warp08
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- Posts
- 2,211
- Likes
- 46
Background
Those of you who have had the pleasure to deal with Craig of Whiplash Audio, have gotten used to the fact that he loves surprises, similar to Steve Jobs’ “oh, and there is just one more thing” tradition.
While at Can Jam, shooting the breeze and enjoying ourselves, I just happen to mention how much I enjoyed the last pair of TWag I have bought from him for the Protector and that my only minor beef were the aesthetics and ergonomics associated with the heat shrinks.
“Craig,” I said, “you know, those stock JHA cables always look so nice with their molded connectors on those close-up, photos but with these heath shrinks, people might think I’m wearing some kind of hearing aide.” I was half-joking, of course, but Craig just smiled, reached into one of his secret stashes behind his Can Jam exhibition desk and nonchalantly tossed a little plastic bag at my direction: “I hear you,” he replied, “why don’t you give these a try and let me know what you think. These are still prototypes and won’t be out yet for a while, but they are new wires and no more heat shrink to mess with.”
Neatly packaged in the sealed plastic bag was a 48” version of a Protector-terminated, balanced IEM-replacement TWag cable sporting some awesome-looking, fully transparent overmolds in lieu of the heat shrink and the memory wire featured on my own. So, after mumbling some incoherent words that I hoped to have conveyed my gratitude and appreciation of this unexpected gesture, I happily scurried away to take my new TWag for a spin at the Can Jam “dance floor.”
Although a gentleman never tells, I have to admit sleeping with the new TWag after the first date in the first night. It was just so darn comfy around my ears. Never realized up until now how much weight and restriction memory wires and the bulk of soldering underneath the heat shrinks added to the top-end of the individual two-pronged IEM connectors.
As I’m sure most of you who own the current model are keenly aware, you can bend and twist the memory wire portion without any issue, however, attempting the same to the heat shrink can be disastrous, because the soldiering integrity can be compromised and the exposed contact points can become oxidized.
I'm happy to report that you won't have to deal with any of these issues if you spring for one of these new TWag cables. My only minor gripe with them has just been resolved!
But there were more surprises in store for me. All of my existing older TWags are 64" versions because I prefer to loop the cable around my neck at least once instead of using a clip. And I've always used them hanging in front even when I was riding bicycles because the memory wire didn't lend itself to easy repositioning of the cable to allow running it down behind the neck. So, I decided to give this one a shot, and voilà, it was even better wearing it that way then before. It was almost a liberating feeling wearing it that way, as if I was wearing some kind of studio or Secret Service pull-over style communication device with a “hidden” wire, since the heat shrink visual giveaway was no longer there.
What Kind Of Name Is “TWag” Anyway?
What seems like ages ago, when I ordered my first TWag replacement cable from Whiplash, all I knew that TWag was some kind of silver cable, which was crazy good and I was determined to make my newly arrived JH16 Pros truly do to the music what they built for; render it the way it was meant to be heard as if I was the downmixing engineer in the studio listening to the recording session. Little did I know how addictive these cables can be when they are connected to the right source and top-of-the-line custom IEMs, such as the JH13 and JH16 Pros.
When I actually met Craig in person, I just had to ask more about what makes these cables sound so good. What Voodoo magic is at work here? Essentially, it may very well seem like magic to Harry Potter fans, in particular, but mainly the sum of years spent on painstaking research, experimentation, ultra-precise manufacturing coupled with the trademarked Cryo-Freeze treatment process is responsible for the unmistakable TWag sound signature very familiar to those who have actually heard it.
Craig-–through his well-deserved reputation and dedicated customer service—had won exclusive distributorship rights from a company called Cryo-Parts, a well-known specialty supplier of custom audiophile cables. Here how they describe it, according to this excerpt from Cryo-Parts Website about the TWag cables:
Quote:
CryoFrozen or not, pure silver or not, immersed in snake oil or not, blessed by Pagan Priests or not, all I needed to realize that I have become a “TWag-Addict” is to break one of the heat shrinks on my single-ended TWag cable. No biggie, I thought, just use the stock JHA cable for a few days, how bad can it be? Yeah, right!
I didn’t take a whole day to realize that something was missing because the music from the same exact gear I used a day before seemed now almost “lifeless” to me. The spark, the emotion I find so engaging was now gone, somehow omitted from the presentation without the TWag in the picture. By the end of the second day I was firing SOS emails to Craig begging for a new cable as the TWag withdrawal symptoms intensified. You see, TWag grows on you as it burns in, and often you don’t realize the gradual, but ultimately immense improvement it makes in bringing the music truly alive until you switch back to the stock wire after a couple of hundred hours of TWag induced bliss. Those of you reading this, who are fortunate enough to be sporting one of these cables with at least 300-500 hours of burn-in time on them, should try this exercise just for the heck of it, and I believe you’ll be truly amazed of the results and fully appreciate them.
Legacy TWag vs. Molded TWag—The Detailed Comparison
I have described some of the initial aesthetic and practical benefits of the new cable, even though I was warned that some specs might change for the production version based on feedback. The latest information from Craig indicated the following changes to the prototype version and/or the previous version (see illustration below):
- New IEM connectors featured on prototype (as shown above) will be retained
- TWag cable material will be the same as previous but customization and manufacturing process will be significantly different
- Final overmolding length will be shorter by two notches (as shown in picture below)
- Closed, wooden choker will be revised for optimal friction and increased dampening against microphonics but a non-choker version will be a custom option, available upon request
- A variety of custom termination options will be available, including but not limited to:
- TTRS Balanced (for the upcoming HiFiMAN HM-801 GanQi balanced amp module),
- Protector Balanced,
- XLR Balanced,
- ¼” or 1/8” S/E ViaBlue
- JH-3A Quad-Pronged version to accommodate the Active Crossover design
- Other options
Impressions of Sonic Differences Between Molded vs. Legacy TWag Series
Normally sonic, ergonomic, design and build-quality differences are analyzed separately. However, this case seems to be unique in the fact that improvements and invocation alternative design and manufacturing methods aimed primarily to enhance aesthetic and ergonomic appeal have also been responsible for detectable improvements in sound quality as well. Please read on to find out, as this is where this preview gets REALLY interesting.
Test Configuration for JH13 Pro Comparison Sessions
Source MacBook Pro running Songbird 1.7.3
Virtual Audio USB to USB-mini IC/Whiplash Elite TWag Mini-to-Mini IC
CEntrance DACport: 45% volume – steady throughout the session
Protector: High Gain – 30-45% volume (depending on recording but steady between cable switching when listening to the same recording)
Note: Background noise level below audible levels.
Test Methodology
Simple and straightforward, since I only have Protector-terminated cables (one of each) to work with, the test configuration and methodology was pretty much predetermined:
- Listen to test track with Cable A. Power down Protector.
- Detach cable from Protector and mount JH13 Pro shells to Cable B. Attach Cable B to Protector and power up.
- Listen to same track with Cable B.
- Repeat process as necessary.
- Move to successive test tracks.
Test Tracks Used During Comparative Sessions
- Test Track 1
- Aurelio Martinez – Garifuna Afro-Combo (Bowers & Wilkins Society of Sound)
- Test Track 2
"Put Your Lights On" Featuring Everlast
- Test Track 3
“Soledad”
- Test Track 4
“Mirrors”
- Test Track 5
“Black Porch Kauai"
JH13 Pro Impressions: New TWag vs. Old TWag
Since the cable composition itself has not changed vs. the older version, I wasn’t expecting to hear a whole lot of difference, but there is this thing called due diligence and I had to go thru the motions. It wasn’t for naught, after all, since I was able to detect the following discernable sonic quality variations in favor of the new version:
- Somewhat tighter, punchier bass
- "Spot-on mids" not much difference there
- Brighter highs, maybe even less treble rolloff
- Slightly increased headstage
- Similar soundstage and perception of depth
- Even better instrument separation, especially acoustic guitars and other string instruments
I will spare you the details of how much listening time went into these couple of bullets. Because of the relatively long A/B switchover gap—didn’t want to bend the pins—I was less certain of what I was hearing than usual. In addition, I knew the cable was essentially the same, so I was at a loss of what could possibly cause the difference. Again, I am not talking about significant, immediately noticeable boost here, but something was definitely there. What exactly, Craig wouldn’t say, because I did ask him point blank, as if by way of a sanity check. I could hear him smiling, when he said is the new molded connector features “other qualities” besides just looks. Well, that’s one possible explanation, since a cleaner, higher-quality signal path resulting from the use of enhanced quality or purity materials have been known to make an impact in audio performance.
Overall, it turns out what I’ve been dealing with is what amounts to a "TWaggier TWag." Not a bad thing, if you ask me.
JH16 Pro TWag Impression Highlights
Normally I would spend equal amount of time and effort going thru the motions diligently as ever with the JH16 Pros, just as I have done with the JH13s. In this case, however, I will make an exception, as there were no surprises. Great synergy as expected from really both cables, with a discernable, but no means “ginormous” edge in sound quality to the new cable, despite the significantly less burn-in time on it. Other than the well-known sound signature differences between these two customs well documented elsewhere, the new cable will enhance whatever source, be it an iMod, WhipMod, HiFiMAN or other portable player/amp combo.
Closing Remarks
Hopefully--in addition to fulfilling my promise to Craig--I was able to provide some more details in this preview of the TWag's next evolution. There is even more to love without any downside, from what I was able to discern in this past month or so, living with the prototype. That had essentially led me to the following conclusion:
When I talked to Craig this weekend, he was working hard to have sufficient supply available for launch. He would not specifically commit to any quantities yet, but hinted that a pre-order announcement would be forthcoming soon. Even though the new cable will have a higher cost because the outsourcing of the molding process instead of assembling them by hand in house, his primary concern was to do right by the existing owners. When pressed on the cost, he finally admitted the possibility of a limited batch, introductory offer that may be forthcoming, starting as low as $225 for the 48" version, subject to change (a 64” will also be available)! He’s pressing hard trying to keep existing price points to stay competitive as long as possible and market conditions allow, which I think is a commendable business strategy.
So, where does that leave me, for example, as an existing owner already hooked on the new version? Well, for one thing, just because a new one coming to the market will not make may old one sound any less enjoyable, so I will probably keep mine as a backup. I've learned the hard way you can never have too many TWag cables around if disaster strikes.
Then again, I could just take the introductory discount, put my order in and sell my old TWag on the F/S forum for maybe $150-$175 total, so more Head-Fiers could enjoy them at that price for whom the original price tag had put them out of reach. Do I believe it's worth spending up to an extra $100 to get the upgraded version? You bet your TWag-encrusted ears I do, but as always, it'll be up to you to make that decision for yourself.
Just in case, if I were you, I'd subscribe to the Whiplash Premier Forum today, if you haven't yet done so, to ensure being among the first ones to get notified of and take advantage of the official announcement coming soon. I mean, really, really soon....
