Recommend HDMI cable using the new PST

Great!

Let me know if anyone else waiting has the same tracking number.

Thanks for replying

There is a difference. Itā€™s been a while since I did the direct comparison. I use to run the Diamond off my Oppo to the DSD. I swapped it out with the vodka on my matrix Spdif on my streaming set up since I use that the most and the sound is definitely more open and detailed thatā€™s what I noticed immediately. I was going to compare the Vodka, Diamond, and RAL when the RAL arrives! Laughter. But the vodka Diamond. Diamond better? Yes worth the cost difference not so sure of that.

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all this makes the cable sound better :crazy_face:

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Iā€™ll revisit your question and evaluate both on the same source and try to be more descriptive. I run all AQ Diamonds in my streaming set up. Iā€™ve collected all three Diamond pieces (Ethernet, USB, and HDMI) on the used market from The Music Room (my preferred seller) tho the HDMI I purchased brand new from the music room right before they stopped making it at a substantially discounted price. Iā€™m extremely pleased using the trio in my Nucleus/Marix setup for streaming. I currently use both I2S connections on my DirectStream one Vodka from my Oppo unit and one Diamond from the Matrix. Hopefully the RAL will replace the Vodka.

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Anyone compare the AQ vodka to the Harmonic Technology Magic HDMI cable?

yes. the AQ is twice the price

Any thoughts on the sonic differences?

I tried one that belongs to a friend.
Iā€™m a big fan of the sq of the HT.
I used the Vodka for a couple days and couldnā€™t wait to get my HT back. The HT feels much more hi fidelity. The Vodka sounded very brittle.
My friend disagreed with me and heā€™s happy with the AQ. Heā€™s entitled to his wrong opinion, poor fool.

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Thanks for the input.

My pleasure, Gary.
As usual, my input was worth every penny you paid for it. :grinning:

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My AQ Firdbird48 HDMI is further delayed to June now. I ordered it in late March! Apparently the material got stucked in a cargo ship somewhere. I am using an AQ Coffee HDMI right now. It sounded warmer with more details than the Vodka. But the new Firebird 48 supposedly beats Coffee handily.

Shades of Revelation Audio Labs. I donā€™t know which is harder to get right now. At least you are informed on the delay, unlike RAL. I hope itā€™s worth the wait. I know it was for me, since I am still in love with the sound of the RAL HDMI cable.

I ordered an RAL cable for a friend, for whom I am assembling a system.
As we wait, he is using my Wireworld Silver Sphere.
He is more frustrated than I am with Brad.
Iā€™ve decided that if the cable arrives, I shall give it a name. I shall name it Richard but I will call it Dick.

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Can anyone comment on the terminated connectors on the Harmonic Technology HDMI magic cable? The end that plugs into my PST is very lose and causes problems at times. When playing SACDs I hear a lot faint clicks, and then the other day when playing CDs I got a rush of very loud static and clicks because the connection to the PST had come loose. Itā€™s a used cable I purchased from The Music Room, and Iā€™m wondering if the new ones are like that or this oneā€™s just worn out?

Mine is a couple years old and it does not make a reliable connection to my PST.

Not sure I can live with this. If the volume was any higher when it happened, it couldā€™ve caused damage to my speakers. As much as I like the sound of the cable, I may end up returning it.

Gary, if you want to return yours, donā€™t try this, but I took a small pair of pliers and squeezed the ends of the connector together slightly. This reduced the horizontal dimension, which could only increase the vertical dimension. It now fits tightly in the female connection and works fine. I didnā€™t care if I ruined it and the gamble worked for me. ------Youā€™re not trying to effect the position of the pins. Only the connector shell.

The thought crossed my mind to try that, but didnā€™t want to risk damaging it, and not being able to return it. I was thinking Iā€™d just order a new one, but it sounds like they come like this from the get go. Iā€™d go ahead and order the RAL, but donā€™t feel like putting myself through hell.

I would rather have genital lesions than deal with him again