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Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Great to see that some of you sponsors now have got your own sub forum.
Some more information about the different 5G iMod dock cables would be welcome. Like how they compare sound wise.
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Cable assessment is a difficult thing to quantify, as there is so much personal preference X your particular gear. Everyone sees the world through his or her own lens, and everyone hears music through a similar filters. I have a pair of ATH900LTDS that I love to use with a silver based cable, and conversely I would use a copper based cable with my Grados. So coming out and saying that X is better than Y here is just not really accurate. There are over all qualities that I can convey to you though. Additionally I want to say that all of the cables I make are to going to not disappoint. These are all 100% handmade and will be serviced by me should a mis-hap or problem occur. I stand behind my work, and take cable making as an art form. I understand that they are expensive, however I know them to be the best sounding product you can buy for the application. In this case you do get what you pay for, and this is how they are priced.
The iMod cables that will be readily available now are.
22 gauge Cryo iMod dock cable
These are the most flexible and have the smallest footprint. The wire is physically soft and bendable with ease. These have a wonderful midrange with a warm and full sound, not being veiled in ANY way what so ever. With this most affordable iMod dock you simply cannot go wrong. I have been using this cable on my personal set up because it affords me the best option for portability. The mini plug used on the Cryo iMod dock is a small gold Neutrik. These wonderful connectors will not hog up valuable real estate on your amp.
“Jumbo Cryo X Silver iMod Dock” 18 gauge Cryo x 20 gauge Silver (4 wires)
The ALO workhorse of cabling, giving you the warmth of Copper with the detail and attack of silver. This cable is gives you a powerful sound. When I switch back and fourth between the 22g cryo dock and this cable I can immediately notice increase in intensity, weight and power. The midrange of this cable is unmatched. The JC x S is terminated to a relatively small gold Switchcraft mini plug.
20 gauge x 3 Super Cotton iMod dockk
Here we go folks, if you’re into the sound of Silver the Super Cotton Dock is the bomb. I am a huge fan of warmth and while a silver cable will never compare to a quality copper conductor like the above JenLabs based cables in terms if pure warmth, I can say that for a silver based cable this is amazingly warm. Personally if I was forced to say what cable has a “best sound” I might be inclined to pick the Super Cotton dock. The strength of this cable is the airy openness, sound stage, instrument separation and detail. On the down side it is a physically large cable, with a big fat Canare F12 mini plug. This cable is not “pocket friendly” does not like to be bent hard and pinched over and over again.
Gold x Silver iMod Dock - 28 gauge Gold x 20 gauge Silver
The Gold X Silver dock is also very open and airy with an increase in warmth. I would not characterize the Gold Silver Dock as detailed as the Super Cotton Dock. I am hearing this cable as a laid back version of a Super Cotton Dock. I have yet to really properly burn one of these in so I would like to come back to this description at a later date when i can better assess it. I also like the physical size of the this cable, however I must caution owners of this cable. The Gold conductors are thin and gold is not as forgiving as copper when it comes of sharp bending. So please handle with care. Its cost what more because the material were expensive and the sound is unique.
2 longer IC’s will to connect your imod to a home amp. These will be a 3 foot Vampire Wired iMod dock to Cardas Rhodium plated RCA’s and my new “Super Kind” cable. The “Super Kind” is 2 18G (Jumbo) Jena Labs Cryo wires, and 2 20 gauge solid silver wires. Where the silver wires are sleeved in a cotton dielectric. I have A/B’ed all of these conductors I have mentioned above and I feel that this cable design is the over all best sounding. If your asking why I do not offer a Super Kind Dock cable if it’s the best cable design here is why. The cable requires that I sleeve it in a Nylon Techflex like sleeving to protect the integrity of the braid and the cotton insulators. The cable uses 2 18G Jena Labs wires and are quite large. When you start throwing 2 layers of Nylon sleeving and dual walled heat shrink over this it’s getting pretty fat. All this makes for a very large cable and I have great difficulty stuffing all this in a mini plug. There for I will not offer a Super Kind Imod Dock at this time.
A word on shielding; I once read some head-fiers that had posted some complaints that I do not have any shielded cables and for what I charge I should being doing so. I wanted to respond to this but in the past when I have responded to defend myself I have had my posts deleted. When ever I talk about my work in the main forum it violates rules. The reason I dont use shielding is simple; it’s simply not needed and closes the sound of a cable. Yes there are times when you do need shielding but in such short runs that I offer (3 feet and under) its just not needed. Moreover my braiding geometry uses common mode cancellation that has effective shielding properties. Additionally metal shielding always degrades the sound quality, shielding increases the capacitance and capacitance always equates to roll off. Shielding sucks for audio cables and I want my cables to sound awesome.
Ok so that’s the current cable offering at this time. I want to talk about the stuff I have in the works for the new Imod shortly. A cables that will allow you to charge and my most exciting offering, the ALO/RWA Imod Docking Station. This will make your CD player very lonely.
Cheers,
Ken
