[Jahn]

i got the 1 meter fid audio breakout today, it has the rca terminated outs, and the mini stereo jack in. everything works, both input and output. the channels are correct (R for R, L for L) - therefore, thumbs up for manufacture, delivery and service from overseas, thanks Fiddler!

time to let these babies cook. i was out walking the dog, listened to "Vanishing Point" by New Order on the KSC-35 straight to the Ipod, thinking "hmm this sounds pretty good..." got home and played the same song from itunes to the 0404 to the breakout to the solo to the sr200 and the bass blew me away - and everything was just a magnitude mo' better. hmm. i put on the Police, which honestly i didn't listen to much because it seemed too foggy in the mids before, but now everything is a bit crisper and i'm enjoying this album again. plus, sting's bass is still huge and has some thump to it.

i like it so far. i dont think the cable has ruined any of the synergy yet- time will tell, but it seems to have cleaned up the fuzzy parts a bit in the mids, and the overall sound is less...gunky. sorry i can't be more precise, it's past 1am here and i'm beat. i'll check in later once i've had more time with it!

whoa "message in a bottle" where they go into that "keep it up" refrain is great now - the tom tom drum action is tight and hits hard. awesome.

"intergalactic" by the beastie boys just scared my dog. i think i'm listening to these too loud. CRAP wife coming out need beyers back asap!

 

[pbirkett]

Thanks for your thoughts Jahn, sounds like this might be a nice finishing touch for mine, I'll probably go straight for the full interconnect however.

 

[BrokenEnglish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbirkett Thanks for your thoughts Jahn, sounds like this might be a nice finishing touch for mine, I'll probably go straight for the full interconnect however.

after rereading the whole thread i think i have to specify that "bass-thing" especially for you, paul...

: the fidaudio 0404 breakout series doesn't take any bass away - due to my poor english you may got that image, but that's just not what i wanted to express. i'd say, the "bass extension" is equal, maybe even a bit deeper, more so with the 0404 ic. but the bass, especially middle bass is better refined, i.e. intruments no longer bleed into each other. overall the "bass quality" is noticeably improved with the fidaudio 0404 breakout. it was my major concern to cure that particular misbehaviour i felt with my 0404 with different amps, ics and phones. and that's the reason why i stressed the bass-thing all over again.

btw... i'd recommend to take the 0404 ic if you don't own some very good ics.

 

[Jahn]

Yep mine is the full interconnect version. I honestly didn't have any better ICs than my Audioquest Diamondbacks, so I felt that I should let Fid-Audio handle the whole signal chain from 0404 to Solo.

It was a good call from what I heard last night. It definitely does NOT suck up any bass - there was plenty to go around.

 

[pbirkett]

Broken English, Jahn

Thanks for your comments. I dont have what I'd describe as "really good" interconnects, so I may as well go for the interconnect version, especially seeing as its not even that expensive compared to what some companies charge for interconnects.

Fiddler - well done for offering such an esoteric interconnect for a reasonable cost... some folks would probably charge 4 times what you charge for the same thing.

 

[BrokenEnglish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn [...]so I felt that I should let Fid-Audio handle the whole signal chain from 0404 to Solo.

certainly a good decision...

. to be honest... there's not one cable in my collection that could handle the task better than the 0404 ic. but there's always a good side with bad decisions, esp. when you suffer from upgraditis... have to build that dddac...

 

[romanrex]

very easy adapter

 

[uzziah]

not sure if these guys are using special difficult-to-use materials, but the 4 dp9 to rca cables i've made have been absolute cake. i mean, absolute easiest diy i can imagine. and you can do it on the cheap. my basic cables with silver plated copper or 2 lengths of canare 2-conductor wire, a dp9 gold pin connector with metalized plastic hood, and basic nikel switchcraft rca's costed less than $10 to make each cable.

switch rca's $2 for both
dp9 and hood: $3 for both
cable: maybe a buck or two per cable made
some heatshrink or electrical tape to reinforce the non-clamped dp9.
shipping cost and solder and time
time: maybe 15min per cable. faster if really moving

i mean, these are cheap and easy diy's. i'm amazed that fewer people do it. how do my cables stack up to fidler's and headfile's? haven't a freakin clue. haven't heard theirs. maybe they use much more expensive and higher-quality materials than i do (wouldn't be surprised). i don't know. but a basic emu breakout is a ridiculously cheap mod. i think people go overboard on cables, but that's just personal opinion and thus means little.

 

[Canadian Psycho]

I have made tons of cables using db9 db15 etc for various uses but for audio I dont think its as easy as going to the store and grabbing off the shelf stuff. Both solutions I havent seen shielding etc plus they have better equipment to do a better job than the average home user. Accurate soldering irons, clamps etc so everything is nice and clean. I tried buying cabling but it seems hard to buy decent cable in short lengths. Plus I have never seen it for a buck.... for most ppl by the time they get the min order from the mail order (you cant get the neccesary supplies anywhere around here) I dont think for just one cable you can really compete. If you really skimp and do a complete DIY solution.... But then whats the point? use the stock adapter....

"switch rca's $2 for both
dp9 and hood: $3 for both
cable: maybe a buck or two per cable made
some heatshrink or electrical tape to reinforce the non-clamped dp9."

This seems very wrong... or reinforces my previous comment... Yes you can make a breakout cable yourself... But whats the point if you are going to spend 15 minutes with whatever parts you can find? Itl be a lot less of a headache and the net difference and quality is better left to the pros.

 

[BrokenEnglish]

usually i don't mind going a bit off topic. but please respect that this thread was started to post impressions of the fidaudio breakout, not impressions of diy-efforts. thanks.

 

[Slayer1]

Hello all, I am quite new to this forum and this is my 1st post. I saw the fidaudio interconnects with single 3.5mm mini inputs. Can I plug in my Klipsch PM 2.1 into this mini inputs? Thanks

 

[BrokenEnglish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slayer1 Hello all, I am quite new to this forum and this is my 1st post. I saw the fidaudio interconnects with single 3.5mm mini inputs. Can I plug in my Klipsch PM 2.1 into this mini inputs? Thanks

what is a "Klipsch PM 2.1"? speakers? if so: no. please note: the output of the 0404 adpater/ic is rca/cinch. that 3,5 mini is for input (eg mics) only. but i'm quite sure, fiddler could custom-build you a 0404 cable that terminates output to 3,5mm jacks/plugs.

 

[Slayer1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrokenEnglish what is a "Klipsch PM 2.1"? speakers? if so: no. please note: the output of the 0404 adpater/ic is rca/cinch. that 3,5 mini is for input (eg mics) only. but i'm quite sure, fiddler could custom-build you a 0404 cable that terminates output to 3,5mm jacks/plugs.

Oh okay, now I get it. I will get in touch with fiddler and find out more. Thank you very much and have a nice day.

 

[maarek99]

Anyone tried the headphile replacement too?

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canadian Psycho You are clearly biased or have a very poor eye for quality. The fidaudio build quality in my opinion looks far superior in construction. Fidaudio: Headphile: I have not actually seen the breakout in person but I have seen almost all of his other products in person and the build quality is very good. He seems to take the time to make sure everything is clean, neat and sturdy..

Actually when it comes to standard tech flex, whenever it is stretched that much, (in the top pic) where a lot of what is underneath shows through, makes for a very fragile outer part. If it is snagged, it will break quite easily. And not having adequate strain relief can cause the tech flex to either break at the ends (where most of the strain is) or pull loose. I've seen this happen to several different cables. Including high priced ones from actual "professional" big name manufacturers. It may be pretty, but it certainly is not functional. Unless you really want the cable to be stiffer.

I personally think multicolored techflex stretched tightly and multiple layers of it is counter productive. It adds microphonics and makes the cable far stiffer than it should be.

If you really want the real voodoo snake oil, more exotic ones like kevlar tech flex are available. Kelvar actually does absorb kinetic energy. But it too has it's downsides. While it is very pretty and silky soft, it frays like crazy, and snags on just about everything like velcro.

And placebo effect is just sooooo prevalent, you will really need to construct a switch box to truly test between cables.

Or have a friend or two help you with a blind test. Or double blind if you wish.

-Ed