[lsantista]

after reading that post, I caved and ordered a set of XLR cables.

Has it shipped already? Interested in this as it is one of few cables I can get in my country at a competitive price, as some Oyaide distributor is getting good prices. Also tbh, a friend is coming from Japan, so I can save yet a but further on Oyaide if I can figure a Japanese shop I can buy online and have sent to him. Finally, the medium price range sits right where I wanna be at this time re cables

 

[Roasty]

Has it shipped already? Interested in this as it is one of few cables I can get in my country at a competitive price, as some Oyaide distributor is getting good prices. Also tbh, a friend is coming from Japan, so I can save yet a but further on Oyaide if I can figure a Japanese shop I can buy online and have sent to him. Finally, the medium price range sits right where I wanna be at this time re cables

it should be reaching me in 1 or 2 days according to DHL. yea, the exchange rate is quite favourable these days.

 

[Roasty]

just got the Oyaide xlr cables. they're pretty stiff. I'd rate them 8/10 stiffness, with 9/10 being Furutech DPS 4.1, and 10/10 being some Merlin UK cables. if you need cables routed into tight spots or with acute bends, these cables are not for you.

had a difficult time getting them from my dac to amp as the xlr ends didn't wanna align with the sockets. probably cos the outer pvc cover is so inflexible. RCA will be much much easier, since, well, RCA plugs...

 

[RobertSM]

just got the Oyaide xlr cables. they're pretty stiff. I'd rate them 8/10 stiffness, with 9/10 being Furutech DPS 4.1, and 10/10 being some Merlin UK cables. if you need cables routed into tight spots or with acute bends, these cables are not for you.

had a difficult time getting them from my dac to amp as the xlr ends didn't wanna align with the sockets. probably cos the outer pvc cover is so inflexible. RCA will be much much easier, since, well, RCA plugs...

Which combo did you add the Oyaide in-between?

 

[rangerid]

Great review and comparisons.

I also run Shunyata Research exclusively for my power distributor/conditioner as well as power cords. I'm at the entry level though but still very happy with the performance increases.

Thank you. Shunyata makes excellent products in their entire lineup.

that's a great review and comparison man. must have taken u quite a while to do it. u have some really nice gear to accompany it. that ref 6se is on my wish list!

haven't taken the plunge into cables in that price range. am trying to keep the cord prices within a certain percentage of the components I'm connecting it to.

ended up selling my shunyata venom x-ef cords as they were a bit too forward in my system.

Thank you. Did take a few weeks with the different configurations and headphones, majority of the time was actually acclimating to the new sound signature of the Sigma, it really was quite different and took me a bit to get a grasp what was happening.

Can't recommend ARC enough as a company, their product and build quality is just stellar. I've owned the Ref 5, 40, then finally took the plunge with the 6SE. After the 5, I sold off all my dedicated tube headphone amps, the combination of a transparent tube pre into solid state, especially for hard to drive planars like Susvara & TC is just another world all together.

I've been extreme fortunate and grateful to be able to own my dream gear at this point hence decided to take the plunge into yet another rabbit hole, power cords. I think if your system is transparent and you're satisfied with the electronics, a great high end PC will take things to the next level, demo a few, and for me at least, there is a definite, positive improvement.

 

[Roasty]

@RobertSM i put it between the pre and power amp. they're one on top of the other, but even then the xlr connectors don't line up.

@rangerid was the 2000hr rated tube life in the ref6se of any concern/issue for u?

 

[rangerid]

@RobertSM i put it between the pre and power amp. they're one on top of the other, but even then the xlr connectors don't line up.

@rangerid was the 2000hr rated tube life in the ref6se of any concern/issue for u?

Never bothered me. The smaller 6H30 tubes are rated at 4000 hours and it's just the 6550WE tube in the power supply that's rated for 2000 hours. I asked ARC and they said technically it can go well beyond that but they recommend you replace it because of performance degradation. I think the 6550WE in my 5 was well over 3k hours before I replaced it, same as the 6H30. I didn't notice any sound degradation - it wasn't on purpose I just forgot to change it lol. Compared to some tubes they are fairly cheap to replace and it's just one, if anything, the shorter lifespan just give me an excuse to try different tubes

 

[mikicasellas]

Hello Guys ,

Im Miguel from Mexico, most of you are so so right , @Roasty is dangerous my wallet started to tremble last night just by reading him

I found this thread last night trying to find out comparison between "reference" USB cables ( my current SABLON 2020 vs the ones im looking for upgrade ** ) and start reading from page #4 i think, I have to say, guys you are so cool to read, i managed to finished reading until this page, Roasty, thank you for creating this and keep the continuos thread so exemplary, i really got more than i was looking for in the beginning and has been really fun to read you guys are hilarious, i really laughed a lot specially when reading @littlej0e comments ( Hi Man ), i hope i can learn to take some salt out from me, you guys are the example to follow, a fresh ocean water if i may say.

Thank you guys !

** Im interested on upgrading my SABLON 2020 to :

1 --- MS BLACK MAGIC ULTRA USB which apparently is close to FTA Sinope from $799
https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/re...agic-ultra-usb-cable/?related_post_from=32812

2 --- INFIGO Sparkle USB from $1,200
https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/infigo-usb-cable/

3 --- FTA Sinope from $1,500 ( maybe a bit of discount for buying the B3 )

4 --- Tellurium Q Silver Diamond from $890

...Among some.

I agree that the Sablon 2020 usb is a bit hot in the HF area and i don't remember which cable claims to be more concrete, clean & organic among others

I have an Engine Eleven Lampizator Baltic 3 for a month now, and it is a lot better than my previous Denafrips Terminator II, its usb input is so good that the JCAT USB XE is not my favorite card anymore in my server but the regular MoBo USB 2.0 sounds more vivid and real ( although a bit sharper and perhaps just a bit noisier on some tracks sometimes ) this A/B test has been done quite many times with the same outcome, this is why im looking to upgrade the SABLON to a NEW Beasty that shows more organic and cleaner if the make any sense.

I just got out of a cervical surgery and got wallet-kindaempty, -- insurance did not cover -- too soon to apply coverage

So one plan is to get the better USB cable and sell SABLON 2020, JCAT XE & Paul Hynes SR5T and use part of that money to cover the USB and perhaps the ext clock ( LHY OcK-2 for my EtherRegen


This is my system guys :

AUDIO SYSTEM:

- Denafrips ATHENA Preamp

- Lampizator Baltic 3 ( E11 )

- KINKI EX-M7 Amp

- PMC Twenty5 26 - Speakers

- Speakers & XLR / Tellurium Ultra Black II + Audio Envy

- Power Cables LessLoss Sig + NGR the "1" & "5"



SERVER:

- HDPLEX H5 Fanless Case

- ASUS ROG MAXIMUS HERO XIII Z590

- Intel i7-10700K

- TAIKO DC-ATX ( 24pin ATX to MoBo & 2 x 8pin to CPU )

- Apacer 2666 Industrial ( 8GB )

- Optane 58GB ( Euphony V4 -- HQP -- ROON )

- Startech NIC PCIE card with Audio Note Cap replacing original

- JCAT XE USB PCIE

- ALL Cabling is NEOTECH 7N JSSG360 + Mundorf Angelique for 2 x 8pin CPU cables



STREAMING CONFIG:

- Modem - ethernet cable to - edgerouter - ethernet cable to - EtherRegen - optical cable to - Startech NIC PCIE card on server
edgerouter - optical cable to - Startech NIC - ethernet cable to - RE650 TP-Link AC2600 Wi-Fi Range Extender



POWER for SERVER:

- Paul Hynes DR7T ( 19v & 12v ) for Server + TAIKO DC-ATX (19v for TAIKO & 12v for EtherRegen )
- Paul Hynes SR5T ( 12v & 12v ) One rail for cheapo External OXCO Clock for ER and one FREE Now


POWER " CONDITIONER "

- P.I. Audio Group Uber Buss with Uber Puertos
- Oyaide Receptacles on wall

 

[mikicasellas]

...Please if you have any impressions of feedback regarding the SABLON 2020 USB cable vs the ones mentioned above, it will be very helpful

Cheers !

 

[lator]

^
I upgraded Sablon 2020 to Sablon Evo and it is more balanced sound overall. Still has the Sablon energy and vividness. Can recommend if you enjoy other aspects of Sablon sound except highs.

Only cable I have owned from your list is the FTA Sinope but actually preferred Sablon 2020 believe it or not. Maybe a synergy mismatch, but something off about the sound. Difficult to pinpoint exactly, didn't have the flow just felt a bit forced.

 

[mikicasellas]

^
I upgraded Sablon 2020 to Sablon Evo and it is more balanced sound overall. Still has the Sablon energy and vividness. Can recommend if you enjoy other aspects of Sablon sound except highs.

Only cable I have owned from your list is the FTA Sinope but actually preferred Sablon 2020 believe it or not. Maybe a synergy mismatch, but something off about the sound. Difficult to pinpoint exactly, didn't have the flow just felt a bit forced.

Hi Lator,

Thank you for the comment, appreciate it !

 

[Delta9K]

I'm intrigued by the MS Black Magic Ultra now. I was pretty well set to pick up an FTA Calisto.
Here I go, falling into the rabbit hole...

 

[mikicasellas]

I'm intrigued by the MS Black Magic Ultra now. I was pretty well set to pick up an FTA Calisto.
Here I go, falling into the rabbit hole...

Hi @Delta9K,

Yes the review says it’s close to Sinope, but a Guy from WBF on the ( I believe Baltic 3 thread ), did comment that he tried the Black Magic ULTRA and he did not care and that the Sinope was wayyyy better, perhaps the FTAs are better match to LAMPIZATORs ???

 

[BlakeT]

Hi @Delta9K,

perhaps the FTAs are better match to LAMPIZATORs ???

I have wondered about that as well. I have two Lampizator DAC's now, one in the speaker system and one in the headphone system. I've been using Sablon 2020 USB, but I am super curious about trying the FTA Sinope based on WBF feedback on the Lampi threads. I am also tempted to try the Stealth Audio USB as I love their analog interconnects, spdif, and power cords in my systems. Stealth cables are exceptional, but very expensive.

 

[mikicasellas]

^
I upgraded Sablon 2020 to Sablon Evo and it is more balanced sound overall. Still has the Sablon energy and vividness. Can recommend if you enjoy other aspects of Sablon sound except highs.

Only cable I have owned from your list is the FTA Sinope but actually preferred Sablon 2020 believe it or not. Maybe a synergy mismatch, but something off about the sound. Difficult to pinpoint exactly, didn't have the flow just felt a bit forced.

Uff interesting

Actually I like highs and although I also like the SABLON 2020s highs, sometimes i feel they could be better balanced