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  3. 990492297

Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

Has anyone tried this "minimalist" cable kit? After receiving a recommendation from someone with similar musical values to myself, and whose ears I trust, I could not resist ordering one. I will report on how they sound in a few weeks, but am interested in others' opinions too.

For those that have not heard about them look at www.sakurasystems.com for an interesting read. The cable sounds as if it is very close to the specification of the conductors in Belden Cat5. So I may have spent around 100 times what the kit is worth. We shall see.

If you have not heard this cable, please don't bother posting your opinions of how it MUST sound here. Nor am I that interested in hearing how stupid I must be to order this kit - it's my money and you are free to make different decisions with yours. Sorry for this condition, but I am bored with those that have nothing positive to offer on this site, and post their opinions based on deductive logic rather than actual experience.
redkiwi
slawney
242 posts
 
Redkiwi, you lone ranger! Do you have the OTAs between your TT and the phono stage as well? This is the one connection I can imagine where a thin cable might work superbly. Based on your positive experience, I am going to try to convince the European distributor of 47 Labs to sell me a 25cm run of four for my TT setup: I am not daring enough to hook them up throughout the whole system like you. At least, not until you have some realistic bass steadily coming out of your speakers. (FYI, be careful about publicly criticizing the Coincident IC: I just received maximum negative points for hinting they are a bit dry and unnatural on voices in a different thread.)
redkiwi OP
1,092 posts
 
Slawney. I happen to agree with your comment about the Coincident cables. They are still very good indeed for the price and I have a friend who is desperately waiting for me to sell mine because he likes them so much (I lent them to him for two weeks in place of his Kimbers, then took them back and it was hard to get away).
redkiwi OP
1,092 posts
 
Kimosabe, the bass has arrived. Still a little rubbery at the very bottom, but strong, powerful, fast and extended - better through the upper bass and mid-bass than either my Siltech or Wireworld. The PRAT is outstanding. The vibrance of the sound with these cables has no nasty edges, just that silky presence you get from a great MC cartridge, making some previously difficult CDs sound very good. The sound is still changing slightly, oscillating between the slightly warm and slightly lean, and the bass continues to improve, but I am officially excited now.

I cannot quite comprehend how such a thin and simple cable could be giving so much more than all those other cables I have or have had. These cables give you none of that pride of ownership you get from the high-end looks of the expensive stuff. As Ken says, it looks like you have your gear connected by some nylon weed-wacker cord. My wife accepts them as not being "totally destructive of the room's ambience" - I think she is reluctantly admitting she likes how the system fills the room with music like never before.

When I am more satisfied the sound has stabilised I will describe all the goodies about this cable's sound. Shame about the very painful burn-in phase. Who ever says burn-in is a myth is just plain ignorant.
redkiwi OP
1,092 posts
 
Sorry Slawney i didn't answer your question. I only have them as ICs and speaker cable at present.
redkiwi OP
1,092 posts
 
I'm sold now. I will be brief.

The sound is vibrant (perhaps forward) in that instead of images flattened behind the speakers, the room is now full of music. None of this is accompanied by any nasty sounds except those obviously present in the recording.

I can hear every tiny detail of transients like cymbals, bells, rim-shots etc. The speed is stunning and the timing is so coherent top to bottom that the music just takes over from the sound. What a treat to be not fretting about the sound of the system and just boogying to the music.

Incredibly, these feeble looking cables make it sound like I have 1300w monos, not 130w monos. The music just breathes, shimmers and shakes.

No congestion, some vestiges only of unwanted warmth (still diminishing as the cables continue to burn in). Otherwise incredibly neutral. Several CDs that were just too aggressive to listen to are now wonderously rich sounding. Some CDs that were muted and a bit lifeless are now brought to life.

I know unqualified raves are not well received here. So I will leave it at this. If you get hung up on the difference between price and the intrinsic value of the materials (as many here seem to do with cables) then forget these cables. If you are mad enough, like me, to lay out USD600 for cables on a chance - then I reckon the odds are high that you will not regret it, provided you have the patience to let them burn-in. If you don't believe in burn-in you will throw these cables away in the first week - just remember to throw them in my direction. If you think these cables cannot be great because they cost ONLY USD600, then you should think again. If you want to spend less than USD600 then work something out with a friend, because the kit gives you 50m of conductor (or 12.5m of stereo pair) and 12 RCA connectors, and you can buy extra connectors and/or cable. I'm stupid enough to be considering buying a second kit so I will have plenty to be able to make cables up in the future as my system changes. My Coincident, Cardas, Wireworld and Siltech cables are not going back in the system.
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