I am also quite sensitive to overly bright "treble" (rarely use that name for higher frequencies ... so retro of you). However, with the PhoenixUSB and the Innuos Zenith combo, I never found the salon cables to be harsh or with too much treble emphasis. I found them extremely balanced, and that's testing with a fairly well balanced room before inserting the Sablon cables. True, I didn't test them against the your brand of cables but did test them against more expensive Nordost cables. They were far more revealing and detailed and well balanced than any cables I have tried in at two times their price, a great buy for people who need two USB cables. I also later auditioned the PhoenixNet with the Sablon Ethernet cable, which also bettered the Nordost cable that I tried. I wasn't (was NOT) using any Nordost entry level cables, but neither was I using their professed highest quality cable either. But I would suggest that it would make sense to buy either a better DAC or better music server before jumping headline into cables that cost over $3k. That would be my suggestion, anyway.
To others that are reading this thread, I would suggest that you MIGHT not necessarily find the Sablon cables bright if the audio chain isn't bright as well. Let's qualify that however. Everybody's cable preferences have as much to do with the associated equipment and the room and the synergy or lack of the entire chain, the recordings one is listening to as well. I auditioned the Sablon. Using a headphone and several headphone amps, I found the my satisfaction in both the room and on headphones was equally high using the Sablon cables. Using the PhoenixNet also, satisfaction was greatest with the Sablon cables. By the way, the Sablon cables break-in relatively quickly, but there or four days is not enough to get the full benefit of what they can do. I'd suggest that they continue to improve even after several weeks, albeit without as much of a radical improvement similar to the first two weeks.
No, I have no relationship to Sablon Audio other than as a happy customer. And i do own a number of over $3000 cables in my over $80k system, but not as USB or ethernet cables. I used to think that an $80k system was high end, and, of course, it was, years ago. But now, with $28k-50k speaker systems becoming more prominent, and $20k-$80k amps, and $20k-$90K DACs and $22K music servers getting the five star reviews, my little $80k system seems rather modest. I would put out, however that my system is not overly bright or harsh, and it's lack of performance when compared to the more illustrious systems is its lack of an ultra superior sound stage and ultra superior three dimensional sound. it's frequency response and detail and resolution is pretty high for a $80k system. That's why I question this review of the Salon, and suggest others keep an open mind and ... test and judge for themselves when it comes to cables. Other people's opinions, including my own, should not be taken as a reason to buy piece of gear. You should all audition your purchases in your own home, and be skeptical of all opinions no matter where they come from, mine included.
