MY lastest DIY work, purely hand made killer look and killer sound
This is a quick review done by a dude who auditioned it today.
This is the cable which i tried, switch-craft right angle plugs, silver connector pins and high quality silver cable which only wkwlb knows of its source. hahaha!
Testing Rig:
iPod 5.5Gen 80Gb -> crossroads d.o.c.k -> silver bendy -> mini^3 (LM4562 op amp) -> DIY silver cable -> SF5pro
Songs tested:
Liquid Tension Experiment - "Acid Rain"
Michael Buble - "Me and Mrs. Jones"
Mika Nakashima - "Love Addict"
Lord of the Rings- Return of the King - "The Black Gate Opens"
I will do a comparison between es2 and that of this silver cable. as for the stock cable, i really have limited memory on how it sound. Generally, the stock one has muddy bass response compared to UE2 and the mids are not as forward as UE2 as well. Now, let the review of the silver cable unfolds.....
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Liquid Tension Experiment - "Acid Rain"
This piece has very extensive and fast drumming and cymbals work there.
ES2 cable:
It has the ability to properly reproduce this fast piece, with the slight disappointment of the cymbals mashed up when the drummer goes fast on the cymbals. The double bass pedal part was tight, however, it was also pretty recessed and mashed up.
Silver cable:
It present this piece with VERY VERY clear and FORWARD mids and highs, meaning that the cymbals beats were very very distintive and i can actually gauge which cymbals the drummer hit (splash, clash or high hats). Bass was brought forward too which has more of the OUUMP than es2, with cleare distinction on each bass beat on the double pedal, albeit not as tight as the es2 bass. (but definitely not as muddy as the stock cables)
Michael Buble - "Me and Mrs. Jones"
ES2 cable:
Tighter bass than silver cable.
Silver cable:
a more forward bass reproduction, however not as tight as ES2. Vocals seems more forward than the es2 as well.
Mika Nakashima - "Love Addict"
The opening of this song is by string instruments: cello, violin; following by jazz drumming. The silver cable seems on par with the es2 at the opening, with very similar reproduction of these pieces in a light-hearted and catchy manner. but the difference sets in when the voice of mika nakashima comes in: her voice was slightly more forward and feels that I'm actually closer to her on the silver cable than it is on es2. also, at the later part of song, with more instruments coming in (trumpets and other wind instruments), the silver cable win the es2 on instruments separation.
Lord of the Rings- Return of the King - "The Black Gate Opens"
This was the piece that really got my attention. This is an orchestral piece where the silver cable beats the es2 hands down! (no offence on the es2) The clarity and separation of the different instruments were very very distinctive. The most distinguishable difference from the es2 is that when on the es2, i did not notice (read: subtle on the es2) the background drums (those very very big drums that are specially used in orchestra, which i dunno of the name). With the silver cable, the drums were distinctive with each beat, and it's as if my heart beat is synchronised with it. i swear it sweeps me away with a very strong unexplanable sensation, a mixture of fear, hope and i-dunno-what-else during the part where the 1st piccolo part came on while the drums were drumming away (still synchronised with my heartbeat). The soundstage seems to widen quite A bit too, got a feeling of being immersed in the orchestra (please note that I'm at a loss of word here as i do not know how to really feel it and put it in words.. pardon me..).
Conclusion: The silver cable has better instrument separation and clarity on the mids and highs. Bass is more forward but not as tight as es2. it's really very impressive when used on orchestral pieces. I've originally wanted to delete my lord of the rings albums from my ipod as I'm not as touched by it as compared to watching it from the movies, but now i guess i should get the silver cables instead. Also, I'm using the mini^3 with LM4562 op-amp, which can make the highs really harsh on some songs, but this silver cable seemed to be able to tame it down. How it is achieved, I'm not sure, but from my 15-20 mins use of this silver-cable, I'm really very impressed.
Acknowledgement: Thank you, wkwlb for this wonderful cable and giving me the opportunity try it out, with other poisonous stuff too!! hope to see u more often to try out more of your other DIY experiment and your other wonderful setup!