As promised, here is the review of a bunch of cables ali sent to me for review and purchase.
First and foremost, he is among very few dealers who let you listen to the cables before making purchase decision. Full marks for that.
Barracuda Elite power cable:
This one is the flagship power cable that ali sells.
Pros : Huge (I mean HUGE) soundstage when connected to DAC or AMP, Natural, easy going, big dynamics, prestine vocals and solid imaging.
Cons : String attack can be better. So is hf extension. Sounds bloated when connected to computer.
Better than : Einstien, Audio art cables.
On par with : Signal cable digital reference HC, yamamura millinium 5000.
Comparison:
Vastly better than stock cables, einstien and audio art cables in all aspects.
Audio art comes close but sounds cramped against the easy effortless sound of the barracuda.
Yamamura sounds better in vocals and has a wider soundstage but barracuda wins in effortless flow, dynamics and image depth. Both cables have similar tonality with yamamura a shade brighter. Both cables offer fatigue free listening.
Signal digital reference HC: Barracuda loses in sparkle, sheer accuracy and direct sound compared to signal. Signal cable in turn sounds thinner and loses in scale, dynamics and depth. These are widely different sounding cables.
IMO, best suited for DAC followed by AMP and wont fit music PC.
If you want to improve tonality slightly towards warmness, improve dynamics, depth and width, ease of listening, this is the cable for you. Will lose slightly on absolute details and accuracy compared to other after market cables (NOT stock cables - Will improve everything compared to stock cables).
Barracuda pure line power chord:
If you want a one word verdict, elite is better, go for it. Long answer, read further..
Pros : More neutral tonality than elite, Music pronounced a bit more than vocals which may be better in some systems.
Cons : While a good cable on its own, compared to elite it has lesser dynamics, bass and depth. Imaging is more 2D than 3D.
On par with : Einstien, a little better.
Worse than : Signal cable digital reference HC, yamamura millinium 5000.
Comparison:
Better than stock cables.
Einstien cable sounds wider, more warm but this is a bit more richer sounding.
The pushed back vocals in my system does not sound good.
If your system is sounding too forward on vocals, bites on high pitched female vocals or if you generally enjoy music with surrounded background music instead of projected vocals, this one will do. If your system is more neutral and hi end, elite is better.
I would advice getting both for demo and pick up the one you like depending on the system.
I will follow it up with mogami cable reviews shortly.
First and foremost, he is among very few dealers who let you listen to the cables before making purchase decision. Full marks for that.
Barracuda Elite power cable:
This one is the flagship power cable that ali sells.
Pros : Huge (I mean HUGE) soundstage when connected to DAC or AMP, Natural, easy going, big dynamics, prestine vocals and solid imaging.
Cons : String attack can be better. So is hf extension. Sounds bloated when connected to computer.
Better than : Einstien, Audio art cables.
On par with : Signal cable digital reference HC, yamamura millinium 5000.
Comparison:
Vastly better than stock cables, einstien and audio art cables in all aspects.
Audio art comes close but sounds cramped against the easy effortless sound of the barracuda.
Yamamura sounds better in vocals and has a wider soundstage but barracuda wins in effortless flow, dynamics and image depth. Both cables have similar tonality with yamamura a shade brighter. Both cables offer fatigue free listening.
Signal digital reference HC: Barracuda loses in sparkle, sheer accuracy and direct sound compared to signal. Signal cable in turn sounds thinner and loses in scale, dynamics and depth. These are widely different sounding cables.
IMO, best suited for DAC followed by AMP and wont fit music PC.
If you want to improve tonality slightly towards warmness, improve dynamics, depth and width, ease of listening, this is the cable for you. Will lose slightly on absolute details and accuracy compared to other after market cables (NOT stock cables - Will improve everything compared to stock cables).
Barracuda pure line power chord:
If you want a one word verdict, elite is better, go for it. Long answer, read further..
Pros : More neutral tonality than elite, Music pronounced a bit more than vocals which may be better in some systems.
Cons : While a good cable on its own, compared to elite it has lesser dynamics, bass and depth. Imaging is more 2D than 3D.
On par with : Einstien, a little better.
Worse than : Signal cable digital reference HC, yamamura millinium 5000.
Comparison:
Better than stock cables.
Einstien cable sounds wider, more warm but this is a bit more richer sounding.
The pushed back vocals in my system does not sound good.
If your system is sounding too forward on vocals, bites on high pitched female vocals or if you generally enjoy music with surrounded background music instead of projected vocals, this one will do. If your system is more neutral and hi end, elite is better.
I would advice getting both for demo and pick up the one you like depending on the system.
I will follow it up with mogami cable reviews shortly.
. Nice Work Ali, keep it up.
