Hi Everyone,
Just a interesting update on my long-standing Zanden 4-box digital front-end...a change to my I2S cable which was designed by Zanden expressly for this 4-box digital system to connect the Transport to the DAC. After over 10 years (and trying 2 other I2S cables during that time and not finding anything that came close to the Zanden), I have now agreed to buy the Z:Axis Audio Digital Reference I2S cable.
About the Cable - From the Manufacturer Website
100% hand built in the UK, our Ref series I2s cable combines the high quality Telegartner RJ45 or Neutrik NE8MX6-B modular terminal connectors, our proprietary 99.99% pure silver hand polished conductors configured for dedicated I2s digital transmission only, not to be used in an ethernet application. We have taken the design of this critical interconnect to it’s ultimate solution and found that this specific to I2s design has produced a significant sonic improvement over using a CAT6/7 type cable, with more textural detail, space, bass weight / punch and speed, timing /pace all improving in our test system. It is immediately obvious that there is a broader tonal gamut reaching deep into the bass frequencies that make the music less ‘greyed out’ than previously experienced.. This of course becomes our reference and is always available on demonstration. This cable has completely outperformed far more costly options from some very well known brands, hence if your digital equipment has an I2s implemented connection over RJ45 (not HDMI yet) then you really should try this cable to discover what your source is really capable of. The HDMI Version will be available mid 2021.. As there is no ‘standard’ I2s implementation, please enquire specifically for the components you wish to connect.
Zanden Digital and the Zanden I2S Cable
The entire ethos of the Zanden digital has always been entirely about natural purity of tone, delicacy in its ability to handle detail and extension. It was for its time extraordinarily detailed and remains so, but in the context of the latest digital is not quite in that rarified air of ultimate detail imho. However, it is shockingly good when properly isolated and driven/powered. And it retains even to this day a uniquely natural, pure tone of digital that (for a surprisingly large number of long-in-the-tooth serious audiophiles) remains at the top of the heap in terms of long-term listenability, purity and 'natural' live recording presentation.
Well respected, super-upper echelon audiophiles like Audiocrack still have kept their Zanden 4-box after all these years for a reason. Of the 12 Zanden 4-box owners I have communicated with over the years, only 1 has given it up for another digital system.
The cable is a custom-designed I2S cable for this digital system and for 10 years easily bested 2 other cables that were brought home for audition. Why? Natural tone and in one case, the level of detail and strength of signal were much stronger with the Zanden. And for many years, I assumed: a) I2S did not matter much anyway and b) as a Zanden-designed cable, it would be hard to beat because it was not only well designed by a revered digital designer...but the cable had the 'home court advantage'.
Zanden I2S Cable vs Z:Axis Audio
Along comes Paul Stratton, the founder of Z:Axis Audio in the UK, who has a clear commitment to pure materials, technical research in his designs (both power designs which look and apparently are superbly built based on real fundamentals...though I admit, I am no techie.)
As per the description above, he aims to build a real state of the art I2S cable for ethernet connections. And he brings it by after we acquired one of his isolation cabinets custom-built for our amplifier (which is a work of art by the way and works superbly well and looks like high end luxury furniture since it was custom matched to our existing furniture with piano gloss sapele finish wood and smoked glass.)
The cable is immediately set up to 3 separate disadvantages:
1. It is up against a Zanden cable...so designed by the manufacturer of the digital equipment itself
2. It is brand new...so not broken in.
3. I use Entreq wraps around both ends of the Zanden because it has helped shield it from further EMI/RFI at both ends, and it works well to ensure greater detail, lower noise. (My test is always understandability of complex choral music...whether or not I can understand more words or not.) In this case, I remove the Zanden cable...but do NOT add those Entreq wraps to the Z:Axis Audio Reference.
3 days later...
I put the Zanden cable back in (with all the Entreq wraps)...and it is like the sound got deflated by around 25%. Flatter, weaker signal and literally words that were clear as a bell become less distinct and actually something that (from memory) I always accepted I would never understand.
Returning to the Z:Axis, I can define the sound as a combination of 2 fantastic qualities: far more RESOLUTE and retaining Zanden's quality of natural purity. The signal is STRONGER, DEEPER, more resolved, more resolute. It also allowed me for the first time to hear the mumbles on certain house music that always seemed well, like a mumble. The bass propulsion increased dramatically...20% in terms of snap, dynamic power/hit. I suspect it is not 20% louder at all...but rather the lower noise floor means that the dynamic soft to loud of the bass hit appears far more dramatic.
2 days later...
I decide to make it a 'fairer fight' by putting the Entreq wraps on both ends so that it is like for like in comparison with the Zanden cable. And suddenly I can literally S-P-E-L-L the mumble now...letter for letter. It is not English, but more like a made up set of words...but I can literally spell out the 15-20 letters. INCREDIBLE.
The bass, the thwack...same power but more detailed.
And while I have not mentioned it much til this point, the Z:Axis preserves all of the purity, tone, natural presentation that is intrinsic to the ethos and original design of the Zanden digital. Zen-like.
Conclusion
A keeper. Something which you put in, forget about it and enjoy. No going back. Exceptional value. Done.
Just a interesting update on my long-standing Zanden 4-box digital front-end...a change to my I2S cable which was designed by Zanden expressly for this 4-box digital system to connect the Transport to the DAC. After over 10 years (and trying 2 other I2S cables during that time and not finding anything that came close to the Zanden), I have now agreed to buy the Z:Axis Audio Digital Reference I2S cable.
About the Cable - From the Manufacturer Website
100% hand built in the UK, our Ref series I2s cable combines the high quality Telegartner RJ45 or Neutrik NE8MX6-B modular terminal connectors, our proprietary 99.99% pure silver hand polished conductors configured for dedicated I2s digital transmission only, not to be used in an ethernet application. We have taken the design of this critical interconnect to it’s ultimate solution and found that this specific to I2s design has produced a significant sonic improvement over using a CAT6/7 type cable, with more textural detail, space, bass weight / punch and speed, timing /pace all improving in our test system. It is immediately obvious that there is a broader tonal gamut reaching deep into the bass frequencies that make the music less ‘greyed out’ than previously experienced.. This of course becomes our reference and is always available on demonstration. This cable has completely outperformed far more costly options from some very well known brands, hence if your digital equipment has an I2s implemented connection over RJ45 (not HDMI yet) then you really should try this cable to discover what your source is really capable of. The HDMI Version will be available mid 2021.. As there is no ‘standard’ I2s implementation, please enquire specifically for the components you wish to connect.
Zanden Digital and the Zanden I2S Cable
The entire ethos of the Zanden digital has always been entirely about natural purity of tone, delicacy in its ability to handle detail and extension. It was for its time extraordinarily detailed and remains so, but in the context of the latest digital is not quite in that rarified air of ultimate detail imho. However, it is shockingly good when properly isolated and driven/powered. And it retains even to this day a uniquely natural, pure tone of digital that (for a surprisingly large number of long-in-the-tooth serious audiophiles) remains at the top of the heap in terms of long-term listenability, purity and 'natural' live recording presentation.
Well respected, super-upper echelon audiophiles like Audiocrack still have kept their Zanden 4-box after all these years for a reason. Of the 12 Zanden 4-box owners I have communicated with over the years, only 1 has given it up for another digital system.
The cable is a custom-designed I2S cable for this digital system and for 10 years easily bested 2 other cables that were brought home for audition. Why? Natural tone and in one case, the level of detail and strength of signal were much stronger with the Zanden. And for many years, I assumed: a) I2S did not matter much anyway and b) as a Zanden-designed cable, it would be hard to beat because it was not only well designed by a revered digital designer...but the cable had the 'home court advantage'.
Zanden I2S Cable vs Z:Axis Audio
Along comes Paul Stratton, the founder of Z:Axis Audio in the UK, who has a clear commitment to pure materials, technical research in his designs (both power designs which look and apparently are superbly built based on real fundamentals...though I admit, I am no techie.)
As per the description above, he aims to build a real state of the art I2S cable for ethernet connections. And he brings it by after we acquired one of his isolation cabinets custom-built for our amplifier (which is a work of art by the way and works superbly well and looks like high end luxury furniture since it was custom matched to our existing furniture with piano gloss sapele finish wood and smoked glass.)
The cable is immediately set up to 3 separate disadvantages:
1. It is up against a Zanden cable...so designed by the manufacturer of the digital equipment itself
2. It is brand new...so not broken in.
3. I use Entreq wraps around both ends of the Zanden because it has helped shield it from further EMI/RFI at both ends, and it works well to ensure greater detail, lower noise. (My test is always understandability of complex choral music...whether or not I can understand more words or not.) In this case, I remove the Zanden cable...but do NOT add those Entreq wraps to the Z:Axis Audio Reference.
3 days later...
I put the Zanden cable back in (with all the Entreq wraps)...and it is like the sound got deflated by around 25%. Flatter, weaker signal and literally words that were clear as a bell become less distinct and actually something that (from memory) I always accepted I would never understand.
Returning to the Z:Axis, I can define the sound as a combination of 2 fantastic qualities: far more RESOLUTE and retaining Zanden's quality of natural purity. The signal is STRONGER, DEEPER, more resolved, more resolute. It also allowed me for the first time to hear the mumbles on certain house music that always seemed well, like a mumble. The bass propulsion increased dramatically...20% in terms of snap, dynamic power/hit. I suspect it is not 20% louder at all...but rather the lower noise floor means that the dynamic soft to loud of the bass hit appears far more dramatic.
2 days later...
I decide to make it a 'fairer fight' by putting the Entreq wraps on both ends so that it is like for like in comparison with the Zanden cable. And suddenly I can literally S-P-E-L-L the mumble now...letter for letter. It is not English, but more like a made up set of words...but I can literally spell out the 15-20 letters. INCREDIBLE.
The bass, the thwack...same power but more detailed.
And while I have not mentioned it much til this point, the Z:Axis preserves all of the purity, tone, natural presentation that is intrinsic to the ethos and original design of the Zanden digital. Zen-like.
Conclusion
A keeper. Something which you put in, forget about it and enjoy. No going back. Exceptional value. Done.