Cables Again.

analogmusic posted:

the chord music cable seems to be all about this mil-spec dielectric insulation, which only Chord Cables have access to.

Wish I could hear it.

That's the point I was making about the Sarum T Super ARAY - it uses the same Taylon dielectric as the Music. Consequently i guess it needs to be heard in the comparison, especially if cost is to be considered.

Yes seems Sarum T aray uses the same taylon di-electric as the expensive Chord Music.

I'm always open to new technology. Jason Kennedy of the ear website did say that excellent hardware is held back by the di-electric in cables.

However the cable can't improve on the source, it can only damage the signal to lesser and lesser degrees

Chord Music should be considered in the context of spending the same money on improving the source... Chord Music or XPS/PS55? keen to know what others who own music think of it compared to black box upgrades - especially on the source.

I am still very curious about the new Sarum T 

analogmusic posted:

Yes seems Sarum T aray uses the same taylon di-electric as the expensive Chord Music.

I'm always open to new technology. Jason Kennedy of the ear website did say that excellent hardware is held back by the di-electric in cables.

I am still very curious about the new Sarum T 

 

There is no better Dielectric, than no Dielectric.

Although not sure if I could be brave enough to use these.

Interim update on the Chord Music interconnect.

It saddens me to concede that there seems to be more detail coming through, compared to the equivalent Super Lumina cable.

Early days yet, and I'm hoping to arrive at a conclusion in a couple of weeks, as the cable is due to be returned to Acoustica, when I visit their upcoming annual show in Chester.

As in the past, different is not always better, so I'll leave it in situ till then, before returning the SL version to the system, at which point, all should become clear.

Oh dear, this could get expensive.  

dave marshall posted:

Interim update on the Chord Music interconnect.

It saddens me to concede that there seems to be more detail coming through, compared to the equivalent Super Lumina cable.

Early days yet, and I'm hoping to arrive at a conclusion in a couple of weeks, as the cable is due to be returned to Acoustica, when I visit their upcoming annual show in Chester.

As in the past, different is not always better, so I'll leave it in situ till then, before returning the SL version to the system, at which point, all should become clear.

Oh dear, this could get expensive.  

 

Get the missus to buy a pair of these instead.

Too late, I'm afraid, she already bought me these! 

Wow I'm jealous. 

OK, the Chord demo at the Bristol show was primarily speaker cables and specifically the new Sarum T but in the particular demo I attended they also stuck in the Sarum T Din to XLR. The great thing was this year they were using a Naim system (272 and 300 DR) into some Neat standmount speakers.

To cut a long story short we ended up with Sarum (non T) speaker cables (massive jump from Epics) with Sarum SA DIN/XLR and then the Sarum T speaker cables were put in. Blimey! A Beyoncé track was used before and after the Sarum T speaker cables and I now have much respect for this artist. The Taylon di-electric takes these cables to a new level.

After this the Sarum T DIN/XLR (no need for interconnect as a 272 was being used) was put in and I was gobsmakked. How on God's good earth can a change in the di-electric used in a cable make such a difference? I simply don't understand! More air, crystal clear vocals, more detail that makes a musical piece far more intelligible, nuances previously masked, just a far more enjoyable listening experience. And this from someone who prefers SL to Sarum TA. If the Sarum T sounds this good, then I hate to think what the Music cables sound like.

What am I supposed to do now? Damn you Chord. You are making my life too complicated. I'm just going to ignore Taylon and whole wretched Sarum T thing and listen to some music on my broken SL equipped black boxes. Yes, that is exactly what I am going to do.

But I wonder what Sarum T cables sound like at home. No, no, put those stupid thoughts out of your mind, Nigel. You know where such careless thinking leads!

nigelb posted:

OK, the Chord demo at the Bristol show was primarily speaker cables and specifically the new Sarum T but in the particular demo I attended they also stuck in the Sarum T Din to XLR. The great thing was this year they were using a Naim system (272 and 300 DR) into some Neat standmount speakers.

To cut a long story short we ended up with Sarum (non T) speaker cables (massive jump from Epics) with Sarum SA DIN/XLR and then the Sarum T speaker cables were put in. Blimey! A Beyoncé track was used before and after the Sarum T speaker cables and I now have much respect for this artist. The Taylon di-electric takes these cables to a new level.

After this the Sarum T DIN/XLR (no need for interconnect as a 272 was being used) was put in and I was gobsmakked. How on God's good earth can a change in the di-electric used in a cable make such a difference? I simply don't understand! More air, crystal clear vocals, more detail that makes a musical piece far more intelligible, nuances previously masked, just a far more enjoyable listening experience. And this from someone who prefers SL to Sarum TA. If the Sarum T sounds this good, then I hate to think what the Music cables sound like.

What am I supposed to do now? Damn you Chord. You are making my life too complicated. I'm just going to ignore Taylon and whole wretched Sarum T thing and listen to some music on my broken SL equipped black boxes. Yes, that is exactly what I am going to do.

But I wonder what Sarum T cables sound like at home. No, no, put those stupid thoughts out of your mind, Nigel. You know where such careless thinking leads!

I felt the same as you regarding this demo.

I'm sure it won't be long before you're trying a set of Sarum T Super ARAY speaker cables at home.

Me too!

Oh dear. 

dave marshall posted:

Interim update on the Chord Music interconnect.

It saddens me to concede that there seems to be more detail coming through, compared to the equivalent Super Lumina cable.

Early days yet, and I'm hoping to arrive at a conclusion in a couple of weeks, as the cable is due to be returned to Acoustica, when I visit their upcoming annual show in Chester.

As in the past, different is not always better, so I'll leave it in situ till then, before returning the SL version to the system, at which point, all should become clear.

Oh dear, this could get expensive.  

 

i always wonder with " more detail " is there an end to this detail hidden deep in our CDs?  

Are we hearing always new things with upgrades?  How we keep hearing more detail from same recording? 

For the most part I don't think it's a case of hearing more detail, but more a case of noticing detail differently through a slightly different presentation or balance. Yes an interconnect that has less reactance will filter less and cause less blurring but I would have thought for most quality interconnects this is a minimal anyway.

Just looked at the price list for the Music cables - 'Kin hell 

Emre posted:

i always wonder with " more detail " is there an end to this detail hidden deep in our CDs?  

Are we hearing always new things with upgrades?  How we keep hearing more detail from same recording? 

Not always in my experience. The last case of "more detail" I heard was an emphasis of certain frequencies, bringing details forward and giving them extra prominence, not digging out something never heard before. It will vary from situation to situation. This is why I like the SL, it seems to bring everything forward without tilting it.

Ears first. If something works for you, it works. For you.

Harry, if you don't mind me asking, did you get to try Chord Sarum cables in your system?

Only a digital interconnect in my off board DAC days. It sounded weird. The presentation was detailed but had somehow fallen to bits. It was not until I came to take it off that I found it was not BNC terminated but phono terminated with a BNC adaptor.

I asked my dealer to ask Cord if, at their convenience, they would supply a hard wired BNC to BNC specimen. Their response was unexpected. It went along the lines of "do you want it or not? We've got people queuing round the block and time wasters can't be accommodated". 

I subsequently spoke to my dealer about a demo when the SL loom loomed. He said that I could do any demo I wanted, and he would sell me anything I wanted, but did I really want to give them any more of my money? On reflection this seemed a fair point so I gave SL a good long go at home and treated Chord as a very distant and improbable contingency.  

I have since purchased a C-Stream Ethernet cable which I like the sound of very much. I wouldn't want to cut off my nose, but at the prices being asked I can swerve comfortably - especially with the SL full loom installed. And their conduct towards me will always prevent them from occupying pole position for the big spends.

So good cables SL vs chord Music it is not about more detail but better presentation or Different? 

Emre posted:

So good cables SL vs chord Music it is not about more detail but better presentation or Different? 

It's appropriate to compare SL cables with Chord Super Sarum Aray [or perhaps the new T version] due to similar price band.

Having listened to both SSA and SL interconnects and found i like both but the Chord SSA more favourably, with it's general agreeable musical presentation, detail, dynamic realism, plus the SSA cables dress far easer than floppy SL.

I thought the SLs digressed slightly from the typical naim sound having a slight foreign sonical flavour, not a big problem but it maybe down to the cable being designed in preference for the Statement.

I know the SL is a big improvement from the High-lne, but imo it should be banded somewhere in-between Chord Signature and SSA.

The Music cable is far more expensive and in a different league to any of the above,  so comparisons only serve to make SL look extremely pretentious. 

Debs

Music isent about more details, more bass etc. It's about just one thing; the extreme presence of the artist in the room. 

//Jonas

dave marshall posted:

Interim update on the Chord Music interconnect.

It saddens me to concede that there seems to be more detail coming through, compared to the equivalent Super Lumina cable.

Early days yet, and I'm hoping to arrive at a conclusion in a couple of weeks, as the cable is due to be returned to Acoustica, when I visit their upcoming annual show in Chester.

As in the past, different is not always better, so I'll leave it in situ till then, before returning the SL version to the system, at which point, all should become clear.

Oh dear, this could get expensive.  

 

It's not just about the amount of detail coming through, it's also about the timing and sense of realism that the Chord Music generates 

Lah, Lah, Lah ................... I can't hear you! 

Hi,

Well, the Chord Music din / din interconnect has been in place for about 10 days now, and I'm not really 100% decided yet.

A comparison with my existing Super Lumina full loom.

More apparent detail coming through? Tick.

Realism, as in cymbals sounding more real? Tick.

A slightly increased sense of the band being in the room? Tick.

However, all of the above seem to be at a cost of what I hear as increased treble response , resulting in glare, especially when the music gets a bit busy.

The above views obviously depend greatly on room interaction, and, of course, my aural receptors.

So, cable swapping continues, to see if I can make my mind up, also taking into account the VFM factor, as this stuff is mighty pricey.

The fun never stops. 

Polarbear posted:

dave marshall posted:

Interim update on the Chord Music interconnect.

It saddens me to concede that there seems to be more detail coming through, compared to the equivalent Super Lumina cable.

Early days yet, and I'm hoping to arrive at a conclusion in a couple of weeks, as the cable is due to be returned to Acoustica, when I visit their upcoming annual show in Chester.

As in the past, different is not always better, so I'll leave it in situ till then, before returning the SL version to the system, at which point, all should become clear.

Oh dear, this could get expensive.  

 

It's not just about the amount of detail coming through, it's also about the timing and sense of realism that the Chord Music generates 

Hi Nigel,

Are you running full loom Chord Music, since it isn't shown in your profile?

I don't know how far back this topic you have read, but I mentioned a plan B, which involves looking at the cost of full loom Music, against trading up to a 500 DR demonstrator, and retaining the Super Lumina full loom which I have at present.

You have long advocated my acquiring a 500, so I'd be interested in your thoughts in deciding which course of action might be best, before I start setting up home demos.

Aw ra best,

Dave.

Hi Dave,

I am Running a Music IC between the 555 and the 552. I have a very special hand made XLR cable between 552 and 500. I have retained NACA for speaker cable, simply because of the length of cable doesn't make it economically viable to use anything else.

I have been watching the thread with interest since day one and I haven't commented too much for a reason. 

As you know I had the Nines and went from 300 to two 300's and then 2 500's and the system improved greatly on each transition. 

My advice will always be the same, get the black boxes right first and then play with accessories, cables, supports main etc. Nothing betters an upgrade with the black boxes, the rest is just tinkering. If a 500 is an option then do it first before changing from SL to music.

As always, its only my opinion but we have known each other for a very long time and I have been there with the Neats. Have a listen to the 500 and make your own mind up but I will be very surprised if I don't know what your next upgrade will be.

Kind regards

PB

Polarbear posted:

Hi Dave,

I am Running a Music IC between the 555 and the 552. I have a very special hand made XLR cable between 552 and 500. I have retained NACA for speaker cable, simply because of the length of cable doesn't make it economically viable to use anything else.

I have been watching the thread with interest since day one and I haven't commented too much for a reason. 

As you know I had the Nines and went from 300 to two 300's and then 2 500's and the system improved greatly on each transition. 

My advice will always be the same, get the black boxes right first and then play with accessories, cables, supports main etc. Nothing betters an upgrade with the black boxes, the rest is just tinkering. If a 500 is an option then do it first before changing from SL to music.

As always, its only my opinion but we have known each other for a very long time and I have been there with the Neats. Have a listen to the 500 and make your own mind up but I will be very surprised if I don't know what your next upgrade will be.

 Kind regards

PB

 

 

Thanks Nigel,

I've more or less completed the comparison between the Music and SL interconnect, and next I plan to reinstate the NacA5, to see if doing so retains the sounds so far.

My guys are on the case as we speak, regarding moving to Chord Music versus introducing a 500 DR.

Interesting times.

Dave.