audylubis said:
That's really cool audylubis. Glad you are now getting more punch from your punk. Welcome to the thread.
That's really cool audylubis. Glad you are now getting more punch from your punk. Welcome to the thread.
Sad news I'm afraid guys. Big Chris whom you may have seen post on this thread has been killed in an accident.
Having just got to know him a bit and found the Metal Hammer CD that his band is on. It is quite a shock to read about this in my in my Facebook feed from Drumwright a shop he may have used seeing as Big Chris was a drummer.
I have already started a new thread regarding his death which I'm sure you have seen but I know us Metal Heads stick together and wanted to share it in this thread where I am glad to have made his acquaintence.
I'm sure you will join me in wishing the Wife, family and his band mates he has left behind ease in the greeving they will now endure.
R.I.P. Big Chris Keep on Drumming son. :O :beer:
Having just got to know him a bit and found the Metal Hammer CD that his band is on. It is quite a shock to read about this in my in my Facebook feed from Drumwright a shop he may have used seeing as Big Chris was a drummer.
I have already started a new thread regarding his death which I'm sure you have seen but I know us Metal Heads stick together and wanted to share it in this thread where I am glad to have made his acquaintence.
I'm sure you will join me in wishing the Wife, family and his band mates he has left behind ease in the greeving they will now endure.
R.I.P. Big Chris Keep on Drumming son. :O :beer:
So I just took delivery of my Chord cobra vee3 today, been checking it out on my system for about two hours...listening right now. :rockout:
Firstly I will say that over the last week my speakers/components etc. (speakers most likely) have burned in nicely and, with the speakers in an identical position, I was noticing increased bass definition and separation with the Dimmu Borgir album among other stuff.
I connected up my Chord cobra, after listening to Death Cult... for about 15mins to get a balanced view and allow the amp to warm up and was a little shocked and perhaps dissapointed...it sounded different in that I found the treble to be tamed a little. Then I started playing other stuff, albums I could not even hear the bass notes on clearly or were too bright for me before, coheed and Cambria after man, carcass heartwork and between the buried and me. Let's just say I am pretty damn happy, the clarity , bass definition and soundstage are improved for sure, maybe the cable needed a bit of working in....
Firstly I will say that over the last week my speakers/components etc. (speakers most likely) have burned in nicely and, with the speakers in an identical position, I was noticing increased bass definition and separation with the Dimmu Borgir album among other stuff.
I connected up my Chord cobra, after listening to Death Cult... for about 15mins to get a balanced view and allow the amp to warm up and was a little shocked and perhaps dissapointed...it sounded different in that I found the treble to be tamed a little. Then I started playing other stuff, albums I could not even hear the bass notes on clearly or were too bright for me before, coheed and Cambria after man, carcass heartwork and between the buried and me. Let's just say I am pretty damn happy, the clarity , bass definition and soundstage are improved for sure, maybe the cable needed a bit of working in....
Fleabyte said:
That's great to hear Fleabyte.
I think you will find the reason the treble seems to have been tamed is not that at all. Does anything you listen to sound less harsh? can you now turn it up louder and still feel comfortable listening to it? Some of the added noise that goes through a system has been gotten rid of and you are hearing a more pure sound. I say some as you would have to go further up the range to get more off. It's a little hard to explain but it you understand the Harsh reference then you're good. It's not treble being taken away but the stuff that has been added in from the other cables and the system itself that have been reduced. The fact it has uncovered more bass deffinition proves my point. It's what's been removed from the sound that is now allowing you to hear more of what is on the disc.
Since I statred updating my system I've come to the conclusion we only get to hear 2/3s of what is on the disc on any other set up. I would say I've managed to unlock 5-6/8ths of whats on a CD and most of that has come from 2 cables. My Prodac from my CD player to DAC and the Chord Anthem Reference I've been raving on about.
It's why I said you may end up sending it back and paying more for the Chameleon as you will get a bigger difference still. But enjoy the Cobra.
Any chance you could go on my The Cable Madman facebook page and put a little note that I helped you out? You don't have to. You would see my actual name and I wonder if you could pass on to Chord Company through their FB page that I recomended them to you. It wouldn't get me anything from them as they are already good to me as they are all their customers. Just nice for them to know I believe in them and I'm happy to spread the word that's all. It's up to you. Nigel knows me.
Though it's easy to find out I just want to stay as Glacialpath on here.
Cheer bud. Happy listening. Give the cable time. They may have already done what they do so it won't need a burn it but you may find it gets better with time. Leave a long CD playing on repeat all while you are out. That will speed up the process if it's needed. Then re listen to things a week or so late and see if you can hear more. That fact you already can means the cable has done it's job. So nice one.
Hey man,
After an extensive listen last night which culminated in me grinning from ear to ear and playing air bass I am inclined to agree with you. The "loss" of treble soon became not an issue as what was there was both less harsh and gleaming with more detail and emotion.
One for the objectionists here, I noticed that I was able to listen louder without the bass becoming muddy and treble harsh, I checked this with as SPL meter...carcass sounded amazing. I swapped back todasy briefly to the stock cable and played a track I am very familiar with and that I could not tell the bass notes very easily before...the problem is gone with the chord, I am a complete convert!
I think I will stick with the cobra chord for now (I may very the itch and upgrade soon!). Thank for helping me, I am not on Facebook but will be sure to let the chord company know you helped me, I see no issue with that!
I know many people are sceptical about cables, but I know what I can hear and its fantastic!
Rock on man!
After an extensive listen last night which culminated in me grinning from ear to ear and playing air bass I am inclined to agree with you. The "loss" of treble soon became not an issue as what was there was both less harsh and gleaming with more detail and emotion.
One for the objectionists here, I noticed that I was able to listen louder without the bass becoming muddy and treble harsh, I checked this with as SPL meter...carcass sounded amazing. I swapped back todasy briefly to the stock cable and played a track I am very familiar with and that I could not tell the bass notes very easily before...the problem is gone with the chord, I am a complete convert!
I think I will stick with the cobra chord for now (I may very the itch and upgrade soon!). Thank for helping me, I am not on Facebook but will be sure to let the chord company know you helped me, I see no issue with that!
I know many people are sceptical about cables, but I know what I can hear and its fantastic!
Rock on man!
You are very welcome Fleabyte. Thats the way I look at it too. My wife and I can hear a difference and we are both musicians. When Chord Company do their demos, they as people how they think a band is playing, whether they are puting an emotion in to the music. This of course is before they start putting their cables on the system. Then they finally put the top cable on and go back to the original piece of music. Guess what...suddenly the band are putting emotion into the music.
I'm sure you would have told me if you weren't getting any difference and Chord company would gladly have taken the Cobra back and give you a full refund but I can tell you are going to be keeping it.
Have you ever attended the Bristol Sound and Vision show in February? It's a bit daunting at first but once you've been a few times it's great seeing and hearing all the new kit. All the guys at Chord are great just like all the other manufacturers are but there is something about Chordd that I haven't gotten from the others....aside from there cables lol.
Glad you are smiling big and loving your tunes.
I'm sure you would have told me if you weren't getting any difference and Chord company would gladly have taken the Cobra back and give you a full refund but I can tell you are going to be keeping it.
Have you ever attended the Bristol Sound and Vision show in February? It's a bit daunting at first but once you've been a few times it's great seeing and hearing all the new kit. All the guys at Chord are great just like all the other manufacturers are but there is something about Chordd that I haven't gotten from the others....aside from there cables lol.
Glad you are smiling big and loving your tunes.
Hi Glacial
I found this thread after reading a post of yours on facebook.
I love my rock/metal (Although Im open to most music). Going to see Opeth again this October
Regarding cables, I found that the cleaner the mains supply, the better the equipment works. For that I use a balanced mains conditioner and braided copper (mainly) mains cables.
As for interconnects and speaker cables, I found that some of the best stuff you can buy are OCC cables (no grain). For this I have Atlas Titan interconnects and Atlas Ascent speaker cables.
Before that I used Van Damme UP LC-OFC (Less grain than normal copper, and very cheap to buy). Ive tried quite a few different types of cables, but I definitely swear by grainless cables. I have heard far more expensive cables that have sounded even better still (But I refuse to pay incredible prices for them). I have also heard very expensive cables that have sounded 'tinny' and lifeless.
Im impressed you have done experiements with cables. You sound very much like myself
I found this thread after reading a post of yours on facebook.
I love my rock/metal (Although Im open to most music). Going to see Opeth again this October
Regarding cables, I found that the cleaner the mains supply, the better the equipment works. For that I use a balanced mains conditioner and braided copper (mainly) mains cables.
As for interconnects and speaker cables, I found that some of the best stuff you can buy are OCC cables (no grain). For this I have Atlas Titan interconnects and Atlas Ascent speaker cables.
Before that I used Van Damme UP LC-OFC (Less grain than normal copper, and very cheap to buy). Ive tried quite a few different types of cables, but I definitely swear by grainless cables. I have heard far more expensive cables that have sounded even better still (But I refuse to pay incredible prices for them). I have also heard very expensive cables that have sounded 'tinny' and lifeless.
Im impressed you have done experiements with cables. You sound very much like myself
Hello mate. Glad you found the thread. That's some great info on your cables. The thread is not just about my Hi-Fi that's for sure. I hope people cna find out new things from it and put their thoughts and findings in too.
Hmmm grainless copper that makes sense. I discovered cable has a grain/direction whne I pluged a guitar lead in to my amp once. It had been unplugged and has a kink at one end where it was in the packaging. I guess I put it in the other way and my ears will pick even minor differences in sound. Anyway It sounded slightly dull so I changed it back to how it was before and the sound became brighter.
With the cables you felt sounded bright, did you swap the ends over to see if it made a difference? Also what cables were they?
I've only really heard Chord Company cables so info on others would be great for the thread.
I'm glad my wife and I didn't have to pay for our Chord Anthem Reference interconnect but I'm sure glad we have it. It's made a huge difference. If the materials used to make the cables weren't so expensive the companiess making them wouldn't have to mark them up so much.
Hmmm grainless copper that makes sense. I discovered cable has a grain/direction whne I pluged a guitar lead in to my amp once. It had been unplugged and has a kink at one end where it was in the packaging. I guess I put it in the other way and my ears will pick even minor differences in sound. Anyway It sounded slightly dull so I changed it back to how it was before and the sound became brighter.
With the cables you felt sounded bright, did you swap the ends over to see if it made a difference? Also what cables were they?
I've only really heard Chord Company cables so info on others would be great for the thread.
I'm glad my wife and I didn't have to pay for our Chord Anthem Reference interconnect but I'm sure glad we have it. It's made a huge difference. If the materials used to make the cables weren't so expensive the companiess making them wouldn't have to mark them up so much.
Glacialpath said:
FWIW. Brands that I have heard and would rate would be: Atlas, Telurium Q, Vertere, Cardas, Audioquest, Linn, TCI, Furutech and Clearer Audio (mains products).
plastic penguin
Well-known member
Glacialpath said:
Sorry but...
Heavy, death, extreme metal isn't my bag. The heaviest I go is 'light metal' or power pop. I've had Rainbow Rising since the late 70s and still love it.
Rainbow, Gillan, Led Zepp, a bit of Black Sabbath... are pretty much my limit.
Saying that, I love 'The Tea Party' (album 'Splendor Solace'), which were an alternative rock/metal band. Wicked.
+1 for Tellurium Q. I'm using Tellurium Q Black speaker cable and surprised of the improvement in my system (Krell S300i & Harbeth SuperHL5). Listen to Pearl Jam, Tad, Black Flag, Fugazi and love the improvement from TQ Black.
I'm soon to take delivery of this RCA interconnect to go between my pre and power amps. It was heavily discounted as a sweetener for the power amp deal *biggrin*
Before I swap, I'll listen to Death Cult Armageddon so I have some comparison...
I will report back!
Before I swap, I'll listen to Death Cult Armageddon so I have some comparison...
I will report back!
Glacialpath said:
The cables were exactly as I had wrote Atlas made Titan interconnects and Ascent speaker cables (Although the speaker cables, I managed to buy the cable very cheap and add my own bananas). If you google them or van dammes UP LC-OFC, youll find the ones I speak of (The van damme is incredibly cheap for how good it sounds)
Every 'new' cable I have bought has changed over time. Why this is I cannot say, but I keep an eye on science forums etc to see what developments there have been regarding this.
Silver plated and particularly solid silver cables take an age to 'bed in'. Initially they sound awful, get better, then far worse then better until they stop becoming any better. (Far worse is when theres a complete lack of bass and the treble is very 'shrill')
As for the atlas cables : they sound pretty good out of the packet. But over time the bass REALLY opens up. My system sounds an absolute powerhouse (For the money: I say this is as I know someone who has spent an absolute fortune on his system, but it does look and sound incredible). Natural, but very powerful when it should sound powerful. Movies in particular can be jaw dropping at particular moments.
Before the atlas cables, I was using Russ Andrews braided type. But it always sounded 'bright' to my ears.
But by far the biggest change to my system was when I added the balanced mains transformer from airlink transformers. The unit 'hums', but its in a cupboard out of the way, and the improvements it brings FAR outstrips the hum and the general awful industrial look of the unit.
As for mains cables, I use (Mostly) russ andrews 8 core braided (To repel RFI). They really do work and really can make a difference in the right home (Like mine, that seems to be steeped in mains interference).
In a perfect home, you probably wouldnt need to upgrade anything mains related, but very few people live in such an abode (Especially in this 'wifi' age)
aliEnRIK said:Glacialpath said:
The cables were exactly as I had wrote Atlas made Titan interconnects and Ascent speaker cables (Although the speaker cables, I managed to buy the cable very cheap and add my own bananas). If you google them or van dammes UP LC-OFC, youll find the ones I speak of (The van damme is incredibly cheap for how good it sounds)Every 'new' cable I have bought has changed over time. Why this is I cannot say, but I keep an eye on science forums etc to see what developments there have been regarding this.Silver plated and particularly solid silver cables take an age to 'bed in'. Initially they sound awful, get better, then far worse then better until they stop becoming any better. (Far worse is when theres a complete lack of bass and the treble is very 'shrill')As for the atlas cables : they sound pretty good out of the packet. But over time the bass REALLY opens up. My system sounds an absolute powerhouse (For the money: I say this is as I know someone who has spent an absolute fortune on his system, but it does look and sound incredible). Natural, but very powerful when it should sound powerful. Movies in particular can be jaw dropping at particular moments.
Before the atlas cables, I was using Russ Andrews braided type. But it always sounded 'bright' to my ears.
But by far the biggest change to my system was when I added the balanced mains transformer from airlink transformers. The unit 'hums', but its in a cupboard out of the way, and the improvements it brings FAR outstrips the hum and the general awful industrial look of the unit.
As for mains cables, I use (Mostly) russ andrews 8 core braided (To repel RFI). They really do work and really can make a difference in the right home (Like mine, that seems to be steeped in mains interference).In a perfect home, you probably wouldnt need to upgrade anything mains related, but very few people live in such an abode (Especially in this 'wifi' age)
Hmm though you have hiden the transformer away so you can't hear it I'm pretty sure a lot of the noise will be transmitted through your system and through your speakers. You can't really tell until it's not there and you realise how clear the sound is.
Seems your system is sounding great to you so no problems really.
That's strange the cables seem to change from bad to worse before bedding in. Could it be weather related? You didn't say if you swapped the ends over with the cables you felt seemed to bright. As a rule I think the text on the cable depicts the direction of the graint with the words reading away from the source as the optimum direction.
Glacialpath said:
Most transformers hum to some degree, but it's purely mechanical, caused by the windings vibrating (usually caused by DC on the line)....as such it won't be transmitted to the hifi.
Glacialpath said:
Balanced mains transformers work by rejecting RFI and EMI by changing + 230 -0 volts to +115 -115 (The positive and negative voltages help to repel mains interference). 'All' transformers 'hum'. Its a part of how they work (Although im sure it can be limited down via various methods). But the hum only comes from the unit itself, it does nothing but good to the mains outputted from it.
So in effect it takes the dirty mains and makes it clean again.
And no, im not going for 'weather' related changes!
Im not really a believer in 'directional cables'
I do the same : ill follow the writing or the arrows. But in tests, ive never noticed any difference.
If they are directional, chances are there is some physical (And usually visual) defect at work
As for the changes over time, most people cant afford brand new silver (Particularly solid silver) cables, and so most people will never experience any real changes like if it was brand new (And in my experience, for whatever reason, silver makes the biggest changes)
I do the same : ill follow the writing or the arrows. But in tests, ive never noticed any difference.
If they are directional, chances are there is some physical (And usually visual) defect at work
As for the changes over time, most people cant afford brand new silver (Particularly solid silver) cables, and so most people will never experience any real changes like if it was brand new (And in my experience, for whatever reason, silver makes the biggest changes)
Tried out the Chord Chorus this evening... Listened to the first 4 tracks from DCA, firstly with my existing £20 interconnect, then immediately after with the new cable, once fitted.
My brain* is telling me I can hear differences among the higher frequencies of the cymbals. They seem louder. Not sibilant or harsh but (I hesitate to write this) maybe a bit clearer...
I'm not going to stick my neck out and declare that this perception is a reflection of reality though. The scientist in me won't have that without a proper, controlled blind test.
The blurb with the Chord tells me that the cable takes "100 hours to reach maximum performance". That'll teach me to be impatient. The interconnects are also directional, apparently... although I am sceptical about this.
I'm going to suspend judgement for a couple of weeks, then repeat the test along with some assistance from a mate to swap/not swap the cables over to try and add some sort of rigour.
* said organ is currently undergoing chemical changes brought about by the consumption of a few bottles of Purbeck Cider smuggled out of Dorset after last week's holiday...
My brain* is telling me I can hear differences among the higher frequencies of the cymbals. They seem louder. Not sibilant or harsh but (I hesitate to write this) maybe a bit clearer...
I'm not going to stick my neck out and declare that this perception is a reflection of reality though. The scientist in me won't have that without a proper, controlled blind test.
The blurb with the Chord tells me that the cable takes "100 hours to reach maximum performance". That'll teach me to be impatient. The interconnects are also directional, apparently... although I am sceptical about this.
I'm going to suspend judgement for a couple of weeks, then repeat the test along with some assistance from a mate to swap/not swap the cables over to try and add some sort of rigour.
* said organ is currently undergoing chemical changes brought about by the consumption of a few bottles of Purbeck Cider smuggled out of Dorset after last week's holiday...
Waxy said:
Ah! glad to hear you have the cable now. You know what. I would just say forget the blind test. You know why because you have pickes a specific area that sound clearer. If you can destinguish better between which cymbals Mr barker is using than you can with your £20 cable then the Chord cable is doing it's thing.
How much of the 40 piece orchestra could you hear before on your £20 cable? Wait till the cable is run in.
The best way to tell if the cable has direction is try it on both ways and swap back and forth. If you hear the same difference each time then it has a grain.
I find if I can hear things that I don't recall hearing before then I'm convinced they were not as clear before so didn't jump out. If you've listened to an album 100s of time before then you put on a new cable and suddenly you hear things you don't remember hearing before and it sound new then there is a reason 1 time after the previous 100 listens you hear something new right? Our brains can't be tricked like that I'm sure. And it's not like you are trying to hear more.
Anyway if in the blind test you get it wrong and you think it was just a guess will you send the cable back or just carry on enjoying having your brain fooled where as it wasn't before?
Oh and for the burn in, not sure if you've read this from me before but leave along CD on repeat all when you go out. You will reach the aloted time sooner. Just don't forget you left your music running when you come home lol.
Let me know how you get on and don't do the blind test till it's run in as I think that's what you are going to do anyway. Also hold off listening to DCA till then and see if you get a bigger difference.
Hi Glacial,
Well, I conducted a small experiment with a couple of friends of mine last night using DCA and some clandestine interconnect swapping...
i have been working from home so have been leaving my system running for 10-12 hours per day to burn-in the cable for a few days.
Both subjects are familiar with Dimmu Borgir; we all went to London Astoria a few years back to see them, on the DCA tour if I recall correctly. One of the subjects is also a bit of a guitarist. Both have a sceptical outlook generally!
I made them leave the room during each cable swap (or lack thereof) How they laughed! They were aware that the test concerned cables, but details were not discussed during the test.
There were 5 sessions of listening, during which the interconnects were swapped 3 times. A single track was chosen: Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
Both of them correctly identified when the cable was or wasn't swapped.
Both remarked on the greater clarity of cable A vs cable B.
Cable A was.... the Chord Chorus Reference!!!
Cable B being the £20 interconnect.
This result convinces me that I am not imagining what I am hearing. Swapping this particular cable does make a noticeable difference to what is coming out of the speakers.
Well, I conducted a small experiment with a couple of friends of mine last night using DCA and some clandestine interconnect swapping...
i have been working from home so have been leaving my system running for 10-12 hours per day to burn-in the cable for a few days.
Both subjects are familiar with Dimmu Borgir; we all went to London Astoria a few years back to see them, on the DCA tour if I recall correctly. One of the subjects is also a bit of a guitarist. Both have a sceptical outlook generally!
I made them leave the room during each cable swap (or lack thereof) How they laughed! They were aware that the test concerned cables, but details were not discussed during the test.
There were 5 sessions of listening, during which the interconnects were swapped 3 times. A single track was chosen: Progenies Of The Great Apocalypse
Both of them correctly identified when the cable was or wasn't swapped.
Both remarked on the greater clarity of cable A vs cable B.
Cable A was.... the Chord Chorus Reference!!!
Cable B being the £20 interconnect.
This result convinces me that I am not imagining what I am hearing. Swapping this particular cable does make a noticeable difference to what is coming out of the speakers.
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