borez
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2010
- Posts
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- 47
Adding a review, as part of the Linum tour. I’m keeping this objective. Note that I used to be a Linum cable user (referring to as the old Limum). All views are my own.
Build impressions: cables are much thicker vs old Linum. No tangle issues here, the thicker cables also help with user handling. They’ve also switched to a right angled jack, vs the straight jack on the basic Linum. This is a positive development and should solve termination issues on the old design. Unfortunately no strain relief but let's see.
Observations were made against the 64Audio A12 CIEM, Fostex HP-A4 DAC, Spotify Premium. Tested against the stock cable, and where possible, my memories of the old Linum cable (which I no longer have).
On sound quality, I would characterize this cable as balanced – not excessively bright nor warm. This is good in a certain way, as it helps to maintain the IEM's sonic signature. The improvements are quite all rounded. What stood out was the much quieter noise floor.
See below for notes:
Michael Bublé, These Foolish Things (Remind me Of You)
Testing vocals here. Bublé’s voice is less veiled, more lush and engaging, but not at the expense of losing dynamic range. Background music (e.g. the cymbals) sound more crisp and clear. Noise floor reduced.
Amber Rubarth, Novocaine
This is an extremely detailed recording with a wide soundstage. The A12 CIEM really excels in soundstaging, and glad the Linum Super Bax doesn’t take that away. A lot more micro details heard. Examples: breathing noises (0:03), some crackling noises (0.06), tons of string squeak.
Sade, Bullet Proof Soul
Just simply for the opening bass notes. Much much deeper, fuller and all rounded. Very notable difference vs the stock & original Linum – they sound so flat in retrospect.
deadmau5, Seeya
Testing dynamics. Beats are tight, good slam and much more controlled. Like someone tightening a loose screw. The song can sound fairly harsh (not surprising as it’s EDM after all!). But the cable’s helped to sand away some of that edginess, particularly on the beats/vocals.
KT Tunstall, Feel It all
This is a song with a high noise floor (the whole album was recorded with old reel-to-reel tapes). The cable helped to tame things down. This song is one of my favourites – it’s an emotive song as KT recorded this post the loss of her father and divorce. The cable fleshed out every single nuance in her vocals, which made the presentation a whole lot emotive. Listening to this song with the Super Bax reminds me why I'm spending money on hi-fi.
I’ve been auditioning cables for my CIEM, and the Super Bax punches its weight through, at this price point. From the A12 thread, some users didn’t like the A12-Linium pairing, but I would suggest re-visiting with the Super Bax.
I’m buying this...
Build impressions: cables are much thicker vs old Linum. No tangle issues here, the thicker cables also help with user handling. They’ve also switched to a right angled jack, vs the straight jack on the basic Linum. This is a positive development and should solve termination issues on the old design. Unfortunately no strain relief but let's see.
Observations were made against the 64Audio A12 CIEM, Fostex HP-A4 DAC, Spotify Premium. Tested against the stock cable, and where possible, my memories of the old Linum cable (which I no longer have).
On sound quality, I would characterize this cable as balanced – not excessively bright nor warm. This is good in a certain way, as it helps to maintain the IEM's sonic signature. The improvements are quite all rounded. What stood out was the much quieter noise floor.
See below for notes:
Michael Bublé, These Foolish Things (Remind me Of You)
Testing vocals here. Bublé’s voice is less veiled, more lush and engaging, but not at the expense of losing dynamic range. Background music (e.g. the cymbals) sound more crisp and clear. Noise floor reduced.
Amber Rubarth, Novocaine
This is an extremely detailed recording with a wide soundstage. The A12 CIEM really excels in soundstaging, and glad the Linum Super Bax doesn’t take that away. A lot more micro details heard. Examples: breathing noises (0:03), some crackling noises (0.06), tons of string squeak.
Sade, Bullet Proof Soul
Just simply for the opening bass notes. Much much deeper, fuller and all rounded. Very notable difference vs the stock & original Linum – they sound so flat in retrospect.
deadmau5, Seeya
Testing dynamics. Beats are tight, good slam and much more controlled. Like someone tightening a loose screw. The song can sound fairly harsh (not surprising as it’s EDM after all!). But the cable’s helped to sand away some of that edginess, particularly on the beats/vocals.
KT Tunstall, Feel It all
This is a song with a high noise floor (the whole album was recorded with old reel-to-reel tapes). The cable helped to tame things down. This song is one of my favourites – it’s an emotive song as KT recorded this post the loss of her father and divorce. The cable fleshed out every single nuance in her vocals, which made the presentation a whole lot emotive. Listening to this song with the Super Bax reminds me why I'm spending money on hi-fi.
I’ve been auditioning cables for my CIEM, and the Super Bax punches its weight through, at this price point. From the A12 thread, some users didn’t like the A12-Linium pairing, but I would suggest re-visiting with the Super Bax.
I’m buying this...
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