Superb Cables from jls001

Nikhil

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
4,113
Points
113
Location
Hyderabad
I have been using cables made by forum member jls001 for the past couple of months and have been wanting to share my impressions on here but was caught up with travel in the last few months. There has been mention of his work on other threads but I truly think they deserve a thread all by itself. As many have already found out they are very good and really special.

USB Cable

When I talked to Josh (jls001) about cables he offered to send me some cables based on my preferences. The first cable I chose to try was a USB cable. As a first step Josh sent me a prototype cable which came with exposed naked wire. I had already asked Josh to remove the 5V wire as my DAC does not need it. To be honest I was sceptical at the prospect. But first impressions were good and surprised me. On the whole the cable sounded good but it was lacking a little something in the overall presentation.

Josh decided to send me another cable soon after. This time the cable was completely built with cable sleeve and neatly terminated. On appearance alone this made a much better impression. I placed it into my setup and was surprised at the leap in sound quality. This time the sound had texture and richness. Bass had weight and was well defined. Upright bass notes were natural with the thwack of the strings palpable to the ears. This was a cable I could easily keep in my setup. When I called Josh to talk about the cable he surprised me with news that he would like to send me another cable which he felt was better!

To cut a long story short - the next cable which came was the business. Josh had sorted out the build quality. And it came with my name handwritten on the cable - very nice touch! When I placed it in my setup, I could not believe that Josh had somehow managed to squeeze out some more goodness. This time it was in the mids - a denser tone and added texture. This complemented the already solid low end to give the cable beautiful rich tone and weightiness. Black background with natural organic sound. This was easily one of the best USB cables I had ever used in my setup.

37159


37160


Single Ended Interconnect Cable

My next discussion with Josh was for an IC cable between my DAC and Integrated amp. Having tried several cables I had settled on the Belden 8402 which to me gave the best sound. With any other cable there was a drop off but the Belden was the only one which tamed that problem. Josh's cable came in with his now standard build quality with my name handwritten on the sleeve. When I placed it in my setup I was amazed. Not only did the cable easily outclass the Belden but it brought out more richness to the sound. Full bodied and dense the sound was several notches above what I had earlier. The sound was fuller but yet more clearer with what I call the trademark "texture".

37161


37162

One of the genres that really benefited was Rock specially tracks with heavy guitar work. Listening to rock music electric guitar riffs is a lot more fun. Soaring guitar tracks have a sweet sound that is no longer scratchy. Trumpets have a full rich sound that reinforces nuanced tone and texture. Drum snares and high hats have a more palpable sound to them. Vocal recordings also benefit with a natural ease to the sound.

Summary

My amp has a sound signature that is typical of fast wide band design. Josh's cables adds body and texture to the sound. It would be interesting to hear what others have to say especially those with tube amps. Initial feedback from those I am in touch with has been positive. But it would be worth mentioning this to caution those with lush / tube sound amps to have a chat with Josh. From whatever my experience has been, Josh has the ability to fine tune the cables towards a system sound.

This kind of service and flexibility is truly what separates Josh's cables from any cables that you may find elsewhere. I also don't want to give the impression that he can magically cure a setup but given that he is locally available (on our forum) I would highly recommend him to anyone having a serious look at their cable loom.



.
 
I am using the version 4 of his USB cable and the difference it brings along in the sound is nothing short of outstanding.

Okay, I understand it can't change a particular dac into something else magically but what I am pointing to is that with his USB cable the chnages are very substantial and has worked for me.

I also use his power cable on my dac which is where I get maximum change in sound in my setup.
More open sound, more resolving without sounding etched and clinical. Tighter and tuneful bass

Just to clarify I am not writing all this because he is a good friend. We both have personally heard his cables in many different setups all over Bombay and the guys who own the set-up have always appreciated the sound without knowing Josh has made them himself

Ofcourse, it's not a magic trick and that it will work for each and every setup. But in general I feel they are not too finicky with what equipment it's being used but yes everyone's taste in sound is very different.
 
The amount of research and work that Joshua has put in over the years in listening to various cables and experimenting with his own designs, ranging from material to connectors to gauge to weave, is phenomenal. Added to this is his understanding of what live music should sound like. He attends live concerts regularly and has a very good understanding of what instruments should sound like.

So it’s not a surprise that his cables are world class and handily beat cables costing multiples of his cables.

He truly is an asset to this forum
 
Moderators: Why not shift those other posts here.

Let them be ... would disrupt the flow of those threads.

I also use his power cable on my dac which is where I get maximum change in sound in my setup.
More open sound, more resolving without sounding etched and clinical. Tighter and tuneful bass

I need to talk to Josh about power cables. Have not touched that area for a while.



.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow, this is exciting!! I will request Josh if I could try out a set of his USB cable and the ICs. The Yellow sleeves on the USB cable makes me "Curious" (pun intended)!!
 
The amount of research and work that Joshua has put in over the years in listening to various cables and experimenting with his own designs, ranging from material to connectors to gauge to weave, is phenomenal. Added to this is his understanding of what live music should sound like. He attends live concerts regularly and has a very good understanding of what instruments should sound like.

So it’s not a surprise that his cables are world class and handily beat cables costing multiples of his cables.

He truly is an asset to this forum

I have been using cables made by forum member jls001 for the past couple of months and have been wanting to share my impressions on here but was caught up with travel in the last few months. There has been mention of his work on other threads but I truly think they deserve a thread all by itself. As many have already found out they are very good and really special.
--------

This kind of service and flexibility is truly what separates Josh's cables from any cables that you may find elsewhere. I also don't want to give the impression that he can magically cure a setup but given that he is locally available (on our forum) I would highly recommend him to anyone having a serious look at their cable loom.

More power to you Joshua !
 
Recently tried Joshua's speaker cables .
I have been lucky enough to witness the dveelopment of power cables and USB cables made by him and also hear it in various setups in their different iterations.

But somehow never heard the speaker cables made by him but always was keen knowing his philosophy behind making any cable

The pair I got was absolutely brand new. So after hearing for a brief period In my setup I decided to give it a proper burn in and then listen to it again. So, I connected it to a small amp and speaker setup which gives sound to a TV in the drawing room. Burnt it in for a good 40 hours.

Then reconnected it to my setup and heard tracks I am familiar with.

I have never associated speaker cables changing the noise floor in any way but to my surprise I did witness a drop in systems noise floor after using Joshua's speaker cables. I did discuss my findings with Joshua and he told me I am third or fourth person who has told him that.
So that was a first for me and i genuinely always thought speaker cables can never make noise floor drop.

The bass (texture wise) is the best I have heard in my setup and so is the overall resolution.

In reality I always kept speaker cables as the last thing to worry about when changing to cables which are generally better or suit the setup .

These speaker cables won't make the mid range artificially thick but at the same time bring the best out of ones setup.

I would like to clarify this is absolutely my own opinion and based on hearing myself in my own setup
 
Recently tried Joshua's speaker cables .
I have been lucky enough to witness the dveelopment of power cables and USB cables made by him and also hear it in various setups in their different iterations.

But somehow never heard the speaker cables made by him but always was keen knowing his philosophy behind making any cable

The pair I got was absolutely brand new. So after hearing for a brief period In my setup I decided to give it a proper burn in and then listen to it again. So, I connected it to a small amp and speaker setup which gives sound to a TV in the drawing room. Burnt it in for a good 40 hours.

Then reconnected it to my setup and heard tracks I am familiar with.

I have never associated speaker cables changing the noise floor in any way but to my surprise I did witness a drop in systems noise floor after using Joshua's speaker cables. I did discuss my findings with Joshua and he told me I am third or fourth person who has told him that.
So that was a first for me and i genuinely always thought speaker cables can never make noise floor drop.

The bass (texture wise) is the best I have heard in my setup and so is the overall resolution.

In reality I always kept speaker cables as the last thing to worry about when changing to cables which are generally better or suit the setup .

These speaker cables won't make the mid range artificially thick but at the same time bring the best out of ones setup.

I would like to clarify this is absolutely my own opinion and based on hearing myself in my own setup

A little more details of the cable please. Like what conductor and its gauge, please put a pic of it.
 
I have been using a power cable from JLS in my system for sometime now. When I first got it, I tried it on the LFD amplifier. It was a positive move.. but the change was not so big. I wanted to explore so I moved it to my digital. Wow ! Big change. The noise floor dropped and everything in the music got just a bit more balanced and clearer especially the basslines and mids. JLS asked me to break it in for couple of months so I just left it there. I would say it has only gotten better. I will try it with my Lyric tube amp in the coming weeks and report back.
 
How come there is no comment/feedback of prices of these cables?

Any price/performance comparison with other cables? Any sort of blind tests findings?

*Apology if it sounds intrusive
 
How come there is no comment/feedback of prices of these cables?

Any price/performance comparison with other cables? Any sort of blind tests findings?

*Apology if it sounds intrusive

Hi Enkay, once you reach the point where you get yourself a well engineered cable, it pretty much covers all objective parameters. I have used many of such cables in the past. Beyond that, with cables, everything is very subjective and system dependant. What works for me may not work for you. Even if we do a blind test and post findings, it may not work for you because your system and context will be very different. There are many ways to make power cables and your ears and system may prefer a particular version. For example, when I was using acoustic portrait electronics, what worked best were the finolex twisted cables with no shielding. There is no alternative to trial and error once you get into the subjective realm.

Please contact JLS for prices.
 
How come there is no comment/feedback of prices of these cables?

Any price/performance comparison with other cables? Any sort of blind tests findings?

*Apology if it sounds intrusive

Not done any blind testing but had compared USB cable version 2 or 3 with curious and lush USB cables and prefered he sound with JLS USB cable in the same setup

But with every dac the preference might change , so with different individuals and also with different settings on the lush USB cable, changing them is a task in itself
 
So can I get a hint of price range?

(I know you guys will say PM JLS......but isn't this a forum ;) )
The price is variable. It varies depending on Joshua's mood at 2:30 pm, what side of the bed he gets up from in the morning, the day temperature [high and not low!], what music he's listening to and who referred you to him [free advice: don't say "Keith" - the price will go up stratospherically]. So, please PM him, ask nicely and pray that you get a good deal. But, I'll give you a hint about the price - it will be greater than Rs. 5.75/- :p
 
Order your Rega Turntables & Amplifiers from HiFiMART.com - India's reputed online dealer.
Back
Top