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This cable is offered terminated or in off-the-reel lengths up to 40 meters. Terminations include balanced and single-ended. The latter can beFurutech rhodium or gold-plated. Balanced runs on Neutrik gold-plated XLR. In the directional single-ended cable the shield connects only to the ground of the source RCA. The balanced cable's shield doesn't float and connects to pin 1 on both ends.
When Takeshi Hayashi contacted us to review his newest cable, we asked for a 10-meter balanced length terminated to use between our Phasure PC/NOS1 DAC and the Hypex Ncore 1200 monos in more than one speaker setup. To reach our Arcadian Audio Pnoe horns we have 10 meters to cross. As before with Nanotec, we experienced the amazing fact that a made-to-order cable from Tokyo 9300km removed took only a few days before we received it in faraway Holland.
Simple but efficiently packaged, the feel of the cable was supple. Neat routing along the room’s boundaries would be no problem. That first impression was right. After the Ncore monos hunkered down in a nice spot next to the Pnoe horns, we made the connection with the Phasure NOS1. After booting up the dedicated music PC, then power amps, our first music selection was ready to play and run in the cable. We gave it time to settle in whilst preparing—how appropriate—sashimi and sushi. Rolling your own clumsy version of these Japanese delicacies is far more fun and satisfying than the stuff you get from our local all-you-can-eat sushi parlor with its friendly Chinese personnel.
One great advantage of computer-based audio is that you can compose long playlists. Preparing the meal is an unhurried process allowing you to have a drink whilst the cooked and lightly acidified rice cools to around body temperature before the sushi gets composed. Best with our home-rolled variety is something not many sushi bars offer - authentic Shizuoka hon wasabi. Ours admittedly comes from a tube as nothing compared to the freshly sharkskin-grated paste one gets at the Michelin-star awarded Yamazato restaurant in Amsterdam’s Okura hotel. But we digress. After our impromptu feast and dishes it was time for serious listening. From the newly discovered treasure trove of music downloads at Bandcamp.com, we composed a finger-lickin' rib-stickin' playlist of eclectic music.
This took us from the ascetic harmonies of the Hilliard Ensemble exploring Armenian chants and the EQ Ensemble with their take on the Abou-Khalil composition "Dream of a Dying City (Beirut)" to the Trio Macchiato’s mix of Mediterranean uptempo numbers.
The combination of Phasure PC+DAC, Hypex Ncore amps and single AER MD3B widebander Pnoe horns is extremely fast and life like. All music we selected for our playlist is demanding on response and accuracy. Any limitation introduced by the new #207 cable and its considerable length would immediately reveal itself. During our time with the Nanotec in this configuration we however could never detect any negative influences. In fact we didn't notice the cable in any way. A characteristic of this particular system is its extremely low noise floor. Phasure can't measure their DAC’s noise floor below 130dB due to their measuring gear limitations. Hypex flaunts similar numbers for their power amplifiers. With highly efficient horns the slightest musical detail is resolved coincident with any noise the system might suffer. The introduction of the #207 didn't change a thing in the noise department. All was as silent and detailed as ever. All the softest recorded sounds came through even at very diminished volumes.