did not really A/B.
I opted (after recommendation by trusted buddy) for WireWorld Equinox 7 which I got used for very reasonable price!

I will write up a review here,or perhaps do a video on the topic. Right now however its far too premature for me to be making any definitive statements one way or the other as to which is best/worst....well I can say that the 40 dollar one is by far the worst. Ive had it in my system for over a year,and in comparison to all of the others,its hot garbage.
None of the others have been fully cooked yet.
I have a $400.00 cable in my secondary system. Right now its lagging quite a bit behind a couple of the others,but the guy who makes it swears I need to give it more time to burn-in. As of right now the bass is weak(what I originally attributed to the USB cable Fred loaned me)and bloated. Comments made by others on different forums experienced the same problems with it,but supposedly its going to blossom into a giant killer. We'll see.

The 900.00 cable sounds and feels spectacular,but again too early to say anything for sure.

I will keep you guys posted.

 

[mordy]

Thanks for the detective work. Where can I find a chart of the Tung Sol two letter codes?
I do have Ken-Rad 6N7 tubes with the number 13 stamped in the metal, but this is a 6J5 tube. Will try to post a picture later.

Rechecked the Ken-Rad tube now - it is a 6C5 (not a 6J5). It is much heavier and has a different shape than the other 6J5 tubes - feels like a little hand grenade. On the tube rim there is stamped a single letter C.
H7 could very well be October 1938 since the 6C5 appeared first in 1935.

I actually have a matching KR tube but is too rusty to see anything on it.

 

[gibosi]

Rechecked the Ken-Rad tube now - it is a 6C5 (not a 6J5). It is much heavier and has a different shape than the other 6J5 tubes - feels like a little hand grenade. On the tube rim there is stamped a single letter C.
H7 could very well be October 1938 since the 6C5 appeared first in 1935.

I actually have a matching KR tube but is too rusty to see anything on it.

The KR code for the 6C5 is "4" which was typically stamped into the base ring.

 

[DecentLevi]

Mainly cables. Anyone who denies the differences in cables has either never had a chance to a/b or theyre deaf.
I have six different RCA cables here ranging in price from 40 bucks to nearly 900.00,and there is quite a bit of difference.

Reminds me to mention my experience with the BlueJeans RCA cable you fine folks recommend to me a while ago. After using it for about 2 months here's my impressions: It gives a very organic/lifelike energetic sound with a lot of detail and extended FR with drums that (can) sound good, however the bass is fairly bloated and even boomy with quite a slow 'decay'. By saying drums 'can' sound good on this cable, it pretty much depends on if it's a bright recording which it can do a fantastic job to tone it down a bit - otherwise for dark recordings - fogetAboutIt, I'll have to switch back to a brighter cable to tighten up that bass a bit. So yes I absolutely am a believer in interconnects (and Headphone cables, power cables, and PERHAPS USB cables) making a difference, and especially I'm interested in a better interconnect 'RCA' cable but not up to $900!

Also did anyone else have the same experience with the BlueJeans cable?

PS - mine was a 3 foot cable, and FWIW it's an outstanding value with top build quality.

 

[Monsterzero]

Reminds me to mention my experience with the BlueJeans RCA cable you fine folks recommend to me a while ago. After using it for about 2 months here's my impressions: It gives a very organic/lifelike energetic sound with a lot of detail and extended FR with drums that (can) sound good, however the bass is fairly bloated and even boomy with quite a slow 'decay'. By saying drums 'can' sound good on this cable, it pretty much depends on if it's a bright recording which it can do a fantastic job to tone it down a bit - otherwise for dark recordings - fogetAboutIt, I'll have to switch back to a brighter cable to tighten up that bass a bit. So yes I absolutely am a believer in interconnects (and Headphone cables, power cables, and PERHAPS USB cables) making a difference, and especially I'm interested in a better interconnect 'RCA' cable but not up to $900!

Also did anyone else have the same experience with the BlueJeans cable?

PS - mine was a 3 foot cable, and FWIW it's an outstanding value with top build quality.

The gentleman who provided four of the RCAs to me admitted that a couple were a bit "system dependent". Perhaps the Blue Jean cables failing on warmer recordings is a byproduct of using an R2R DAC?

 

[dminches]

I will write up a review here,or perhaps do a video on the topic. Right now however its far too premature for me to be making any definitive statements one way or the other as to which is best/worst....well I can say that the 40 dollar one is by far the worst. Ive had it in my system for over a year,and in comparison to all of the others,its hot garbage.
None of the others have been fully cooked yet.
I have a $400.00 cable in my secondary system. Right now its lagging quite a bit behind a couple of the others,but the guy who makes it swears I need to give it more time to burn-in. As of right now the bass is weak(what I originally attributed to the USB cable Fred loaned me)and bloated. Comments made by others on different forums experienced the same problems with it,but supposedly its going to blossom into a giant killer. We'll see.

The 900.00 cable sounds and feels spectacular,but again too early to say anything for sure.

I will keep you guys posted.

Hopefully you will post some comments including which cables you are auditioning.

Recently I purchased a Sablon Audio power cord. Most of the power cords in my main system are Audioquest Hurricanes and they are great cables. The Sablon cable may be better. It is too early to tell but it made a huge difference with my DAC. I need to try it on my preamp next. Sablons Ethernet and USB cables are also great.

 

[JazzVinyl]

Rechecked the Ken-Rad tube now - it is a 6C5 (not a 6J5). It is much heavier and has a different shape than the other 6J5 tubes - feels like a little hand grenade. On the tube rim there is stamped a single letter C.
H7 could very well be October 1938 since the 6C5 appeared first in 1935.

I actually have a matching KR tube but is too rusty to see anything on it.

I have a pair of RCA 6C5 "Hand Grenades" like this KR you show, Mordy.
Listening to them now. They are nice sounding tubes.

 

[mordy]

Have been listening the entire evening to a pair of 40's RCA 6J5 metal tubes. The sound is so right that I forgot about the amp and the system and only thought about the music to the point that I could not remember which drivers I was using.....

 

[Monsterzero]

Hopefully you will post some comments including which cables you are auditioning.

Recently I purchased a Sablon Audio power cord. Most of the power cords in my main system are Audioquest Hurricanes and they are great cables. The Sablon cable may be better. It is too early to tell but it made a huge difference with my DAC. I need to try it on my preamp next. Sablons Ethernet and USB cables are also great.

I will look into them. Thanks for the tip.

I will ID the cables when I feel they have had enough time to burn-in,most likely in a video on my YouTube channel. I hate typing.

 

[chrisdrop]

I will look into them. Thanks for the tip.

I will ID the cables when I feel they have had enough time to burn-in,most likely in a video on my YouTube channel. I hate typing.

#caveat-heavy-opinion

Cable-wise there are differences. I think the differences are greatest in the headphone cable, then interconnects, then power cables. I am not sure about USB. I do have a Tellurium USB (not inexpensive, but not their most expensive ones) cable, but (foolishly) I changed other things when I changed that so I need to try experiment a bit more.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, you can make HP cables, interconnects and (even with no soldering) power cables for ~1/2 the price or less. The materials for the best cables are still expensive. Other head-fiers have been very helpful in guiding me while I have experimented in this space and I 100% believe you can positively impact your sound and with a little effort for much less money. The raw parts for my interconnects were around £300 and I believe you would have to spend > 2x to get an equivalent sounding cable. FWIW - I am barely able with a soldering iron and I have observed many of you are quite handy - so I would encourage a go at DIY cables. Disclaimer; none of it is not going to make bad headphones sound good or anything so drastic. You can get imaging, stage and clarity improvements with your highly resolving gear. You are all using TOTL amps and headphones and they will scale with better cable.

I am a science-minded person and I must admit that I don't really understand why. I have a team of mathematicians/ statisticians working professionally, daily for years. I say that because I consider myself a data-minded sceptical person, so if you are - ME TOO! I also have to admit that despite that - the differences have been very positive and noticeable.

 

[rosgr63]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

[whirlwind]

Happy Thanksgiving!