Toxic Silver Poison Balanced for HD800
I ordered these in May 2013. I had been listening to the HD800s with a TEAC UD-h01 DAC. My set up was a PC with Windows 8, Jriver and music (only ripped Red Book Cds) on a hard drive in the PC. This was connected to the TEAC via USB and at first I used the TEACs own ¼” headphone jack. The sound was very detailed throughout the frequency range but the bass, whilst all the notes were there, was not strong enough to give that bottom that completes the musical picture. It was though still very nice listening.
However, I have a Headroom Blockhead balanced amp from nine years ago and wanted to listen through that so I ordered the Silver Poison balanced cables with a pair of three pin Neutrik XLR plugs.
Finally the Silver Poisons arrived after a seven month wait. I was not bothered about appearance but practicalities so I was not impressed with the uncovered weaved cables at the headphone end (as they can chafe on zipped clothing), the heavy weight of the metal cable splitters at each end (leading to strange twists at times), and the Neutrik 3 pin XLR plugs because they had no left/right markings on them. I put a dab of red paint on the right one once I identified it. All these are rather petty problems but worth pointing out nevertheless.
Anyway I plugged them in with out any problems. So the set up was now PC-TEAC DAC-Blockhead amp. Of course the cables need some burn time but I never bother with that. I just listen and take it from there. Well, not surprisingly, the sound was a bit disappointing. The bass was good. The Blockhead is noted for strong bass and it delivered - a bit too strong for my taste. The treble was also good - better even then from the TEAC‘s own amp. It was the mids that were the problem - they seemed recessed. However even after just eight hours or so this seemed to be improving - or I was getting used to the sound.
I then borrowed a T+A DAC8 for trialling. There are various filter options on this DAC but choosing what sounded the best (called ‘pure Bezier interpolator‘) I got a different sound. Now there was a bit less bass but still with the detail - just right I think. The mid range was lovely - acoustic guitars, harmony singing, a touch more information. The highs however were a tiny bit less than the TEAC. Subtle percussion on a very few tracks which I’d never heard before on my speakers or headphones were heard with the TEAC and I liked that. A pity.
Soundstage you ask? I’ve never understood headphone soundstage claims such as wide and deep images. To me the sound is stuck between the ears and I’ve never heard it beyond that. Is wider deeper really possible on headphones with ordinary gear (I‘m aware of the Smyth Realiser)?
What does this say about the Silver Poisons. Clearly even with just twenty hours use it can play whatever information is given it in good detail and musically. From my point of view it would seem I still need to find the right DAC as everything else seems capable too.
Were the Silver Poisons worth the seven month wait - no, of course not. It’s just a headphone cable albeit a good one. I’ve no idea how it compares to others and doubt if I’m going to try and find out. I don’t regret buying them though - they sound good to me.