SilverFi Texas Audition Tour

arthurs · « **on:** 24 Apr 2008, 03:31 pm »

Hello NTAJ'ers!

Sezai Saktanber of SilverFi Cables http://silverfi.blogspot.com/ has generously offered two sets of his RCA interconnects, the Shaman XI and the
Phrygian SE for a tour of Texas auditions.

I'll coordinate and per the approach used by the NYAR we could let anyone who signs up have the cables for a week, then ship them on to the next person via priority mail. In return for this opportunity, each auditioner will need to post his or her thoughts and experience of having these in their system.

Please post here if you are interested and I'll compile the list on a first post first served basis and coordinate with Sezai.

You can read up on Sezai and SilverFi in advance with these review in 6moons
http://6moons.com/audioreviews/silverfi2/silverfi.html
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/silverfi3/cables.html

Thanks!

carusoracer · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Apr 2008, 05:45 pm »

Anyway to slip in as the tour moves on a Northern OH guy can get in with Y'all aa

Mark

arthurs · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Apr 2008, 08:36 pm »

No worries Mark, maybe Sezai can send them to you first!

marvda1 · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Apr 2008, 08:58 pm »

count me in art. just so it's not the week of may 11.

arthurs · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Apr 2008, 09:10 pm »

No worries Marvin, we'll schedule accordingly!

arthurs · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Apr 2008, 11:23 pm »

So far....

1 - Mark
2 - Marvin (depending on date)
3 - Guy
4 - Hugh
5 - Barry
6 - Jeff

arthurs · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Apr 2008, 12:25 am »

playntheblues · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Apr 2008, 02:49 am »

Art please put me on the list as well.
Guy

arthurs · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Apr 2008, 03:19 am »

Done! List updated above.

arthurs · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 02:01 am »

Come on Texas people? No one else????

Hugh · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 04:44 am »

I just came back from TX so do I count as TX people?

AliG · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 05:02 am »

Art
Count me in...please... can't believe I've almost missed this thread...

Thanks
barry

arthurs · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 10:53 am »

Hugh - You are an honorary Texan now, you meet the criteria!

List has been updated.

Captain Humble · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 01:52 pm »

Art,
I'd love to give them a spin as well.
Thanks,
Jeff

arthurs · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Apr 2008, 02:32 pm »

Got it Jeff! List updated.

Can all of you guys PM me your contact info? Thanks.

carusoracer · « **Reply #15 on:** 19 May 2008, 02:19 pm »

I would like to thank the folks down in TX and Art for the opportunity to audition these cables and most importantly Sezai for making such great products! The speed of shipping has increased two fold as one of the big DHL airport hubs is only 100 miles away so the cables from across the world,Turkey, were here in no time.

I wanted to wait until others have posted their findings regarding the cables but I will start off as I'm already a SilverFi cable owner. After reading the past threads from Earlmarc,Lonewolf and professional reviews from 6moons with Srajan Ebaen and Paul Candy it is hard to wax as romantically and prophetically as they can

The cables sent were the Phyrgian SE and the Shaman SE. Of the two cables I used the Phrgian SE between CDP and PreAmp and the Shaman between the PreAmp and Amp.
My system:http://www.audiocircle.com/systems/index.php?systemid=570&action=publish
I'm familiar with the delicate yet strong finely woven strands form the man from Ankarra, utmost care is to be taken when handling.I also noted that he has switched the plug terminations to Switchcraft.

One specific note to be taken is that attention must be paid to the Source and Destination as there are no arrows or indicators to make the user aware of the current direction. They are color coded blue and red with the Teflon shrinkwrap. "Please make sure to also check the pos and neg cable routing as one set was marked at pos to neg on the termination and I had to switch after I heard Muddy Waters haunting voice on SACD in the wrong channel.

I really enjoy PRAT, let's just say that some systems are more synergistic than others. These cables just provide that elusive toe tappin', musical and emotional feel that many seek to find. I have heard some very good rigs that just seem to miss the mark because of the lack of true harmony among the components, impedance mismatches or just plain issues with Solid State and Tube components or differences in sound. Let's just say I'm very happy with the cables and let others provide the romantic descriptions of the sound and subtle nuances that they have heard between X vs Y cable!

I will offer that the clarity of the New Phyrgian SE is just that, more clear. It produces better strikes of the notes,embellishes the tone and provides the decay. A much more complete picture has been painted and the Artist has switched to an even finer brush to touch upon the painting. There is a addictive sound that is produced and it makes you want more as it will reveal anything upstream or downstream in your component chain. This is not to the utterly thin, bass robbing,ultra clean bleached sound, but an effervescent, dynamic, emotional impact that we all want to recreate from your favorite live recording to the subtle bell, whistle, handclap that was in the studio recording. It helps the sound of the components really shine without any colorations or augmentation of any frequency.

The Shaman was more of a subtle affair. It produced the quality of evolution, things were just that much better. I would say that he simply tweaked the recipe and you hear more of the natural sounds with the new Switchcraft terminations. Makes me wonder what the Eichman Bullets will sound like as they are offered as an upgrade and are part of the more upscale line up from SilverFi. Please note that there are additional versions of the Shaman this is the base model.

I for one will be moving up the line to Sezai's more expensive creations as I can't stop thinking about what makes things sounds so good can only be better. Watch out these things are addictive!

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #16 on:** 19 May 2008, 07:01 pm »

Arthurs- Hi. I'd really like to audtion them, too. However, my system requires that they be 2m in length. Does that pose a problem? And I would like to audition the Shaman IC's and have a price quote. Thanks.

arthurs · « **Reply #17 on:** 20 May 2008, 12:36 pm »

Thanks for your thoughts on the SilverFi Mark, heads up AliG/Barry, they should be on their way to you now!

AliG · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 May 2008, 03:09 am »

I received the Shaman and Phrygian ICs when I got back from work today. Immediately I put them to test in my system, which consists of:

Bolder Modified SB3 digital out -> Aberdeen Modified Tact 2.0S (as DAC) -> Dodd battery Preamp -> Moscode 401HR amp -> Salk HT3

I currently use Electra Cables from GR Research between Tact and Dodd, and Gabriel Gold Revelation IC between Dodd and Moscode. I also have a pair of VPI tonearm IC that I often swap out with the Electra cable depending on my mood.

I started by comparing the Shaman and Phrygian against the Electra and VPI, keeping the Gabriel Gold Revelation fixed between the Dodd and the Moscode.

My intent is not to tell people which IC is the best, rather I would just describe the RELATIVE tonal differences between each IC.

It is clear to me that the Phrygian is one step above the Shaman, the Phrygian has better clarity/transparency from top to bottom. If you are happy with the Shaman, you will be happier with the Phrygian.

Comparing the Phrygian with the VPI, the Phrygian sounded warmer/darker, the VPI is more "airy" and a little bit more detailed, one would describe the VPI as a "brighter" cable. The Electra cable on the other hand, is even "brighter" and more "detailed" than the VPI, to the point that if you like the "musicality" of the Phrygian, you will definitely find the Electra cable a little sterile. I think if you're like human vocals you would probably like the Phrygian, but if you like complicated instrumental music, you would prefer the VPI or the Electra.

If I have to choose one IC to use between the Tact and the Dodd, I would choose the VPI cable, it's not because it's "better", it's just that it synergizes better with the rest of my system.

I then keep the VPI cable between the Tact and Dodd, and then switch out the Gabriel Gold Revelation with the Phrygian between Dodd and Moscode. The Gabriel Gold is darker/warmer than the Phrygian, the Gabriel emphasizes more on the bass and lower midrange, songs that sounded good/magical with the Gabriel will sound a little light/thin on the Phrygian, and songs that sound good with the Phrygian would sound bloated/muddy with the Gabriel. I enjoy the Phrygian probably as much as the Gabriel; The Phrygian makes Diana Krall's "Live in Paris" sound better, the Gabriel makes Alison Krauss's "New Favourite" and Michael Buble sound better. Now keep in mind that the Gabriel is 5 times more expensive than Phrygian.

Will I buy a pair of Phrygian? Well, I am very close to pull out my wallet but not yet. .. because I'm now desparate to listen to a pair of Moonshadow, I hope Chris wouldn't mind sending me a pair for audition once he's done with the NY folks

I'll leaving the Phrygian in my system running over night, I'll give it a listen again tomorrow.
Barry
Houston, TX

silverfi · « **Reply #19 on:** 21 May 2008, 03:43 pm »

Hi All,

A small correction:)

The touring Shaman interconnect is the Shaman X1 version, not the SE version.

The red shrink sides of the cables is for the origin (source) and the blue sides for destination equipment.

Normally (of course this is not a ground rule), I suggest the use of the 2 SilverFi cables in tandem (in a pre-power combination) as:

Phrygian SE : source (DAC, CDP, phono amp etc.)
Shaman X1 : Between pre and power amps.

Naturally, I also invite all musiclovers experiment with the cables.

Regards.