Sablon Evo interconnects

Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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If I were to share that my previous interconnects were built using the same wire as the 2020 usb cable, it wouldn’t be too much of a leap of faith to imagine how things might pan out if they were rebuilt using the new wire from the Evo Usb cable. In its simplest form, a usb cable design can be regarded as little more than an xlr interconnect with a 5v dc wire added so it should be pretty easy to walk things backwards…and so that’s exactly what I did….

What surprised me wasn’t so much the style of presentation of the new Evo interconnects but the level of gains they were displaying. A number of early user testers reported that the performance uptick was decidedly greater than the Evo Usb cable gave. Two theories why this might be, the platinum plated Bocchino plugs likely have a greater performance headroom, and perhaps the stronger analogue signal benefitted more from the doubling of gauge. Maybe it’s something else but let's not overthink matters. Gains are gains.

From a commercial perspective, I am keen to grow my market share and will leave the existing price unchanged. More good news in that I am able to offer a rebuild scheme to customers already owning my Bocchino terminated interconnects. I have a large order of plugs with Bocchino for delivery after Easter but in the meantime have several sets of demo cables circulating on audition for existing owners and prospective purchasers in USA / Europe / Asia. Both rca and xlr are available in 1.5 and 2m pairs and users are welcome to post their views below.
 

ronfint

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Oct 29, 2012
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I received a loaner pair of Sablon Evo interconnects around three weeks ago. My first impression was that they were a huge improvement on Mark’s previous interconnect. It took about thirty minutes of listening to one of my favorite new(ish) albums (Bunn Debrett Quintet) to confirm that impression and order them.

For me, what was interesting was that the Evo usb cable made an improvement by fleshing out the soundstage and improving bass. The improvement (in my system) made by the Evo interconnects was in definition and air. Is that the opposite?

At any rate the Evo interconnects are great cables. I don’t see how anyone can go wrong with them.
 
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VoicesInMyHead

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Apr 7, 2018
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I wrote an almost "over-excited" post after adding two Sablon Prince power cables to my system recently (in the Sablon power cable thread). What wasn't mentioned or obvious in that post was that early testing of these new Evo interconnects was also part of that experience, and that part was of quite significance.

The timing was perfect for me as I had just started looking to upgrade my interconnects, to be honest I wasn't really considering Sablon from the beginning but with the Evo USB performing the way it did I got more and more curious. I had another cable on loan already and was planning for others, but then the Evo interconnect with Bocchino XLR's arrived and very similar to when I tried the USB cable I more or less immediately felt that this is it, there's no need to look any further.

With the USB cable I cancelled any other tests I had planned to do but on request from others I have later revisited those tests only to confirm that my initial impression still stands against much pricier and hyped cables. With the new Evo interconnect I got a very similar confident feeling that I don't need to look any further, I've done my share of cable testings during the years and the overall improvement and change in sound was so prominent. What I really would like to do this time is rather to lend it to a friend to try in his setup and see his reaction. We'll see if I can live without them for a few days.... ;)

I haven't tried the previous generation of the interconnect so I think what I heard was probably very different to @ronfint, to me the first impression was more density than with my previous cables, they added a lot of weight and more of this lovely analog feeling, liveliness and organic touch, still being super silky and resolving. I think "fleshing out the soundstage and improving the bass" is not a wrong description either. To me it's not really so much about this or that specific character though because I think the source and destination also has a big part in that, but the overall feeling is that they just connect beautiful with each other and music sounds better than ever, and most importantly this cable is taking my system in the direction that I want!

It's quite obvious and a no-brainer to me that I also need to try the speaker cables now.
 

VoicesInMyHead

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Apr 7, 2018
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Oh, I would also like to add that as my Sablon collection is growing, I have USB Evo, Ethernet 2020, Prince power chords and the Evo interconnect, this interconnect is what I would keep if I was forced to only choose ONE of the Sablons. No matter how good all those other cables are, and they've all made quite an impression to be honest, the interconnect is what have been standing out the most (so far).
 

QuantumWave

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Feb 5, 2021
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I couldn’t agree more with the comments above, I had now a pair of Evo RCA in my system and that is one clearly audible upgrade. My wife asked when I had it set up to increase the volume (!) and she started singing along :), that is one unexpected outcome :) Huge drop in noise floor again, it’s even more apparent than the evo USB big increase in realism, it feels like attending a concert rather than listening to digital, quite hard to explain actually but not subtle. My only problem is the temptation now to upgrade a XLR Sablon that goes from my amp to a Woo, but that might have to wait :)
 

vert

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Oct 26, 2015
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From a commercial perspective, I am keen to grow my market share and will leave the existing price unchanged. More good news in that I am able to offer a rebuild scheme to customers already owning my Bocchino terminated interconnects. I have a large order of plugs with Bocchino for delivery after Easter but in the meantime have several sets of demo cables circulating on audition for existing owners and prospective purchasers in USA / Europe / Asia. Both rca and xlr are available in 1.5 and 2m pairs and users are welcome to post their views below.

I'm curious what are your thoughts on cable cooking? I see your ICs are cooked in a cable cooker.

I have personally found that cooking ICs and SCs makes the sound too lean, even if at first they sound spectacular.
 

Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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I'm curious what are your thoughts on cable cooking? I see your ICs are cooked in a cable cooker.

I have personally found that cooking ICs and SCs makes the sound too lean, even if at first they sound spectacular.
Hi, I feel actual burn in is more effective and seldom use a cable cooker.
 
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nuway

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Jun 26, 2019
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Last Week, Mark sent me the new EVO RCA for evaluation. Replacing the Sablon 2020 RCA and after a couple of days of burn in Evo RCA. I did not expect a substantial improvement compared to the XLR since it was connected to the RCA output on the Formula XHD. My main listening is mostly XLR with the Sablon 2020, the Aqua with the new analog rev 2 board is amazing on XLR, well that's what I thought, but using the new EVO on the previously "inferior" Aqua RCA output (with the 2020 RCA) has taken everything so closed to XLR that left me speechless. The 2020 RCA and XLR are excellent cables, but this new RCA EVO is clearly better than the 2020 RCA version, at leat in my home system. The sense of spaciousness, liquidity and resolution brought to the RCA output is not subtle.
Also had the chance to compare them to the current Shunyatas XLR alphas at work headphone setup, using the EVO RCA, things are definitely better than the 2020 Sablon, not by a wide margin but perceivable. Now It is difficult to discern any difference with the Alphas. I believe that in certain areas (with well recorded tracks and different genres: Rock, Live Concerts, Vocals, Classical) the EVO RCA surpass the Alphas XLR at least at my Headphone setup at Work.
If I would not have already purchased the Shunyatas for my heaphone setup this cable will be the one with no doubt. For my home setup, replacing the 2020 sablon with the new RCA EVO is a must upgrade.
Great achievement Mark.
 

Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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Today’s task, also to welcome the new Riviera headamp, was to make a siamese / conjoined pair of rcas to allow both amps to feed off the single pair of rca outputs on the dac. 70cm and 1m lengths for different shelves.

8EBA4A98-0565-4BEB-B1B0-22A3791E2257.jpeg
 

byZan

Member
May 29, 2022
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Like so many others here, I have to talk about how satisfied I was after having Mark's Interconnect EVO RCA for a test period in my system (2), so satisfied that it became a purchase :)
Maybe not because they are the best cables available, what do I know? But in my system, it became the best match I have managed to find and then I have tested a number of other brands and much more expensive ones as well.
When I then bought an Ethernet cable that was connected between PhonenixNet and Lumin X1, it turned out magically good in my ears:cool: The risk is imminent that there may be more cables from Mark, I am afraid. I will at least test them in my system (1) eventually, but then in a balanced version.

When I (via a friend) still had contact with Mark, it became a USB cable as well. More about the latter as I have not been able to connect it yet.

/ byZan
 
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byZan

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May 29, 2022
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I have already received the offer of a test of the cable from him, but I do not know if I have time for it right now, have a little something else on the schedule to do?

/ byZan
 

SoundQcar

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Oct 12, 2011
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I just wanted to quickly share with you all, my outstanding experience with Mark Coles @ Sablon Audio.

Having already owned some of his power cords and ethernet cables, I saw a good deal locally for a pair of 2ft Bocchino XLR's (previous iteration to the EVO). I made the deal and picked up the cables, not realizing that the female ends of the Bocchino's aren't equipped with locking clips, per usual. As my run from my Lumin X1 to my amplifier was pretty tight, the cable for the left channel wouldn't stay completely engaged, and as a result, I ended up not being able to get a solid enough connection for it to work properly.

I emailed Mark and explained the situation. Not only would he build me a longer pair, but would upgrade me to current EVO specs...all for a MORE than acceptable fee. That very day, he emailed me a shipping label, customs document, and waybill...and arranged a pick up from my residence for the next business day! The cables were picked up Monday, Feb 27th...Mark received them yesterday, turned them around and shipped them back out the same day, and this morning, received the upgraded cables...which are working perfectly, and sounding wonderful, even cold out of the box.

If every vendor out there comes even close to his standards, this hobby of ours will be in great shape for years to come.

Bob
 

Glide3

Well-Known Member
Nov 25, 2019
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I just wanted to quickly share with you all, my outstanding experience with Mark Coles @ Sablon Audio.

Having already owned some of his power cords and ethernet cables, I saw a good deal locally for a pair of 2ft Bocchino XLR's (previous iteration to the EVO). I made the deal and picked up the cables, not realizing that the female ends of the Bocchino's aren't equipped with locking clips, per usual. As my run from my Lumin X1 to my amplifier was pretty tight, the cable for the left channel wouldn't stay completely engaged, and as a result, I ended up not being able to get a solid enough connection for it to work properly.

I emailed Mark and explained the situation. Not only would he build me a longer pair, but would upgrade me to current EVO specs...all for a MORE than acceptable fee. That very day, he emailed me a shipping label, customs document, and waybill...and arranged a pick up from my residence for the next business day! The cables were picked up Monday, Feb 27th...Mark received them yesterday, turned them around and shipped them back out the same day, and this morning, received the upgraded cables...which are working perfectly, and sounding wonderful, even cold out of the box.

If every vendor out there comes even close to his standards, this hobby of ours will be in great shape for years to come.

Bob
Couldn’t agree more…Mark’s communication and service has always been among the best I have ever encountered. And the products are excellent and priced very fairly.
 

dnnaudio

Member
Aug 3, 2021
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I am looking to upgrade my current XLR I/C running from a Chord DAC to a Jeff Rowland integrated. I am quite happy with the current performance including its tonal balance, but looking to get improvement in excitement, dynamics, extension in HF, depth and spaciousness. I have an Audience AU24SX RCA I/C in a second system so was able to borrow and try this, using an RCA to XLR (BAT) adapter so that is also goes into the XLR inputs of the integrated amp. I got the improvements I sought above though minor and collectively I would consider moderate gain. And equally important the tonal balance of my system remained. I would like to consider the Sablon EVO XLR but from where I am there is no way to try. Has anyone had a chance to compare a Sablon EVO I/C to an Audience AU24SX I/C? My current I/C is an RSAD Poiema, little known even obscure at present and long discontinued but during its prime over a decade ago was highly regarded. Thanks.
 

VoicesInMyHead

Well-Known Member
Apr 7, 2018
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Has anyone had a chance to compare a Sablon EVO I/C to an Audience AU24SX I/C?

I had an Audience AU24SX RCA cable in my system for a short while (a few months), it was not in a direct comparison as it was before I discovered Sablon, but while the Audience was an "ok" cable in the sense that it didn't really do anything wrong, it didn't really stand out in any special way either. Discovering Sablon was on an entire different level to me where I was immediately impressed by it's qualities. Price vs performance I personally think Sablon is difficult to beat, which I was just discussing yesterday with a friend who recently discovered Sablon as he bought my XLR cable when I moved to RCA and now he was very happy as he just added an SPDIF cable as well.
 

dnnaudio

Member
Aug 3, 2021
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I had an Audience AU24SX RCA cable in my system for a short while (a few months), it was not in a direct comparison as it was before I discovered Sablon,
In your recollection in terms of tonality or tonal balance was there a significant difference between the Audience and Sablon I/Cs or were they generally similar? I had a few I/Cs in my system and found the Audience generally neutral, and like you said does not do anything wrong. Also I am particularly concerned with the highs, as my system (Dynaudio C1 speakers) with these speakers plus the Rowland amp is a touch warm tonally with very smooth if not overly smooth highs almost lacking bite and extension on some music. When I tested the AU24SX I was relieved it did not add to the smoothness nor the already mildly warm tonality. Compared to the AU24SX did you feel the highs got tamed or smoothed out (not good for my system) or the opposite? Would appreciate any thoughts or recollection you may still have. I am also seeking a bang for the buck solution but also trying to minimize risk of ending up with something I need to either return (expensive from where I am) or sell due to wrong synergy. Thanks.
 

VoicesInMyHead

Well-Known Member
Apr 7, 2018
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In your recollection in terms of tonality or tonal balance was there a significant difference between the Audience and Sablon I/Cs or were they generally similar? I had a few I/Cs in my system and found the Audience generally neutral, and like you said does not do anything wrong. Also I am particularly concerned with the highs, as my system (Dynaudio C1 speakers) with these speakers plus the Rowland amp is a touch warm tonally with very smooth if not overly smooth highs almost lacking bite and extension on some music. When I tested the AU24SX I was relieved it did not add to the smoothness nor the already mildly warm tonality. Compared to the AU24SX did you feel the highs got tamed or smoothed out (not good for my system) or the opposite? Would appreciate any thoughts or recollection you may still have. I am also seeking a bang for the buck solution but also trying to minimize risk of ending up with something I need to either return (expensive from where I am) or sell due to wrong synergy. Thanks.

this was a few years ago and I had a few other cables in between so difficult to say, but to me the Audience is a good allround cable if you don't want to think about cables, it will never stand out in any comparison, but it will not take you the extra steps either. of course every system depends on matching and synergy, but in my experience investing in good cables can really bring out the quality of your electronics, and this is where I've felt Sablon has done more than an excellent job, my feeling has always been that they've been very transparent, definitely not adding smoothness, great mids and heights but never being too bright or harsh, allowing the electronics to present itself from their best side.

I was in a similar situation especially after UK left EU I was skeptical to buy from UK, but I tried the USB cable and was very impressed, and when I was looking for new cables throughout the rest of the system I wanted to give Sablon a try and I've since been equally impressed by every cable I've added, today I'm on a full loom Sablon and couldn't be happier. Shipping from @Sablon Audio has always been extremely quick, many times even surpassing local delivery companies. I would say buy with confidence, but of course, you never know, you always need to try in your own system.
 

dnnaudio

Member
Aug 3, 2021
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64
Thanks that helps. As I have already tested it I already know the Audience is a safe choice and cheaper if I buy used w/c seem readily available from listings. But starting to think the Sablon might be worth the risk.
 
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