[mvvRAZ]

For tonight’s session....

PW1950s clone by @doctorjuggles!

I haven’t listened to it yet, but I do have to say - if the sound doesn’t absolutely blow me away I’d be pretty disappointed. The wire itself absolutely does not warrant anywhere near that 2500$ price tag...
______________________________________________

Impressions: Might as well just add them to this post because they're going to be pretty short and bitter - they are based off of a clone, so do take them with a grain of salt

The PW1950s is a decent sub-1000$ option. You get improved dynamics and separation, with a mostly uncolored tonality except a hint of a treble roll off and some slight warmth in the lows.

That comes at the expense of the feel of the wire itself, which imo can't be described as anything but heavily mediocre, very stiff, microphonic and just generally cheap. The hardware is standard across the entire PW lineup too, and feels pretty nice - I have it on some other cables too and quite like it

What I fail to understand however, is how this costs 2500$. I'd flat out take a Leonidas II from EA at a third of the price over it (I'd rather pay 2500$ for a Leo II than I would for this too). The Eletech Plato has significantly nicer hardware than the stock PW one, and a similarly meh wire. Pretty comparable on sound all in all, with a similar tonality.

What makes it even worse is that the entire justification for the price tag of this wire is the fact that you have to buy 1000m of it at a time, which realistically shouldn't be a problem for any decent sized manufacturer. 0 RnD went into the cable material and composition, it's literally just an off the shelf wire with an off the shelf split, plug and pins (obtainable by well.. anyone as you can see)

At a fifth of the price.... I could see it though I definitely wouldn't purchase it. Slightly more technical sound than the Leo II at the expense of wire that looks and feels worse than some stock cables I've received with IEMs

Anyways... If anyone wants one - mine is up for sale

2nd edit: my mistake on the MSRP - was told it goes for around 2150$

3rd edit: this is no reflection on @doctorjuggle's work or final product he sent me - it's merely a discussion of the wire/hardware of the PW1950s. The quality of the cable he built for me is amazing, as is everything else I've received from him. Just pointing that out so it doesn't seem like he did a poor job

 

[gLer]

Nothing gives me more pleasure than reading a straight up honest opinion by someone who knows his s*** about a hideously overpriced product that gets way too much kudos around here because people need to justify the price they paid for it. I'm happy to spend $300 on a really good cable (and PW make really good cables for $300), but seriously, I think the high end cable market is little more than a phishing scam for obsessives with deep pockets. Just my 0.02 rant. Thanks for keeping it fresh Michael.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Nothing gives me more pleasure than reading a straight up honest opinion by someone who knows his s*** about a hideously overpriced product that gets way too much kudos around here because people need to justify the price they paid for it. I'm happy to spend $300 on a really good cable (and PW make really good cables for $300), but seriously, I think the high end cable market is little more than a phishing scam for obsessives with deep pockets. Just my 0.02 rant. Thanks for keeping it fresh Michael.

No way I am ever paying $2500 for a cable. I never thought I'd pay over $100 for a cable either. Given my value orientation, I am skeptical of all claims and buy when I see really great price performance. The cable I just bought was under $300. Completely worth every penny.

Who is PW? I think I need to get to know that person.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Nothing gives me more pleasure than reading a straight up honest opinion by someone who knows his s*** about a hideously overpriced product that gets way too much kudos around here because people need to justify the price they paid for it. I'm happy to spend $300 on a really good cable (and PW make really good cables for $300), but seriously, I think the high end cable market is little more than a phishing scam for obsessives with deep pockets. Just my 0.02 rant. Thanks for keeping it fresh Michael.

Thank you!

I think that i have a sort of reverse reaction in that respect. Products that I haven’t spent my own money on I tend to have lower expectations towards, and fewer things bother me - once my own money (and as a result, time) has been invested, I tend to have way higher requirements

 

[mvvRAZ]

No way I am ever paying $2500 for a cable. I never thought I'd pay over $100 for a cable either. Given my value orientation, I am skeptical of all claims and buy when I see really great price performance. The cable I just bought was under $300. Completely worth every penny.

Who is PW? I think I need to get to know that person.

Which cable did you get? I’d say around 3-500$ cables is where the sweet spot is at, and there are a few higher priced options that I also consider to be good all around products - namely the EA Leo II, the Bespoke Leo/Cleo, the Iliad, Socrates and Plato by Eletech

They’re all pretty overpriced if you consider sound and sound alone, but pretty good if you’re into audio jewelry

 

[bluestorm1992]

Nothing gives me more pleasure than reading a straight up honest opinion by someone who knows his s*** about a hideously overpriced product that gets way too much kudos around here because people need to justify the price they paid for it. I'm happy to spend $300 on a really good cable (and PW make really good cables for $300), but seriously, I think the high end cable market is little more than a phishing scam for obsessives with deep pockets. Just my 0.02 rant. Thanks for keeping it fresh Michael.

I would second this. PW makes really nice cables at around $300; just received my No.5 today and it has been wonderful both in terms of SQ and build quality. However, I have seen from several other reviewers that the improvement from No.5 to 1960 is very marginal, barely noticeable.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Which cable did you get? I’d say around 3-500$ cables is where the sweet spot is at, and there are a few higher priced options that I also consider to be good all around products - namely the EA Leo II, the Bespoke Leo/Cleo, the Iliad, Socrates and Plato by Eletech

They’re all pretty overpriced if you consider sound and sound alone, but pretty good if you’re into audio jewelry

Thanks for the additional data points. I am new to this rarified air and could use all the advice I can get.

It is a used DIY cable. He told me the components and I looked them up. I really took a risk with it completely putting my trust in the seller who was credible. He said he bought it for $450, I bought it off him for $275 figuring I'd just write it off if it didn't work out. Fortunately for me, it worked out fabulously as it solved the problem I wanted to solve and gave the sound I am seeking. It was a bit dumb of me to just make a blind purchase. I took a gamble and it paid off.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I would second this. PW makes really nice cables at around $300; just received my No.5 today and it has been wonderful both in terms of SQ and build quality. However, I have seen from several other reviewers that the improvement from No.5 to 1960 is very marginal, barely noticeable.

Who is PW? I like the $300 price point.

edited to note. Oh. PW is a brand and DoctorJuggles makes clones. Is that right?

 

[mvvRAZ]

Who is PW? I like the $300 price point.

https://www.pwaudio.com.hk/

 

[bluestorm1992]

Who is PW? I like the $300 price point.

Peter Wong, an engineer in Hong Kong who builds cables. Musicteck is their official dealer in the US and they are having some good Black Friday deals. PW is his brand.

BTW, their $300 8 wire cable has nice build and excellent SQ, but at the same time being quite heavy.

Might be a better choice to pick up their 4 wire cables, which cost around $150 I believe.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

https://www.pwaudio.com.hk/

Thanks. I did encounter PWAudio in my initial research. I was looking at the no 5 and no 10.

When I first saw their products in the 4 digits, I thought they were quoting in Hong Kong dollars instead of Sing dollars.

 

[gLer]

I have both the No. 5 and No. 10 8-wire. I think both are superb, build quality is impeccable, and if like me you like your cables thick and impressive looking, these do the trick. The fact that he sells them for ~$300 with the same retro-industrial heavy-duty hardware as his 4-figure cables is very generous indeed, and I can feel the synergy between each of the cables with the respective IEMs I've paired them with.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I have both the No. 5 and No. 10 8-wire. I think both are superb, build quality is impeccable, and if like me you like your cables thick and impressive looking, these do the trick. The fact that he sells them for ~$300 with the same retro-industrial heavy-duty hardware as his 4-figure cables is very generous indeed, and I can feel the synergy between each of the cables with the respective IEMs I've paired them with.

Nice. I love the heavy cable look and feel. I had to get a bigger case for my IEMs because of it. It feels so substantial. Can you tell me what you paired with no 5 and no 10 with and the impact they had on sound? I am interested in those cables, but I wanted to either hear them or get an opinion on them first.

 

[bluestorm1992]

Nice. I love the heavy cable look and feel. I had to get a bigger case for my IEMs because of it. It feels so substantial. Can you tell me what you paired with no 5 and no 10 with and the impact they had on sound? I am interested in those cables, but I wanted to either hear them or get an opinion on them first.

If I may, I can add some of my experience to this discussion. Since yesterday I have been doing some listening sessions using the 8 wire No.5 with the QDC 8sh, and comparing it with the stock QDC cable. In short, the No.5 brings the QDC to the next level, from mediocre to actually sounding quite good. It improves the richness and textures of the sound by quite a lot. My only complaint with it so far is the weight of this cable, but I do believe that upgrading from 4 wire to 8 wire helps with the overall sound presentations.

 

[xenithon]

I have both the 5 and 10, both 8-wire (both up for sale - shameless plug). If I had to compare the two:

- 5 has a little more low bass and midbass weight; 10 a little "cleaner" with more punch
- in the mids the 5 has the edge is musicality and the 10 in clarity / layering
- both have detailed, open treble; with the 5 taking on a slightly darker and more forgiving tone, and the 10 a little more open and airy

Overall both favour musicality over trying to be overly technical or dead-neutral.

I’ve paired the 5 with the Trio. Injects a little warmth in the mids and lower treble; taking some of the bite away that can get a bit much (for me) on the Trio; without sacrificing its incredible stage and clarity.

The 10 is paired with the Nio, opening the sound up and cleaning up some of the midbass bloom. Gives a little more sheen to female vocals while retaining the overall smoky, intimate tone.