InToxicated Mind: Headphones, USB & Power Cables and Conditioning

Hello guys,

I almost forgot about this, but right after Christmas I bought a new cable for LCD2. I forgot because I have to wait about to months to receive it .

When I remember, it makes me happy. A new toy is due to arrive 😀 . First, I must say that I am a believer. I do think cables make a difference.

However I believe that there is a limit where cables can make a difference and they should be the last thing you get in a sound system. I do not believe >1k cables deserve the money. 5k, 20k cables make me laugh … sincerely :)).. Or what do I know …maybe when you have an over 150k sound system…

I had the zu mobius with HD650 and i really loved it. With it, I never thought of hd650 to be veiled, and the level of details was satisfying.

I have also tried some power cables : PS Audio Jewel & Wireworld Aurora. Both made a difference, a good one with Burson HA-160DS, but with Burson Conductor only the PS Audio Jewel sounds better .

The Wireworld Aurora & Conductor seem to be a bad combo to me. It takes away from the depth of the bass. I tested it a lot of times, as I really loved the Aurora with the ha-160ds, and it was clearly a “higher” end cable than the Ps Audio Jewel. With the DS was better than the jewel.
It was clearly, that I thought  the Aurora to be the better cable, so I insisted a lot with the tests. PsychoAcoustics in this case would have dictated me that the sound with the Aurora would be better, but every time I tested, even the stock cable sounded better.

As you may remember I also tested a lot with my PS Audio Duet Center power conditioner, as it made a very good difference with the DS, but with the Conductor only made things worst. I even tested it again yesterday as I am stubborn (the aurora and ps audio cost 460$ together and I am sad that it does not fit its purpose), and I found out that it really reduces details.

It was obvious in lots of songs, but for example the voice of Leonard Cohen was a good reference. He has a rugged voice. Imagine his voice as a graph with a lot of peaks. With the power conditioner I felt that the peaks were leaned out, like in video antializing, which takes out one of the things I love about Leonard Cohens’ voice.

The PS Audio Jewel was better than the stock cable. The bass improved, it went deeper and tighter, and the background went darker.

I think the wireworld isn’t the best option with conductor because it has some filtering inside.

“Wireworld power cords feature a unique geometric structure and composite insulation materials to maximize inductive and capacitive filtering, effectively absorbing power line noise and damping the electrical resonances that other cords and power conditioners cannot tame.”

I asked Burson about the usage of a power filter or power conditioner and they responded with this:

Burson Audio

Ok but…but…460$..in vain??

Well….the aurora went on my tv and made a good difference (more vivid colors and clearer image), and the power conditioner is used with the tv and my computer.

I have a separate line just for Conductor (in the manual it is advised you plug it directly into the wall socket), so even if i use an extension chord, at least a wall socket is dedicated to it, and it slightly improved the sound. For protection, I use a Belkin Surge Protector. I also asked Burson about automatic voltage regulators and surge protectors, and they responded with :

 Quote:

I also bought a Wireworld Starlight usb cable which also made a good difference, but I don’t think it deserves the money. I think that Wireworld Ultraviolet would have sufficed.

So, I do believe in cables, and in the fact that influences the sound.  They can improve your system or only make it worse.

Looking at my system, I thought my lcd2 stock cable to be the weakest link in my system, so I started searching for reviews and opinion.

I already had my eyes on toxic cables for over a year   thinking in perspective before getting the lcd2 . While searching, I have seen the reviews of Silver Poison and the appreciation thread. When I saw the number of pages on that thread I was amazed. I started to look for other cable companies appreciation threads.

Guess what…I barely found one but with very few pages.

So I started reading the posts….after a few hours I was at page 80  with my eyes red  .

So I have read over 100 pages on this appreciation thread. I was amazed…everybody cheerful…happy and every single one of the customers satisfied. For a cable thread this is pretty damn amazing. It was like a big happy community, one of the most positive ones seen on this entire forum. I haven’t seen one unsatisfied customer…not one!

 This made me sure of my decision.

 I was still not sure if I wanted a silver or copper cable. I am very afraid of brightness even though I have the LCD2. My ears are very sensible to bright sound. I can hear my wifes phone chargers from Nokia when plugged into the power sockets ( at first i thought it was in my head…a iiiiiiiiiiiiiii sound….it was getting me mad…when I started walking in the room and I observed the change in intensity…so i followed the intensity and found the damn charger….  )

After more reviews and everybody stating the silver+gold were not bright and not loosing bass….I decided on Silver Poison. I just had to wait for my salary to kick in (the banks were closed for Christmas).

One night after I enter on headfi for . I stumbled upon this Silver Widow review…and at the end….

Ok…started doing some calculations with my (angry on me  ) wallet….I did not expect to want to buy 300EUR cable, since I recently bought the lcd2+conductor…Well…after a day or so, the salary kicked in, and I contacted Frank to tell him about the order.

Frank did not respond …I was panicking . The poor man works day an night for the cables from what i read ….but damn I wanted to make the order. After a few hours (yes..hours..I did not wait that long…but you know…time is relative when you want something.. :)) ) he responded.

So I sent the order.

I was relieved…the search was over…and I felt goood

But then I realized… the wait…oh the wait…2 more months…

Well…the wait is not over yet. Stay tuned to here the impressions on this cable.