[fiascogarcia]

  Hey!
 
One quick note. We are working on our customer service. Its a work in progress for sure, however my new employee is the PERFECT fit and Im planning on adding more staff. Now that TWau reference is complete, I can focus on customer service which is my top priority. Small companies suffer fluctuations in sales. This suffering has plagued me in recent time and is something that I will fix!!!!
 
Business, in general with loads of disposable income can staff appropriately. Im not in that situation unfortunately. 
 
Thanks for he constructive criticism. 
 
Craig 

Thanks for this response!  Having placed my first order with you, I'm looking forward to what looks like a top of the line product!  I appreciate your desire to focus on customer service, most of us are very patient customers.

 

[Mooses9]

I think all whiplash should change all cable into OM since its too easy for the pin socket to out of contact when swapping cable. I just broke my twag v2 gold. Need to find some local DIYer to fix that.

where r u located

 

[nc8000]

Oh well. Went all in and ordered a new cable for my HE-500, a recable and balancing job for the Signature Pro I just bought here and an extender/converter from RSA to standard xlr to use the phones on my home amp

 

[Mimouille]

Nice...if my balanced cable and adaptor are as good as expected, maybe I will go all in for my upcoming Roxanne and 846.

 

[jamato8]

My review of the new Whiplash reference Gold Plated Silver cable:
 
 
Why update the cable that runs to your headphones. Most keep their headphones because they already sound pretty good or totally satisfy you so why make any changes? What I find interesting is that some manufactures go to extreme measures to get the transducers of their headphones to do a great job of changing the electrical signal into sound but often all the research goes into that, the transducer. The cable, I don’t think an afterthought but not in many cases, the same conscious design effort as the transducer. There are a number of good OEM cable manufactures to choose from but does that mean it is the best cable, that it is as good as their transducer? Often this is not the case. Due to cost restraints and maybe the belief they have accomplished their goal, what you get with your headphones is what they believe will do the job. And often the sound is great, but as we know, there are always exceptions and greater possibilities.  
 
Now take someone specializing in the manufacture of a wire, like a transducer manufacture specializes in what they do. Combine the two and very often, you get an even finer product. You have combined two truly researched products for the highest auditory outcome. To this end, I have found this to be absolutely true of the latest wire from Whiplash Audio, the TWau Reference Gold Plated Silver.
 
I have read that the very fine cable supplied with the Fostex TH900 could little be improved on. Ok but why not try? I had the TH900 recabled balanced to the Reference Gold Plated Silver, which I am going to refer to as gold from now on, and will state, there are changes in what I am hearing, which is totally positive in all parameters.
 
The new cable as far as I can detect has no microphonics picked up when the cable rubs against clothes etc. It is very pliable and weighs no more than the original cable, most likely less as it doesn’t have all the bulky needless mesh and cover that hides an anemic small gauge cable in two of the phones I had rewired and improved the gauge in all three. Oh, how does it sound, or not sound?
 
I cannot describe any sound attributed to this cable. That is right, I can’t say it is bright, dull, bass soft, mid forward, mid recessed, this is for all intents and purposes, to my ear, the most neutral cable I have ever heard. So how does the music come through, voice, acoustics? Well more than what I heard before the recabling. The TH900 frequency response sounds more balanced, which I attribute to better wire. Now why don’t I assign to a different sound imparted by the wire? I do not attribute this to the wire sound but an improvement of what the transducers in the headphones are receiving in signal because the same thing happened to my ESW10 JPN that I swore I would never have recabled. You know what, I loved the sound of my very broken in ESW10 limited edition but now, they are even better and in the same way as the Fostex TH900, oh and the LCD-2, the same improvement. Improved bass texture with each phone and a cleaner overall presentation with live performances taking on the eerie realism that you get lost in.
 
Now what this also does is make even more enjoyable everything that is quality upstream. I am listening to Greg Brown, “Down in There” (a studio recording). To be honest, I often do not listen to a lot of studio-recorded music because I enjoy the acoustics of live performances, well recorded that is. The ambiance just brings to life the performance but I am finding more and more studio recordings that I shunned, because I am now hearing the almost sublime layer of acoustics that now creeps through. This brings to life and gives great space and out of head experience than previously experienced.
 
From resonating bass foundations to beautifully sculpted vocals and ripping guitar riffs and clean pure highs, transparency and layering, I find that all three of my headphones that are rewired with gold give me what I wanted all along but didn’t always realize I was missing.
 
Oh, and some of that bass heaviness that has been talked about regarding the TH900? Well I think it was the cable because the evenness of sound and the solid beautiful bass, is there in resounding truthfulness to the credit of the music.
 
There is a tremble to some of the sound, the very slight change in a note but transcending into the musical line, something I had not heard before and something I have heard live but seldom recorded. It is like no part of the note color gets away, nothing is masked. 
 
What this wire does, is it seems to allow what is at one end get through to the headphones unmolested. The sound doesn’t get lost along the way or messed up in the frequency somewhere. Now I ask, what more could you want?
 
 
 
Equipment used:
 
Fostex TH900
ATH-ESW10 JPN
Audeze LCD-2 ver 2
 
HiFiman 901 balanced and as a source.
DX100 as a single ended DAP and as a source.
DX50 as a single ended DAP and as a source
fi.Q amplifier, special design and modified with tantalum NOS resistors and Black Gate non polar capacitors, dual buf634 per channel, opa637 or opa627 op amps (the really good ones).
RSA Intruder balanced amplifier
RSA The Lightning
 
Music used: Hires (24/192) FLAC files and standard. WAV standard and hires 24/192.
 
All headphones used are balanced and an adapter using Reference Gold Plated Silver for the IC is used to go from balanced to single ended, and various balanced plugs, i.e., TRRS, to the Hirose. All the headphones are terminated with the Hirose.

 

[SACD-Man]

  where r u located

Please send it that in. You don't want to ruin your warranty on it!!
 
Please contact me for arrangements..
 
Craig

 

[SACD-Man]

  My review of the new Whiplash reference Gold Plated Silver cable:
 
 
Why update the cable that runs to your headphones. Most keep their headphones because they already sound pretty good or totally satisfy you so why make any changes? What I find interesting is that some manufactures go to extreme measures to get the transducers of their headphones to do a great job of changing the electrical signal into sound but often all the research goes into that, the transducer. The cable, I don’t think an afterthought but not in many cases, the same conscious design effort as the transducer. There are a number of good OEM cable manufactures to choose from but does that mean it is the best cable, that it is as good as their transducer? Often this is not the case. Due to cost restraints and maybe the belief they have accomplished their goal, what you get with your headphones is what they believe will do the job. And often the sound is great, but as we know, there are always exceptions and greater possibilities.  
 
Now take someone that specializing in the manufacture of a wire, like a transducer manufacture specializes in what they do. Combine the two and very often, you get an even finer product. You have combined two truly researched products for the highest auditory outcome. To this end, I have found this to be absolutely true of the latest wire from Whiplash Audio, the TWau Reference Gold Plated Silver.
 
I have read that the very fine cable supplied with the Fostex TH900 could little be improved on. Ok but why not try? I had the TH900 recabled balanced to the Reference Gold Plated Silver, which I am going to refer to as gold from now on, and will state, there are changes in what I am hearing, which is totally positive in all parameters.
 
The new cable as far as I can detect has no microphonics picked up when the cable rubs against clothes etc. It is very pliable and weighs no more than the original cable, most likely less as it doesn’t have all the bulky needless mesh and cover that hides an anemic small gauge cable in two of the phones I had rewired and improved the gauge in all three. Oh, how does it sound, or not sound?
 
I cannot describe any sound attributed to this cable. That is right, I can’t say it is bright, dull, bass soft, mid forward, mid recessed, this is for all intents and purposes, to my ear, the most neutral cable I have ever heard. So how does the music come through, voice, acoustics? Well more than what I heard before the recabling. The TH900 frequency response sounds more balanced, which I attribute to better wire. Now why don’t I assign to a different sound imparted by the wire? I do not attribute this to the wire sound but an improvement of what the transducers in the headphones are receiving in signal because the same thing happened to my ESW10 JPN that I swore I would never have recabled. You know what, I loved the sound of my very broken in ESW10 limited edition but now, they are even better and in the same way as the Fostex TH900, oh and the LCD-2, the same improvement. Improved bass texture with each phone and a cleaner overall presentation with live performances taking on the eerie realism that you get lost in.
 
Now what this also does is make even more enjoyable everything that is quality upstream. I am listening to Greg Brown, “Down in There” (a studio recording). To be honest, I often do not listen to a lot of studio-recorded music because I enjoy the acoustics of live performances, well recorded that is. The ambiance just brings to life the performance but I am finding more and more studio recordings that I shunned, because I am now hearing the almost sublime layer of acoustics that now creeps through. This brings to life and gives great space and out of head experience than previously experienced.
 
From resonating bass foundations to beautifully sculpted vocals and ripping guitar riffs and clean pure highs, transparency and layering, I find that all three of my headphones that are rewired with gold give me what I wanted all along but didn’t always realize I was missing.
 
Oh, and some of that bass heaviness that has been talked about regarding the TH900? Well I think it was the cable because the evenness of sound and the solid beautiful bass, is there in resounding truthfulness to the credit of the music.
 
What this wire does, is it seems to allow what is at one end get through to the headphones unmolested. The sound doesn’t get lost along the way or messed up in the frequency somewhere. Now I ask, what more could you want?
 
 
 
Equipment used:
 
Fostex TH900
ATH-ESW10 JPN
Audeze LCD-2 ver 2
 
HiFiman 901 balanced and as a source.
DX100 as a single ended DAP and as a source.
DX50 as a single ended DAP and as a source
fi.Q amplifier, special design and modified with tantalum NOS resistors and Black Gate non polar capacitors, dual buf634 per channel, opa637 or opa627 op amps (the really good ones).
RSA Intruder balanced amplifier
RSA The Lightning
 
Music used: Hires (24/192) FLAC files and standard. WAV standard and hires.
 
All headphones used are balanced and an adapter using Reference Gold Plated Silver for the IC is used to go from balanced to single ended, and various balanced plugs, i.e., TRRS, to the Hirose. All the headphones are terminated with the Hirose.

Great Review!!
 
Thanks for the input. As most people who know me, this has always been my goal. 
 
Anyways, again for the well thought out post.
 
Thanks!
Craig

 

[nc8000]

Super review John. You're "prosing" all in a way I could never do. Can't wait to receive all my new cables.

And yes, there is absolutely no microphonics with this wire.

 

[jamato8]

 
My recabled and balanced TH900. 

 

[Mooses9]

Very nice

 

[Puppysmith]

I have found that the mil spec silver coated wire used to wire up all the aircraft works really well and is a real bargain. Just go to the bay and google mil spec silver wire and you can pick the gauge you want and the length. I bought some 16ga x 90 feet for < $50.

 

[LionelH2]

Craig at Whiplash has just come out with a new wire on his site called TWau Reference. I have been using TWag, TWag V2 and TWag V3 on all my headphones for the last several years and each new generation has brought improvements to the sound so I was very exited when Craig approached me about 4 months ago with the chance to try a revolutionary new cable he was intending to come out with (full disclosure, I have not paid for this cable). I have been using it on my JH13 custom in ears connected balanced to a Ray Samuels SR71-B amp for the last 3 months and have to say this is the best cable I have ever heard. The first thing you notice is the absolute control over the bottom end. Everything is rock tight and flows right to the bottom. This in turn leaves much more room for the midrange and treble to come out and play everything is just right. I noticed in the DX50 thread that Jamato desribed it as the most natural cable he has ever heard and I totally agree. I'm absolutely loving this new wire. Job well done Craig.

This new wire is gold plated silver. This is NOT an alloy mix with 1% gold blended. The silver wire strands are produced and sent to a professional plating company which plates the gold onto the silver stands. The gold plated strands are sent back and assembled with a HIGH strand count. The final product is a 26awg stranded UPOCC gold plated silver.

The price for a 48" iem cable is $525 so considerably more than even TWag V3. I have no way of deciding if that is a fair price but if you can afford it and really want to get the best from your phones then go for it and you'll be happy you did. Personally I have to say that I would not have been able to justify spending the money to buy one but after having tried it I would have yearned for it.

I have also gone through the various cable generations with Craig and I cannot agree more that this TWau cable is amazing. I can hardly believe the sound quality improvement for my portable rig.  I could bring out all the usual audiophile phrases, but suffice to say it is quite an achievement. Cant wait to upgrade my home rig interconnects as well.
 
I have been a long time customer of Craig and I now count him as a friend.  He has treated me so well over the years, nice to have someone like this in this community.

 

[minimus]

Actually, I am pretty shocked that Whiplash is still in business.  I thought Whiplash had become to headphone cable makers what Singlepower was to headphone amp builders.
 
A word of warning: be very careful about spending any money on Whiplash IEM cables.  First, the cables are not durable. Over the years, I purchased from Craig two pairs of Whiplash IEM cables.  The pins bent and then broke on both of them in fairly short order.  (I have another brand that has been far more durable, is less expensive, and sounds at least as good.)  Second, the long-term track record of Whiplash customer service is poor abysmal.  Last spring, I contacted Craig to ask if he would replace the broken pins on my IEM cable.  He responded that I should Paypal him $50 for the repair and ship him the cable, both of which I did.  Here we are 9 months later and I never received the repaired cable, I never received a refund of $50, and I never received a single response to any e-mail I sent to him to inquire what had happened to my cable and/or my money.  There is a long thread on Head-Fi in which the customers he burned implore him (politely) to deliver cables that were fully paid for.
 
Sorry, but quickly responding to prospective buyers does not constitute adequate customer service.

 

[Mimouille]

Well this is NOT reassuring.

 

[Mooses9]

  Actually, I am pretty shocked that Whiplash is still in business.  I thought Whiplash had become to headphone cable makers what Singlepower was to headphone amp builders.
 
A word of warning: be very careful about spending any money on Whiplash IEM cables.  First, the cables are not durable. Over the years, I purchased from Craig two pairs of Whiplash IEM cables.  The pins bent and then broke on both of them in fairly short order.  (I have another brand that has been far more durable, is less expensive, and sounds at least as good.)  Second, the long-term track record of Whiplash customer service is poor abysmal.  Last spring, I contacted Craig to ask if he would replace the broken pins on my IEM cable.  He responded that I should Paypal him $50 for the repair and ship him the cable, both of which I did.  Here we are 9 months later and I never received the repaired cable, I never received a refund of $50, and I never received a single response to any e-mail I sent to him to inquire what had happened to my cable and/or my money.  There is a long thread on Head-Fi in which the customers he burned implore him (politely) to deliver cables that were fully paid for.
 
Sorry, but quickly responding to prospective buyers does not constitute adequate customer service.

Wow that really sucks, you are a patient person 9 months, i would have probably made a trip esp losing money and a cable. i think that when a businessman tends to a prospective buyer, but doesnt tend to past buyers or tries to make good on something that happened is really foul. EVEN if  the businessman admits fault, its still really crappy to put someone through that kind of expierence....and the problem is when a businessman quickly attends to you becuase you are going to buy a product, it gives the customer a false sense how their business is actually ran..they might be under the assumption that, that is the way they ALWAYS do business. and thats not the case.
 

Well this is NOT reassuring.

i completely agree