Silver High Breed Epitome interconnects

[Gusboll]

I see that there is a new generation of SHB cables with a significantly hefty price tag compared to all previous versions. I'm a huge fan of the 'Quintessence' but has anyone heard this new 'Epitome' model yet?

Currently listening to: Neu! - 86

 

[bretty]

Gusboll:
I see that there is a new generation of SHB cables with a significantly hefty price tag compared to all previous versions. I'm a huge fan of the 'Quintessence' but has anyone heard this new 'Epitome' model yet?

Currently listening to: Neu! - 86

I hadn't heard of the new cables. I think Will cracked it with the Q's, which I feel are perfect and I can't really see what he can do any better with the new 'Epitome', so I won't be upgrading again. I think it's unfortunate, too, that Will is hiking his prices so dramatically and rapidly, as his major selling point was that he sold quality cables cheaply. I hope he doesn't price himself out of the market.

EDIT: I just had a look at them on E-Bay. £85 for a 0.5 mtr pair? Ouch. The only difference I can see is that the new cables have a slightly thicker core and a different colour sleeve. I hate to say it, because I like Will, but these smack of profiteering off of the back of the success he has achieved because of favourable reviews of his products, on forums like this, by customers like us. Shame.

 

[Anonymous]

Can't blame the man for taking advantage of success but I agree those prices are now too steep. There are plenty of award winners ( Chord CrimsonPlus for example) for just over £30 online.....

 

[Anonymous]

I would reserve judgement for when you have heard them. Even at £85 they still come in at well under many popular cables, e.g. Chord Chameleon Silver Plus at £125. If the Quintessence is anything to go by then these might be worth a punt.

 

[bretty]

igglebert:I would reserve judgement for when you have heard them. Even at £85 they still come in at well under many popular cables, e.g. Chord Chameleon Silver Plus at £125. If the Quintessence is anything to go by then these might be worth a punt.

You know i'm a big fan of Will's previous work, Igg, but I think this new cable shows that he's got greedy. What we have to remember is that the big companies, like Chord, have massive overheads that contribute towards their inflated prices. Will is a one-man-band, with basically no overheads at all. His mark up on this cable must be astronomical.

 

[Anonymous]

bretty:
igglebert:I would reserve judgement for when you have heard them. Even at £85 they still come in at well under many popular cables, e.g. Chord Chameleon Silver Plus at £125. If the Quintessence is anything to go by then these might be worth a punt.

You know i'm a big fan of Will's previous work, Igg, but I think this new cable shows that he's got greedy. What we have to remember is that the big companies, like Chord, have massive overheads that contribute towards their inflated prices. Will is a one-man-band, with basically no overheads at all. His mark up on this cable must be astronomical.

It's irrelevant. If the product performs well for the price in the current market place then fair play. It may not, I haven't heard it.

 

[bretty]

I think it's very relevant to me and my unwillingness to be ripped off.

He's completely changed his business ethos. His blurb on his site told of how the big companies were ripping us off with fancy boxes and expensive phonos. But even without the fancy boxes and expensive phonos of the big boys, his prices have tripled in two years. I run my own business, and if I pulled that kind of price hike, I'd be out of customers and out of business before I could blink.

 

[Gusboll]

bretty:

I think it's very relevant to me and my unwillingness to be ripped off.

He's completely changed his business ethos. His blurb on his site told of how the big companies were ripping us off with fancy boxes and expensive phonos. But even without the fancy boxes and expensive phonos of the big boys, his prices have tripled in two years. I run my own business, and if I pulled that kind of price hike, I'd be out of customers and out of business before I could blink.

The Quintessence is unbelieveable value for money and at £55 is cheap for the users it was aimed at, but this Epitome is a 55% leap in price at £85 and based on his previous leaps in sonic quality has me very intrigued as to whether anyone on here has been fortunate enough to test it out. As stated previously, it's still way cheaper than the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus which I ditched many-incarnations-of-SHB-ago.

Currently listening to: Rory Gallagher - Calling Card

 

[SteveR750]

bretty:
igglebert:I would reserve judgement for when you have heard them. Even at £85 they still come in at well under many popular cables, e.g. Chord Chameleon Silver Plus at £125. If the Quintessence is anything to go by then these might be worth a punt.

You know i'm a big fan of Will's previous work, Igg, but I think this new cable shows that he's got greedy. What we have to remember is that the big companies, like Chord, have massive overheads that contribute towards their inflated prices. Will is a one-man-band, with basically no overheads at all. His mark up on this cable must be astronomical.

That's rather a gross assumption to make. They (the *large* companies) indeed may have large overheads (the cost of hours and hours R&D for example) but unless their respective engineers are ineffective then this is a legitimate cost (as there is no such thing as a free lunch right?) If Will and those like him can make an equally good cable on his own, then either he is a) a much more effective engineer than that "big overhead" of his competitors, b) his competitors are simply making larger margins or c) he was damn lucky.

Draw your own conclusions!

 

[the record spot]

The other tiny little to remember about the poor hard done by likes of Chord is that they also suffer by benefitting from this teeny tiny thing big companies enjoy called "economies of scale" which yer typical "one man band" operation by and large doesn't. And unless I'm mistaken, but unless those assumptions that SHB's Will is ripping you all off is based on having read his accounts (in which case, it wouldn't be an assumption, granted) then I'd be inclined to can it.

For all you know, his costs have gone up, maybe his suppliers are toiling and passing it on to him. Maybe he is enjoying the benefits of success and he's expanding his business by offering higher quality cable. In the end, I can more readily understand a one man operation charging more for an improved product they've made (even if I question the effectiveness of same) than a big company turning out the same with all the manufacturing muscle at their disposal.

 

[Gusboll]

Other issues for consideration are that Will appears to be a Hollyoaks extra and there is a decidedly dodgy floral number above his hi-fi - http://tinyurl.com/5tzdfmq

 

[Andrew Everard]

Read that fleabay listing. My eyes now hurt, lots.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:Read that fleabay listing. My eyes now hurt, lots.

I think the idea is that you give up half way down and just order them...

 

[Andrew Everard]

I gave up the third time the font colour, weight and case changed, and didn't.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:I gave up the third time the font colour, weight and case changed, and didn't.

If you're reading, Will, please make your listings nice and simple!!

 

[Gusboll]

On a serious note; I've got a Quintessence between CDP and amp acting as Pre; if I were to acquire a slightly more (ahem) up-market cable, would I want it there or between pre and power?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Between CD and amp: use it between pre and power and it's not magically going to recover information lost in a lesser CD/pre connection...

 

[Anonymous]

Gusboll:
On a serious note; I've got a Quintessence between CDP and amp acting as Pre; if I were to acquire a slightly more (ahem) up-market cable, would I want it there or between pre and power?

The only caveat is if you use more than one source. Then you may prefer to use it between pre and power. That's what I found worked best for me.

Experiment.

 

[bretty]

I've just had an email from Will (Igg, I think you got it too) explaining that his raw materials costs have doubled in the last few months and that has dictated the pricing of his new cable.

So, hands up, I was wrong and I apologise to Will for my assumption. I hope he sells a bucket load of 'em!

 

[Anonymous]

I did indeed receive an email, presumably as a past customer that's bought a number of Will's products. Will has agreed that I paste it here for all to read. Make of it what you will...



Somebody sent me an email about WHF forum discussing the E8 price - I'm aware that there will be sentiments about their price but I'm just trying to catch up with my supplier's almost 2-fold price increase since October last year i.e; raw cables, nylon sleeving etc...

I have been criticised before for launching too many new models but let's not forget that there are many British brands but Chinese-made cables out there that have about 10-15 different models ranging from 30 to 300 GBP. AFAIK Chinese labour only cost less than a pound a day.

About the postage costs - I try my best to charge almost the exact RM postage cost and still don't charge packing materials, also not to mention that all my items are backed by a 14-Day Money Back Guarantee. I don't think that those British branded Chinese-made cables can offer the same.

I have had an E8 connected between my pre and power amp for the last 3 months or so and to my ears they are an improvement over the Qs with regards to transparency and detail retrieval. At first I thought that they will only match expensive high-end systems however I tried using them on a budget system but I can still hear the difference. Just like the Qs - they are capable of squeezing more juice from your system with ease. Launching the E8 is a well-thought process and not for the sake of having a new model. The only disadvantage is that they take 50-60 hours or more to fully burn-in which I would assume is system dependent on the basis that some customers have said that they sound excellent "out of the box".

I'm also aware about those SUPER RICH CABLE JUNKIES who think that cables costing less than 50 GBP are rubbish.

All the best,

Will

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Just wanted to mention that dealing with Will is still great.

His delivery was quick,packing was the best I have seen for an interconnect.

And although it did not suit my configuration he punctually provided refund on return.

Pleasure to deal with.

On a separate topic I bought Qed Reference Audio Evolution for 70 pounds before this and was very dissapointed,the cable was shorted inside,one of the channels did not work at all,I was very lucky that my amp did not blow up,when I opened the connector the way the cables were twisted and soldered was very bad .

Designed in Britain ,made in China,but you would expect more from QED in this price range.

Thanks for all coments,they do help.

Regards