Toxic Cables - Impressions and Discussion Thread

[kiddotech]

Hi everyone,
I had been reading on this thread for awhile and is looking to try a Toxic cable after hearing so much good thing.

Looking for cable with a slight warm signature, for either Focal Utopia or Hifiman Ananda or 64 Audio U12t and looking at Mamba, Hydra and Virus at the moment, Silver Widow will be really stretching the budget. Any good one to start? (Or anyone willing to sell me theirs?)

Thank you!

Hi there
If you want a mildly warm-signatured cable, I’d say look for toxic’s copper cables, such as Black Widow 22 V3. Marginally cheaper than SW22, gives a ‘less warm version of typical copper cables’ type of impression. Feel free to check my short analysis above for details.

 

[kiddotech]

Guys, I don’t know if it’s my setup’s fault or if it’s the cables fault, but when a walk in a faster pace with my dongle dac on my hands, the left iem just gave some loud static buzz. Is it the dongles poor connection with with phone’s fault or is it my cable’s fault?

 

[Catchmoifyacan]

Guys, I don’t know if it’s my setup’s fault or if it’s the cables fault, but when a walk in a faster pace with my dongle dac on my hands, the left iem just gave some loud static buzz. Is it the dongles poor connection with with phone’s fault or is it my cable’s fault?

You can figure this out is by trying the same thing with a different cable and see if the problem is fixed. If it is not fixed, it is with the iem socket or the phone(then you'd have to try with a different phone and iems, changing only one thing at a time to figure out exactly what the issue is). But with the information we have I don't think anyone can reasonably tell you it is one thing or the other.

 

[Limexx]

is there a sale? i see the silver widow 22 having a price reduction labelled 'CLEARANCE'

 

[Kiats]

Blast from the past. The BW22 that the late Frank did for me all those years go. Still sounds as good as ever.

 

[moby1974]

My thoughts/review of the Toxic Widow V2 pure silver cable. I had one done for my Empyrean, mini XLR to 4.4 balanced.

With the whole cable thing, there are two camps. One says cables do make a difference, and others disagree. I happen to believe and hear the difference, and over the years, the difference has either been "OK, maybe I hear a difference?" or "Oh...wow". I am happy to say that the SW V2 falls into the "Wow" category.

A lot comes down to your music source, amp, DAC, solid, tube, and, obviously, the headphones themselves, so mileage will vary. The first custom cable I bought long ago from someone online was not too expensive, but the high-end detail was improved, and it was possible to tell when doing an A to B test.

After a while, I moved on to my most expensive headphones (at that time), the LCD2-F, which are dark and warm sounding. After talking myself into spending more money than I ever dreamed of spending on cable, I found Toxic Cables online and decided to go with the Silver Widow V1. The cable paired really well with the LCD2-F. The bass had more control, the mids were crisp, and there was a touch more detail on the high end. Again, it's hard to explain because we don't all hear the same. The only way I can describe it is by saying the cable revealed another layer.

I have since moved on from my LCD2-F (I still have them, but I really should sell them) to the Meze Empyrean (warmish sounding). I also moved to a balanced setup, so the V1 cable was no longer suitable. I had been using a pure silver cable from Ebay, which set me back £150 and to my ears, it all sounded great, but I still had that wonder of "Would a Toxic Silver Widow V2 be even better?" So, after a few emails to Matt at Toxic Cables, I went for the SW V2. To be honest, I thought that the difference in moving from one silver cable to another might not be all that noticeable....Boy, was I wrong....and that's a good thing.

As always, the cable itself looks and feels premium, and the first thing I did was an A/B test. To my ears, it's very apparent that not all silver cables are equal. I am not one of these people who can make a cable sound like a fine wine and explain all the little subtle changes, but I will say what my ears heard. Clean/controlled bass/great mids/a small uptick in detail retrieval and a noticeable difference in imaging.

I am over the moon with the cable. It is easily the best cable I have owned, not just because of the looks/build/sound, but the fact that to my ears, the improvements were easy to hear rather than "Shhhhh, I think I can hear a difference."

I would recommend you email Matt first with questions because it's not always a case of buying one cable and thinking it's perfect for every headphone.

 

[AlexSeldon]

Virus 24 OCC V2 Silver/Copper Litz True Hybrid Headphone Cable 10ft with Neumann NDH-30 Studio Headphones.

Gear:
Naim Atom Uniti Headphone Edition fed by 12TB QNAP Minim Server
Neumann NDH-30 Studio Headphones

Cables:
Virus 24 OCC V2 Silver/Copper Litz, 10 feet. AECO TeCu (Gold PLated) 4pin XLR
Neumann NDH-30 Stock cable, 10 feet. 3.5mm Jack and stock 6.4mm adapter

The Neumann headphones I have had for almost a year and by now quite accustomed to its sound with easily 600-700 hours of listening time. The headphones comes with a 10ft internally balanced cable, a 3.5mm jack and 6.4mm adapter. The longer length makes the headphones suitable for the studio environment, which it was indeed primarily designed for. However, the NDH-30 has found some interest with a few audiophiles due to the headphones ability to deliver a neutral, transparent sound, while also having the guts to get the toes tapping not normally associated with studio headphones.

I have had the Toxic Cables Virus 24 OCC V2 Silver/Copper Litz cable for nearly 2 weeks and have over 60 hours listening so far and a good deal of the burning in completed. But, from the very first unburned in moment, listening through them it was obvious the effect the Virus cable was having on the sound coming from the Neumanns. Detail, Focus, Timbre, Speed, Punch, Heft, Soundstage, all catapulted into a new level of realism. Since then these qualities have steadily settled into a cohesive whole which sets it apart from the stock cable in all these areas. In fairness, the stock cable retails for about £70-80 compared to the £620 spent on the Virus cable and does sound very nice with the headphones as is.

When not listening through headphones I use a Densen B150 integrated amp and ATC SCM40 passive speakers. The Neumanns and stock cable powered by the Naim Atom HE gave more than a passing resemblance to the sound from the amp and speakers, at low to moderate levels at least. With the Virus cable, however, this resemblance is reinforced, when not superseded, at all sound levels.

One of the unexpected and interesting side effects for me was, if playing a random selection, the moderate number of pieces of music, music I thought I otherwise knew reasonable well, were presented in such an entirely different fashion to what I was used to that they were initially unrecognisable for a few moments.

It appears that the Virus 24 OCC V2 Silver/Copper Litz cable is currently out of stock. I hope this is temporary as it would be a shame for such a magnificent cable be retired.

Thank you Matt, for your work, care, and attention to detail taken while making the cable. Many more happy listening hours await, with much re-acquainting myself with the old favourites.

 

[Raymondthebaba]

Hi all,
Just doing my bit to share the love for Toxic Cables

 

[smirks_audio]

Hi all,
Just doing my bit to share the love for Toxic Cables

I forgot this thread existed until I got the notification for your post haha.

Anyone own the Gold Widow and/or the Phoenix V2 here? If so, could you share some impressions? Thanks!

 

[DingDongMonster]

I forgot this thread existed until I got the notification for your post haha.

Anyone own the Gold Widow and/or the Phoenix V2 here? If so, could you share some impressions? Thanks!

I used a bunch of Toxic cables last week. It was just a listening session using the Helios SE. These are the notes.

Eddie 2
Clean, sparkly treble, good separation, mids don’t bite, bass is clean. Big staging.

Medusa
Note weight is lush. Clarity lose out to Eddie. Bass not so well defined. Mids are forward without harshness. Less dynamics compared to silver. Female vocals take on musicality. Staging is smaller. Might do well with single DD as opposed to all BA. Imaging less precise

Gold Widow
Decent space. Good definition. Female vocals have the Medusa musicality. Treble is less than the Eddie. Bass is more articulate compared to Medusa. Imaging is between Eddie and Medusa.

Silver Widow v3
Separation and definition are unparalleled. Bass definition is very well defined. Dynamics is the best so far. Need to get used to the space between notes. Treble is sparkly and well imaged.

Silver Widow v2
Stage smaller than v3. Mids more forward. Definition lower than v3. Less warm than Eddie. More balanced overall. Bass less thump. Good female vocals. Overall the most balanced.

Phoenix 26
A Medusa with better stage and clarity, but still veiled compared to silver. Bass is well defined. Mids have the gold musicality. Upper mids sound leaner. Separation is decent to good. Treble doesn’t tickle.

 

[smirks_audio]

I used a bunch of Toxic cables last week. It was just a listening session using the Helios SE. These are the notes.

Eddie 2
Clean, sparkly treble, good separation, mids don’t bite, bass is clean. Big staging.

Medusa
Note weight is lush. Clarity lose out to Eddie. Bass not so well defined. Mids are forward without harshness. Less dynamics compared to silver. Female vocals take on musicality. Staging is smaller. Might do well with single DD as opposed to all BA. Imaging less precise

Gold Widow
Decent space. Good definition. Female vocals have the Medusa musicality. Treble is less than the Eddie. Bass is more articulate compared to Medusa. Imaging is between Eddie and Medusa.

Silver Widow v3
Separation and definition are unparalleled. Bass definition is very well defined. Dynamics is the best so far. Need to get used to the space between notes. Treble is sparkly and well imaged.

Silver Widow v2
Stage smaller than v3. Mids more forward. Definition lower than v3. Less warm than Eddie. More balanced overall. Bass less thump. Good female vocals. Overall the most balanced.

Phoenix 26
A Medusa with better stage and clarity, but still veiled compared to silver. Bass is well defined. Mids have the gold musicality. Upper mids sound leaner. Separation is decent to good. Treble doesn’t tickle.

Gold Widow and Silver Widow V3 sound super interesting. Thanks a bunch for the impressions!

 

[DingDongMonster]

To me, gold sounds like a better copper. You'll think that it'll sound cleaner and clearer. But it's not, it imparts a musicality to the vocals. Copper is just darker.

The Silver Widow V3 is the most technical of the bunch. The Eddie 2 is the best compromise of silver and gold. The Phoenix is the nicest of the gold, but very pricey.

 

[TurboDorkDon]

Hey everyone - this is my first post!! Diving headfirst into this headphone hi-fi thingy, and WOW is it fun. I'm having a blast. I decided to start off with the Sennheiser HD800s as they seem like a reference in so many ways that I want to get familiar with how these sound. I am using a Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies that I just got and am breaking in. I figured the tubes may add a little to parts of the HD800s that are lacking - at least a little ... and now I am searching for power cords for conditioning and new cables for the headphones...I mean, this hobby is ridiculously fun.

Anyway - I have searched here and am leaning towards the Black Widow V3 copper but as a total newb to this whole space and given my setup, was curious if anyone had any thoughts or input...thanks in advance.

 

[ThanatosVI]

and now I am searching for power cords for conditioning

I wouldn't go that route in that budget yet.
Power conditioning requires a certain entry level to be an improvement without drawbacks.

Cheap power conditioners feel like they are taking away something from the sound.

As reference, good power conditioning starts with something like Puritan PSM156 or PS Audio stellar power plant 3.

A Filter/Regenerator is certainly noteable, much more than the cables, but at a price which makes you question, wether an amp or DAC upgrade would have been the wiser choice in your case.

Cables should be the last tweak in a system once you settled in on the other components.
They can still make a difference, but usually not the most cost effective one.

And since I see where this recommendation is going and that you're being sucked into the Hobby.
Set yourself a budget and Stick to it for a while. This hobby gets expensive... very fast

 

[TurboDorkDon]

I wouldn't go that route in that budget yet.
Power conditioning requires a certain entry level to be an improvement without drawbacks.

Cheap power conditioners feel like they are taking away something from the sound.

As reference, good power conditioning starts with something like Puritan PSM156 or PS Audio stellar power plant 3.

A Filter/Regenerator is certainly noteable, much more than the cables, but at a price which makes you question, wether an amp or DAC upgrade would have been the wiser choice in your case.

Cables should be the last tweak in a system once you settled in on the other components.
They can still make a difference, but usually not the most cost effective one.

And since I see where this recommendation is going and that you're being sucked into the Hobby.
Set yourself a budget and Stick to it for a while. This hobby gets expensive... very fast

THANK YOU for the response. This is precisely the type of feedback I am hoping for - I need some sort of lane markers here and this is just fantastic. I will take the approach of components first WITHIN A BUDGET (you are spot on, that is very sage advice) and cables being the fine tweaking. A DAC upgrade is definitely on my short list of next additions as I figure what I do and don't like about my current setup so I have some sort of sense of where I am trying to end up. Just a great response, thank you!!

Given these facts, would you suggest I wait on the headphone cable upgrade until I have matured my setup a bit?