That result being better with all the same cable? I don’t understand your point.
Should be like that, yes. Cabling is a lot about simultaneous transport of frequencies etc… Different philosophies of manufacturers usually work better or worse on their own, but often seem to fail if mixed. But with a mix one can tinker quite a bit tonality wise or in other characteristics (I did this, too, in the past) but not rarely quite a few other characteristics fell off the back at the end.
I agreed. I have tried a dozen power cords and cables in the last few years. The fun part was when I found a great match among different designs. This is probably not the best way to upgrade. but i am the second craziest guy on cables in this forum. I’ll save the first for an Italian friend
Don’t forget that dude from Minnesota (Big Al) in that ranking.
Oh yeah! Al has reached the top of the mountain already. The rest of us are still struggling to find the right pathway.
Just done another experiment, as for mixing cables.
I bought this cheap device, an XLR switch
My purpose was finding a solution to avoid swapping cables each time I want to play vinyl from digital.
Just for curiosity I connected XLR Dragon from DAC to the switch, then the Iconoclast XLR to the amp. It means mixing two cables on the same path. Guess what? A colossal failure!
After less than a hour I had to disconnect all and I went back to my usual set up (only Iconoclast XLR from DAC to amp). Fatigue, lifeless, bright, harsh… music on steroid and high frequencies at the limit of headache.
The little box is already in my drawer to collect dust for the next years. 50 euros thrown away!
Much better to wait for the next Stealth!
Very interesting! Is the box designed to be an extender like power cable extender? Someone will designed a audiophile box that would improve the SQ from cheap cables.
Stealth is a safer bet to be a winner.
It is a switch rather than an extender, 1 output and 3 inputs. I tried it as an extender (using just 1 input) and it doesn’t work at all. I don’t know if the reason is the mixed cables (Dragon + Iconoclast) or the box itself. Maybe using 2 Iconoclast cables, input and output…
I certainly don’t feel the need to go any deeper.
It’s probably the junky internals of the switch.
I think the best place for it as you said is in the “oh well” pile never to considered again.
New today:
The former top of the line (single, instead of dual tuners found on the new top if the line USB cable) 1.5m. It seems nice.
It would have been a bad sign for the cabling used and the whole setup, if such a box wouldn’t do severe harm! So be lucky
Congrats, let us know your impressions as soon as you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s not yet well cooked, I’m curious!
A single tuning collar can be a funny way to spend time, can’t imagine two of them! Let me confess that even before tweaking for hours with the collar, I immediately found the Stealth cables to have such a great impact on the sound IME.
Looks nice.
I will admit that I ignore the Tuning collars.
When I tried the Stealth Select-T USB, the tuning ring was very effective and it did not work like DIY 3M 7050 ring. It sounded almost as good as Sigma at a more reasonable price in my system. I think two rings will bring it to the next level.
Lord of the Rings!
I am swapping out my Sigma for it. I think the two are very similar sounding. What is above Sigma?
OMEGA. Here is one on sale.
Ouch!
For the people who know, these digital cables make as much difference as any cable. Omega USB remains the cable that made the most improvement in my streaming chain.It deserved to be called “a component upgrade” and the sales price in the site makes it a “bargain” to me😆
My next comment may make some roll their eyes. When I added SW-6, I disconnected the fiber optic cable from the streamer side only and put it in SW6. This made the light flow in reverse direction in the cable (between SW10 and SW6). At first the midrange sounded distant and the bass was booming. I thought it was a part of break-in, but the music was just not coherent. Finally I reversed the cable and instantly the midrange was back and the bass tightened up. Very interesting!