[cogsand gears]

 
No new impressions, but here are a couple of old photos of some DIY stuff I did with Franks silver. A mini to mini for a fellow headfier and my LOD + TF10 cable. I love the sound of this silver so much, that I still have a half completed crystal piccolino LOD sat on my workbench for like 2 months - im in no rush to finish that one off.
 
Are we not all waiting on some ( LCD2 / 3? ) cable reviews from other members?

 

[Rumbleripper]

Hi Everyone:
 
Weill I received my Toxic Cables custom Venom Cable from Frank this last week and have been listening to it this last week and burning it in further (I know you burn them in Frank before they ship).
It is without question the best headphone cable I have heard with my LCD-3's. The build quality is exceptional as you can see by the photos below:
 

 
 
My cable is 4 feet in Length (that is all I needed) and has a ¼" jack termination for use with my WA5.
I was a bit worried about the weight and the flexibility of this cable as there were not too many reviews on line about it, but I was happy to find out that it is extremely comfortable and flexible. I have tried three other aftermarket cables with my LCD2/3's in the past. The first two were Norse Audio cables (the original 8 wire cable, and the newer 4 wire cable finished in brown and black woven cloth) both of these were 10' in length. The other aftermarket cable was a 4' Jenna Labs 4 strand cable. Of these cables the 4 strand Norse Audio cloth cable was the lightest and most flexible, but its 10' length was a bit of a problem. The Venom is easily more comfortable and flexible than the other two cable, and due to its length is the best cable I have used for comfort and convenience. It suits the LCD-3's to a tee.
Where the cable really shines however is in its sonic attributes. It is without question the best cable I have heard with the LCD-3's to date. The soundstage seems to have expanded over my other cables and the instrument separation is noticeably better. The highs are cleaner and clearer. Because of this the bass seems less noticeable, but do not misunderstand this. The bass is still there with all its power and energy, just not as upfront as I had heard it with the other cables as the clarity of the midrange and highs are more noticeable. This may make it sound as if the cable is "brighter" than the other cables I have tried, but the funny thing is, is for some reason, this cable is less fatiguing with brighter passages of music than my other cables (not that the LCD-3's are very fatiguing with treble accentuated music in general). I can only attribute this to the way the cable really brings out the clarity and naturalness of the mid range and highs in general. Add to this the increased soundstage and instrument separation, my LCD-3's have never sounded better out of my WA5. My Toxic Cable Venom is my only cable I will now be using and my other two remaining cables will be soon be listed for sale.
If anyone is concerned about the cost of this cable and that there  are not a lot of reviews of it on the net, rest assured that you will not be disappointed if you order these. His other cables have been getting good reviews here on Head-fi and elsewhere, but this is his top of the line cable, and even though I have not hear the other cables he makes, I am fully confident then the Venom is his top performing cable.
I want to thank Frank for his excellent craftsmanship and dedication to his art, he has made and exceptional cable and has made me a very happy headphone audiophile.
 
Here are some photos Frank sent me of the cables (he took more time with the lighting and presentation for his photos, than I did):
 

 
Rumble.

 

[Toxic Cables]

Hi Rumble,
 
Thank you so much for the review, i was hoping someone would post a review of the Venom.
 
I think the size of the cable and knowing it uses 8 x Rectangular 18gauge solid core wires had some worried about the flexibility of the cable, thank you for posting regarding that also.
 
It makes all the sleepless nights worthwhile when i read these reviews of cables i made with my bare hands. 

 

[Happy Camper]

I am up for a hard wired cable with grommet for the HE-6 if one comes out. I think the connector into the ear piece is a bottleneck. It would be nice to remove the extension out of the bottom of the ear piece.

 

[.Sup]

That looks like a modified Valab XLR connector. Why didn't go with balanced cables Rumbleripper?

 

[Rumbleripper]

Quote:

Hi Rumble,
 
Thank you so much for the review, i was hoping someone would post a review of the Venom.
 
I think the size of the cable and knowing it uses 8 x Rectangular 18gauge solid core wires had some worried about the flexibility of the cable, thank you for posting regarding that also.
 
It makes all the sleepless nights worthwhile when i read these reviews of cables i made with my bare hands. 

Hey Frank:
 
My pleasure, your cables deserve proper recognition. 
Your cable is much more flexible than my first Norse cable and the Jenna Labs cable. It does not seem to be even noticeable when I have it hooked to the LCD-3's. Mind you many people find the LCD2-3's heavy and bulky, which I do not. I am a fairly big guy and these do not affect me in the least.
But as comfortable as I find them, the sound is really what matters, and as I say thats where they really shine.
 
Rumble

 

[Rumbleripper]

.Sup:
 
I am using it with my WA5 and it only has a ¼" connector. I did not want to get a balanced connector and then add an adaptor to it, as any extra connection in the chain could potentially degrade the sound quality. Thats also another reason I went with the shortest possible run that would accommodate my listening.
 
Rumble

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

.Sup:
 
I am using it with my WA5 and it only has a ¼" connector. I did not want to get a balanced connector and then add an adaptor to it, as any extra connection in the chain could potentially degrade the sound quality. Thats also another reason I went with the shortest possible run that would accommodate my listening.
 
Rumble

But on the photos you posted I see a 4 pin balanced plug. Or is that for something else?

 

[Rumbleripper]

.Sup:
 
Sorry you are right that is the K1000 adaptor that was built into these amps. My other Headphone cables were balanced as I was previously using them with my WA22. I tried the K1000 connector with my LCD-3's and it did not sound as good as the ¼" connector so I went that route.

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

.Sup:
 
Sorry you are right that is the K1000 adaptor that was built into these amps. My other Headphone cables were balanced as I was previously using them with my WA22. I tried the K1000 connector with my LCD-3's and it did not sound as good as the ¼" connector so I went that route.

ok thanks for info. Enjoy your new cable

 

[Dubstep Girl]

wow that cable is huge.

 

[Austin Morrow]

Quote:

wow that cable is huge.

 
Isn't it? I'm trying to have my review up tonight, but it's been raining outside all day, and haven't got any good outside shots. May just have to shoot inside.

 

[Toxic Cables]

Quote:

wow that cable is huge.

That's what you get when you are using 8 x 18AWG wires. 

 
.Sup,
 
Yes that is, i could not find any good quality jack that would accept a cable of this diameter, so had to find something that was nice and of good quality, to modify and make myself.

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

That's what when you are using 8 x 18AWG wires. 

 
Sup.
 
Yes that is, i could not find any good quality jack that would accept a cable of this diameter, so had to find something that was nice to modify and make myself.

I figured its because of the thickness of the cable that you had to resort to modifying it. Well it seems you have done a very good job.

 

[dyl1dyl]

Quote:

No activity the last two days This thread was HOT the last week or so. No new reviews or impressions?

 
Taking delivery of my Venom RC-4, 8 feet length, 4pin XLR out today, so review/pics should be up within a week's time. Will be using them with LCD-3s and LCD-2.2s