[FredA]

I think so. Nos beats the TDA mode for me, but all 3 modes have different flavor with its own merits. It's great to have such a polyvalent dac. Another interesting possibility is to feed it dsd converted on the fly.

 

[falcon70]

Hi guys, I am looking for the optimal ACSS cable between R8 and HE1.

I have an austral Robertson Audio pure silver 24 AWG XLR cable. Compared to the Audio-Gd base ACSS cable, the pure silver overall sound signature is better: more bodies, more texture in the mid range, better heights (for my ears). But ACSS has better 3D imaging and slightly accurate placement.
The XLR is long enough to cut two pieces. Short ACSS and longer XLR (or 4-pin ACSS).

So my question is: Is it worth using an expensive mini-xlr 3 pin plug?
The price of FURUTECH FT-608MF is 20 USD / piece, rhodium plated.
Is the 5 USD plug from E-bay good enough?

 

[FredA]

I

Hi guys, I am looking for the optimal ACSS cable between R8 and HE1.

I have an austral Robertson Audio pure silver 24 AWG XLR cable. Compared to the Audio-Gd base ACSS cable, the pure silver overall sound signature is better: more bodies, more texture in the mid range, better heights (for my ears). But ACSS has better 3D imaging and slightly accurate placement.
The XLR is long enough to cut two pieces. Short ACSS and longer XLR (or 4-pin ACSS).

So my question is: Is it worth using an expensive mini-xlr 3 pin plug?
The price of FURUTECH FT-608MF is 20 USD / piece, rhodium plated.
Is the 5 USD plug from E-bay good enough?

I never compared the two but have many cable made with cheap plugs from ebay. No complaints. I have a pro made cable with fancier plug which is inferior overall to most of my cables.

 

[DACLadder]

Hi guys, I am looking for the optimal ACSS cable between R8 and HE1.

So my question is: Is it worth using an expensive mini-xlr 3 pin plug?
The price of FURUTECH FT-608MF is 20 USD / piece, rhodium plated.
Is the 5 USD plug from E-bay good enough?

I just built some ACSS cables with the Furutech mini-XLRs. They are very nice and fit into mating connectors with precision. The cheaper plugs are sometimes hard to remove after you push down the button for the connector latch. Also have cables with the cheaper Ebay plugs and they function OK but have plastic bodies. I reserved the Furutech's for my fanciest wire stock (18 ga silver wires).

The most talked about completed ACSS cables are the Nimak silver Litz cables. They are expensive and several of us have them on order so no sound reports yet. On eBay just search "Nimak ACSS". Magna Hifi also sells ACSS wires but have not heard.

 

[Jackula]

Hi guys, I am looking for the optimal ACSS cable between R8 and HE1.

I have an austral Robertson Audio pure silver 24 AWG XLR cable. Compared to the Audio-Gd base ACSS cable, the pure silver overall sound signature is better: more bodies, more texture in the mid range, better heights (for my ears). But ACSS has better 3D imaging and slightly accurate placement.
The XLR is long enough to cut two pieces. Short ACSS and longer XLR (or 4-pin ACSS).

So my question is: Is it worth using an expensive mini-xlr 3 pin plug?
The price of FURUTECH FT-608MF is 20 USD / piece, rhodium plated.
Is the 5 USD plug from E-bay good enough?

The most talked about aftermarket ACSS here are Invictus, Robertson Audio and Nimak. Nimak and Invictus are similarly specc'd and priced (doesn't mean they sound the same) however Invictus has discontinued theirs.

No experience with Nimak here, but Robertson is much better than Invictus with their solid core 24awg. I believe the main sound difference is the solid core and air dialectric that they use. Solid core is better than UP-OCC strand for analog as long as conductors are smaller than 18-20 awg.

I would try Nimak, however in a long time I don't feel my setup doesn't fall short anywhere with my full audio-gd stack.

 

[falcon70]

Thank you @FredA, @DACLadder.
My R8 is 3 weeks old and in the first minute I hear it completely neutral (R8 + HE1 + Master3) so I can adjust the sound to the speakers (and to my taste) with the cables.
I will try Nimak acss, Croatia is located close to me.

I know Magna-Hifi very well they sell M-Way and Purecable copper ACSS. I use a 4-pin M-Way ACSS cable between HE1 and Master 3.
My speakers are Usher Mini-X, midrange sounds a bit shy. The silver character is good for them.
As I can see, most people use silver cables here.

What do you use between the pre and power amp? Did anyone try silver 4 pin ACCS?

 

[FredA]

Thank you @FredA, @DACLadder.
My R8 is 3 weeks old and in the first minute I hear it completely neutral (R8 + HE1 + Master3) so I can adjust the sound to the speakers (and to my taste) with the cables.
I will try Nimak acss, Croatia is located close to me.

I know Magna-Hifi very well they sell M-Way and Purecable copper ACSS. I use a 4-pin M-Way ACSS cable between HE1 and Master 3.
My speakers are Usher Mini-X, midrange sounds a bit shy. The silver character is good for them.
As I can see, most people use silver cables here.

What do you use between the pre and power amp? Did anyone try silver 4 pin ACCS?

Yes. I made a cable using a Valab (ebay) silver litz bulk cable (special order). But Valab seems out of business now.

 

[DACLadder]

Here’s a Krell CAST cable with mini-xlrs. Should work with ACSS. Only $1,600 1m pair. /s
https://www.thecableco.com/cast-cable-pair.html

 

[FredA]

Here’s a Krell CAST cable with mini-xlrs. Should work with ACSS. Only $1,600 1m pair. /s
https://www.thecableco.com/cast-cable-pair.html

Thanks. Always looking for a bargain...

 

[Chopin75]

The DI converts DSD to PCM? I am not sure what Kingwa is loading for DI firmware from the factory but some version of DoP I would suspect. Your DAC firmware may need a check as well for compatibility.

He said the FW for Linux is needed to be loaded (which is already available) but he is working on a new FW that would work for linux too so I just need to wait. I am using Linux/Euphony Audio. Mac also does not work. I guess the stock FW only works for Win.

 

[Chopin75]

I assume that it played directly before DI-20 arrived. If so, wait for suggestions from DI-20 owners.

Yes I was able to use DSD native via USB to R7. KIngwa he has an updated FW for Linux soon as I use Linux which is not compatible with the stock FW

 

[DACLadder]

Anyone use the Robertson ACSS cables? 24 gal solid silver. Certainly are very affordable compared to others...
https://robertsonaudiocables.com.au...nect-cable-for-audio-gd-mini-xlr-3-pin-female

 

[falcon70]

I use a Robertson audio xlr cable, but not the accs. I wrote about my experience a few days ago.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...tor-ladder-dacs.853902/page-436#post-16207674
The cable is affordable, but duties and taxes raise the price to my country in Europe.

 

[DACLadder]

That’s correct, thanks. You are going buy mini-xlr connectors and replace. Let us know how that works out.

 

[FredA]

Just got the Nimak top of the line acss in 0.5m.

So far, it is very similar to my own sliver-plated litz, with less defined bass. The cable is very stiff, and in 0.5m, it's a bit of a pain to install.

Considering it has no burn-in, i find it promising. The highs are smoother than with my cable. The balance is a little rounder. It is very "listenable" already and has plenty of details, a bit less than my cable. But the highs are little more laid back and refined. So far so good.

I think it will easily beat my cable once the burn-in is done. It is already better i woud say. More fluid. It serves the music very well.