[Overkill Red]

On a side note if anyone has the amethyst jade burl faceplates I'm extremely jealous! Trying to email the Empire team to try something special but ill always dream of that beautiful green wood.

 

[Mimouille]

Indeed, Michael, it's very expensive, and $1k is their 2wire (4core) version, while PWA 1960 4wire (8core) is close to $2k.  But you know how it is, these premium cables are targeted at a very niche market and there are people who can afford to pay for a cable which costs almost as much as IEM itself, while realizing the law of diminishing returns just to get absolutely everything out of C/IEM performance (down to the last %).  Is this a must have upgrade?  Heck no!  Is it going to improve the sound quality of Zeus?  I hear it, and it's not just subtle.  Yeah, it's a copper cable, and I have no idea how PWA tuned it to sound like a new flavor crossover between Thor II+ & TWau (you get the clarity, the texture, the details, the resolution, and soundstage expansion in both width/depth without changing the signature).  I don't own these cables, they were sent to me for review purpose, and I just would like to share what and how I hear it.

Don't want to sound like hypocrite because I said it before that I will set the price limit for any cable I'm reviewing ($200 max) and then bumped it up to $500 down the road.  I was even pocking fun of these $1k-$2k uber cables, but broke down under the pressure (and obvious curiosity) of a number of people asking me if there is a noticeable improvement when you pay that much money for a cable.  When I got this opportunity for review, I made a decision to mention about it only if I hear the difference, which I do.  Will have a write up sometime in a near future about 1960 cables.  But it's not going to be "omg, this is a must have best thing ever in the world".  I will describe what I hear and how it compares to other cables.  I know that only a small group of people can afford it, so it's up to people to either read about it for entertainment purpose or to trigger a few angry PMs telling me that I lost my marbles or maybe for a small group of people to appreciate this info because they are nowhere near Music Sanctuary where they can test, compare, and buy it.

Btw, if everything works out as planned and I'm at CJ NYC in a month, I will bring the cable along with Zeus XRA for anybody to listen and to compare.
Happy Holidays

I am quite tolerant, but despite having spent quite some money on cables for fun, I am a cable skeptic. Let us look at two things here :

- There is only so much a cable can do, which is NOT degrade the signal. It cannot improve it by magically creating stuff that is not there. Unless it has significant impedance, in which case it changes the signature.

- I have a friend who makes cables. They all source them with the same guys, and cables do NOT cost hundreds or thousands. Even pure silver. The only thing that is expensive is if you have to invest in machine to build your own parts (like the bass dial on the JH iems). So basically on the 1960 I would guess the guys makes...a 90% margin

Anyways, the only time I have thought a cable to have an effect is when switching from stock to a well made pure silver cable. And I would swear it is not placebo. TO ME, the rest is just pure romance. But hey, our hobby is mostly about romance.

 

[Docterror]

On a side note if anyone has the amethyst jade burl faceplates I'm extremely jealous! Trying to email the Empire team to try something special but ill always dream of that beautiful green wood.

Like the one my Zeus? (See my profile pic)

 

[Jack Vang]

I am quite tolerant, but despite having spent quite some money on cables for fun, I am a cable skeptic. Let us look at two things here :

- There is only so much a cable can do, which is NOT degrade the signal. It cannot improve it by magically creating stuff that is not there. Unless it has significant impedance, in which case it changes the signature.

- I have a friend who makes cables. They all source them with the same guys, and cables do NOT cost hundreds or thousands. Even pure silver. The only thing that is expensive is if you have to invest in machine to build your own parts (like the bass dial on the JH iems). So basically on the 1960 I would guess the guys makes...a 90% margin

Anyways, the only time I have thought a cable to have an effect is when switching from stock to a well made pure silver cable. And I would swear it is not placebo. TO ME, the rest is just pure romance. But hey, our hobby is mostly about romance.

 

 

[Jack Vang]

On a side note if anyone has the amethyst jade burl faceplates I'm extremely jealous! Trying to email the Empire team to try something special but ill always dream of that beautiful green wood.

 
My local wood stabilizer just hit me with this small block last week. Available via PM. It's a shade darker than Jade Burl but it'll look slick when fully polished and lacquered.
 

 

[John Culter]

I am quite tolerant, but despite having spent quite some money on cables for fun, I am a cable skeptic. Let us look at two things here :

- There is only so much a cable can do, which is NOT degrade the signal. It cannot improve it by magically creating stuff that is not there. Unless it has significant impedance, in which case it changes the signature.

- I have a friend who makes cables. They all source them with the same guys, and cables do NOT cost hundreds or thousands. Even pure silver. The only thing that is expensive is if you have to invest in machine to build your own parts (like the bass dial on the JH iems). So basically on the 1960 I would guess the guys makes...a 90% margin

Anyways, the only time I have thought a cable to have an effect is when switching from stock to a well made pure silver cable. And I would swear it is not placebo. TO ME, the rest is just pure romance. But hey, our hobby is mostly about romance.

Correct Haha just found very nice text explaining it in a short easy way:
 
"The simple truth is that resistance, inductance, and capacitance (R, L, and C) are the only cable parameters that affect performance in the range below radio frequencies. The signal has no idea whether it is being transmitted through cheap or expensive RLC. Yes, you have to pay a little more than rock bottom for decent plugs, shielding, insulation, etc., to avoid reliability problems, and you have to pay attention to resistance in longer connections. In basic electrical performance, however, a nice pair of straightened-out wire coat hangers with the ends scraped is not a whit inferior to a $2000 gee-whiz miracle cable. Nor is 16-gauge lamp cord at 18-cents a foot. Ultrahigh-priced cables are the biggest scam in consumer electronics, and the cowardly surrender of nearly all audio publications to the pressures of the cable marketers is truly depressing to behold."

 

[Overkill Red]

My local wood stabilizer just hit me with this small block last week. Available via PM. It's a shade darker than Jade Burl but it'll look slick when fully polished and lacquered.

YGPM!!

 

[Mimouille]

 

[Mimouille]

Correct Haha just found very nice text explaining it in a short easy way:

"The simple truth is that resistance, inductance, and capacitance (R, L, and C) are the only cable parameters that affect performance in the range below radio frequencies. The signal has no idea whether it is being transmitted through cheap or expensive RLC. Yes, you have to pay a little more than rock bottom for decent plugs, shielding, insulation, etc., to avoid reliability problems, and you have to pay attention to resistance in longer connections. In basic electrical performance, however, a nice pair of straightened-out wire coat hangers with the ends scraped is not a whit inferior to a $2000 gee-whiz miracle cable. Nor is 16-gauge lamp cord at 18-cents a foot. Ultrahigh-priced cables are the biggest scam in consumer electronics, and the cowardly surrender of nearly all audio publications to the pressures of the cable marketers is truly depressing to behold."

What is the source?

 

[John Culter]

What is the source?

http://www.ecoustics.com/articles/ten-biggest-lies-audio

 

[Overkill Red]

Like the one my Zeus? (See my profile pic)

I no longer have to be jelly thanks to Jack!

 

[Mimouille]

http://www.ecoustics.com/articles/ten-biggest-lies-audio

Excellent. Cable burn in...

 

[Dellwolf]

2 month passed and I still waiting for my Spartan 4.....

I think you should message Jack about it.

 

[Canyon Runner]

Sounds like we're going to have a packed booth at CanJam NYC. Errrrerybody bring your toys and come hang out!!

 

[Dellwolf]

Sounds like we're going to have a packed booth at CanJam NYC. Errrrerybody bring your toys and come hang out!!

I really want to go but I don't know if I'm actually going to be able to, I can get there, it's just cost/time once I'm actually there.