After reading all the reviews on this sight I took the plunge and ordered Toxic Black Widow cables for my HE-500. The wait time was about a month as described by Frank when I ordered them. If you are in the US, Frank sent me an email when they were shipped and they arrived 8 days later. I was excited to see if they were worth $265.00
and afraid they would not live up to my expectations. I was hoping it was as big of an improvement as my switch to AQ Rocket 88 speaker cables.
Description
I ordered the cables 8 ft long with black silk and I am very happy with their appearance. They are braided and have a silver Y-splitter. The connections seem very good and make a tight connection at both ends. They also do not tangle like the stock cable and are not sensitive to the touch. The stock play static when touched. The BW is a huge step up in appearance and function.
Set Up
My system is composed of a Macbook Pro > Synology 213+ NAS > JRiver > AQ Carbon USB > Burson Audio Conductor SL (1793 and 9018 chips) > HE-500 and PM3 headphones (that just replaced Focal Spirit One's for portable use). The Focal's are going up for sale if any one interested send a PM.
All of my listening was done using the 1793 chip which I greatly prefer for the HE-500. I listen to mostly Acoustic, Guitar, Rock, Jazz, and some country. I have a lot of Hi-Res files and also have ripped all my CD's lossless.
Sound
The stock cable is more laid back and sounds like you are further back from the music. The BW moves you much closer to the action and sounds more immediate. I noticed most reviews here detail specific songs but I do not feel this is necessary because the differences are the same on all tracks and even more so on 24/88-192 files.
Positives
1. Improved clarity and presents a better detailed sound.
2. The biggest improvement is in the bass. It has both better extension producing a deeper bass and better control providing a more realistic bass.
3. It does not sound slow at all like some 100% copper cables. This was a concern because I am using the slower chip of the DAC.
4. Decay was improved substantially.
5. Cymbals are more lifelike and crisp
6. Strings are natural sounding and have more air around them.
7. I have always found the piano to be the hardest instrument to reproduce. The BW did an excellent job of making the piano more realistic sounding.
Negatives
1. The stock cable has a slightly bigger soundstage and a little better separation of instruments. This is not a deal breaker. It is the sacrifice made to bring the listener closer to the music and this makes it more engaging than the stock cable.
2. I am going to have to upgrade my cable for the PM3 now.
Conclusion
I would like to thank everyone on this board for introducing me to Frank and Toxic cables. I am looking forward to switching DAC chips and seeing how the sound has improved using the ESS9018. Earlier I stated I did not review specific songs. I was not being lazy, one song bled into the next one and before I realized it I was done listening to the whole album. I was getting lost in the music, forgetting I was supposed to be listening critically. I eventually gave up and just returned to enjoying the music and that is the biggest complement of all.
Thank you Frank for improving my listening experience. I will be sending you a PM for another BW for the PM3 shortly.