Lumina DIN to XLR cable

It is 'good enough' until you want more - there is a lot more to be had.

Then it is about finding the improvements that yield the most for outlay. You have not mentioned speaker leads, but assuming you have NAC A5 then do demo or home-try the SL speaker leads before DIN-XLR lead - for me they are a revelation. The SL DIN-XLR are very worthwhile, but before any cable upgrade try to listen to the SL interconnect between your NDS and Pre - you may be rather pleased. It is also the least expensive cable-upgrade that works well with the NDS,

DB.

Dear Drake Bear,

Thank you very much for your reply. Yes, I have NACA5 speaker leads. I would like to upgrade the IC cable from Hiline to SL anyway. Unfortunately, I could not afford to step-up to the full loom of cables in one step financially so the real question is that what should be the next:  DIN/XLR (cheaper) or speaker cable (more expensive since I need 2 x 7 meters).

Best regards,

It is personal taste - the DIN-XLR gives more clarity and a powerful detailed presentation, but can tend towards an 'at you' presentation depending on the system. The SL speaker leads also give more clarity but in a different way; they seem to remove sonic 'rubbish' and lower the perceived noise-floor and 'draw you in' more with the difference.

Combine the power and clarity if the SL Din-XLR with the sense of space and freedom of the SL speaker leads and you have a very nice combo! So it is down to how to get there - you obviously want to be enjoying each upgrade step. This is where a good Dealer will deliver the best option, as you just audition both and decide!

You will also get recommendations to try other quality cables - audition and decide rather than take anyone's preference (inc me) as what you will prefer. I did borrow a very hyped super cable and it didn't do anything for me, but obviously works for a lot of people.

DB. 

Darke Bear posted:

 

...You will also get recommendations to try other quality cables - audition and decide rather than take anyone's preference (inc me) as what you will prefer. I did borrow a very hyped super cable and it didn't do anything for me, but obviously works for a lot of people.

DB. 

you are doing better than me DB. i havent yet tried any alternative cables in my system -- just the likely combinations scare me...

enjoy

ken

Hi,

I'm presently auditioning the SL Din / XLR at home, having first of all introduced the SL speaker cables in place of NAC A5. This was a very worth while first step, and I was hearing more detail in the music right from the off.

Next came the Din / Din interconnect and things opened up even more. (As an aside, I was always a bit concerned about the fragility of the Highline which this replaced).

The XLR has ben in place for just over a week now, and the process has continued, with more detail and drive than ever before.

I don't know whether there's a recommended order in which to add these cables, but I can say that each addition has been an incremental step forward in the original improvement shown by the SL speaker cable.

You may want to have a read through another thread currently running......"Super Lumina chapter three" for some more detail in the Super Lumina journey.

My dealer has also lent me a set of Chord Sarum Din / XLR's, which I'll try in a couple of weeks, and many contributors on that thread prefer the Chord.

The fun never stops, and always remember, try these fairly expensive cables at home first, letting your ears decide, and disregarding the opinions of others, including me. 

Regards,

Dave.

I added a SL XLR between my Supercap and 250.2 as the final piece, so completing the full SL loom.  I was very pleased with what it did on home demo, the benefits being very obvious, and ordered one instantly.   What I can't say is how good it is on its own but looking at your planned final system I wouldn't have thought you could go far wrong by trying one.  Of course, with the 250DR you only need the one SL XLR so it is half the cost of the paired SL XLRs needed for 300 and 500.

BTW I had a HiLine between my source (nDAC/555PS) and 282 and when my dealer brought an SL interconnect to try at my place I was stunned at how much better it was.  The interconnect isn't much more expensive than the single XLR and I'd be inclined to start with that one before the XLR.  As you will already have worked out, a 7m pair of SL speakers cables is very much more expensive than the interconnect or XLR.

DB, would love to know which hyped super cable you tried if you are prepared to divulge...

im trying (so far with some aggro and no success) to get some SSA IC at home to try. Honestly, beginning to wonder if it's worth the effort given how transformatory the SL IC has been so far. Very interested to know your thoughts if indeed that is what you tried.

kevin J Carden posted:

DB, would love to know which hyped super cable you tried if you are prepared to divulge...

im trying (so far with some aggro and no success) to get some SSA IC at home to try. Honestly, beginning to wonder if it's worth the effort given how transformatory the SL IC has been so far. Very interested to know your thoughts if indeed that is what you tried.

 

 

Trust me Kevin, it's well worth the effort.  The S/L's are a revelation, the SSA interconnect is a level above that.  You'd be missing a trick if you give up trying to borrow an SSA to audition... if you don't, you won't be disappointed because the S/L are wonderful, but if you do, you'll hear something amazing that the extra couple of hundred smakeroos buys you.

This was my experience, yours would very probably be similar.

Roger

kevin J Carden posted:

DB, would love to know which hyped super cable you tried if you are prepared to divulge...

I think I'd better not! Just try these things in your own system and use your own sense of if things are really improved afterwards. Sometimes it is immediate - it was for me, but I did try it a few times - sometimes it dawns on you after a day or two that although you thought it was a great improvement, now your system does not make you happy anymore - remove cable and see it it was it.

There are a lot of dogmatics flying about of Brand X better than Y that I'm not getting into, as it is pointless. Some prefer X others Y and either you accept personal preference or get into trying to prove someone is somehow insane for not having your opinion - the easy path to bigotry if you are not careful. In general I don't like people who pile in to have a go at someone who reports they like something to try to tell them they are wrong or somehow crazy - it says too much about those indulging in it - a sign of an immature mind.

But I will report what I like and works for me. I like the SL cables, they have their run-in foibles and some matching issues as you upgrade, but they seem to let in more light than others that seem to overlay something rather more artificial-sounding to my ears.

DB.

Thanks a lot DB and Roger. I think I've found a Sarum dealer who may be able to help. I'll report back if/when I've had a chance to compare them.

PZ, I have a new 252,Supercap dr,250 dr and a XPS dr on order the Xps to be used with my existing NDX which I am currently using in a Olive system.(Spendor D7s to be ordered after a home demo)

I was intially going to purchase a 282 and booked a demo at my local dealer of a 282,Supercap dr,250 dr source was a NDX with a XPS dr power supply speakers used were Spendor D7s

After listening to a varied selection of music the 282 was changed for a 252 the 252 had more control, just sounded so much better  certainly worth the extra over the 282 in the context of this system we did then upgrade the stock lead from the NDX to a High line this again brought improvments all other cables were standard  NAC 5 speaker cable was used.

I would suggest you listen to the various options that are avalible taking into account that you are using an NDS as a source you might find improvements at source more benificial?

I

I tend to agree. While I personally am not keen on the 252, given that you are going for a Supercap it makes sense to try the 252. And, given that a new 252 and Supercap cost about £10,000 it's worth bearing in mind that you can get a used 552 for a similar sum. 

I have maxed out my much more modest setup with SL cables, and they really make a great improvement in terms of musicality, and in my view are worth every penny, but I'd always say to sort the boxes and then worry about the wires later. I bought the speaker leads exdem, and got the din to xlr on an extended home loan, though it only took 24 hours to decide that it was staying. 

HH, when I look at the cost of upgrading from a Hicap based system to a 252 Supercap set up it is quite frightening but when you start with a Supercap in the mix it maked the upgrade to a 252 quite cost effective this is the route I took but as always you must listen yourself and decide that's what I did and I'm glad I explored all the options avalible within the budget I had in mind.

Once your black boxes are right for you cables,power lines etc can be added later