ajt976
100+ Head-Fier
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- Mar 31, 2005
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RnB-Audio Sky Blue Mini Review
As you may or may not have been aware, our own DIY cabling artist RnB180 recently put up a mall-fi ad promoting his new "Sky Blue Mini-Mini Interconnect". The mall-fi ad can be found here, and his image flyer can be found here. RnB recently asked if I would be interested in listening and briefly review his newest creation and I agreed to offer my impressions, however you must bear in mind that this is the first time I've done anything like this so it might not be the greatest!
Build Quality:
Anyone who's looked at Rnb180's photobucket gallery will agree that he is a very talented cable builder. His beautiful cables are what I saw first when I came to Head-fi at the end of March, and it should be noted that the reason I became a member of this forum was to PM him a question about making (among other things) a mini-mini interconnect! The Sky Blue Mini is no exception. The pictures just don't do it any justice, you need to feel this cable to appreciate it's quality. Not only does it look great, but it is highly flexible, moreso than I had origionally thought. The cable has an outer layer of sleeving for abrasion resistance and has ample strain relief, both mechanical and with dual wall adhesive heatshrink. The terminations are of good quality and feel solid when plugging them in. My assessment, this cable looks as good as it is functional!
My Test Rig:
The test rig I used was my own personal rig I take with me to school. I used one of two sources; either a 3G iPod in it's dock utilizing it's wall adapter and the line out (note all songs encoded to AAC 320) OR a Panasonic SL-CT710 PCDP without the remote ==> *either of the two compared IC's* ==> a JMT built Pimeta with Elpac ==> Stock Alessandro Music Series 2i's and bowls. Basically I spent about 30 minutes covering about 7 tracks with the Sky Blue, then switched to the Cardas listening to the same 7 tracks. Then I switched back to the Sky Blue skipping to spots where I head a notable difference, followed by some shorter periods over specific spots of interest. The whole while I made sure to jot down some notes and things that stuck out in my mind.
The Two Compared Interconnects:
The two cables I've compared tonight were the RnB Audio Sky Blue Mini and the 6" Cardas HPI.
The Comparisons:
Well, now the part you've been waiting for. I started using the PCDP listening to the new Alterbridge albumn. After running over my favorite tracks with both cables, these were my notes: After switching back to the Sky Blue, I immediately noticed a change in the positioning of the vocals. It's almost as if I were being pulled closer to the vocalist and closer into the band all together. The vocals just kind of floated to the top and had a more prominent presence. I also noticed that the guitar really shined, the Sky Blue just gave me this great shimmer to the high end while the guitar riffs sang in underneath the vocals. I also noted that the bass really tightened up compared to the HPI, especially when considering the kick drum rhythms.
I next switched to the iPod line out and continued my comparison. I now started to pick out specific differences and would concentrate on these while listening. The first big difference was noticed when I pulled up my Millenium Funk playlist. The back up electro-bass riffs in Jungle Boogie (Kool and the Gang) were AWESOME! They were so controlled, it was really nice. I also noted that I could more easily pick out the echo in the trumpet scoops and the vocal echoes as well. I sat for the next 15 or 20 minutes just rolling through the rest of the funk list then onto some rock and metal. During this time I had just left the Sky Blue in and enjoyed my music. My concentrated, scrunched-eyebrow look was now replaced by a relaxed smile as I sat and fell into my groove. I'm told that this is the best way to review audio equipment. I simply couldn't stop grinning while my foot consistantly tapped to the beat. The last song I listened to was Simple Man by Shinedown. In this song, I noticed that the vocals with the Sky Blue to be particularly great; also the acoustic guitar work here was amazing as well. I noted that the Cardas cable REALLY thinned out the vocals in this track.
My Conclusions:
Overall I felt the Sky Blue Mini tore apart the Cardas HPI on every level. There is no comparing the build quality of the two, and sonically the Cardas HPI just lacked in every department. In the end, RnB's cable had tighter and more controlled bass response, greater clarity and distinction in the vocals, great guitar sound, and I really appreciated the added "closeness" it seemed to give me. In comparison, the HPI was overall just muddy. The bass seemed cloudy, and the vocals sounded thin and distant. Most of all, it just made my music sound farther away.
In the end, I'm quite satisfied with my new Sky Blue Mini. It is my new favorite cable, replacing my own DIY Canare Starquad IC in my main transportable setup. If you are looking for a high quality cable with good asthetics and a price that won't make your wallet cry...you should seriously consider RnB's Sky Blue. I guarantee it will give any other cable in this price range a run for their money!
Please feel free to post any other questions you might have for this "first time reviewer". I'd be happy to run over something again changing the setup a little. Also, I will be adding some pictures this evening sometime, so be sure to watch out for that!
Thanks for reading,
Andrew
******
RnB-Audio Sky Blue Mini Review
As you may or may not have been aware, our own DIY cabling artist RnB180 recently put up a mall-fi ad promoting his new "Sky Blue Mini-Mini Interconnect". The mall-fi ad can be found here, and his image flyer can be found here. RnB recently asked if I would be interested in listening and briefly review his newest creation and I agreed to offer my impressions, however you must bear in mind that this is the first time I've done anything like this so it might not be the greatest!
Build Quality:
Anyone who's looked at Rnb180's photobucket gallery will agree that he is a very talented cable builder. His beautiful cables are what I saw first when I came to Head-fi at the end of March, and it should be noted that the reason I became a member of this forum was to PM him a question about making (among other things) a mini-mini interconnect! The Sky Blue Mini is no exception. The pictures just don't do it any justice, you need to feel this cable to appreciate it's quality. Not only does it look great, but it is highly flexible, moreso than I had origionally thought. The cable has an outer layer of sleeving for abrasion resistance and has ample strain relief, both mechanical and with dual wall adhesive heatshrink. The terminations are of good quality and feel solid when plugging them in. My assessment, this cable looks as good as it is functional!
My Test Rig:
The test rig I used was my own personal rig I take with me to school. I used one of two sources; either a 3G iPod in it's dock utilizing it's wall adapter and the line out (note all songs encoded to AAC 320) OR a Panasonic SL-CT710 PCDP without the remote ==> *either of the two compared IC's* ==> a JMT built Pimeta with Elpac ==> Stock Alessandro Music Series 2i's and bowls. Basically I spent about 30 minutes covering about 7 tracks with the Sky Blue, then switched to the Cardas listening to the same 7 tracks. Then I switched back to the Sky Blue skipping to spots where I head a notable difference, followed by some shorter periods over specific spots of interest. The whole while I made sure to jot down some notes and things that stuck out in my mind.
The Two Compared Interconnects:
The two cables I've compared tonight were the RnB Audio Sky Blue Mini and the 6" Cardas HPI.
The Comparisons:
Well, now the part you've been waiting for. I started using the PCDP listening to the new Alterbridge albumn. After running over my favorite tracks with both cables, these were my notes: After switching back to the Sky Blue, I immediately noticed a change in the positioning of the vocals. It's almost as if I were being pulled closer to the vocalist and closer into the band all together. The vocals just kind of floated to the top and had a more prominent presence. I also noticed that the guitar really shined, the Sky Blue just gave me this great shimmer to the high end while the guitar riffs sang in underneath the vocals. I also noted that the bass really tightened up compared to the HPI, especially when considering the kick drum rhythms.
I next switched to the iPod line out and continued my comparison. I now started to pick out specific differences and would concentrate on these while listening. The first big difference was noticed when I pulled up my Millenium Funk playlist. The back up electro-bass riffs in Jungle Boogie (Kool and the Gang) were AWESOME! They were so controlled, it was really nice. I also noted that I could more easily pick out the echo in the trumpet scoops and the vocal echoes as well. I sat for the next 15 or 20 minutes just rolling through the rest of the funk list then onto some rock and metal. During this time I had just left the Sky Blue in and enjoyed my music. My concentrated, scrunched-eyebrow look was now replaced by a relaxed smile as I sat and fell into my groove. I'm told that this is the best way to review audio equipment. I simply couldn't stop grinning while my foot consistantly tapped to the beat. The last song I listened to was Simple Man by Shinedown. In this song, I noticed that the vocals with the Sky Blue to be particularly great; also the acoustic guitar work here was amazing as well. I noted that the Cardas cable REALLY thinned out the vocals in this track.
My Conclusions:
Overall I felt the Sky Blue Mini tore apart the Cardas HPI on every level. There is no comparing the build quality of the two, and sonically the Cardas HPI just lacked in every department. In the end, RnB's cable had tighter and more controlled bass response, greater clarity and distinction in the vocals, great guitar sound, and I really appreciated the added "closeness" it seemed to give me. In comparison, the HPI was overall just muddy. The bass seemed cloudy, and the vocals sounded thin and distant. Most of all, it just made my music sound farther away.
In the end, I'm quite satisfied with my new Sky Blue Mini. It is my new favorite cable, replacing my own DIY Canare Starquad IC in my main transportable setup. If you are looking for a high quality cable with good asthetics and a price that won't make your wallet cry...you should seriously consider RnB's Sky Blue. I guarantee it will give any other cable in this price range a run for their money!
Please feel free to post any other questions you might have for this "first time reviewer". I'd be happy to run over something again changing the setup a little. Also, I will be adding some pictures this evening sometime, so be sure to watch out for that!
Thanks for reading,
Andrew
******
