Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

Hi Ivo,

I thought you went for vacation?
Funny, we live like two blocks away from each other and we meet here. :-))
My point was that Gaincard will work with other cables as well. Possibility is that most of these cables may do injustice to it but I have no problem with that, as long as Gaincard is not accused for revealing some nastiness in the rest of the setup (and funny how people easily jump on accusing Gaincard - if revealing is the crime, yeah, let someone bring the rope, the bastard amp must hang! Dunno, must be something in the size of it... and they say size doesn't matter... hmm.)
Now, having lots of people using OTA these days in non-47Labs setups, it is kind of unusual to look for something else for Gaincard. Still, we both remember well that you were not unhappy initially using Yamamura as IC with Gaincard and that it took me quite some time until I had you let 47 cable properly burn in and realise its full potential as IC.

Best,
Sead

p.s. One of my former dealers used to hold a weight on Gaincard, claiming it sounded better taht way. I really couldn't do anything about it.... except to take him off the dealers list. :-)

Hi Sead,

I'm still here. You know, my system sounds so good these days so I can't leave...
Yes, I was so happy with the Yammamuras as ICs with my Gaincard. I agree with you that Gaincard sounds very good with other cables but, as you know, its full potential is given only with the Storatos. It's the same with the whole 47 Laboratory system, including digital cables and, what I consider as the essential point, power cords. Considering that OTA cables are so affordable (comparing to the all mega-bucks, thick, heavy, stupid full-of-all-kind-of-coloration cables) it's logical to supply them with the Gaincard and with other 47 Lab equipment.
I've recently heard Storatos as a ICs in my friend's non-47 Laboratory system and I was amazed of how much improvement they brought.

Regards,

Ivo

Thanks Sead,

I just received a van den Hul 90 degree phono plug and I'm going to rewire the 3 feet between the arm base and phono stage. I wonder if I can gently crimp the sockets internally so that I don't have to use solder ? It's worth a shot.

You have an astonishing product in this cable. This must be the closest thing to connecting components with air. Have you considered making condoms ?

Keep up the great work.

Mark

Mark,

Gentle crimping isn't usually a good idea. Unless you can make a really good crimping connection, you better solder (and this comes from someone who hates solder). Good pressure is needed to keep the air off the contact.

Thank you for your kind words. Making condoms? That certainly is an idea to consider :-)))

Best,
Sead

Sead, Thanks for your thoughts regarding the Gaincard powering the Coincident, Super Eclipses. The reason I auditioned the "S" (50 watt) version is that I have a room (16' X 25' carpeted) that seems to damp things down, and I end up requiring more power. My experience with lower-powered amps and the "Supers" has been somewhat different than many others'--including the speaker manufacturer's.

The music needs to have a physical presence. I don't mean increased SPL's and thunderous bass, per se, but a kind of tactile there-ness that does not come through with small amps even on the Supers. Too often, lesser-powered amps seem to accentuate the visual, the shell of the thing in the recording that makes the music rather than the kinesthetic, lending a feeling of solidity to the thing. Sort of like shimmering ghosts on the stage instead of flesh and blood.

The recommended Manley Reference, 300B Retro mono amps were woefully underpowered for my room and music taste (large orchestral) IMO. I did not mention this in my original post to this thread, but the Gaincard-S clipped something terrible. Somehow, I doubt the 25-watt version would be the right approach given my experience so far.

I have settled on the Cary SLAM-100's with their 95 watts in triode mode. (They can be switched to 165 watts in ultralinear, but they don't sound as complete in that mode.) I heard the Atma-Sphere M-60's on the Supers and could not live with their lightweight presentation. I even found the A-S MA-1 MkII's to require some room reinforcement to bring out the same kind of weight in the bass that the Cary SLAM-100's bring. While the MA-1's are indeed fabulously transparent, extended, life-like, etc., they too seem to struggle a bit in my room. Perhaps with tube- and cabling adjustments, I could have drawn more from the MA-1's. For now, the Cary SLAM-100's are just about right.

Either I was shipped the 4-Ohm version instead of the 14-Ohm version of the Supers or my room, music- and listening-mode tastes just don't allow for the kind of amps most people pair with them.

In case you were wondering, I had my hearing tested. It's quite good. I did not go to lots of loud concerts in my youth. Some other audio-nerds have found my comments about their systems to be mostly valid. Who knows, maybe I AM wired incorrectly.