Witch hat cables
Posted by: Aceone on 22 September 2018
Good afternoon everyone ,can anyone advice me on witch hat speaker cables are they really good value for money ,iam thinking about buying these cables ,thanks acetone.
kassos posted:Not sure if my experience adds much to what is ultimately a highly subjective debate but here goes.
I swapped old secondhand naca5 for lovely sparkling new phantom cables with naim plugs. I found it hard to be sure of much difference but let the phantoms run in and then changed back and forth and decided that I preferred the naca5 ( with help from other more objective listeners). I returned the phantoms and got the promised refund after 28 days with no hassle albeit I’m not sure why I had to wait so long but wh did say it would take a while. I then replaced my tatty old naca5 with brand new naca5 for £80 less than the cost of phantoms and after a bit of run in my system sounds great again and definitely better than phantom.
I wanted to give the wh interconnect a go but having returned their phantoms I don’t think I’ll bother.
272, 250-2dr & Proac d2
Kassos, did you order you witch hat speaker cable with the naim speaker plugs,i did not see a option for Phantom speaker with them cable only with audioquest plugs, the cheaper N2 cable had this option so not sure you got the two cables mixed up ,just a thought.
I am due to take delivery of Phantom and a Source Interconnect to replace Chord Epic and Shawline respectively this week.
I've been a Chord customer for over 12 years so I am intrigued to hear how the WH acts in my system which is 200/282/CDX2/LP12/Rega Aria.
I will leave them plugged in for a minimum 24 hours before taking my first listen and then report back so folks will at least have some form of comparison on WH v Chord. BTW, I preferred the Epic to the NACA4 I was using before, more prominent bass, vocals and midrange to my ears.
Hi Keith I ordered Phantom cables 2x 5 m with naim plugs at the amp end and banana plugs at the speaker end. I have naca5 jumper leads on the proacs. I had to send them my naim plugs but there was no extra charge and when I returned them and got my refund I lost the naim plugs.
I'd still be interested in a comment from a knowledgeable person regarding my question early on in this thread about my doubts on the use of silver plated plugs.
Jonners posted:I am due to take delivery of Phantom and a Source Interconnect to replace Chord Epic and Shawline respectively this week.
I've been a Chord customer for over 12 years so I am intrigued to hear how the WH acts in my system which is 200/282/CDX2/LP12/Rega Aria.
I will leave them plugged in for a minimum 24 hours before taking my first listen and then report back so folks will at least have some form of comparison on WH v Chord. BTW, I preferred the Epic to the NACA4 I was using before, more prominent bass, vocals and midrange to my ears.
As you’ll need to be playing music for that 24 hours, you won’t be able to avoid listening.
hungryhalibut posted:Jonners posted:I am due to take delivery of Phantom and a Source Interconnect to replace Chord Epic and Shawline respectively this week.
I've been a Chord customer for over 12 years so I am intrigued to hear how the WH acts in my system which is 200/282/CDX2/LP12/Rega Aria.
I will leave them plugged in for a minimum 24 hours before taking my first listen and then report back so folks will at least have some form of comparison on WH v Chord. BTW, I preferred the Epic to the NACA4 I was using before, more prominent bass, vocals and midrange to my ears.
As you’ll need to be playing music for that 24 hours, you won’t be able to avoid listening.
Not a problem - I'm bingeing on "The Sinner" on NetFlix at the moment so I can go cold turkey if needbe ;-)
feeling_zen posted:I'd still be interested in a comment from a knowledgeable person regarding my question early on in this thread about my doubts on the use of silver plated plugs.
Yes, interesting question great conductivity, but oxidises quickly, frequent reconnecting will eventually remove the plating? I wonder if Huge has done any experiments and detailed inspection under a microscope?
Thanks Hifi man, looks like the silver tarnish is still a good conductor, so should not be an issue. Nice straight forward article, thanks.
Silver oxide is a thin film conductor and is also transparent, but silver sulphide isn't.
A very thin layer of silver oxide develops quickly, but then silver sulphide accumulates this is what can actually be seen as a film of coloured 'tarnish' on the metal and this coloured material is an insulator.
Phantom cables with 272+200 great sound ,much better than Naca and Tellurium q black
Huge posted:Silver oxide is a thin film conductor and is also transparent, but silver sulphide isn't.
A very thin layer of silver oxide develops quickly, but then silver sulphide accumulates this is what can actually be seen as a film of coloured 'tarnish' on the metal and this coloured material is an insulator.
So it's basically fancy bollocks then and going back to good old nickel or rhodium is the way to go?
I've noticed there have been a number of posts in this threads with peoples opinion of WH vs other cables, which is great but a number of them only say they were better or they were worse vs xxxxx. If you are going to post about your experiences with the WH cables, could you please post why they are better or why they are worse, as it would be much more helpful to others that are interested in these cables.
daren_p posted:I've noticed there have been a number of posts in this threads with peoples opinion of WH vs other cables, which is great but a number of them only say they were better or they were worse vs xxxxx. If you are going to post about your experiences with the WH cables, could you please post why they are better or why they are worse, as it would be much more helpful to others that are interested in these cables.
Fair enough.
I swapped out the standard DIN-XLR lead to my 250 with a WH cable and, to be specific, less dark and compressed sounding, with marginally better resolution in the top end of the frequency range.
The cable was low cost. There were no audible downsides. I kept it.
With regard to the Phantom speaker cable, I do think some of the posts here have in fact described the benefit in more detail than others.
Because there were a few posts about the use of silver-plated plugs on the WH cables and concerns over tarnishing, I sent a mail over to Audioquest whose products WH use and have received a reply from a technician stating that Silver Oxide is conductive and will not affect sound quality. However, they do supply cleaning cloths for additional peace of mind if needed.
feeling_zen posted:daren_p posted:I've noticed there have been a number of posts in this threads with peoples opinion of WH vs other cables, which is great but a number of them only say they were better or they were worse vs xxxxx. If you are going to post about your experiences with the WH cables, could you please post why they are better or why they are worse, as it would be much more helpful to others that are interested in these cables.
Fair enough.
I swapped out the standard DIN-XLR lead to my 250 with a WH cable and, to be specific, less dark and compressed sounding, with marginally better resolution in the top end of the frequency range.
The cable was low cost. There were no audible downsides. I kept it.With regard to the Phantom speaker cable, I do think some of the posts here have in fact described the benefit in more detail than others.
I swapped two DIN-XLR between SNAXO & 250s. Conversely to F_Z, I found them darker, but much, much more detail, and frequency extension....... Actually, quite astonishingly so. Whatever WH do, it is better than 6 Amp mains cable!
I use the witch hat DIN to XLR between my 272 and 250DR with similar results to Suzy Wong great cable for the money.
Back to the Phantom speaker cable and I'm really enjoying the tunes, listening tonight to Jonathan Wilson - Gentle Spirit, I know this album inside out and there's detail in the back ground I haven't heard before.
Overall the presentation is more dynamic, bags of detail and dare I say inky blackness plus a touch more bass and believe me when you own a pair of Proac Tab 10s you notice additional bass 
Numbers seem to be favouring the witch hat cable ..
Japtimscarlet posted:Numbers seem to be favouring the witch hat cable ..
I can only report what works for me in the context of my system (and, of course, only those cables that we’re allowed to discuss) - CDX(XPS)-82(SC)-SNAXO(SC)-250s-Sibbles(NACA5).
Ultimately, only you can decide what works for you in your system.
10 days in with the Phantom cables and good things are happening. Whereas initially the cables were quite lean, they have now 'filled out' (I won't ever be able to explain how these things happen but have accepted the fact that most equipment, including cables, simply need a fair amount of time to burn in properly). The presentation is more relaxed (but still dynamic) and there is now a good level of bass, with good nuance and texture, but without the sort of loudness effect inherent in the NACA5 cables. I find the Phantom treble better than NACA5, with more detail and extension.
I could live happily with either cable but in my current set up and small room (home office, 3 x 3.5 m) I believe the Phantom cables are a better match, primarily because the bass is more controlled/does not 'bloat'. Things may change/improve further over the next couple of weeks, but so far I like what I'm hearing.
PSAN posted:10 days in with the Phantom cables and good things are happening. Whereas initially the cables were quite lean, they have now 'filled out' (I won't ever be able to explain how these things happen but have accepted the fact that most equipment, including cables, simply need a fair amount of time to burn in properly). The presentation is more relaxed (but still dynamic) and there is now a good level of bass, with good nuance and texture, but without the sort of loudness effect inherent in the NACA5 cables. I find the Phantom treble better than NACA5, with more detail and extension.
I could live happily with either cable but in my current set up and small room (home office, 3 x 3.5 m) I believe the Phantom cables are a better match, primarily because the bass is more controlled/does not 'bloat'. Things may change/improve further over the next couple of weeks, but so far I like what I'm hearing.
That's a good post PSAN. I am hoping to get my Phantom runs this week or next. The 10 day burn-in period is good to note. Thanks!
Apart from speaker cables, look at the interconnects too.
ryder. posted:Apart from speaker cables, look at the interconnects too.
Also have a Source interconnect on order to run between my phono stage and TT. That will replace a Chord Shawline. I am interested to see if these WH products make a positive difference. Also considering AR as well so a case of "wait and see".
Jonners posted:ryder. posted:Apart from speaker cables, look at the interconnects too.
Also have a Source interconnect on order to run between my phono stage and TT. That will replace a Chord Shawline. I am interested to see if these WH products make a positive difference. Also considering AR as well so a case of "wait and see".
Let us know how you get on with the WitchHat interconnect. I use the Chord Shawline (RCA/DIN) between my phono stage and 202 and have been very happy with it so far (it replaced a Chord Chameleon).
PSAN posted:Jonners posted:ryder. posted:Apart from speaker cables, look at the interconnects too.
Also have a Source interconnect on order to run between my phono stage and TT. That will replace a Chord Shawline. I am interested to see if these WH products make a positive difference. Also considering AR as well so a case of "wait and see".
Let us know how you get on with the WitchHat interconnect. I use the Chord Shawline (RCA/DIN) between my phono stage and 202 and have been very happy with it so far (it replaced a Chord Chameleon).
I surely will. I like Chord but I don't have the vast amounts of dosh to move up through the range. WH cables are made by ex-Naim people for Naim people so should give me a leg up without breaking the bank. Well, here's hoping!