JADE AUDIO Cables

Last night two audiofriends and I had one of our audio-evenings. We compared the Vermeil with my friend's Cardas Golden Reference (between North Star DAC and Sphinx amp). Result: the Cardas was 'blown away' in terms of tranparancy, stage, weight. My friend decided to sell his Cardas and to get the Vermeil.

My other friend evaluated the Vermeil between his newly Music First passive preamp and Manley Snappers (and compared it with a Siltech Classic-like silver cable). Result: same story as with the first friend. He will get an XLR Vermeil.

I know it sounds unbelievable and as if I'm hyping JD's cables, but altough my friends and I have totally different setups, we all liked the Vermeil more...

I bought the Gold with Bybees and hope to be able to compare it with the Vermeil next week.

Well, I went over to JD's today for a nice listening. I must say that the Jade cables are largely trial and error. There were many prototypes before he settled on the Vermeil and Gold. These are thus substantially indifferent to the simple axioms of cable design.

Both the Vermeil which I have already tried in my system and the Gold sounded excellent in JD's system. We started with the Vermeil on the link from the dac to the preamp and a gold from the preamp to the amp. It sounded very clean and dynamic. The bass was very well defined. Overall, I heard much of what I heard in my home.

Next JD substituted the Gold for the one Vermeil. There was cleanly more resolution to the Golds and perhaps a little more depth to the soundstage. The bass up to perhaps 350 Hz was not the equal to the Vermeil and it had the softness I associate with the Stealth Pure Gold Signal ics.

JD reality admits that he does not like silver, and I would readily admit that I do not like gold. I do not know from this demonstration whether all Vermeil would be as good or better than a mix, but I decided to go with a long pair of Vermeils to run from my preamp to my amp.

However, JD got to these cables, they are extraordinarilly good and JD is fun to talk with.

I must say that the Jade cables are largely trial and error.

Is this not true for just about everything in the world of high-end audio?

There were many prototypes before he settled on the Vermeil and Gold.

Knowing JD quite well now, I am sure that is an understatement.

These are thus substantially indifferent to the simple axioms of cable design.

Perhaps so, but how many cable manufactures follow such simple axioms in their cable designs? And what exactly are these simple axioms?

In the next week or so I too will get the priveledge to hear JD's cables in my system....through a personal visit by the designer himself. I am eagerly awaiting this opportunity.

Jafox, I think JD's focus was entirely on the sound of the cables rather than skin effects, low impedance, the thickness of the cables or their weight, using teflon insulation, etc. This is a hard path to follow as we know from all the many efforts to isolate components, but he pulled it off.

I hope I implied that I personally prefer the Vermeils but that others may not. Much depends on what you listen for and what your system is like.

I just ordered a set of Jade Audio Vermeil 1m cables and am anticipating them. Any new users of them or any more comments from present users of Jade Audio cables?