Tír Na HiFi

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that I've been sniffing around replacement interconnects recently. My Kubala Sosna interconnects are single-ended, but my new amps sound better using the balanced XLR connections so I was "considering my options". I had this theory that cable differences weren't as obvious with balanced as they were with single-ended, so when I borrowed a JPS Aluminata from Cloney's and found it to sound virtually identical to my bog-standard van den Huls, I was tempted to just leave it at that.

The day I dropped the JPS back to Cloney was the day I heard the new Kharmas with the LP12 modified by Dariusz (detailed in the Sunday afternoon at Cloney thread), and when Dariusz saw me dropping back the JPS, he said he'd give me one of his own cables to try. Now I'm always happy to try anything, but given the conclusion I'd come to I wasn't expecting to hear much difference.

Not for the first time, I was very wrong!

I don't want to sound too over-the-top here but I was genuinely gobsmacked as soon as I put them in, and that sense of gobsmackedness lasted at every listening session since. The sound is just so *alive*. It's really open, really clean, really "fast", but it's the increased sense of realism that seals it. The vdh's sound rolled off and monochrome in comparison (and bear in mind, up until a few days ago I would have told you I was getting great sound, thank you very much!) You can insert the usual cliché about veils being lifted here, because that's exactly it. It also manages to do this while sounding natural, rather than etched or forced. In fact, the really funny thing about it is that a couple of recordings that sounded a bit etched in the upper registers now sound more natural and listenable as well as being more open and detailed. I hadn't heard that effect before, but I'm very happy about it. It's a bit of a revelation for a cable semi-sceptic like myself. You can also now insert the other usual clichés about hearing details I'd never heard before, and listening far into the small hours. Actually, I lied about the last one. That's not baby-friendly behaviour, apparently...

Anyway, I know this sounds like a rave, but to be honest I don't know how else to put it. I also know that I've now raved about 2 of Dariusz's products, but what can I tell you? They're genuinely great products to my ears. (But I'm still not getting vinyl!)

If you're in the market for new interconnects, or even if you're not, I *strongly* recommend giving these a try. Dariusz wouldn't tell me what they cost until after I'd listened to them, so I'm still in the dark on that score... I probably should have asked him before posting this because the price may have just doubled.

So Dariusz, I hope you're not getting a swelled head, but well done once again, sir!!

Ivan mentioned Dariusz's cables to me a while back, but I never got the opportunity to hear them. Must investigate further! Speaker cables?

Never asked about speaker cables. I'm almost afraid to ask about speaker cables!

Nice write-up Simon. Quite a glowing recommendation too for those cables. I'll admit to being a strong skeptic when it comes to cables but I am opened minded somewhat on the issue. Given that I'm in the market for a pair or two of XLR's, I'll have to investigate these cables further.

As I've always said cables usually change the sound of a system. It's up to the listener to decide if it's better, worse or nothing. It's all about synergy (again I'm always saying this!) and certain cables may work in one system and do nothing, or worse, in another. They are a real component of any system and as such should be given some thought.

The thing is, I would have considered myself a bit of a sceptic too. Or, put another way, I can't reconcile the incredibly compelling evidence of my ears with the incredibly compelling results of controlled listening tests. My scientific curiosity is still there on some level, but my ears don't care. I'm enjoying the sound more than ever, and by a wide margin.

Ivor wrote:again I'm always saying this!

Did somebody hear something?

;-P

Diapason wrote:The thing is, I would have considered myself a bit of a sceptic too. Or, put another way, I can't reconcile the incredibly compelling evidence of my ears with the incredibly compelling results of controlled listening tests. My scientific curiosity is still there on some level, but my ears don't care. I'm enjoying the sound more than ever, and by a wide margin.

You probably wont want to :-), but try putting the vdh's back in this evening and see if you're getting that same buzz from the music.
I've got a borrowed pair of Kharma XLR's in my system this past week which will be going back to the shop on Saturday morning. At the back of my mind I'm wondering will I loose any of that fine sound that I've been hearing all week when they're changed to something else. I think it's highly unlikely but but....

DaveF wrote: You probably wont want to :-), but try putting the vdh's back in this evening and see if you're getting that same buzz from the music.

I might just do that!

Incidentally, do you know the price of those Kharma cables?

Diapason wrote:Incidentally, do you know the price of those Kharma cables?

I asked Noel today but he had no idea. Ivan usually deals with Kharma but he's away on hols I think. Ive no doubt that they come with the usual Kharma pricetag. I'd guess well over the 1K mark.