Mega IC Shootout

Go to ProFx and buy a Chord CLine. Much better than all this DIY crap. I have been through this DIY thing and it never sounds as as a specialist manufactured cable till now. The CLine costs Rs3100 and it's brilliant for the money. Will tame a bright system and provide proper definition , grips the music and provides a believable picture.
 
I personally didnt like the c line. I have it. 10 - 30 minutes i heard and its lying idle. :-(

Sound wise it might have some good attributes but tonality and timbre is not natural neither open.

Sent from Note5
 
Hello guys. It might be a bit unrelated but I am thinking of ordering one of the following interconnects from Aliexpress:
ATAUDO Hifi 4N OFC 2RCA Cable Hi-end Male to Male DVD Player Amplifier Interconnect Audio RCA Cable
http://s.aliexpress.com/QbAJRBva
(from AliExpress Android)
OR
High Quality Hifi Audio 2328 Pure Copper HiFi Audio cable RCA interconnect cable
http://s.aliexpress.com/rYjQZBJJ
(from AliExpress Android)
Could you please take a look and suggest if you think it will be worth the money or can I get something better or comparable for the same price in India?
Thanks.

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Hello guys. It might be a bit unrelated but I am thinking of ordering one of the following interconnects from Aliexpress:
ATAUDO Hifi 4N OFC 2RCA Cable Hi-end Male to Male DVD Player Amplifier Interconnect Audio RCA Cable
http://s.aliexpress.com/QbAJRBva
(from AliExpress Android)
OR
High Quality Hifi Audio 2328 Pure Copper HiFi Audio cable RCA interconnect cable
http://s.aliexpress.com/rYjQZBJJ
(from AliExpress Android)
Could you please take a look and suggest if you think it will be worth the money or can I get something better or comparable for the same price in India?
Thanks.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I wud suggest mogami 2803. It might be pricier but worth it.
I have two of it.

After purchasing first, i needed a second one.
Since it is expensive for the 2nd time, i purchased other brands e.g. DAC rca, then chord c line. Eventually i purchased mogami again. I eventually spent more. Had i not thought so much and had made the purchase , i would have been more happier... but still i m happy that i finally purchased it and realized how better it is compared to so many other cables.

Sent from Note5
 
I wud suggest mogami 2803. It might be pricier but worth it.
I have two of it.

After purchasing first, i needed a second one.
Since it is expensive for the 2nd time, i purchased other brands e.g. DAC rca, then chord c line. Eventually i purchased mogami again. I eventually spent more. Had i not thought so much and had made the purchase , i would have been more happier... but still i m happy that i finally purchased it and realized how better it is compared to so many other cables.

Sent from Note5
How much does mogami 2803 cost? And where to source it from?

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Oh...just saw on hifimart. Its becoming expensive every quarter. Might be this one has a different connector (berilium instead of amphenol). But better to confirm.

Its on hifimart.

Sent from Note5
 
Oh...just saw on hifimart. Its becoming expensive every quarter. Might be this one has a different connector (berilium instead of amphenol). But better to confirm.

Its on hifimart.

Sent from Note5
Well that is way too costly. I don't have a hifi system. It's just a small budget setup I'm trying to assemble.
The second one from Aliexpress I posted uses mcintosh 2328 silver plated copper cable and nakamichi rca plugs. Do you think it's worth the 1000 bucks for a metre?

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No idea about that cable.
But my experiences are that i had made purchases of few rca cables and in pictures they looked very nice. Some very expensive than normal cables and i thought they should be obviously better. Another thing written about them is they are gold plated. Another thing written is about their geometry. Few were thick wires fooling me into thinking that it is better shielded.
All these many points have allured me to rca purchases.

To be honest in the end, i found that my tata sky rca (which i was using since one year from the start of my hifi system), was sounding more natural, more open and eventually more involving.



Sent from Note5
 
How much does mogami 2803 cost? And where to source it from?

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Its available on HIFIMART. But a min of 3 mts is to be bought and it costs
Rs.2850 a mtr. Any interest in a group buy and share the cable lengths and costs ?
 
Its available on HIFIMART. But a min of 3 mts is to be bought and it costs
Rs.2850 a mtr. Any interest in a group buy and share the cable lengths and costs ?
I think you are talking about the unterminated one. It would require rca plugs and good craftsmanship. Anyways it would be above my budget. May be other members would be interested.

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Another cable worth trying out is the Belden 8402. It's a vintage cable which has been in continuous production since the early 60s. Apparently this cable was very popular with recording studios since the 60s and many of the recordings we've come to like have probably passed through these cables in the studios. It's a balanced cable though I've wired mine as unbalanced. I've made a balanced pair too for a friend but haven't had the opportunity to audition it properly. I only managed to briefly pit it against a very fine balanced cable at a friend's place, where it acquitted itself rather well.

Sound signature is warm yet resolving, and unfatiguing.I liked it so much that I upgraded my pair to fancy connectors. Earlier it was using Switchcraft RCAs with gold plated center pin. This Switchcraft connector is a very good connector, BTW. Even the Switchcraft XLRs are very good. They use silver plated pins and will probably give Neutrik's silver plated XLRs a run for their money (though the Neutrik's barrel mechanical construction is leagues ahead).

Here's an interesting review of this cable:

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=7325

Right now it's my top IC :thumbsup: and connects my primary source to the buffer.

Available by the foot from here:

https://btpa.com/CA-0582.html


This is sort of a long term report on the Belden 8402 cable used as unbalanced in my chain, and also a comparison of the Belden 8402 with two newer cables, namely, Klotz MC5000, and Helusound AES DMX cables both wired as unbalanced interconnects:

I've had the Belden 8402 in unbalanced and balanced for quite some time now (almost two years).

I've had the Klotz MC 5000 for much longer and I had never actually ever considered using it anywhere in my audio chain simply because I had sufficient number of cables to try/use. I didn't know that it is regarded highly in some circles. I got curious after I started using it between CDP and buffer and hearing how good it actually is, and that's when I saw forum threads dedicated to this cable. My CDP (actually an old Sony BDP-S370 bluray player) is the least used source in my audio chain as turntable takes first precedence, followed by music PC at a distant second. A complete breakdown of the music PC (motherboard problem) had me in a situation where I had to start spinning CDs more regularly. So I rummaged through my cable pile and dug up the Klotz MC 5000 and started using it to connect the Sony to my buffer. It was a low priority source and my expectations from this source was rather low. It was just to keep the music going. After several days of usage, I started noticing how good the sound from the bluray player was. I already knew that this player has a very fine analog output (and is also a very fine transport) so I had searched for it and was lucky to get one from fellow forumer magma/Ali. Suspecting that the pleasurable sound wasn't entirely the contribution of the bluray player, I swapped out the Klotz MC 5000 cable to my reference Belden 8402. This confirmed my suspicion that the Klotz is indeed a very fine cable.

The Helusound AES DMX cable (code number 400031) is a digital AES balanced cable. I've been using this cable for the intended AES function, and also as analog unbalanced cable, and as internal wiring on phono preamps, line level buffers and even power amps. In fact one pair of unbalanced Helusound AES DMX cable was part of the initial set of cables compared in this very thread (post#3). On hindsight, it was probably insufficient burn in at that time that led me to wrong conclusions about the quality of this cable. But what made me realize that this digital cable SHOULD actually sound good as an analog interconnect cable was the fact that it sounds consistently better than any wire I've tried as equipment internal wiring. So recently I actually made a 1m pair using Neutrik ProFi RCA plugs and have been using it continuously for about a week now between bluray player and buffer. Since my listening hours is a rather high nowadays, the cable has settled down well and is now showing its true colours.

I find that that its basic characteristic that I had described in post#3 still remains true - bass is a bit leaner than other cables, but the highs are very sweet. Very, very sweet. And it never fails to convey the emotion of the music. And it is the most resolving cable I've had the pleasure of using in my setup. It digs out that last bit of detail that all other cables fail to resolve. Its enthusiastic attack at the leading edge of music and its natural decay on the trailing edge makes it a lively and dynamic component. Tiny nuances like a singer drawing in breathe or his/her lips parting to make tiny smacking sound in closed mic recordings or a very soft acoustic string pluck, etc are made audible.

In contrast, the Klotz MC 5000 does all the hifi things with great elan. It's almost impossible to knock it off its poise irrespective of how complex the program content is. It's suave and sophisticated...but in a hifi sort of way. It doesn't have the upper high frequency extension of the Helusound AES DMX cable. Its mid also seems to be slightly subdued compared to either the Belden or the Helusound, so losing out a bit of warmth.

The Belden 8402 has shown itself to be neutral and balanced across the entire audio spectrum. It resolves micro details well (though it must bow down in humble submission to the Helusound AES DMX cable). It has great attack and a natural decay. The musical timing is unmistakable and the music just flows. The mids are fleshed out like no other cable in this mini shootout. It just sounds the most musical of the lot. This cable is the king of my cable hill and I haven't found another to knock it off its comfortable perch.

To be sure, these three cables are all very good. If you need to sweeten your highs and dig out the last ounce of details, the Helusound DMX cable will help. It never fails to be musical. If you want to inject that bit of panache and “hifi-ness” into your sound, try the Klotz MC 5000. For many, depending on their musical priorities, I'm guessing the Klotz MC 5000 will be their top choice. If I had not heard it against the other two, it would be mine too.

I hate numbered rankings as listening preference and musical priorities are so subjective but given my preference and priorities, I would keep the Klotz at number 3 and the Belden at 1.

Post script: I had enthusiastically recommended the Helusound guitar instrument cable in the past on this thread. Compared to these three cables, the instrument cable sounds like a rough and rustic country lad in the big city.
 
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+1 to belden 8402, I have tried many interconnect (VDH,Mogami,Audioquest) in past but nothing can match the royal:) sound of Belden. Now I have everything of Belden 8402 including XLR. I wish if we can make a speaker cable out of it:D
Many Thanks to you Joshua
 
Joshua, have you tried the Belden 8412 ? curious about it ( ..not the curiosity which ends with me buying and experimenting though !)
 
Hello jls001
Any comment on what one should choose between RCA or XLR termination plugs?
Does it make a difference?
Thanks in anticipation.
Regards
 
Hello jls001
Any comment on what one should choose between RCA or XLR termination plugs?
Does it make a difference?
Thanks in anticipation.
Regards

In theory balanced DIFFERENTIAL XLR connection is better at rejecting noise than unbalanced RCA, which is why it is the preferred connection in studios and pro applications.

If your chain is fully differential balanced then by all means use XLR. If not, you have to use RCA.

Some people swear that XLR sounds better than RCA, while others swear that RCAs sound better. I don't have first-hand experience comparing the two so I can't confirm or deny it.

Please note that some preamps and amps may have XLR connections but the actual internal circuitry may not be true balanced. In such cases, it's not going to make a difference in noise immunity.
 
Thanks for the very lucid explanation. Now I need to figure out where the internal circuitry of the phono preamp and amp are are unbalanced or balanced. In the event of not knowing for sure, RCA may become safer bet.
 
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