SHB Coherence I/Cs...

[admin_exported]

Sitting on my desk at work. I think I am the first to get hold of these new cables... Will plug 'em in tonight.

I am testing out the S2i too currently so will try to do a comparison. I had really liked the original S2.

 

[Anonymous]

They are releasing new cables every few weeks now. I have been trying the S2i, haven't been able to do a side by side comparison yet but they certainly perform out of their price range. They seem to have less on ebay now, I guess they are phasing them out to promote use of their website.

 

[Anonymous]

Have been testing the Coherence I/Cs for the last hour - absolutely amazing out of the box! The highs are so crisp and detailed, bass is also more pronounced. Cat Stevens never sounded so good! (on my system that is). Now I really see how good Spendors and Kandy sound!

It's hard to compare to S2i but going by memory Coherence ICs are slightly better across the spectrum. But I really liked S2is too. Physically the two cables are a bit different - rather than seeing two separate cables inside you get one thick (and less flexible) cable. The seller fits the same plugs on both so its the cabling that's different. Only if you need more flexibility I'd recommend S2i.

And I am certainly not going back to Chord Chameleon Silver Plus... they go in a drawer (or later on fleebay).

 

[Anonymous]

I had asked the seller if he had any crossectional pictures of the SHB cables and since he didn't he sent me short samples of the cables with all of the conductors labeled!

There is actually quite a bit difference in construction between Synergy 2i and Coherence cables. I will try to take some pics and post them here (maybe tonight or tomorrow). Right now have to run though - it's finally warm in London!

 

[vinod_david]

Hi Chain:

Was actually on the verge of buying 2i, but will adding the Coherence to my setup (see signature), improve the overall sound ?

 

[Anonymous]

chainrock:
I had asked the seller if he had any crossectional pictures of the SHB cables and since he didn't he sent me short samples of the cables with all of the conductors labeled!

There is actually quite a bit difference in construction between Synergy 2i and Coherence cables. I will try to take some pics and post them here (maybe tonight or tomorrow). Right now have to run though - it's finally warm in London!

Enough for me to get the coherence (I have the 2i)?

 

[Anonymous]

Graham_Thomas:
Enough for me to get the coherence (I have the 2i)?

Not sure... In terms of auditioning I liked both, can't tell for sure without A/B comparisons for which I don't have much time these days. If any, the difference in sound was minor. But 2twentytwelve will be doing A/B comparisons so you may want to wait for his comments.

I was really curious myself, so in terms of construction, here is some info:

Coherence Interconnects:

2 x 18awg multi-strand conductors for signal and 1x 18 awg for ground (3 conductor calbes inside one thick cable). The three cables are wrapped with a shielding cabling too (alltogether rather than individually). There are circa 18 strands in each conductor and each individual strand is thicker that the ones found on S2i.

S2i Interconnects:

2x 20awg multi-strand conductors and 2x 24awg solid conductors for signal and 1x 20 awg for ground (so 5 cables inside in all). The 20awg conductors have their own shielding while 24awg conductors (really thin) have no shielding apart from the jacket. The 20awg shielded conductors also have about 18-20 strands inside but as i said these strands are thinner than those in Coherence. For reference, 18 awg conductors feel like more than twice the thickness of 20awg conductors (there are exact figures on the net but lazy to dig them up). By construction, I think Coherence are quite a bit superior to S2i, but I am not sure how much difference in sound this makes.

Chord Odyssey:

By comparison, I am looking at Chord Odyssey speaker cable conductors. These are much much thicker (approximately the same size as 3x 18awg cables of Coherence together) and each individual strand being more than 4 times thicker. So I think Coherence speaker cables may be good but they won't touch Odyssey. Odyssey cables IMHO are worth every penny.

Now I am wondering what the cabling inside Chameleon is...but don't really want to cut it open 🙂

 

[Gusboll]

Just ordered the SHB Coherence and looking forward to comparing to the Chameleon Silver Plus which I've always liked on my CD.

Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols

 

[Anonymous]

I have ordered some interconnects (the new coherence limited edition with noise supressors) ... will be ordering some speaker cable from them aswell

just a quick note: the seller has informed me that he will be listing all future listings on ebay on his new ebay id

SilverHighBreed

 

[Anonymous]

Just order two of the limited edition Coherence LE 1m cables so will look forward to trying them against the Chord Chameleons! (I have one for CDP and one for power amp but one just broke!). Thanks all for the recommendation. For that price they don't have to bee stunning to be value.

 

[Anonymous]

igglebert:Just order two of the limited edition Coherence LE 1m cables so will look forward to trying them against the Chord Chameleons! (I have one for CDP and one for power amp but one just broke!). Thanks all for the recommendation. For that price they don't have to bee stunning to be value.

Let us know what you think!

I think SHB Coherence has a chance to dethrone Chameleon SP as the preferred I/C of the forum 🙂

 

[Anonymous]

Well from what I gather on "general forum write-ups", the SHB is a fairly bright sounding cable. The Chameleon certainly isn't bright so that might be a factor in my opinion. My system is quite warm sounding so they should work well but my concerns would be a potential loss of bass. We'll see!

As a complete aside, I think my pre-amp sounds better plugged into the wall and not the Tacima block. I've packed up half of my kit for moving house next week and suddenly the radio sounds punchier! Blimey, this hifi malarkey is starting to drive me crazy! Anyway, that's off topic...

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think bright is the right way to describe Coherence - if anything it is transparent across the frequency range. You should not suffer loss of bass. I for one noticed more definition in bass but there was not less of it.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, I've just plugged in one of these from pre to power and one from TV to pre. I've packed up the CDP as I'm moving Friday so no proper tests yet. At least I can start to burn them in a little

They certainly come across brighter in tonal balance than the Chord Chameleon but they're also brand new. I can't decide whether they make the bass slightly leaner or whether they genuinely make it deeper and more defined. In this respect they remind me of the Nordost Blue Heaven. They certainly sound nicely defined in the bass so I'm not worried about that right now. Are they more detailed or do they simply sound more etched and zingy? I'm not sure and really need to do some proper tests with my CDP.

My conclusion so far is that they're very good value for money, built very well and beat the hell out of cables like Chord Cobra, QED Qunex 2, Black Rhodium Prelude and Chord Crimson!

More once I've moved house

PS I swore I'd give up this cable swapping game but at this price I can't resist playing, esp as one of my Chameleons seems broken.

 

[scorpionro]

I've also ordered an coherence ic and a pair of coherence 10awg speaker cables with the spades terminations. I'm quite eager to test them 🙂 I also see that he has a new series of ics called Metaphor LE, which from his description should be very similar in performance to the S2is

 

[Anonymous]

Had a quick look around the website and I must say, I'm a bit concerned. Looks like all the interconnects are what he calls LE (limited edition). They are listed as having only a couple of pairs available. My immediate thoughts were that they were being made with lengths of left over cable from wherever. No continuity of production, no particular standard or specification, although I am sure the workmanship is all OK. Buy a set this month and expect to get the same sound next month from another LE set with a different name and maybe, just maybe you will be disappointed. Maybe I'm wrong (again) but I think the points raised are worth consideration.

Before you ask...no, I havent bought any and I am not going to for the reasons given. If the guy wants to settle on longer production runs of a particular design then I may just give it a go but until then...I'm out.

Havent checked the speaker cables so wont comment on those.

 

[idc]

raym87:

Had a quick look around the website and I must say, I'm a bit concerned. Looks like all the interconnects are what he calls LE (limited edition). They are listed as having only a couple of pairs available. My immediate thoughts were that they were being made with lengths of left over cable from wherever. No continuity of production, no particular standard or specification, although I am sure the workmanship is all OK. Buy a set this month and expect to get the same sound next month from another LE set with a different name and maybe, just maybe you will be disappointed. Maybe I'm wrong (again) but I think the points raised are worth consideration.

I got the Synergy 2i, which did proceed from the Synergy 2 very rapidly. Now, within weeks we get the Coherence. I agree raym87, there is little continuity. But it does appear to be a one man production line and demand is high. The issue for me is that many have hoped for a What Hifi review, but that is unlikely now as I am sure they will not review a product that is not available anymore. By the time a SHB cable arrives, is auditioned and the results published, going by what has happened so far, that cable will no longer be available.

 

[Anonymous]

IDC...have a look at scorpionro's post a few back.....there is another LE set now called Metaphor...........

 

[idc]

Yes, I saw that. I dont want to appear overly critical for what is a good product. But the tactic (whether intended or not) of changing the product almost monthly means - more sales as those who are mad on cables will want to keep upgrading and no magazine reviews, very clever.

 

[Anonymous]

idc:Yes, I saw that. I dont want to appear overly critical for what is a good product. But the tactic (whether intended or not) of changing the product almost monthly means - more sales as those who are mad on cables will want to keep upgrading and no magazine reviews, very clever.

Fair do's to the guy. He is selling a product and seems to be doing well with it. I just dont subscribe to his methodology, preferring something a little more stable and long term.

 

[scorpionro]

I'd definitely also prefer more "stability" for his products; if I'll like them (and I'm pretty sure I will) I'd want to buy more or recommend them to my friends, which will be a bit difficult if they are replaced in one month by different products

 

[Gusboll]

After an afternoon of testing (my daughter also getting involved) the Coherences are now sitting proudly at the back of my CDP and to my amazement, my Chameleons will be making the short trip to fleabay obscurity. Clinchers were much better defined and tighter bass coupled with superior detail in the mid-range especially on for instance Kurt Cobains electric and Eric Johnson's acoustic guitar. Cymbals were also much more detailed and cracks of the snare had far more crack. £26 for half a metre? Bargain.

Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom

 

[Anonymous]

Gusboll:
After an afternoon of testing (my daughter also getting involved) the Coherences are now sitting proudly at the back of my CDP and to my amazement, my Chameleons will be making the short trip to fleabay obscurity. Clinchers were much better defined and tighter bass coupled with superior detail in the mid-range especially on for instance Kurt Cobains electric and Eric Johnson's acoustic guitar. Cymbals were also much more detailed and cracks of the snare had far more crack. £26 for half a metre? Bargain.

Eric Johnson - Ah Via Musicom

Short term methodology and forcing the upgrade through limited edition runs or not - this is what matters - What does it sound like?

Secondly, cost vs benefits - at £26 they are a no brainer. I've now got the Coherence LE and am well content.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah detail is there, but what you are hearing is the brightness which will always give the impression of more detail.

I have had the 2i for about a month and have given it a good burn in yet I still find it too bright.

I do not have a bright system being Sonus Faber Electas, valve amp, mf cd tri vista cd, symo speaker cable, oracle t.table, red signature koetsu cartridge,

The shb 2i is quite bright when you turn the volume up, try listening to mouth harp (blues fans), saxophone, women with high registers, ie joni mitchell, kate bush,etc

Sorry chainrock they are bright, and after awhile the brightness gets to you even though one hears more detail, cd is inherently on the bright side and sbh interconnects add to this.

Again yes they are good value for money but one must have a very laid back non exciting sound to begin with to be worthwhile.

As usual lets see how many shb fans at the mo are still using these in 3 months of listening.

 

[Anonymous]

raym87, I suspect you are somehow affiliated with a cable manufacturer. How could you dare make comments against a product without having tried them? Regarding your comment about SHB's short production runs. Most hyper priced cable manufacturers can produce 1000's or maybe a million pairs in other words MASS-PRODUCED and the consequence is that most of them sounds rubbish BUT EXPENSIVE. I would rather go for cables that are NOT MASS-PRODUCED and NOT HYPER/RIP OFF PRICED but sounds EXCELLENT. I have used high-end cables and wasted loads of money until a mate recommended SHB. Having lost my job months ago with a meagre upgrade allowance I decided to try them. I now have a total of 4 SHB IC pairs and a pair of speaker cables. I have sent some of my previous cables back to my brother in the U.S. and asked my mate to sell rest on fleabay. As I have said before - I'm glad I tried them.

MASS-PRODUCED v SHORT PRODUCTION RUNS