[ozz007]

Many thanks, I've just begun the journey into balanced stuff when buying the ifi Pro ICAN. I am surprisingly happy with the stock Stellia XLR4 cable (was not with the 3.5 mm stock cable). Before crawling into another rabbit hole, I wished to have some (human) sensitivity brought in Yesterday, I started humbly by ordering a XLR cable from Forza to my HD650. Intersting to hear how it compares with the stock Sennheiser....Next step may be Arctic XLR for the Stellia and Arya....

I have the Artic Signum Pure Silver Cable, and also the Maze coper silver plated cable.

Now the Artic silver has more openness and detail, but the Maze cable has a lot more base. so if you think the Stellias are suffering from bass the copper cable it's where i would go.

 

[Caruryn]

Many thanks, I've just begun the journey into balanced stuff when buying the ifi Pro ICAN. I am surprisingly happy with the stock Stellia XLR4 cable (was not with the 3.5 mm stock cable). Before crawling into another rabbit hole, I wished to have some (human) sensitivity brought in Yesterday, I started humbly by ordering a XLR cable from Forza to my HD650. Intersting to hear how it compares with the stock Sennheiser....Next step may be Arctic XLR for the Stellia and Arya....

I have the Arctic Signum.It's a good cable but not the best with Stellias.You may get bigger soundstage and smoother sound but tonality may not be up to your liking as you lose warmth and musicality.I would go copper for Stellia,maybe the Norne Drausk that AudioDuck has and can give his take whether there is a tonal shift.

 

[marcus2704]

I have an Arctic Integra on its way to me, I am hoping the copper and silver bring an improvement in all areas over stock, I should know more once I have it next week.

 

[TooFrank]

I have an Arctic Integra on its way to me, I am hoping the copper and silver bring an improvement in all areas over stock, I should know more once I have it next week.

Is that with balanced XLR? Please let me know what you think...

 

[marcus2704]

Is that with balanced XLR? Please let me know what you think...

Mine is terminated with 3.5mm as initially I bought it to pair with my Hugo 2, since I made that order I have purchased a IFI Pro iDSD 3.5mm so will be able to do some direct comparisons between the two sources. Whether or not the Stellia plays better balanced I dont know and I did enquire as to changing my cable on order, but it had already been dispatched. As always with Arctic there is the option to change at no charge should I feel thats the way to go.

 

[TooFrank]

Mine is terminated with 3.5mm as initially I bought it to pair with my Hugo 2, since I made that order I have purchased a IFI Pro iDSD 3.5mm so will be able to do some direct comparisons between the two sources. Whether or not the Stellia plays better balanced I dont know and I did enquire as to changing my cable on order, but it had already been dispatched. As always with Arctic there is the option to change at no charge should I feel thats the way to go.

Thanks - I have just bought the ICAN to combine with the Pro iDSD. Hence my question as the ICAN has the XLR output. I am sure you will be very happy with the 3.5 mm as I was when buying the Signum+

 

[AudioDuck]

Good question

I have the Arctic Signum.It's a good cable but not the best with Stellias.You may get bigger soundstage and smoother sound but tonality may not be up to your liking as you lose warmth and musicality.I would go copper for Stellia,maybe the Norne Drausk that AudioDuck has and can give his take whether there is a tonal shift.

Good question on the tonal shift. I’ll compare with my silver Synergistic Design Foundation cables and update folks here. It’s been a while since I moved over to the Drausk.

 

[ecobest]

I have Lavricable Grand for pairing with AK SP2000. It is balanced, 2.5 terminated.

The build quality is very good, much better than the stock 3.5 Stellia cable. It is flexible, no microfonic and it feels nice.

The sound is definitely improved also. Better volume, more clear, better soundstage and separation of instruments. I don’t know if it from the cable or because it is balanced, however I am very happy with the upgrade.

 

[AudioDuck]

Good question

Good question on the tonal shift. I’ll compare with my silver Synergistic Design Foundation cables and update folks here. It’s been a while since I moved over to the Drausk.

OK, did some comparisons (music listing below with sampling rates), and there is less of a tonal shift between the Drausk and the Foundation than folks might think, at least from this brief sampling. A couple of things to note: The Foundation, despite having silver conductors, is known to work well with Focals/not be bright in the treble, and costs a bit more ($ 500/6', the Drausk was $ 400+ for 7' IIRC).

The main difference was actually in the bass: The Drausk is incredibly well-balanced, with a natural/organic feel across the spectrum. The Foundation can, at least with the
Stellia, cause the bass to get a bit too heavy and pronounced, though with a bouncy quality that is otherwise attractive. However, with bass-heavier tracks (like "Xanny") it is somewhat overwhelming and overly weighty. With rock tunes like "Dance of the Clairvoyants" or reggae-influenced rap ("History"), the quicker bass beats aren't as much of an issue with the Foundation.

That said, the Drausk is easily a better match with the Stellia overall, as it's harmonious and balanced across the spectrum, and while bass is less prodigious compared to the Foundation, it is never ever lacking- I listened extensively to the Stellia/Drausk combo on Friday evening with both my Violectric V200 and Feliks Audio Echo, covering The National. Phoebe Bridgers, and Billie Eilish's latest album (the latter in 24/44), and the Drausk's ability to tackle delicate sections as easily as well as driving rock is really something. Once the tubes had warmed up on the Echo, the sounds was beguiling and almost magical.

So in short, the Drausk is more balanced and versatile than a more expensive cable, as well as more ergonomic and attractive. Another great product by Trevor and Norne!

- Billy Eilish, "Xanny" (16/44)
- Thievery Corporation, "History" (24/44)
- Pearl Jam, "Dance of the Clairvoyants" (24/96)

 

[marcus2704]

I received the Arctic Cables Integra today, and have listened with it for a couple of hours.

Happy so far, to my ears it sounds brighter and raises the level of detail up a few notches over stock, perhaps at this point the bass is arguably less prominent but as Doug mentioned earlier I am expecting this to change with more use of the cable.

 

[Sajid Amit]

First time trying the GUcraftsman copper cables from Hifigo and damn, these are bangers.

Beautiful to look at, to touch, whilst being ergonomic and a noticeable improvement, sonically, to the stock cable.

Also much lower-priced than one would expect.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Hey everyone,
So the leather strap on my Stellia carrying case has come off.
The screw that holds it in place has come right off, basically.

Any DIY suggestions? It won’t go back in.
Thanks,
Sajid

 

[ozz007]

Hey everyone,
So the leather strap on my Stellia carrying case has come off.
The screw that holds it in place has come right off, basically.

Any DIY suggestions? It won’t go back in.
Thanks,
Sajid

oh snap, I kneed to check mine, sorry hopefully another screw will fix this issue, for you.

 

[ozz007]

First time trying the GUcraftsman copper cables from Hifigo and damn, these are bangers.

Beautiful to look at, to touch, whilst being ergonomic and a noticeable improvement, sonically, to the stock cable.

Also much lower-priced than one would expect.

One thing, that, I just find out. is using ifi hip Dac V2 with my Silver cable, it's very fun to listen to.
the Xbass brings more bass, and the silver cable tames it a bit, so it won't be over-saturated and brings the details.

 

[Spedinfargo]

Anyone using a Parametric EQ with the Stellias? I've spent some time with the Oratory1990 settings and I can't say that I like them at all (using Jriver Media Center > D90 > iCAN Pro). I think I've narrowed down the problem to the fact that the +6.5 at the 4600 Hz band just blows things out as far as upper midrange for me. Just harshens things up way too much. Could just be that I'm a bit more sensitive in that range, but when I lower that to a less obscene level (+3.3 or something?), seems to help.

Just curious if anyone else has played around in this area.