The two cables (and the interconnects) arrived.
Marvelous craftmanship. Extremely soft and flexibel. I love them, especially the XLR connector, it feels much more premium than a simple Neutrik connector.
Well, i payed a grand per cable, so i should better love them.
I bought them for my Susvara and 1266.
I briefly compared the dual 3.5mm one for my Susvara to the Forza Noir Hybrid HPC.
Let me say that in general i am not a strong cable believer, i did hear a stark difference once (OG Utopia), but i'm not the guy that gets out of the way to buy a 5k€ DHC Chimera to increase whatever snake oil sound terms he may or may not hear. This purchase was the upper end of what i'm willing to pay for a cable, especially since the so called "sound quality" gets sacrificed a lot by pure ergonomics, a Lazuli Nirvana just looks like it escaped right out of the Everglades.
I will not talk about the sound quality of the interconnects, since i bought them more of a FOMO and just to be sure to not get bottlenecked.
That being said:
Ooof. Yes, the difference is there, and it's bigger than i thought. Kinda insane.
The cable isn't even burned in yet, but i tell you what i hear:
Better seperation between the single sound images, notes hang in the air more and stay a bit longer, the midrange is very slightly pulled back compared to the Forza. Microdetails are easier to hear and the entirety of the track is perceived in a bird's eye view that is a bit higher to oversee the track better, and the birds eyesight is also a bit better.
One example:
The intro of
Polyphia's G.O.A.T. is nice with the Forza, but with the Grand Silver it is spooky, it really is. The notes hang in just a bit longer and the notes are not as blunted as with the Forza. I really love good treble, so i'm very happy that this silver cable can achieve that.
BUT: The difference is not completely night and day. It's there and i hear it, but it doesn't turn the Susvara in a completely different headphone. If you have the cash, go for it, if you don't, do not be sad. I also advise everyone to first find the final headphones that you want to keep owning and after that you can think about cables.
That's it! I'm done with cables!