DH Labs

@audphile1 AZ Silver Refs are keepers in my system and have stayed for almost 20 years along with my double-barrel shotgun biwire Satori speaker cables. Great value/$ IMHO and so naturally detailed and musical with great tone and bass — such a tough combo to achieve IME. I just added an MC2 digital cable that has thrilled me just as much as the rest of their line. Although I will say I recently discovered LavriCable silver cables in my HeadFi rig that I’ll be exploring for my big rig as they may offer even more performance per $ although that’s a work in progress. To be continued…

Thanks to Juan @blisshifi , I’m the happy owner of a DH Lab’s, Silver Sonic  USB cable. 

I recently replaced a Cable Solutions Canare LV-77S digital S/PIDF cable with a DH Labs D-750, and I think I heard an improvement right off the bat, even though the LV-77S had the benefit of several days of break-in.  The DH Labs was recommended by The Cable Co. 

On the other hand, I wasn't impressed with the DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1 iCable, with a 1/8" stereo plug on one end and RCAs on the other.  It had the channels reversed, and it didn't sound any better than a basic cable of a similar length and type when used between my Dragonfly Red USB DAC and my stereo system.  I haven't done the comparison yet with the Dragonfly Cobalt--maybe a higher-quality DAC will reveal some difference.

A Cable Company representative said that the room for the 1/8" plug is so limited that there's not much that can be done to improve it. 

Has anyone else found a superior 1/8"-to-RCAs cable?

@curiousjim 

What did the DH Labs USB replace?

@drmuso and @baylinor … I personally find the BL-1 (aka the Silversonic cable) to be quite revealing but lean and can be seen as bright if your equipment is already transparent. I’m surprised you couldn’t tell a difference with the BL-1 iCable compared to other Y-cables. I was able to hear the difference immediately, but overall I moved on from BL-1. @drmuso perhaps you should try comparing the BL-1 iCable again now that it’s broken in.

The BL-1 is an excellent cable for those that feel their systems are not closed in. Perfect for mid-fi in particular since it will balance out overly warm and forgiving systems like Marantz/Wharfedale combos. 

The Air Matrix is a significant step up from the BL-1 in terms of bass and midrange body. I don’t find it to be nearly as fatiguing, and it is quite balanced. Regarding Y-cables, I ended up having the DH Labs team build me a custom one out of the Air Matrix cable and it is very, very good for a Y-cable. I’m not using it anymore, though I still have it in a drawer should I ever need a Y-cable again.