[zeroakuma]

I will take the Q cables into consideration, but looking to read more into the Norse cables.

 

[zeroakuma]

Okay...maybe I was enticed by Norse Audio's cable looks, but after reading several reviews in this topic, I will probably go with the Pure Cryo OCC Stranded Silver or the Q-Audio Cable. Since I don't want to wait, it looks like Q-Audio's victory.
 
Time to play, "deal or no deal...."

 

[Ultrainferno]

Quote:

Okay...maybe I was enticed by Norse Audio's cable looks, but after reading several reviews in this topic, I will probably go with the Pure Cryo OCC Stranded Silver or the Q-Audio Cable. Since I don't want to wait, it looks like Q-Audio's victory.
 
Time to play, "deal or no deal...."

Trevor from Norse has always replied very fast to my emails. just this week it took a little longer as the usual overnight, but still within 2 days. Are you sure you have the correcgt email

 

[Hawaiiancerveza]

Q-audio FTW!

 

[dyl1dyl]

Just placed an order for Toxic Cable's upcoming "Copper Venom", first in the world I believe. Will be using it balanced from my Littledot Mk6+ to the RMA'd LCD-3s. Will be getting a NAD M51 soon and the cable should be coming around first week next month so very excited

 

[ianmedium]

Excellent, can't wait to see it. Would love the Venom but it won't work with my Balanced connector for the blackbird.

 

[Toxic Cables]

Quote:

Just placed an order for Toxic Cable's upcoming "Copper Venom", first in the world I believe. Will be using it balanced from my Littledot Mk6+ to the RMA'd LCD-3s. Will be getting a NAD M51 soon and the cable should be coming around first week next month so very excited

Rectangular copper headphone cables are actually already being sold by at least one company i know of based in HK.

 

[Austin Morrow]

I'll have a coming on the Toxic Cables PSC HD650 cable once it arrives, I'll be interested to hear how it sounds off my Woo an my Burson.

Also, I'm hoping to get a LCD-2 soon, so I know who to go to for a cable.

 

[MusiCol]

 
A review - finally!! Under the microscope are the 2 lowest priced models in Toxic Cables range of headphone cables for the Audez'e LCD-2/3.
 
Both of these cables follow the same basic design format - high strand-count cryo-treated OCC Copper in transparent sheaths, with the 4 conductors (2 from each side) drawn together by hand into a Litz braid, with clear heat-shrink over the Y-splits and plugs. For the pure copper model it's as simple as that, while the next model up has only one obvious difference; 1 of the 2 conductors from each side are silver plated. Both models are extremely light-weight, have a smooth, flexible feel, and slimline design. Attention to detail is superb, and their elegant appearance belies their strength.
 
Despite being the "babies" in Toxic Cable's range, both of these cables perform significantly better than the stock LCD-2 cable, so I'll just describe them on their own merits rather than comparing each with the stock cable.
 
There is plenty of information about these 2 cables (and the rest of the range) on the Toxic Cables website at the following locations;
 
The basic model, priced at £75 is here:   http://toxic-cables.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_61&product_id=69
 
The next in line, mixed-conductor cable, priced at £80 is here;    http://toxic-cables.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=59_61&product_id=70
 
Both pages are full of information and are only a click away from the Toxic Cables homepage. Incidentally, Toxic Cables also produce cables for HiFiman and Sennheiser headphones, which will be of interest to some.
 

I'll just start with a brief description of the system I'm using for this test. Starting with a pro audio PC running Windows XP SP2, using the JRiver 17 media player to play either 16bit/44.1kHz.wav files or 24/96FLAC downloads. The signal goes out at 24bit/96kHz to a Wyred 4 Sound "DAC1" via a Locus Design Group "Essentia" USB cable. From the DAC a Home Grown Audio "Silver Lace" RCA pair takes the analogue signal to a Burson Audio "HA160". The test cables then take the signal to my LCD-2 rev.1.
 
 
So, what do they sound like? Well, both cables were "virgin" on arrival and both had a lot of sibilance, but after approximately 150hours of burn in both cables had reached a nice, stable sound, and this is where the reviews start. I guess most folks won't be familiar with the music I've chosen, but I'm familiar with it, and it's all quite demanding on any system.
 
 
Starting with the cryo treated pure OCC Copper cable. The overall sound is quite balanced, leaning a bit towards the bass, and with a touch of brightness in the mids and highs. These can have the effect of cancelling each other out - but it depends on the type of music. I'm currently listening to Dragonforce which is notoriously hard to reproduce because there is just so much going - ultra-fast guitars, keyboard, and drums - at almost 200bpm! This cable allows all those different elements to be heard individually, which is quite a feat - especially for a "bottom of the range" cable! Moving on to Machine Head's album Unto The Locust. With so much distortion and brutal vocals, intertwined with singing and occasional acoustic guitar, it's sometimes hard to pick out each element in this music, but again, the cable lets it all through. The bass punch is powerful, but not excessive. So, with just a fraction too much bass and a hint of brightness, this cable does the LCD-2/3 justice - especially considering its price.
 
Moving on to the next in line - the mixed Cryo OCC copper and silver-plated-copper. With Machine Head still playing, this cable is a bit on the dark side with slightly recessed mids, but there is more detail coming through - for instance, kick drums have faster punch and more power, but again, without being excessive. Clean electric guitar notes come through sharp and clear. Next up is Helloweeen; "Keeper Of The Seven Keys". With a lot of cymbals, hi-hats, high pitched vocals and screaming guitars, this should bring out any remaining sibilance, and although there is a touch of sibilance, the highs are generally nice and clean. Also, there seems to be a better balance across the frequency spectrum, with more balanced bass than the pure copper cable. Moving on to Rammstein "Mutter" (German band & language), the combination of heavy metal style vocals and guitar with layers of synths, backed up in parts by a classic string section and in other parts by a full orchestra, means there's a lot going on from the deepest bass to the highest highs! Suffice to say that I've never heard this album performed quite so well. From the most brutally intense sections to graceful strings and child's voice, I can't fault it. Next comes a classical section, and I've chosen Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor (24bit/96kHz flac). The recording sounds dry to start with, but little trills from the piano are like sunshine popping out from behind a cloud, and as the piano takes on more of a central role the dryness is banished and as far as I can tell, all orchestral detail becomes clearly apparent. Overall there's a light airy feel to the recording, punctuated by the lovely sweet piano playing. If anything there is a bit too much "air", but for a sub -£100 cable, if that's the only fault, Toxic Cables have done a very good job indeed.
 
I don't know how the mixed conductor recipe came about, but it works well!
 
Incidentally, the web address for Toxic Cables' eBay store is:
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/frankfranks35/m.html?hash=item1c25f085f4&item=120895604212&pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Headphones&_trksid=p4340.l2562

 

[zeroakuma]

Heyo steve. Just wondering if have some headphone cables that are already made for shipping >_>;

 

[zeroakuma]

Frank, I must say that your silver cable looks the best <3.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Heyo steve. Just wondering if have some headphone cables that are already made for shipping >_>;

Yes, I do.
 
And they were just shipped out today to the customers who ordered them.

 
se
 

 

[zeroakuma]

Thanks Steve! Can't wait for my LCD-2 Rev 2 and the Q Audio cable in white! Thanks WarriorAnt for your recommendation!
 
I'll probably pick up the HD800 while I'm at it!

 

[MorbidToaster]

Good choice. I need to get another cable from Steve...Not sure where the heck it'll fit into the budget though. 
 
Quote:

Thanks Steve! Can't wait for my LCD-2 Rev 2 and the Q Audio cable in white! Thanks WarriorAnt for your recommendation!
 
I'll probably pick up the HD800 while I'm at it!

 
 

 

[zeroakuma]

He now has a different plug to offer   I feel like a VIP because this option wasn't available before, but to me...it was!