best cost no object, cables

hifidelitea

Member
Sep 27, 2021
7
8
5
Singapore
I purchased the Gryphon Vanta interconnect without any audition and connected to the C1/D1 of the CH Precision. I was using the Gryphon VIP Reference. I will find out if there is a difference after it is run in. On first hearing, there is more air, and greater microdetail, and i need to up the volume of the preamp using this interconnect.
 

andromedaaudio

VIP/Donor
Jan 23, 2011
8,350
2,730
1,400
Amsterdam holland
This is the only audio cable i would ever think of buying :) it might actually appreciate in value

Ps i dont expect any audible improvements , but at least its not copper or silver and there is some real value in these.

It even has a little magic box in it , may be a small low pass filter ( golden coil in series )

 
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ayreman

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2017
217
78
158
Ukraine
As the title says, among the cost no object cables, which are the best? Siltech, Crystal Cables, Tara Labs, Transparent, MIT?
Audioquest, of course!
 

Agent86

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2020
69
62
85
Having tested pure silver, copper, expensive, cheap cables i ended up in using 16 Neotech 18 AWG solid core pure copper NEOTECH SOCT-14 without termination as speaker cable. This is the most resolving, dynamic and realistic sound. 8 per side, 4 per pole. All cables must have a certain distance (Air is the best isolator). I put black cable coating on.

You mustn´t change the setup often as the connection is a bit tricky and you shouldn´t be bothered by the number of cables.
With interconnect, i swear on Neotech Nemoi-3220.
But all is a matter of taste as i really like a very fast and musical presentation. And no, i don´t deal with Neotech :cool:
Oliver, I ran across your post and wanted some clarification. Is the recommended Neotech model SOCT-14 or is it 18? Do you have a photo of your build?
 

olivier

VIP/Donor
Nov 27, 2016
86
56
285
Munich
Oliver, I ran across your post and wanted some clarification. Is the recommended Neotech model SOCT-14 or is it 18? Do you have a photo of your build?
Hi Agent86,
i do have both. SOCT-14 using 2 per pole and SOCT-18 using 4.
I braided them now and flattened the ends a bit with a hammer.
The picture shows the 18.
I don´t use termination. From time to time i use a very fine sandpaper to clear the contacts.
In comparison they are very similar, perhaps the SOCT-18 is a bit smoother and has better bass extend than 2xSOCT14 per pole.
Best
olivier

_DSC0557.jpg
 

Hamburger

Well-Known Member
Nov 6, 2018
101
21
105
Hi Agent86,
i do have both. SOCT-14 using 2 per pole and SOCT-18 using 4.
I braided them now and flattened the ends a bit with a hammer.
The picture shows the 18.
I don´t use termination. From time to time i use a very fine sandpaper to clear the contacts.
In comparison they are very similar, perhaps the SOCT-18 is a bit smoother and has better bass extend than 2xSOCT14 per pole.
Best
olivier

View attachment 82469
Do you know if your SOCT is cryogenically treated too? ;)
 

Agent86

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2020
69
62
85
Hi Agent86,
i do have both. SOCT-14 using 2 per pole and SOCT-18 using 4.
I braided them now and flattened the ends a bit with a hammer.
The picture shows the 18.
I don´t use termination. From time to time i use a very fine sandpaper to clear the contacts.
In comparison they are very similar, perhaps the SOCT-18 is a bit smoother and has better bass extend than 2xSOCT14 per pole.
Best
olivier

View attachment 82469
Oliver, was there a discernible change in sound when you moved to a braided design? Originally, you configured each of the four wires per pole with a bit of physical distance from the others, correct? How much space was needed? I guess I'm asking whether the braiding was necessary for noise cancellation or whether the change was purely for the convenience of not having some many parallel runs of wire.
 

olivier

VIP/Donor
Nov 27, 2016
86
56
285
Munich
Oliver, was there a discernible change in sound when you moved to a braided design? Originally, you configured each of the four wires per pole with a bit of physical distance from the others, correct? How much space was needed? I guess I'm asking whether the braiding was necessary for noise cancellation or whether the change was purely for the convenience of not having some many parallel runs of wire.
I just wanted to test both and my experience is that the braided design is a bit more forward, engaging. I think this is because of the lower inductance. Resolution is good with both designs.
And all solid core designs are more precise than any stranded designs i tested before, i tested copper and silver
 

Agent86

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2020
69
62
85
I just wanted to test both and my experience is that the braided design is a bit more forward, engaging. I think this is because of the lower inductance. Resolution is good with both designs.
And all solid core designs are more precise than any stranded designs i tested before, i tested copper and silver
Thanks,, Olivier! That's good advice. You just save me the trouble of demolishing my living room. to make space for each run of wire.
 
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olivier

VIP/Donor
Nov 27, 2016
86
56
285
Munich
Thanks,, Olivier! That's good advice. You just save me the trouble of demolishing my living room. to make space for each run of wire.
haha glad to hear this
i think the teflon insulation helps as dielectricum with the braided design
:cool:
 

DasguteOhr

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2013
2,352
2,510
645
Germany
I love this Echole Cables, i have not enough money .
best resolution and detail i ever heard with Cable changing.
I use solidcoreaudio silverfoil cable really good with my tube amps El 34 / 300b amps.
DIY - cable
 
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whistleraudio

Well-Known Member
Jan 6, 2015
35
23
240
Do you know if your SOCT is cryogenically treated too? ;)
SOCT is not cryoed as delivered from the factory,. Takefiveaudio in Canada can supply several Neotech wire types cryoed. The SOCT wire which is UPOCC, might benefit less than other wires from cryoing due to the extremely long crystal structure.

The cryo process can under some circumstances result in microfractures at the conductor surface. Steve at Empirical Audio did some very interesting measurements regarding cryo treated wires. Some wires measured worse after having been cryoed. Possibly due to microfractures.
 

RaChiK

Well-Known Member
Sep 13, 2020
167
116
115
43
For me, so far: Hemingway Z core (Excellent resolution, imaging- concert like feeling), Skogrand (very fast, top notch in PRaT) and Echole (most musical, tube like).
Something may come up later as I hear/ get more.
 

highstream

VIP/Donor
Nov 16, 2013
1,094
431
488
Until I become a multi millionaire, I’ll have to settle for WyWires top of thevline Diamonds. They are excellent all the way around and have that modest degree of warmth I like, while still doing well with pitch.
 

stehno

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2014
1,585
456
405
Salem, OR
SOCT is not cryoed as delivered from the factory,. Takefiveaudio in Canada can supply several Neotech wire types cryoed. The SOCT wire which is UPOCC, might benefit less than other wires from cryoing due to the extremely long crystal structure.
More importantly, are we talking cryo-treating via the much more popular but much inferior vapor method or the lesser-known much superior full-immersion method? Makes a big difference.
The cryo process can under some circumstances result in microfractures at the conductor surface.
Perhaps. But I've had maybe 20 or different cables cryo-treated since 2005 and I don't recall a single cable coming back more inferior. I've never viewed the process being done but I've been told it helps if the vendor knows what they're doing.

Steve at Empirical Audio did some very interesting measurements regarding cryo treated wires. Some wires measured worse after having been cryoed. Possibly due to microfractures.
Hmmmm. Did he mention that he only measured after the cryo-treated cables were fully burned in? It would seem this could impact any measurements since the cryo'ing process returns a cable to a new/unsued state that has to be burned in all over again.
 

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