[elnero]

I've been thinking about selling some gear and picking up a pair of HD650s and maybe one of the more expensive upgrade cables like the Diamondback, Silver Dragon or Mobius. I have the Oehlbach on the HD600's right now and I quite like what it does so plan on keeping it for the 650's at least until I find a cable I like better.

I've been wondering in what ways the more expensive cables are similar to the Oehlbach and in what ways they differ? Which of the more expensive cables would be most like the Oehlbach in character? Are there any areas the Oehlbach excels over the others?

 

[sacd lover]

You might want ot check out the sacd lover/ Tom Hankins mini-meet thread for my impressions of these three cables. This was the first and only time I have heard the Zu and Silver Dragon. I believe these two cables are superior to the Oehlbach. However, the oehlbach has good enough performance I dont feel compelled to immediately upgrade. System matching is important with any of these and the oehlbach in the right setup will be close to the other two in average setups. If you get system synergy with either the Zu or Silver Dragon they easily best the oehlbach. Since I know you use the ppx3 I liked the Silver Dragon with that amp and Ei tubes. The new ppx3 is reportedly more detailed so that might tip the balance a little more towards the Zu's favor with its warmer balance. I wish I could be more definitive but I dont have enough experience with these to make a clear recommendation. But myself, there are other things I would change in a system first before I would worry about upgrading from the oehlbach.