High End Cables Thread (digital, analog, power)

[mikicasellas]

This is just in my email :

Have any of you Gents had the opportunity to listen to these USB "ENO" or "MUON" ?...

 

[BlakeT]

Another Sinope vs Sablon Evo comparison on WBF, from a Lampizator owner:

"I have just compared Sablon EVO with FTA Sinope. The first night when the Evo was brand new, not broken in. Even so, there was no match. Evo was noticeably better, more transparent, more vivid, more extended and airier. Sinope is very smooth and excellent, but Evo has the extra range and liveliness that is not matched. Second night (after 24 hours of breaking in), Evo has become smoother and more refined. Evo is no brainer given its outstanding quality and reasonable pricing. I have found the right USB cable. The USB cable connects a Taiko Extreme and a Lampizator Pacific DAC."

 

[BlakeT]

I just placed my order for the Sablon EVO USB.

I really liked the Sablon EVO analog interconnects with Bocchino connectors I demoed in my system and I understand the house sound is similar between EVO USB and EVO analog interconnects (uses the same wire). I ultimately preferred my Stealth Audio analog interconnects but the EVO gave them some serious competition at a much lower price point.

The EVO analog interconnect was exceptionally "lively", perhaps moreso than any other cable I've had in my system, while sounding natural, extended and smooth. Great sound staging as well. An exciting ride.

If someone wants to send a FTA Sinope my way, I'll be happy to conduct a head to head in my systems Joking... well not really, but sort of.

 

[mikicasellas]

BlakeT I'd love to read how better is vs the 2020​

Waiting for your feedback, hopefully soon

 

[Roasty]

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

Thanks for the kind words, Miguel! if you continue on this thread, your wallet will do more than tremble...

I've not tried the other usb cables on your list except the TQ silver diamond (which I am using between streamer and phoenix usb). the TQ sd usb reminds me of the sablon 2020 sound wise. I think it would be a sidewards move. furthermore, the TQ cable is quite stiff compared to the Sablon so routing may be a bit of a problem.

give the TWL passion usb a go. for the price, it is not much of a risk. I think the passion usb is a sleeper usb cable hit. u may be pleasantly surprised. I am using it between phoenix usb and dac, and am considering getting a second piece to take the place of the TQ SD USB.

 

[alvin sawdust]

I have to concur with @Roasty, the Triode Wire Labs Passion usb hits way above it's price would suggest. Managed to pick one up used and have been getting some ears on it over the past few days. All the detail without so much of a hint of brightness and real heft too. Will comment more once I have a handle on it's character but i can say it is very engaging.

 

[mikicasellas]

It seems quite attractive specially at that price point, what do you guys think : is the TWL at the very least better than the SABLON 2020 ?

 

[Roasty]

It seems quite attractive specially at that price point, what do you guys think : is the TWL at the very least better than the SABLON 2020 ?

after getting the TWL Passion, the Sablon 2020 was sold. the Passion has pretty much everything I want for in a cable. like @alvin sawdust mentioned, detailed without harshness and an engaging listen. it has really good macro dynamics and it doesn't show any glaring deficiency in other aspects. furthermore, solid snug connectors, single cable design (rather than split), more than sufficient length and super flexible cable too.

icing on the cake is Pete @ TWL is a great guy to work with.

 

[mikicasellas]

after getting the TWL Passion, the Sablon 2020 was sold. the Passion has pretty much everything I want for in a cable. like @alvin sawdust mentioned, detailed without harshness and an engaging listen. it has really good macro dynamics and it doesn't show any glaring deficiency in other aspects. furthermore, solid snug connectors, single cable design (rather than split), more than sufficient length and super flexible cable too.

icing on the cake is Pete @ TWL is a great guy to work with.

Wow thanks !

 

[RobertSM]

Interesting question on shielded cables,
With RCA they are either coaxial or multi conductor with an outer shield usually grounded at only one end, these can be termed as “directional” as the common choice is to have the shield connected at the source end of the cable,
Question is, what about a DC powered source component or ones that are powered by 2 core power connectors, neither of those has a physical ground connection to drain the shield, so in that case would it be more correct to have the shield connected at the destination end, assuming of course that component has a 3 core power cord including a ground connection ?

Good question. I don't know.

 

[Roasty]

I've always liked Cardas cables. they have a good range and are generally well-liked all round. recently got some of their power cords to try out; Clear, Clear Reflection and Clear Cygnus cords in 1.5m lengths.

didn't manage to take pics of the CReflection but here are a few of the Clear and Cygnus.



they're well built with nice connectors. slightly on the heavy side, but not stiff and easily routed. there is a bit of sag on the wall/conditioner side but I remedy that with a few stacks of Lego/Duplo.

Cardas customer support is prompt with emails and helpful with advice. they didn't up sell anything but rather recommended according to intended usage, which was nice. Am using the CReflection with the purifi power amp. They suggested Clear for the pre, and said Cygnus was sufficient for dacs/streamers:

"For the DAC, I’d either go with Clear Cygnus Power, or Clear Power. DACs have a tendency to introduce noise into your system, and both Cygnus & Clear have really good noise filtration. Since DACs don’t tend to pull a lot of current, you don’t need a heavy duty power cable like Clear. It certainly wouldn’t hurt, but you’d be safe going with Cygnus power. I think the ground filtration is more important than current capacity with a DAC."

I haven't had these in the system for very long. The Clear replaces a Furutech DPS 4.1 (which I really liked but the cord ended up being too heavy and unwieldy after rearranging my rack), CReflection replaced an AQ Tornado into the power amp, Cygnus goes into the Lumin U2 mini. On @Ciggavelli's lead, I've ordered a Danacable Nirvana cord for the Holo May.

 

[Yatharth]

Would purchasing a $3500 Shunyata Omega USB cable for use with my Hugo 2 be a good idea?I would only prefer using the Hugo 2 currently cause it’s portable instead of using any other Chord product

 

[Roasty]

Would purchasing a $3500 Shunyata Omega USB cable for use with my Hugo 2 be a good idea?I would only prefer using the Hugo 2 currently cause it’s portable instead of using any other Chord product

Lol... please don't. unless you've got lots of cash to spare..

I (try to) keep cables within a certain percentage of the cost of the component. and let's be honest here, most of the claims u read about cables are going to be stupendously exaggerated. and cables are the last thing I'd upgrade. you're better off and will likely get a bigger uptick in sq by spending the money on better headphones/iems/components.

 

[Yatharth]

Lol... please don't. unless you've got lots of cash to spare..

I (try to) keep cables within a certain percentage of the cost of the component. and let's be honest here, most of the claims u read about cables are going to be stupendously exaggerated. and cables are the last thing I'd upgrade. you're better off and will likely get a bigger uptick in sq by spending the money on better headphones/iems/components.

I already have the best IEM,my boy.I’m using IER-Z1R with my Hugo 2 but I want to unleash full potential of my IER-Z1R and my Hugo 2 so I’m wondering which expensive usb cable I should buy

 

[theveterans]

I already have the best IEM,my boy.I’m using IER-Z1R with my Hugo 2 but I want to unleash full potential of my IER-Z1R and my Hugo 2 so I’m wondering which expensive usb cable I should buy

Ode to Laura IEM cable will make way more difference to your Z1R than say stock to Curious USB cable