I am not in the U.S., but I'll say that $30 to $50 is what I normally pay to get items from the U.S. to Europe.
Forza AudioWorks Impressions Thread
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I am not in the U.S., but I'll say that $30 to $50 is what I normally pay to get items from the U.S. to Europe.
sludgeogre
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Mat stopped using Polish Post years ago and went to regular carriers. Polish Post was far cheaper, but it took forever and if stuff got lost you were pretty much screwed. The new carriers aren't much faster, but shipping from Poland seems to be a difficult endeavor.
Just ordered a Noir HPC MkII for my LCD-2C!
Ordered a Noir Hybrid HPC for my Eikons. Interested to hear the differences between the Claire Hybrid HPC.... if my ear's can tell
Hello Folks! Just ordered my first Forza cable, I live in NYC, about how long does it usually take to get these cables in the mail? I saw on the website they had a few in stock....
Has anybody ever compared a Noir Hybrid HPC or upgraded from one to a much more expensive cable like Lazuli Nirvana? I use a Noir Hybrid HPC with a Cayin HA-300 headphone amp and Susvaras.
The differences can be summarised quite neatly, in fact: one is good value for money, one is not good value for money.
UntilThen
Headphoneus Supremus
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Noir Hybrid HPC on HD800 and He6se v2.
Fair comment but value for money also depends on how much value you get and how much money you’ve got.
I’m curious what x 10 the money sounds like between my Noir Hybrid HPC cable and the Lazuli Nirvana. From what I’ve read, the Noir Hybrid HPC is on a par with the Lazuli Reference but I can’t find any comprehensive benchmarking reviews across headphone cable brands, headphones and price points.
I do wonder if ultra high-end headphone cables are slightly “tubing” the sound and that hint of warmth, refinement, and smoothness impresses users who listen to DACs that are highly resolving but analytical sound signature like DCS and Chord or solid state amps.
My set up of Melco N1ZS to Denafrips Terminator 2 to Cayin HA-300 with upgraded Western Electric new production WE300b tubes to Susvara is already so smooth, refined and analog sounding that I’m not convinced I’d get the full benefit of a Lazuli Nirvana headphone cable.
I’m sure it would be better than the Noir Hybrid HPC but the cash might be better spent upgrading other components, in my case maybe going from the Terminator 2 to the Plus or a Mola Mola Tambaqui or Aqua Formula xHD DAC.
Around 15 years ago, I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD650 headphones for a home cinema set up and spent more on a Stefan Audio cable than on the headphones. The cable took the HD650s from excellent to brilliant and I never regretted the (relatively) ridiculous spend on the cable.
Another thing to bear in mind with ultra high-end cables is that for folks who have a TOTL setups, there are likely to be fewer upgrades available to them, and cable upgrades will be more audible.
I know you can get headphone cables re-terminated but going big on the cable makes upgrading the headphones trickier. Susvaras have already switched from 2.5mm to 3.5mm connections, I have 2.5mm, so if there was a Susvara 2, I’d either have re-termination hassle or the cost of selling a Lazuli Nirvana at a massive loss and buying a high priced replacement.
Another problem with ultra high-end headphone cables is that as soon as there is a Lazuli Nirvana 2, the residual value of the Nirvana gets decimated, much more than other components in your set up.
Dana cables have a 30 day money back guarantee minus the shipping and PayPal / bank transfer fees but if you are importing, you also have import tax costs which may or may not be reclaimable so trying a Lazuli Nirvana cable might cost me USD 1,000 after returning it.
Where high-end cable companies don’t have distributors overseas, they need a network of audiophiles to post out cables for other audiophiles in their country or region to trial. If I could trial a Lazuli Nirvana without it costing me USD 1,000 I’d be more likely to buy one.
Either that or the high-end cable companies need to get to get their cables independently and extensively benchmarked in the hifi press. I know that’s easier said than done and at the margins, changes in sonic signatures are quite subjective.
When I read an article comparing an uber expensive Dana cable to the stock cable, I roll my eyes because it’s not telling me anything. I upgraded to a Noir Hybrid HPC cable because users said it sounded better than the stock cables and it didn’t break the bank.
Big respect to Forza Audioworks for making such beautiful cables at an affordable price. Every time I take my Noir Hybrid HPC out of its bag, unravel it, and plug it in, it’s a pleasure. They are one of the outstanding high quality mid-price disrupters in the industry along with companies like Schiit, Denafrips, Hifiman, and Cayin, and all the others I’ve just not come across yet, who offer superior bang-for-your-buck and pull people into this hobby.
It's been 8 days since my order and no tracking number...does it usually take this long to ship?
Some of these cables are made to order. If you ordered around Black Friday then the one-man-shop that is FAW could be quite busy manufacturing all the orders to the high standard expected. A few years ago one could wait 1-2 months for shipment after Black Friday. I believe it's faster these days, but still, expect boutique shop timeframes...
yikes...ok, I'm asking because the website said there were cables in stock...
I think it still depends on how customized your order is. Not every length with every termination is already put together, I imagine. Send Matt an e-mail, he'll give you an estimate shipment time.
I did last week, no answer. It's ok, baby just wants his new toy. I'll live.
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