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Post by brucew268 on Dec 11, 2021 15:30:38 GMT
As you know I picked up a Silverstar Coax at the start of the week and turns out it only has maybe 10 hours on it. Has been wanting to try something by the Sommovigo legend and so I put on the desktop to play in the background for about 75 hours.
Will look forward to your review Bruce, and so as not to influence things I will not give you my opinion yet. I’ll hold my opinion too! Gary I don’t yet have a conclusion but I’ve been listening today. An impressive amount of detail comes through, significantly more than the Canare/Belden which wasn’t bad in that area. So the first response is Wow, where were all those details and definition before? But I can’t help feeling it’s a bit more than necessary and at the expense of the music, perhaps the leading edges have slightly too much definition that can make things a little fatiguing and less flowing. Maybe a matter fo taste. Is this related to being SPC rather than pure silver or pure copper? More burn-in? I don’t know.
It has about 85 hours on it now and about an hour of listening. Some say that this and similar coax cables tend to take 200-300 hours to full burn in, so not sure if it’s going to relax a bit. Perhaps, Dave or Gary may have thoughts and experiences?
BTW the supplied BNC>RCA adaptors are quality and connect firmly to the RCA sockets. There is a sort of spring-loaded actuator to tighten them when pressing on. I might try to get some of these if I end up passing on the cable.
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Post by brucew268 on Dec 11, 2021 15:33:14 GMT
The IXOS105 on the other hand prefers smooth over detail and didn't suit me.
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optical
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Post by optical on Dec 11, 2021 16:06:42 GMT
Hi Bruce, I'm not sure more burn in will really help, also I know you mentioned the adapters are quality but it's never going to be as good as a straight connection. Unfortunately I concede in some setups and configurations it's necessary.
I did notice something similar when I swapped from Belden to Neotech NEVD 2001 cable, although not to the same extent that you seem to describe. Maybe your system is more resolving in the first place and therefore the extra resolution is either a bit too much or just might take a bit longer to get used to.
Either way it might be worth seeing if you adapt or 'settle' to the new presentation however if indeed as you say the soul of the music is suffering, it could be the wrong cable for your setup.
Adding silver into the equation can certainly skew the sound towards slightly too clinical or bright, at least that's how it can appear if the supporting cast is already on the side of 'neutral'....
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Post by stryder5 on Dec 11, 2021 16:47:52 GMT
Mine had a lot of hours on it when I got it used, but I still left it working in my study for 7 days because I forgot about it.
I found it stark, detailed but no foot tapping enjoyable music. Not for me.
Recently I made a Coax from Neotech 3003 with KLEI RCA’s, not 75 Ohm I know, but man does it sing.
Gary
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Post by brucew268 on Dec 11, 2021 17:46:54 GMT
Mine had a lot of hours on it when I got it used, but I still left it working in my study for 7 days because I forgot about it. I found it stark, detailed but no foot tapping enjoyable music. Not for me. Recently I made a Coax from Neotech 3003 with KLEI RCA’s, not 75 Ohm I know, but man does it sing. Gary Interesting, as the Neotech 3003 is also SPC. |
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Post by antonio on Dec 11, 2021 23:23:00 GMT
I remember having a couple of cables on loan from Deco Audio, one of them was the Black Cat, can't remember the other one, but they were no better than the cable that was being used, could have been Transparent. Purchased two cables from Artisan Silver Cables, their basic and their top line, kept both but their Ultimate was definitely the best. www.artisansilvercables.com/ultimate-digital-dream |
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 12, 2021 10:11:11 GMT
Mine had a lot of hours on it when I got it used, but I still left it working in my study for 7 days because I forgot about it. I found it stark, detailed but no foot tapping enjoyable music. Not for me. Recently I made a Coax from Neotech 3003 with KLEI RCA’s, not 75 Ohm I know, but man does it sing. Gary I just happened to have some Neotech 3003 cable and KLEI RCAs in my drawer and last night made a digital coax with them. I have to agree with Gary here, this cable sounds excellent. |
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Post by stryder5 on Dec 12, 2021 10:36:39 GMT
Mine had a lot of hours on it when I got it used, but I still left it working in my study for 7 days because I forgot about it. I found it stark, detailed but no foot tapping enjoyable music. Not for me. Recently I made a Coax from Neotech 3003 with KLEI RCA’s, not 75 Ohm I know, but man does it sing. Gary I just happened to have some Neotech 3003 cable and KLEI RCAs in my drawer and last night made a digital coax with them. I have to agree with Gary here, this cable sounds excellent. Wow, that was quick, pleased you like what they do. I know cables generally are contentious as is directionality, Neotech’s direction is difficult to spot as they use gold print which is very faint on the background colours. Gary |
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 12, 2021 11:12:40 GMT
Been making audio cables for nearly 30 years Gary. I have boxes of them mate. It just so happened that I had the cable and the plugs here already. I always mark on a piece of heatshrink which direction I'm using the cables so if I remove them I put them back into the system in the same direction. Yes, the 3003's direction is difficult to find and I have to use a torch lol. I'd never used that combination of cable/plugs before, and never in that application, so I decided to give it a try. Happy with what I've heard so far. I may give this one a go www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/neotech-digital-balanced-cable-nevd-2001.html As I only need 25cm it won't be overly expensive lol. I also have the other pair of KLEI plugs to try with it. I'm getting an Audiolab 6000CDT for Crimbo so this will be the ideal candidate to plug a few digital cables into. |
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Post by antonio on Dec 12, 2021 11:42:27 GMT
Brian, you say you only need 0.25m, personally I'd go with 0.5m, you never know what the future holds and for another £17.
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 12, 2021 13:14:22 GMT
Yup, know what you mean mate. I'll have a think about it.
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2021 14:07:48 GMT
Been making audio cables for nearly 30 years Gary. I have boxes of them mate. It just so happened that I had the cable and the plugs here already. I always mark on a piece of heatshrink which direction I'm using the cables so if I remove them I put them back into the system in the same direction. Yes, the 3003's direction is difficult to find and I have to use a torch lol. I'd never used that combination of cable/plugs before, and never in that application, so I decided to give it a try. Happy with what I've heard so far. I may give this one a go www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/neotech-digital-balanced-cable-nevd-2001.html As I only need 25cm it won't be overly expensive lol. I also have the other pair of KLEI plugs to try with it. I'm getting an Audiolab 6000CDT for Crimbo so this will be the ideal candidate to plug a few digital cables into. Thats a cracking Transport Brian. Was looking for an older one for myself. |
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 12, 2021 17:57:04 GMT
Yup, Macca has one and so do two of my mates and all very happy with it. I got mine new on an Ebay 20% off voucher so saved £75. Looking forward to getting a listen to it in my system.
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 12, 2021 18:08:31 GMT
Yup, Macca has one and so do two of my mates and all very happy with it. I got mine new on an Ebay 20% off voucher so saved £75. Looking forward to getting a listen to it in my system. Are you still planning on doing a tour of the midlands in 2022? There may be a CDT here by then. |
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Post by brian2957 on Dec 12, 2021 18:25:20 GMT
Would love to come down your way Oli. The last time I was made most welcome by James and had a fantastic visit to Alan and Shirley's place , with a fantastic lunch thrown in. I had a great weekend with some great people and hope to repeat that (obviously allowing for Covid which seems to change from one month to another) ASAP. Be good to pay you a visit too Oli and hear your sytem.
I will have the CDT in the system at Christmas, or sooner. We'll see.
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Post by brucew268 on Dec 13, 2021 22:57:34 GMT
I've put a basic comparison of somewhat similar pure silver coax cables. Would be curious to predict which ones might do better, based on the combination of the wire, layers, and measurements? Unfortunately no measurements available for the Neotech.
Hosted image for some reason displays too small to read, but only a few bytes.
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 14, 2021 8:22:26 GMT
I've put a basic comparison of somewhat similar pure silver coax cables. Would be curious to predict which ones might do better, based on the combination of the wire, layers, and measurements? Unfortunately no measurements available for the Neotech.
Hosted image for some reason displays too small to read, but only a few bytes.
The Oyaide is interesting. Jewellers silver? |
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Post by brucew268 on Dec 14, 2021 8:36:08 GMT
I've put a basic comparison of somewhat similar pure silver coax cables. Would be curious to predict which ones might do better, based on the combination of the wire, layers, and measurements? Unfortunately no measurements available for the Neotech.
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Hosted image for some reason displays too small to read, but only a few bytes.
The Oyaide is interesting. Jewellers silver? Yeah, who knows? To me the HT stands out for OCC, with the Oyaide being interesting in claiming 'Jewellers' and how formed. "After being melted in a ceramic crucible, it is moulded into 15mm diameter round bars. It is further reduced in diameter by means of 19 repetitions of the cold-rolling process."
In construction, Oyaide tells the most about what they chose. They say that teflon tends to build up a static charge and so the carbonised PE is meant to discharge that. The Neotech uses a PTFE layer between shielding layers. All make use of foamed PE which seems to be a popular choice that balances performance and cost.
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 14, 2021 8:38:13 GMT
The Oyaide is interesting. Jewellers silver? Yeah, who knows? To me the HT stands out for OCC, with the Oyaide being interesting in claiming 'Jewellers'.
In construction, Oyaide tells the most about what they chose. They say that teflon tends to build up a static charge and so the carbonised PE is meant to discharge that. The Neotech uses a PTFE layer between shielding layers. All make use of foamed PE which seems to be a popular choice that balances performance and cost.
I'm using HT at the moment, so I'll be interested in your findings. The jewellers silver has me confused as to what they mean. Surely that would be stiff? |
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Post by stryder5 on Dec 14, 2021 8:42:14 GMT
Jewellers silver Normally known as sterling silver 92.5% silver 7.5% normally copper.
Gary
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Post by brucew268 on Dec 14, 2021 8:59:16 GMT
Jewellers silver Normally known as sterling silver 92.5% silver 7.5% normally copper. Gary So would that mean when they say they use "5N jewelry grade pure silver", that is referring to the silver 'portion' of a jeweller's alloy? Or maybe their marketing is a little confused? Since they make a point of saying "5N pure silver" I would guess the 'jewelers' term may be their intent to refer to the forming process that they've described. |
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Post by brucew268 on Dec 14, 2021 9:11:06 GMT
Interesting that thought the HT does not use teflon, they have a conductive PE layer which I would think is also directed at dissipating static.
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 14, 2021 9:23:47 GMT
Jewellers silver Normally known as sterling silver 92.5% silver 7.5% normally copper. Gary Yep, I kind of thought it may be sterling, but that's not something I'd pick. |
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Post by Bigman80 on Dec 14, 2021 9:25:18 GMT
Interesting that thought the HT does not use teflon, they have a conductive PE layer which I would think is also directed at dissipating static. Quite possibly. I've been impressed by the HT AES cables I picked up. Knew nothing about just got a tip off to try them. |
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