[David222]

Curious if anyone has tried the new Mutec Nano clock ? I'm considering an upgrade.

https://www.mutec-net.com/product_ref10_nano.php

Admittedly not a "cable" - so apologies if anyone objects to my inquiry on this thread - I find this to be a very knowledgable group.

 

[David222]

Separately, I picked up another pair Cardas Clear Reflection last week. These are XLR. I also have the RCA termination.

Highly recommend - everything is "just right" to my ear. Perfect timbre. Excellent space and staging.

 

[RobertSM]

Separately, I picked up another pair Cardas Clear Reflection last week. These are XLR. I also have the RCA termination.

Highly recommend - everything is "just right" to my ear. Perfect timbre. Excellent space and staging.

They are amazing! Really a sweet spot in the Cardas line.

 

[Roasty]

Curious if anyone has tried the new Mutec Nano clock ? I'm considering an upgrade.

https://www.mutec-net.com/product_ref10_nano.php

Admittedly not a "cable" - so apologies if anyone objects to my inquiry on this thread - I find this to be a very knowledgable group.

I do regret selling u my sotm gear LOL those units were rock solid, sounded great to me, and I really wanted to try them with a mutec ref10 (one just popped up on my local buy/sell). I changed my frontend to innuos (pulsar/net/usb) and yes, they do sound fantastic but I'm not entirely sure the big price jump was worth it.

 

[vert]

Changing topic, once all that stuff was fixed, I put an ETI Legato IEC onto the cable feeding a Niagara 1200. It replaced a rhodium Viborg (model 512? Whatever their nice model is). This is on Neotech NEP-3001 mkIII, with Furutech's rhodium right angled male plug on the other end. With 0 burn in, it was a way bigger upgrade than expected. Great increase in detail and ambient information, while still sounding very musical; and prodigious, if slightly loose bass. Aside from the bass being wild, nothing was really missing.

I have upgraded my Vertex AQ Silver Roraima power cord to Legato gold IEC plug.

Sweet sounding plug and a stunning upgrade.

A cable maker told me plugs are 80% of a power cords sound. It seemed outlandish hearing that, but I understand now.

Legato IEC plug elevates the Vertex power cord to reference quality.

I can only imagine if high end cable makes used quality plugs like this for their power cords.

 

[RobertSM]

I have upgraded my Vertex AQ Silver Roraima power cord to Legato gold IEC plug.

Sweet sounding plug and a stunning upgrade.

A cable maker told me plugs are 80% of a power cords sound. It seemed outlandish hearing that, but I understand now.

Legato IEC plug elevates the Vertex power cord to reference quality.

I can only imagine if high end cable makes used quality plugs like this for their power cords.

Sounds like a great upgrade for you.

In my experience most of the better cable manufacturers use high quality connections. I'd imagine at the lower end they may use cheaper ones.

 

[David222]

I do regret selling u my sotm gear LOL those units were rock solid, sounded great to me, and I really wanted to try them with a mutec ref10 (one just popped up on my local buy/sell). I changed my frontend to innuos (pulsar/net/usb) and yes, they do sound fantastic but I'm not entirely sure the big price jump was worth it.

I think you'd enjoy the Holo Red. You can run NAA endpoint. I2S and AES (outs).

After switching to Roon a year ago - the Red has impressed me the most and brought my chain closest to the Aurender timbre / house sound (I really enjoy). I previously ran Aurender gear before jumping to Roon based library / system.

I'm considering upgrading into the Antipodes line (works well with Rockna) - I'm so pleased with the Holo Red - not sure if the ROI will be there.

 

[Whazzzup]

I’ll second antipodes audio, but sheesh k50 or more specifically oladra are getting to new car pricing…was lucky to get comped a dx3 then paid for oladra upgrade. Now it’s same price as msb premier on the dac side.

 

[vert]

I'm considering upgrading into the Antipodes line (works well with Rockna) - I'm so pleased with the Holo Red - not sure if the ROI will be there.

Have you considered getting a DDC, like the Berkeley alpha USB interface?

It’s a stunning upgrade for my Lumin streamer. It’s better than an Aurender that I had that was 5x more than the Lumin.

 

[tawmizzzz]

Please welcome me as an official convert into this deep rabbit hole "dark side" thread of HeadFi . Of course prior to hearing myself through a series of demos and auditions, I was skeptical that these expensive power cords/interconnects really mattered. Yet, I went with a mostly all TWL loom a couple of years ago once I got my Ferrum stack and Rockna WL to help "offset" any bottlenecks. I did some brief "A/B" tests against the stock black cords and liked what I heard, but it was more of a "set and forget" for peace of mind. Did they really matter? I didn't care.

However, after recently solidifying my core components by upgrading the Ferrum stack to WA23 Luna and by adding the Rockna WLServer for i2s and upsampling, I noticed that the overall system has become much more revealing and sensitive to cable swaps. While I was switching around some relatively mid-entry level cables like Digital American vs Shunyuta Venom V14 Digital vs Audience Forte F5 across my components, I also noticed considerable changes in i2s ICs between the Pink Faun (warmer, analogue, euphonic) and Tubulus Concentus (fast transients, airy, precise yet natural). So I figured **** it, why not keep slurping up the alleged snake oil and see if ethernet cables make a difference as well (whom I consulted with some respected members such as @Roasty , thank you sir). I just got my TWL Freedom Ethernet cables and was shocked to see that it thickened up my overall system in a pleasant way...and this is without the Etherregen that will be coming in on Friday. Definitely beats out the 15 foot black cord I was running across my room into the living room.

So in short, I am happy with the ethernet cable benefits + TWL Seven Plus on my WA23 because now it allows me to keep the blacker background, treble extended Venom V14 on my streamer and the technical, dynamic Tubulus Concentus without being too bright or thin. I couldn't find the right synergy prior with too many warm accessories such as the Audience F5 and the Pink Faun which rolled up the treble and congested the black background despite lush, seductive mids and rumbly, liquidy bass.

Am I done? Absolutely not-the upgraditis will continue to be there I am sure, but definitely happy with finally feeling I am mostly there and can stop neurotically obsessing as much. Now to figure out how to afford the AQ Hurricane for my power conditioner, and perhaps the AQ Dragon HDMI to compare against the Concentus/Pink Faun...and maybe a Niagara3000? SMH.

 

[RobertSM]

Please welcome me as an official convert into this deep rabbit hole "dark side" thread of HeadFi . Of course prior to hearing myself through a series of demos and auditions, I was skeptical that these expensive power cords/interconnects really mattered. Yet, I went with a mostly all TWL loom a couple of years ago once I got my Ferrum stack and Rockna WL to help "offset" any bottlenecks. I did some brief "A/B" tests against the stock black cords and liked what I heard, but it was more of a "set and forget" for peace of mind. Did they really matter? I didn't care.

However, after recently solidifying my core components by upgrading the Ferrum stack to WA23 Luna and by adding the Rockna WLServer for i2s and upsampling, I noticed that the overall system has become much more revealing and sensitive to cable swaps. While I was switching around some relatively mid-entry level cables like Digital American vs Shunyuta Venom V14 Digital vs Audience Forte F5 across my components, I also noticed considerable changes in i2s ICs between the Pink Faun (warmer, analogue, euphonic) and Tubulus Concentus (fast transients, airy, precise yet natural). So I figured **** it, why not keep slurping up the alleged snake oil and see if ethernet cables make a difference as well (whom I consulted with some respected members such as @Roasty , thank you sir). I just got my TWL Freedom Ethernet cables and was shocked to see that it thickened up my overall system in a pleasant way...and this is without the Etherregen that will be coming in on Friday. Definitely beats out the 15 foot black cord I was running across my room into the living room.

So in short, I am happy with the ethernet cable benefits + TWL Seven Plus on my WA23 because now it allows me to keep the blacker background, treble extended Venom V14 on my streamer and the technical, dynamic Tubulus Concentus without being too bright or thin. I couldn't find the right synergy prior with too many warm accessories such as the Audience F5 and the Pink Faun which rolled up the treble and congested the black background despite lush, seductive mids and rumbly, liquidy bass.

Am I done? Absolutely not-the upgraditis will continue to be there I am sure, but definitely happy with finally feeling I am mostly there and can stop neurotically obsessing as much. Now to figure out how to afford the AQ Hurricane for my power conditioner, and perhaps the AQ Dragon HDMI to compare against the Concentus/Pink Faun...and maybe a Niagara3000? SMH.

Welcome!

And I don't see this as a dark side. In the two channel world this is very much discussed.

In the Head-Fi world its just gaining some traction. But as setups and systems become more and more revealing I think the logical step will be to address cabling and power. Alot of people have trouble with a variety of noise. The gear can in the long term can tackle this problem but I think most of it can be dealt with with thoughtful interconnects.

Regardless welcome. It's not cheap but it will take your system to the next level!!

 

[Roasty]

@tawmizzzz nice job on settling your chain first and upgrading components before diving deep into cables! it's the more sensible way to do it.

and TWL stuff are great! I'm really enjoying the spirit II xlr from WL into the vm1a. I tried other xlr cables in that section but always went back to the Spirit ii. I have an extra 7plus cord and will try it with the vm1a.

I myself am aiming to swap out some conditioners for an AQ niagara 5000. I like that it has so many outlets in just one box.

 

[tawmizzzz]

Welcome!

And I don't see this as a dark side. In the two channel world this is very much discussed.

In the Head-Fi world its just gaining some traction. But as setups and systems become more and more revealing I think the logical step will be to address cabling and power. Alot of people have trouble with a variety of noise. The gear can in the long term can tackle this problem but I think most of it can be dealt with with thoughtful interconnects.

Regardless welcome. It's not cheap but it will take your system to the next level!!

Well said! Looking forward to your and others' continued journeys, new discoveries and synergies.

@tawmizzzz nice job on settling your chain first and upgrading components before diving deep into cables! it's the more sensible way to do it.

and TWL stuff are great! I'm really enjoying the spirit II xlr from WL into the vm1a. I tried other xlr cables in that section but always went back to the Spirit ii. I have an extra 7plus cord and will try it with the vm1a.

I myself am aiming to swap out some conditioners for an AQ niagara 5000. I like that it has so many outlets in just one box.

Thanks man! Reassuring to hear that the Spirit II XLR is a winner since XLR ICs is one facet I have yet to experiment with. I am overall happy with TWL being an affordable option to clear out that bottleneck while I figure out next steps.

Quick question to you or any AQ Niagara users---do you buy their likely marketing ploy of "[We] highly endorse the use of any AudioQuest 15-amp rated (or high-current) AC cord, as the patented Ground Noise-Dissipation relies on our directionally controlled conductors for best performance"? For my wall-to-power conditioner PC, the TWL High-Power Digital American was notably more musical with more natural tone and timbre vs the AQ Thunder that I had at the time, but I've heard Thunder is more of the dry/cold side of the storm series.

I will have to demo an AQ Tornado or Hurricane one day regardless I am sure.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Does anyone have experience with the AIR flagships series of In-Akustik?

E.g. https://in-akustik.de/nf-2405-air-xlr-0071873103par

Or https://in-akustik.de/ac-4005-air-schuko-c15-uhq-007650210par

 

[Whazzzup]

i have my conditioners covered off by inexpensive furmans i bought a decade ago. How ever i do have a comment on expensive power cords like ac12 or aq nrg z3, they are so thick and unruly. If i ever need a power chord, like for a dac upgrade, im going cheaper thinner. Have never even noticed the difference with a kettle chord, but they make me feel better.