Stage-3
We’re finally at the last stage of this long review. Just a few disclaimers before I begin:
1) I did each stage of comparisons on different days. So, the comparisons between each stage are based on the memory of how they sound and the notes I’ve taken during the previous review stages.
2) Although I try to be as ethical as possible during this review process, I am, after all, a marketing major. So take everything with a grain of salt.
The stage-3 is sort of my pet project within a pet project review. I’ve always enjoyed fooling around with cables, and I found that some cables sound better when they are used in ways that they are not intended to be. In this case, I am using digital cables in analog application and vice versa for the analog cables. In other words, stage-3 is a digital cable comparison, but the cables being tested are all designed for analog application.
First off, I want to note the sonic signature of the D-60 when used as analog cables. They are slightly less extended than other analog cables. The headroom is not as high, and the lows don’t hit as deep. Also, the mids are more saturated with “information”, fullness, detail and depth. In other words, my speakers sound more like studio monitors with the D60 in there as analog cables. To my ears, the D-60 is what analog cables ought to sound like. The rest of the analog cables now sound kind of artificial to me with its extended highs and lows.
Track 1
Bear Labs Silver Lightning
The Bear has consistently been the cleanest sounding cable when reproducing all three CD’s sound in each of the first two stages. Now, I have the Bear connecting the transport to the meridian and the Meridian to the DAC. And the D60 connects the DAC to the CA50 amp. The sound of this cable combination is highly clinical. I am digressing a bit, but it seems every component in my system is on the analytical side except for the CAL front end. And, this s the first time my system sounds truly analytical. The mids are filled with information, and the speed of their rendering is fastest thus far. The vocals still sound real, although it has nearly zilch emotion. The paces/prat seems to lost somewhere as well.
Comment: Great laboratory set up I have. I’d say I have set up the perfect empirical system for comparison purposes. Not as enjoyable to listen to though.
Cardas Golden Cross
Here is a little honesty about my dishonesty. As hinted in stage-1, I’ve already had a preference for the sound coming from the stage-3. And this is the reason why—the Cardas and Illuminations cable combination in the stage-3 configuration.
The Cardas are generalized as the mellow cable of the group. However, in this current configuration, the Cardas has 90% of the Bear’s speed and accuracy with 20% more details being rendered across the frequency spectrum except in the extreme highs and lows that my system is capable of producing.
Comment: During the stage-1 of this cable comparison, there seemed to be lots of difficulty for each cable to accurately render the complex portion of this track. However, with the D60 in its current place, the complex portion is no longer even an issue. Adding the D60 is like upgrading your PC’s processor from P2 to P4. And, using the Cardas as digital gives D60 more life to boot. But it can still use a bit more life.
Harmonic Technology Silway mk2
If anything was missing with the Cardas and D60 combination, it was a slight lacking with the prat. Perhaps it is because there is still a bit of that clinical-ness to the sound that is making me not feel the prat. On the plus side, compared to the Cardas, this cable has a bit more life. However, there is also a bit more glares in the highs compared to the Cardas. I feel I have some other tweaks I should do to minimize the glare, so it might not have anything to do with the glare itself. For example, I don’t have any isolation devices in my system so far.
Comment: Particularly in the drums, the HT has more prat compared to the Cardas, but the highs are a bit sharper.
Audioquest Emeralds
There is less analytical-ness with the Emeralds. In fact, there is a bit more breathy elements during the introduction of this track where the lead singer sort of whispers the words. Also, other positives, there is less glare up top. This makes the vocals a bit more enjoyable even compared to the Silways and Golden Cross. However, this cable is still behind the other two in terms of speed and accuracy. The bass guitar and drums doesn’t have the same snap and the tone doesn’t have as much life. It’s like I’ve got the better processor but downgraded the video card (sorry for the computer analogy, but I am sorta shopping for a new laptop since my “q” is falling out. Why the q? It’s like the least used letter of all.)
Comment: A good compromise if you don’t want the glare up top and is willing to sacrifice a bit in terms of speed, accuracy and prat. It has a bit more breathy details too.
Verdict: I’d go with the Cardas. However, I feel the HT might come ahead with some help from isolation devices. But, isolation devices tend to rob a bit of life from my system. So, Cardas it is.
Track 2
Audio Quest Emeralds
The intro to this CD is a violin slowly gliding some highs with piano sort of filling in the mids. The violins sound super airy and melodic with the Emeralds. I am very impressed. However, after the meat of the track starts, I sense where this cable lacks. The sound is kind of thin. The instruments lacked realism after they started playing the low notes and playing them fast. It is only in the highs did the instruments exude the sort of airy realism that makes this cable great.
Comment: If I am bi-amping, maybe I’d use this cable on the highs. Or, better yet, I’ve contacted a seller on Audio on regarding a pair of Lapis. I’d use that for the highs if it improves on the Emeralds like it ought to.
HT Silways
In the first two stages, the Silways cleaned up with the Ryuichi track. It was no contest that the HT renders this concerto piece the best. So far, the HT isn’t as breathy in the highs. In fact, compared to the Emerald, it has more emphasis in the mids. For an example, in the intro., the piano seemed to be the center piece with the HT’s, but the violins were the center piece with the Emeralds. The pianos sounds better with the HT, and the strings sound better with the Emeralds? Maybe the HT has a bit slower sounding than the Emeralds. Thus the piano has an added decaying effect with the HT, but the strings sounds sluggish. Besides the violin, the HT does everything better. The piano as accurate and crisp, and the bass is simple incredible.
Comment: Very much more enjoyable to listen to Ryuichi with the HT. There is still a bit of glare when Ryuichi is slamming on the chops though.
Bear Labs
There are micro details in the intro that I can hear with the Bear that I couldn’t with the previous 2 cables. It is eerie, but the Bear is not analytical sounding at all with the Ryuichi track. It is much more balanced. There is no emphasis in either the violin or the piano in the introduction. The bass is not as emphasized as with the HT, and it is more natural sounding this way. There is more prat with this cable and less of everything else in a good way.
Comment: Usually during each of these cable comparisons, I’d listen to the first 30 seconds or the first minute over and over again. The Bear while playing the Ryuichi piece forbade me from touching my remote. It is THAT good.
Cardas
This is the cable combination that I thought would blow away the others. And it certainly did come out ahead when testing with the Ivy track. It is very balanced sounding if not just a bit subdued on top with the Cardas. But, there is slightly less prat and there is a bit more bloating in the lower mids compared to the Bear. The over all sound is less exciting.
Comment: After listening to this track with the Bear, it is less exciting to listen to Ryuichi with the Cardas. It certainly does a great job, but it’s a jar of tap water compared to Bear’s sparking spring water.
Verdict: Bear takes it with the HT chasing someone else’s tail for the first time.
Track 3
Cardas
Previously, the Everything But the Girl track was rendered the best by Cardas. Now, listening to the Cardas as digital cables, the Cardas does even a better job than before. It is simply AMAZING. This mid-fi CD now has transparency, detail and extension rivaling the SACDs I’ve listened to. I don’t want to pick out any single element in this track that the Cardas does super well because I can’t stop swaying my head and tapping my toes. Good thing I can type without looking at the screen.
Comment: Simply AMAZIG (ok I need to look when I type.)
Bear
Oh, dear LORD. My first impression is that the Cardas sounded better. The first few snaps of the guitar strings were in my face with the Bear. But, the guitar went back to where the speakers are after a few moments, and it came back into my face again, and kept moving backwards and forwards. The guitar imaging is superb. There is a bit less melody in the music compared to the Cardas. But, there is more micro details, and the vocals are almost as good as with the Cardas. But, ultimately, it is not as enjoyable to listen to with the Bear compared to the Cardas.
Comment: It does just about everything perfectly. But it lacks behind the Cardas in terms of musicality and vocal rendering.
Harmonic Tech
Each of these three cables does wonderful things with this track. There are no losers here not that there ever was one. I enjoy listening to ETBG on HT not as much as with the Cardas but a bit more than with the Bear. It is a bit laid back compared to the Bear, but not noticeably different compared to the Cardas in this area. But, it is still not as enthralling to listen to compared to the Cardas. Maybe EBTG uses Cardas cables in their studio. This CD and Cardas definitely has some synergy going.
Emeralds
During the intro. portion of this CD, I thought the Emeralds are very promising. It almost has the same listen-able quality that the Cardas has. The Emeralds is laid back and melodic which suits this track very well. I don’t sense any weakness in the Emeralds when playing this track. It just isn’t as amazing as the Cardas are with this track.
Comment and Verdict: I got to leave the house. I am returning the Bear back to the original owner via UPS because the condition isn’t as described in his ad. So to make it short, the Cardas rules with this track.
I will conclude this review shortly.
We’re finally at the last stage of this long review. Just a few disclaimers before I begin:
1) I did each stage of comparisons on different days. So, the comparisons between each stage are based on the memory of how they sound and the notes I’ve taken during the previous review stages.
2) Although I try to be as ethical as possible during this review process, I am, after all, a marketing major. So take everything with a grain of salt.
The stage-3 is sort of my pet project within a pet project review. I’ve always enjoyed fooling around with cables, and I found that some cables sound better when they are used in ways that they are not intended to be. In this case, I am using digital cables in analog application and vice versa for the analog cables. In other words, stage-3 is a digital cable comparison, but the cables being tested are all designed for analog application.
First off, I want to note the sonic signature of the D-60 when used as analog cables. They are slightly less extended than other analog cables. The headroom is not as high, and the lows don’t hit as deep. Also, the mids are more saturated with “information”, fullness, detail and depth. In other words, my speakers sound more like studio monitors with the D60 in there as analog cables. To my ears, the D-60 is what analog cables ought to sound like. The rest of the analog cables now sound kind of artificial to me with its extended highs and lows.
Track 1
Bear Labs Silver Lightning
The Bear has consistently been the cleanest sounding cable when reproducing all three CD’s sound in each of the first two stages. Now, I have the Bear connecting the transport to the meridian and the Meridian to the DAC. And the D60 connects the DAC to the CA50 amp. The sound of this cable combination is highly clinical. I am digressing a bit, but it seems every component in my system is on the analytical side except for the CAL front end. And, this s the first time my system sounds truly analytical. The mids are filled with information, and the speed of their rendering is fastest thus far. The vocals still sound real, although it has nearly zilch emotion. The paces/prat seems to lost somewhere as well.
Comment: Great laboratory set up I have. I’d say I have set up the perfect empirical system for comparison purposes. Not as enjoyable to listen to though.
Cardas Golden Cross
Here is a little honesty about my dishonesty. As hinted in stage-1, I’ve already had a preference for the sound coming from the stage-3. And this is the reason why—the Cardas and Illuminations cable combination in the stage-3 configuration.
The Cardas are generalized as the mellow cable of the group. However, in this current configuration, the Cardas has 90% of the Bear’s speed and accuracy with 20% more details being rendered across the frequency spectrum except in the extreme highs and lows that my system is capable of producing.
Comment: During the stage-1 of this cable comparison, there seemed to be lots of difficulty for each cable to accurately render the complex portion of this track. However, with the D60 in its current place, the complex portion is no longer even an issue. Adding the D60 is like upgrading your PC’s processor from P2 to P4. And, using the Cardas as digital gives D60 more life to boot. But it can still use a bit more life.
Harmonic Technology Silway mk2
If anything was missing with the Cardas and D60 combination, it was a slight lacking with the prat. Perhaps it is because there is still a bit of that clinical-ness to the sound that is making me not feel the prat. On the plus side, compared to the Cardas, this cable has a bit more life. However, there is also a bit more glares in the highs compared to the Cardas. I feel I have some other tweaks I should do to minimize the glare, so it might not have anything to do with the glare itself. For example, I don’t have any isolation devices in my system so far.
Comment: Particularly in the drums, the HT has more prat compared to the Cardas, but the highs are a bit sharper.
Audioquest Emeralds
There is less analytical-ness with the Emeralds. In fact, there is a bit more breathy elements during the introduction of this track where the lead singer sort of whispers the words. Also, other positives, there is less glare up top. This makes the vocals a bit more enjoyable even compared to the Silways and Golden Cross. However, this cable is still behind the other two in terms of speed and accuracy. The bass guitar and drums doesn’t have the same snap and the tone doesn’t have as much life. It’s like I’ve got the better processor but downgraded the video card (sorry for the computer analogy, but I am sorta shopping for a new laptop since my “q” is falling out. Why the q? It’s like the least used letter of all.)
Comment: A good compromise if you don’t want the glare up top and is willing to sacrifice a bit in terms of speed, accuracy and prat. It has a bit more breathy details too.
Verdict: I’d go with the Cardas. However, I feel the HT might come ahead with some help from isolation devices. But, isolation devices tend to rob a bit of life from my system. So, Cardas it is.
Track 2
Audio Quest Emeralds
The intro to this CD is a violin slowly gliding some highs with piano sort of filling in the mids. The violins sound super airy and melodic with the Emeralds. I am very impressed. However, after the meat of the track starts, I sense where this cable lacks. The sound is kind of thin. The instruments lacked realism after they started playing the low notes and playing them fast. It is only in the highs did the instruments exude the sort of airy realism that makes this cable great.
Comment: If I am bi-amping, maybe I’d use this cable on the highs. Or, better yet, I’ve contacted a seller on Audio on regarding a pair of Lapis. I’d use that for the highs if it improves on the Emeralds like it ought to.
HT Silways
In the first two stages, the Silways cleaned up with the Ryuichi track. It was no contest that the HT renders this concerto piece the best. So far, the HT isn’t as breathy in the highs. In fact, compared to the Emerald, it has more emphasis in the mids. For an example, in the intro., the piano seemed to be the center piece with the HT’s, but the violins were the center piece with the Emeralds. The pianos sounds better with the HT, and the strings sound better with the Emeralds? Maybe the HT has a bit slower sounding than the Emeralds. Thus the piano has an added decaying effect with the HT, but the strings sounds sluggish. Besides the violin, the HT does everything better. The piano as accurate and crisp, and the bass is simple incredible.
Comment: Very much more enjoyable to listen to Ryuichi with the HT. There is still a bit of glare when Ryuichi is slamming on the chops though.
Bear Labs
There are micro details in the intro that I can hear with the Bear that I couldn’t with the previous 2 cables. It is eerie, but the Bear is not analytical sounding at all with the Ryuichi track. It is much more balanced. There is no emphasis in either the violin or the piano in the introduction. The bass is not as emphasized as with the HT, and it is more natural sounding this way. There is more prat with this cable and less of everything else in a good way.
Comment: Usually during each of these cable comparisons, I’d listen to the first 30 seconds or the first minute over and over again. The Bear while playing the Ryuichi piece forbade me from touching my remote. It is THAT good.
Cardas
This is the cable combination that I thought would blow away the others. And it certainly did come out ahead when testing with the Ivy track. It is very balanced sounding if not just a bit subdued on top with the Cardas. But, there is slightly less prat and there is a bit more bloating in the lower mids compared to the Bear. The over all sound is less exciting.
Comment: After listening to this track with the Bear, it is less exciting to listen to Ryuichi with the Cardas. It certainly does a great job, but it’s a jar of tap water compared to Bear’s sparking spring water.
Verdict: Bear takes it with the HT chasing someone else’s tail for the first time.
Track 3
Cardas
Previously, the Everything But the Girl track was rendered the best by Cardas. Now, listening to the Cardas as digital cables, the Cardas does even a better job than before. It is simply AMAZING. This mid-fi CD now has transparency, detail and extension rivaling the SACDs I’ve listened to. I don’t want to pick out any single element in this track that the Cardas does super well because I can’t stop swaying my head and tapping my toes. Good thing I can type without looking at the screen.
Comment: Simply AMAZIG (ok I need to look when I type.)
Bear
Oh, dear LORD. My first impression is that the Cardas sounded better. The first few snaps of the guitar strings were in my face with the Bear. But, the guitar went back to where the speakers are after a few moments, and it came back into my face again, and kept moving backwards and forwards. The guitar imaging is superb. There is a bit less melody in the music compared to the Cardas. But, there is more micro details, and the vocals are almost as good as with the Cardas. But, ultimately, it is not as enjoyable to listen to with the Bear compared to the Cardas.
Comment: It does just about everything perfectly. But it lacks behind the Cardas in terms of musicality and vocal rendering.
Harmonic Tech
Each of these three cables does wonderful things with this track. There are no losers here not that there ever was one. I enjoy listening to ETBG on HT not as much as with the Cardas but a bit more than with the Bear. It is a bit laid back compared to the Bear, but not noticeably different compared to the Cardas in this area. But, it is still not as enthralling to listen to compared to the Cardas. Maybe EBTG uses Cardas cables in their studio. This CD and Cardas definitely has some synergy going.
Emeralds
During the intro. portion of this CD, I thought the Emeralds are very promising. It almost has the same listen-able quality that the Cardas has. The Emeralds is laid back and melodic which suits this track very well. I don’t sense any weakness in the Emeralds when playing this track. It just isn’t as amazing as the Cardas are with this track.
Comment and Verdict: I got to leave the house. I am returning the Bear back to the original owner via UPS because the condition isn’t as described in his ad. So to make it short, the Cardas rules with this track.
I will conclude this review shortly.