ROTM winner of Nov' 2014 : Various DIY Interconnects by jls001

[jls001]

Recently I have been trying out various unbalanced interconnect cables in my setup in the hope of bettering my sound without spending more silly money on cables. The test bed has been mainly between the CD player and Pre/Buffer. I thought I will write down my impressions of the various cables I had made and tried in my listening room so that others may make an informed choice regarding the sonic signature of these pro audio cables in a home environment. I have tried to stick to cables which can be sourced locally. The only exception is the famous Mogami W2549 cable which, as far as I know, has no locally known supplier. The length of 2459 that I have was sourced from the USA. This cable has quite a reputation among studio professionals and home audio enthusiasts alike. At the end of this survey, you will have a fair idea of how it performs compared to other, lesser known cables, and decide for yourself if its reputation is well-earned and worth the cost and trouble of importing it.

There are many amongst us who are cable agnostic and get their knickers in a twist at the mention of cables. This thread is not really for them but they just might find some useful information. It would surely also gladden their hearts that most of the cables used here cost about a hundred rupee per meter

The method of comparison is by subjective listening on the same setup - with only the Cable Under Test - swapped out, and playing the same tracks for each cable under test. This is purely a subjective listening test. No numbers, no graphs, only numeric scores to ease tabulation of results. So the results are not absolute, and are necessarily subject to the frailties and acuity of my cotton-eared hearing, the inconsistencies in my judgement, and are applicable mainly to a chain similar to mine, though I hope that they should produce similar sonic signature across more diverse setups.

The lack of objective measurement is an inherent limitation, and readers would be advised to note it. But it is not an apology. Home audio cable vendors rarely ever publish any measurement data. Also, those who choose to publish it don't really go beyond the perfunctory resistance, capacitance and inductance data. Some exceptional cases may harp upon the uniqueness of their cable's geometry, or their purportedly mellifluous connectors, or how closely the dielectric constant of their insulation approaches that of free air.

Be that as it is, no one has really established the relationship of the measurements to how a cable sounds, outside of some well-known facts (like high capacitance causing high frequency roll off). The pro audio sector is certainly more forthcoming in publishing measured data. So where available from the manufacturer's data sheet, electrical and mechanical characteristics of the cables are given - impedance per feet (or meter), capacitance between leads, capacitance between lead and shield, gauge and type of wire, type of shielding used, and dielectric material used.

For perspective, I have included a Crimson Audio (not to be confused with the more common Chord Crimson!!!) interconnect that is terminated with Eichmann Bullet RCA plugs (retails at about $430 for a 1m pair) and an Audio Art IC3 interconnect (retail about $100 for a 1m pair).

All the cables are terminated by either REAN RCA plug model number NYS373 (cost Rs 90 to 110 per piece depending on where you buy it from) or Amphenol APRC RCA plug (cost Rs 130-140 per piece), or Neutrik ProFi NF2C-B/2 RCA plug (cost Rs 1200 per pair). All cables have been sufficiently burned in before critical listening tests.

So much for my florid and verbose intro. Now that we've set the background and template, and highlighted the caveats and limitations, here's the first contender in the next post.

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

Gotham GAC-2 terminated with Neutrik ProFi connectors:
Say hello to the Gotham GAC-2 balanced mic cable from Switzerland. It has two multistranded copper cores, the two cores enveloped with a soft rubber-like dielectric tubing, which is further encased in two layers of multistranded copper shielding wound in opposite directions. The shielding is termed "Reussen Shield" by the manufacturer. The shielding is the best I have ever come across, outside of pro-grade RG-59 coax cables with dual woven copper braided shields. The outer jacket is a soft PVC type material. Like all good mic cables, this cable is supple and very flexible. I have not been able to find any info on the version of GAC-2 (black jacket) that I use. There is lots of info on the purple AES version. Having used both, I can tell that the analog mic cable (black) is different from the AES version. I think from the looks the cores are about 23-24 AWG.

Frequency response: this cable has a flat frequency response across the audio spectrum. It doesn't highlight or suppress any part of the audio spectrum. It has good extensions at both the bottom and the highest octaves, with a filled out midrange. The highs are sparkling, and the bass has heft and nice tonality.

Tonality: the tone is quite likable. The resonant strokes of piano keys, wailing violin notes, caterwauling sax notes, the twang of the acoustic guitar, the grate of bowed cellos, various percussions, massed strings and massed trumpets in heat - all sound quite palpable and present.

Resolution: with the right program material and audio chain, this cable resolves micro details well.

Soundstage width, depth and separation: well-separated voices in the lateral space. Depth is well-behind the speakers, with layering of voices. However there is a slight sense of being overwhelmed when program material gets complex and loud. It is not a breakdown but a certain mushiness creeps in, slightly degrading the quality of sound. But this could also be due to a limitation in the rest of my playback chain. Musical passages that are loud and complex are in any case a severe test on any component. My system not being a highly evolved setup, I suspect it isn't the cable alone but the system gracefully saying, "this much, but no further."

Attack and decay: good attack and gentle decay allows one to see deeper into the mixes and brings a naturalness to the music (acoustic instruments have characteristic decays that can be heard when played live, especially at close range).

Dynamics: handles macro dynamic swings well. Felt no sense of compression when the notes hit the fortissimo end of the musical scale. In conjunction with its good resolution, it is remarkably good at resolving micro dynamics, nicely filling up the music with the ebb and tide of musical flow.

I didn't find the same GAC-2 cable terminated with another (much cheaper) connector (Amphenol APRC) losing out on any parameter. It still had liquid highs, thunderous bass, and similar midrange. It also had the same kind of attack/decay, resolution, ability to handle micro and macro dynamics. And I couldn't hear any inferiority in tonality either. In fact I thought it handled loud complex passages with a bit more grace. So you know where to save nearly 1K of your hard earned money

Let's assign a score of 8 out 10 to the GAC-2 so that we can have easy to digest numeric score for the other cables. I started with the above cable as it has been used for an extended time. So it inadvertantly ends up being my yardstick for measuring other contenders.

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

Reference Lab RMIC05:
This too is a balanced cable intended for wiring up studio consoles. Made in Italy. Cores are 26 AWG multistranded copper, with XLPE insulation. Shielding is one layer of wound multistrand tinned copper. Jacket is Polycab, soft and flexible.

Frequency response: this cable also has a flat frequency response across the audio spectrum, with a filled out midrange, sparkling highs and weighty and tuneful bass.

Tonality: there is nothing to choose between this cable and the GAC-2. They're equally good.

Resolution: again very similar to the Gotham GAC-2, but a wee bit less resolving of low level details.

Soundstage width, depth and separation: well-separated voices in the lateral space but more bunched up than the GAC-2, rendering instruments and voices with lesser lateral separation. Depth is well-behind the speakers, with layering of voices. Probably slightly more adept at handling complexity and loudness than the GAC-2.

Attack and decay: good attack and gentle decay.

Dynamics: handles macro dynamic swings well, but loses out on micro dynamics. But, mind you, if one hadn't heard them one after the other (with the GAC-2), it would not have been possible to make that out.

The GAC-2 has more positives than the RMIC05. They both have their weaknesses and strengths, with the GAC-2 chesting it out to the ribbon for a close and thrilling finish.

The RMIC05 scores 7.5 out of 10 due to its slightly lower resolution and lesser ability to present a more coherent lateral separation. It is relatively more bunched up around the phantom stereo center.

More to follow....

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

Helusound AES/EBU and DMX cable (Helukabel part # 40031):
The next contender is different. What's a digital cable doing in this group shootout? one may well ask. Well, for the 1 meter length interconnect that we're dealing with here, its 110 Ohms characteristic impedance is immaterial when used as an analog interconnect. It would matter if we were to use a long run, running into hundreds of feet. It has two 0.22 sqmm multistrand copper cores, surrounded by a foil shield to keep away stray magnetic fields, which is in turn surrounded by a wound (not interwoven) multistranded copper shield to keep away electrical fields. The shielding is probably the next best after the Gotham GAC-2's. Or even superior in some applications owing to the use of foil. Made in Germany.

A small caveat here: after the preceding listening tests were done, I had substituted the power supply caps in the power supply of the DCB1 buffer, as part of my ongoing and continuous fiddling with gear. Also swapped out the four 'lytics in the DCB1 as one of them threatened to blow up soon due to a silly mistake I made in polarity. The DCB1 power rail caps were also swapped out to better ones. One obvious change that the modifications brought about was to add a bit more weight to the sound but the overall characteristic of the sound remained largely the same. So I have taken this improvement into account when describing the bottom end in the remaining posts.

Frequency response: Taking the above mentioned caveat into consideration, this cable has lesser bass weight than the GAC-2. So it is a good thing for setups which already have more than sufficient bass weight. But if you want to up the bass ante, it's not the best choice. I was a bit surprised by this, so I re-listened to my bass test tracks and confirmed that it does have lesser bass weight. The bass in Northwest Sinfonietta's Carmen Fantasy must be ominous, though not overbearing. With this cable, the bass wasn't threatening. And the bass weight in Elvis Presley's rendition of Fever also sounded lighter than I'm used to hearing. But in absolute terms, the difference isn't a night-slash-day difference. Also, I made it a point to use the same volume knob position for all cables by sticking a small white tape so it was repeatable with each iteration. Using the same volume can sometimes be uncomfortable as the test CD I burned has tracks collected from 14 different albums, and we know how recording levels vary across albums.

This cable remains a very good and likable cable. In fact I find that all these pro cables are very, very close. I certainly won't be able to identify them in a blind test! I didn't expect to have such a tough time trying to make out their weaknesses and strengths. But this exercise helped me learn how to quickly pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. The downside is that I have to listen over and over again to the same tracks. Like an overfed cow, the grass lost its juiciness after you get your fill

Tonality: same as GAC-2. They're equally good in this department.

Resolution: again very similar to the Gotham GAC-2, but a wee bit less resolving of low level details. About the same as the Reference Labs RMIC05.

Soundstage width, depth and separation: well-separated voices in the lateral space, but slightly more bunched up about the center when compared to the GAC-2. Just slightly. It has a very nice and deep soundstage, though, with proper layering. Probably in the same ballpark class as the Reference Lab in how gracefully it handled complex and loud passages.

Attack and decay: has one of the more sprightly and agile attacks in the group, coupled with a gentle decay.

Dynamics: handles macro dynamic swings well but not as well as the Gotham or Ref Labs, and it also loses out a bit on micro dynamics. There is a sense of compression when the going gets loud, like it's running out of breath. The slight loss of resolution shows up in poorer microdynamics as well. So you end up getting this diaphanous veil enveloping the music, but in its defence the veil is flimsy enough to show up the curves, bumps and promises in the underlying music.

So this cable equals the Ref Labs RMIC05 but not the Gotham GAC-2 and therefore racks up a very respectable 7.5/10 on the score sheet. It has resolution, sounstage and decay equalling the Ref Labs but not the Gotham, but slightly loses out in the dynamics dept to the other two cables, while its attack is the best so far, adding a dose of liveliness to proceedings. I will not penalise it for its lighter bass weight, as that may be a good thing depending on your system goal.

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

Here's the next instalment featuring:

Mogami W2549 (with Amphenol APRC plugs):
22 AWG multistrand copper cores (branded Neglex OFC by Mogami) with one of the thickest XLPE jacket for the cores, surrounded by a single layer of wound, multistrand copper shielding with 100% coverage. Outer jacket is soft and supple PVC. Made in Japan. This is a balanced mic cable.

Frequency response: this cable also has a flat frequency response across the audio spectrum. Bass weight is hefty and digs deep. Mids are wholesome and have the requisite bite where called for. Highs definitely sparkle.

Tonality: is on par with the rest of the field. Percussions and finger snaps felt very palpable.

Resolution: a shade better than the current champ, the Gotham GAC-2.

Soundstage width, depth and separation: well-separated voices in the lateral space, as wide as the Gotham GAC-2. Voices have their specific placements in the lateral and depth spaces. It has a very nice and deep soundstage. It has a nicely enveloping soundstage. It also handled complex and loud passages quite gracefully and didn't lose composure.

A quick observation here: it takes at least two-three tracks for the real character of the cable to come across. When initially inserted into the setup (even if the chain had been playing for some time and properly warmed up), it doesn't sound its best right off the bat. So critical listening must be done after 3-4 tracks has been played. Since I have observed this on four different cables, I believe this to be applicable to most cables.

Another note: I try to follow the directionality of the cables, even though I may not have made some of the cables to be specifically directional.

Attack and decay: it equals the Ref Labs in the alacrity of its attacks, giving immediacy to music. It also displays good decay, so that snare drums have a nice tail to the sound.

Dynamics: handles macro dynamic swings quite well. The slightly better resolution helps bring out microdynamic nuances better.

The Mogami 2549 edges past the Gotham GAC-2, the current point leader to score an 8.25 out of 10, owing to its slightly better resolution and better separation of voices and more graceful handling of loud passages. But they're very close! It's actually difficult to choose one over the other.

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

AudioArt IC-3:
Cable configuration not known as I have not opened this cable. Fairly popular low-priced brand. This cable has been on and off in my setup for a couple of years now. Until now I have always considered it a fairly neutral and decent IC. It is a thick cable, nearly 10 mm dia, terminated with colour coded RCA plugs that looks eerily similar to the REAN plugs.

Frequency response: this cable has a bump in the upper bass, which makes it weighty though not particularly well-defined or tight. The bass notes also tend to linger longer than strictly required, producing a mild boom in my room when played at the same volume as others. Mids are good though, but there is roll-off in the highs, robbing it of the fluidity and sparkle that defines good treble in my books.

Tonality: the overall tonality is denser than the rest of the field. I don't consider this a bad thing, per se. It is good or bad based on what one strives to achieve in the system. But finger snaps and skin-meeting-hide are less palpable than the other cables. There is also the sense of these sounds being less real.

Resolution: the worst of the lot, so far.

Soundstage width, depth and separation: well-separated voices in the lateral space, as wide as the Gotham GAC-2, in fact. Voices have their specific placements in the lateral space but they have been brought forward compared to the rest. In its favour, it acquitted itself quite well when musical passages get complex and boisterous.

Attack and decay: the leading edges of notes is sluggish compared to others. It also has a truncated decay, so that snare drums have an abrupt tail.

Dynamics: handles macro dynamic swings quite well. It suffers on the microdynamic front due to the deficit in resolution.

On many counts, the IC-3 is a class or two below the field though it equals others in some metrics. For these shortcomings, we award it a score of 6 out of 10.

The next and final contender is the Crimson Audio IC. Stay tuned....

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

So here's the story of the final contender:

Crimson Audio "RM Music Link" IC:
Cable type not known as I have never opened it. Connectors are Eichmann Bullet plugs. To some, Bullets may look plasticky (as they're made of plastic) but Eichmann follows the philosophy of minimum conductor mass for return signal. So the contact point between the plug's -ve signal and the female RCA socket in the equipment is just a small metallic wire embedded in the shell to allow contact to the chassis mounted female RCA socket. The +ve signal is carried via the regular RCA pin, but the pin is internally hollowed out to reduce conductor mass. This cable has been in my setup for a long time, surviving periodic cable purges due to its transparency, neutrality and extension. It has kept pace with every upgrade in the chain and has never been the bottleneck in the chain. Fairly rigid outer jacket. Jacket diameter is in the 5-6 mm group like the pro cables in this group.

Frequency response: this cable has a slight bump in the upper bass, which makes it weightier without degrading into a flabby and mushy mass. But in my listening room the low notes of a baritone voice can excite a slight boom, discernible at higher volumes. It should be easy enough to cure this with slight adjustment in speaker placement, and probably worthwhile because the bass remains taut. If I were to start using this cable in my rig again, I would definitely play around with placement. Mids are good. Highs are fluid and sparkling.

Tonality: the tonality is as good as the best in the group, if not a wee bit better. Finger snaps and skin-meeting-hide are quite palpable and real.

Resolution: quite good, I think it's the best so far.

Soundstage width, depth and separation: well-separated voices in the lateral space - as good as the best, though not "outside speakers" wide. I guess that will take the next big upgrade in the chain to accomplish. It also has a deep and layered soundstage, and acquitted itself very well on complex and loud passages.

Attack and decay: enthusiastic attack and gentle decay makes music sound quite natural.

Dynamics: handles macro dynamic swings quite well without suffering any compression. It is also probably the best in microdynamic, bringing out tiny nuances.

For its many class-leading positives, we award it a score of 8.5 out of 10. I would have awarded it higher were it not for the slight unpleasantness in the upper bass at louder volumes. So the alternative score with speaker placement adjusted would be 8.75/10. It's good to know that at least one of the factory teams acquitted itself well in the face of modest pro cable onslaught.

The bottomline is that one can safely go with a Gotham GAC-2. If one has the consitution to suffer the uncertainties and pains of importing, the Mogami 2549 is the better cable. But the Helukabel and the Reference Labs are no slouches either.

I would like to thank Dr Bass - he piqued my interest in the Mogami 2549. It's unavailability locally made me sought out alternatives, and I ended finding the hidden gem of the Gotham GAC-2. I searched further and discovered more gems in the Reference Labs and the Helukabel. There are a couple of other pro cables I want to try out when time permits, but that will be in the far future.

And thanks for reading through my windy posts

Addendum: the good part about winding up this exercise is that I can get back to listening to "music", and not an assortment of female voices, male voices, symphonies and percussions And I'm starting with my favourite Robbie Williams' album "I've Been Expecting You"

 

[jls001]

Re: Mega IC Shootout

Adding some photos of the cables:

1) Gotham GAC-2 showing model number

2) Gotham GAC-2 showing part number

3) Gotham GAC-2 showing URL:

4) GAC-2 with REAN NYS373 RCA termination:

5) Gotham GAC-2 with Neutrik ProFi termination:

6) Reference Lab RMIC05:

7) Reference Lab RMIC05 stripped and prepared for soldering:

8) Ref Lab RMIC05 - completed cable:

9) Helukabel Helusound 400031 DMX/AES Cable label:

10) Helukabel Helusound 400031 DMX/AES - Completed Pair

11) Mogami W2549 label:

12) Mogami 2549 with Amphenol APRC RCA

13) AudioArt IC3:

14) Crimson Audio RM Music Link - label:

15) Crimson Audio RM Music Link - Pair:

 

[Santy]

Congratulations to jls001 for winning the ROTM title for November 2014. :clapping:
Please PM me with your choice of gift

 

[avr]

:clapping::clapping:

 

[manniraj]

Congrats jls001 a very nice and detailed review, loved it, very deserving :clapping:

 

[omishra]

Wow :clapping: :cheers:

 

[shafic]

Congrats josh!!:clapping::clapping:

 

[sidvee]

Congrats. Well deserved:thumbsup:
Cheers,
Sid

 

[spirovious]

Congrats jls001,nice detailed review.

 

[Nikhil]

Well done Joshua. Definitely a worthy winner of the first award!
I was following your review closely and did benefit from the info shared.

 

[prem]

Great review Jls001. Highly deserved award

 

[hydra]

Great going, Joshua! The award is very well deserved!

 

[elangoas]

Congrats Jls001.. :thumbsup:

 

[Hiten]

Congrats Joshua. Indeed a well written review.
Best Regards.