[jimdgoulding]

Sezai-  Seems like there are several Texans appreciating what you are doing and this may come back to you in a nice way.  I would like to be one of those Texans but I listen with self powered speakers and would need a 2 meter length.  I would like to audition either your  Shaman or the Phrygian SE if you can accommodate me.  I will happily pay postage both ways.  If there is a both way.  Hope to hear from you.

[Delacroix]

OK, am late to this party, and am not in North Texas but am in Austin I'd be happy to engage on this of there is still time. I also do occasional reviews for an online mag, if that matters.

[arthurs]

Never too late!  PM me your info and it looks like there are 2 people in front of you!

Art

[marvda1]

Received the cables today, so far I like what I'm hearing.

After spending the week with the Silverfi interconnects, here are my thoughts.
Out of the "box" the appearance of the cables is good but not drop dead eye candy, but hey they are covered up behind your equipment.  The quality seems good but make sure you hold them by the connector when changing them out.  I placed the Phrygian se between my dac and preamp and the Shaman x1 between the preamp and amp as recommended by Silverfi and listened to them in tandem, also recommended by Silverfi.
Right away the sound was very smooth and easy to listen to.  The highs were detailed and never harsh, the mids are neutral with instruments being tonally correct, great female vocals and good male vocals.  The bass has good fullness and is fairly fast.
Overall they are well balanced with a relaxed, easy going presentation, good bass with a very black background.
Tempo and attack are good and again the tone is right on.
Soundstage has good height, width, and depth.

When compared to my reference cables I found that my ref. combo has:
1)  Bass tad tighter.
2)  More aggressive attack.
3)  More extended on the extremes.
4)  Soundstage a little wider.
5)  Tempo a little faster.

All in all I would be very happy living with the Silverfi interconnects in my system, and if your system leans a little towards the bright side these would be a match made in heaven.

check out my system in the link below.

[marvda1]

Jeff has the cables now, kind of sad to see them go
posted my thoughts in my previous post.
Marvin

[Captain Humble]

First of all I want to thank silverfi for allowing us to audition his fine interconnects.

My system consists of the following:

Electra ICs purchased from Danny
Usher R-1.5 Amp
Dodd Battery Powered Preamp
Cambridge Audio Azure 840C CDP
Silent Source Power Cords on Amp and CDP
Everything runs through a Running Springs Haley power conditioner except the amp which is plugged directly into the wall.

A couple of years ago I took the position that if I have to squint and concentrate to hear a very subtle difference after a component or cable change I would just stand pat.  Kind of like boxing, the contender has to BEAT the current champ or go home without the belt.

My most recent additions, the Silent Source power cords and the Cambridge CDP required no concentration to hear a significant improvement in my system and I was happy to write the check. 

When I received the Silverfi ICs my Dodd preamp was at the top of the cabinet and my amp was at the very bottom of the stack.  In this configuration the 1 meter Silverfi IC wouldn’t reach from the Dodd down to the Usher Amp.  So I started with the Phrygian SE between the CDP and the Preamp.  The Phrygian sounded good, but neither my wife nor I heard anything stand out as sounding better than what we have.

I then bit the bullet (my back is still not completely better) and swapped the positions of the Dodd (this is one heavy preamp due to the 4 large batteries) with the CDP so the 1 meter Silverfi would reach from the Preamp to the Amp.  I then used the configuration that silverfi recommended in his post:

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

Unfortunately, when I powered up, I heard a buzzing sound coming from my speakers.
This is not a ground loop sound but more like interference of some sort.  Since I had changed the position of the PRE and CDP, I replaced the Silverfi ICs with the Electra ICs to confirm that the buzz wasn’t the result of changing the position of the components.  No problem with the Electra ICs.

After continued IC swapping I’ve confirmed that there is no problem using either silverfi IC between my CDP and PRE.   However, both the Phrygian and the Shaman will cause a buzz when used to connect the PRE and AMP.

Due to the buzz, I didn’t run the Silverfi IC’s between my Preamp and Amp, but each saw duty between my CDP and PRE.  While they are very nice ICs they didn’t blow my hair back compared to what I have so I’ll keep looking.

Now that I’ve been forced to change the position of my components, I can use a one meter IC as opposed to a 2 so I'll save some money on my next IC purchase. 

Again, thanks to silverfi for letting me audition a couple of very nice ICs.
And a special thanks to Art for coordinating the tour.

Who gets them next Art?

Jeff

[marvda1]

Jeff, i wonder what caused the buzz, as i didn't have a problem with whatever setup combination i tried.  Did you try moving the connectors around especially the Dodd phono plugs as I found that the cardas (believe those are the ones he uses) sometimes fit losser than other connectors.
Marvin

[Captain Humble]

Jeff, i wonder what caused the buzz, as i didn't have a problem with whatever setup combination i tried.  Did you try moving the connectors around especially the Dodd phono plugs as I found that the cardas (believe those are the ones he uses) sometimes fit losser than other connectors.
Marvin

Marvin, no I didn't try moving the connectors around.  I'll give it a shot tomorrow.
Thanks.
Jeff

[Captain Humble]

Yesterday a friend and fellow AC member, no it wasn’t Arthurs, sent me a PM that started with:

sorry you didn't like them

I want to apologize to Silverfi and the rest of the community if I sent that message. 
It certainly wasn’t my intent, but perception is reality, so in the interest of fairness to Silverfi and anyone that might be considering an IC purchase I feel compelled to try again.

First of all I wasn’t able to run the ICs in the configuration that Silverfi recommended due to the buzz I was getting.  I was only able to use them between my pre and CDP.  Had I been able to use both pair in the configuration silverfi recommended my wife and I may have come away with a different impression.

Secondly, I’m not bound by any loyalties that would cause me to make statements that require the reader to read between the lines, so please don’t interpret my earlier post as being negative toward Silverfi ICs in any way.

Both the Electra and the Silverfi ICs compared against other ICs I’ve used would be clear winners and out would come the check book.  When compared to one another the evaluation becomes much more difficult as neither jumped out as a clear preference for us.  Maybe hours and hours of very critical listening would reveal a clear preference but again if I have to concentrate that hard I think I’ve reached the point of diminishing returns and I opt to stand pat.

Please note that I have less experience experimenting with ICs than any other part of my system.
After my experience with Power Cords, I've become a believer in the difference cables can make and recognize that I should spend some time experimenting with ICs.

With that said, Michelle and I thought the Silverfi ICs sounded just as good as our current ICs and could happily live with either the Silverfi or Electra ICs.

Sorry if there was any confusion and I hope this clears it up.

Jeff

[Captain Humble]

Jeff, i wonder what caused the buzz, as i didn't have a problem with whatever setup combination i tried.  Did you try moving the connectors around especially the Dodd phono plugs as I found that the cardas (believe those are the ones he uses) sometimes fit losser than other connectors.
Marvin

Marvin,
The Dodd has two sets of outputs.
I have always used Output 1 to go to the amp.
Today I tried using Output 2.
It still buzzes.

As you recall, below my CDP and and Preamp there is a DVD player, a Dennon 3802 and then the amp.
Perhaps the ICs don't like passing that close to the Dennon.  I really don't know but there is no buzz with either IC as long as they stay up top to connect pre to cdp.

Art,
I'll ship the ICs out tomorrow.

Thanks,
Jeff

[Captain Humble]

Art,
Silverfi has contacted me via pm with suggestions for eliminating the buzz. 
With your permission, I would like to keep the ICs for a couple of more days.
If that's an issue for anyone let me know and I'll ship them out.
Thanks,
Jeff

[arthurs]

No worries Jeff, keep us posted!  Maybe share in the thread if it "cures" the hum so others may avoid similar instances...

[carusoracer]

If anything it sure is nice to hear from a truly concerned Audiophile and Vendor regarding his or her product

Good luck!

[silverfi]

Hi All,

Just a few thought on Jeff`s feedback:

Since SilverFi interconnects are not shielded, musiclovers with audio systems having combined TV&HT systems should be careful. TV`s, Cable TV and some satellite antenna systems  may leak AC, thus causing hum. While  using SilverFi interconnects with TV`s (when watching DVD`s) you should unplug the cable tv or dish antenna connection. Also your TV`s power plug should be in correct phase.

Another point we should be careful with power amps which has lower input sensitivity. 2.5V and higher values are better. I noted that Usher 1.5`s input sens. is 1.5V.

Since Usher mentions that their 1.5 power amp has a `tube like warmness` there is a higher possibility that Jeff might like my `Moonshadow` and `Moonshine AG` better.

Regards.

Sezai

[marvda1]

Hello Sezai, I've got the same amp (Usher R-1.5) as Jeff but a different preamp (Belles 21a).
Marvin

[silverfi]

Hello Sezai, I've got the same amp (Usher R-1.5) as Jeff but a different preamp (Belles 21a).
Marvin

Hi Marvin,

This is very interesting. Synergy of a system I guess. As you have indicated earlier, (and if it is not tv, cable or dish antenna ) then a loose rca round might be causing the problem. BTW, how `warm` (or is it warm?) is the 1.5 and how it gets along with the rest of the system, especially the Belles preamp? What tubes (brand and year) are you using with the preamp?

regards.

[marvda1]

Sezai, I find the Usher to be a couple of clicks on the warm side of neutral.  It mates real well with the Belles pre, I am using at this time
CBS/Hytron 5814wa from the mid fifties.  I also have on hand and find to sound great in the Belles, RCA command 5814a, Raytheon 12au7 triple mica blackplates, Brimar 13d5, RCA 5814a triple mica blackplates.
Here is a great review of the Usher amp. http://www.usheraudiousa.com/files/reviews/r-1-5-the-sensible-sound.pdf
Marvin

[silverfi]

Marvin,

Just read the review, thanks. Yes, 5814`s are very nice. I have used many of them in the past and now, mainly post II.WW. products. (circa late 40`s) They provide a relatively more richer lower end (especially the triple micas) and a great natural tone. I can say that you should also try RCA Cleartop`s (if I am not wrong circa 50`s). Richer harmonics and textures with a very transparent midrange may bring new pleasures to your balance.

Regards.

[Delacroix]

I had the pleasure of these cables in my system for the last week and it's clear, a week is not enough. The problem is that I could not squeeze enough quiet, dedicated listening time into this working week to have total confidence in my impressions (which should tell you something about the level of difference we are dealing with here). Furthermore, since my set-up really does not work well with 1m lengths of single-ended cables, I could not hear the combined cable set up in the signal path as recommended. But here is what I did, and what I heard.

I  read as little as possible about these cables beforehand to limit my biases and I installed the Phrygian between my Marantz SA-11S1 (SA)CD player and my PS Audio GCP 200 preamp. They replaced my reference, a pair of PS Audio Transcendents (~ $349 1m pair). Straight off, my impression is the SilverFis sounded very good but a little different and it was a case of spending the week, back and forth, trying to determine the nature of these differences. It's hard to make firm statements here,  these cables make a subtle but noticeable difference, the importance of which depends on your components and your taste. I could happily live with either of these cables but the Silver Fi were not so much better that I would give up what I use to switch. Were I starting from scratch, that's another question....

Primary qualities -- the SilverFi Phrygian seemed to have slightly less upper range detail than the PS Audio  in my set up, but offered instead a richer midrange that gives some instruments more body. Piano sounded richer, stronger,  with greater emphasis on the keys  than the accompanying instruments when listening to Tord Guastavson Trio's "Being There". In contrast, the PS Audio seemed to give a greater sense of the air around the various parts of the trio, putting more emphasis on the frequency extremes, particularly the drums, and in so doing, opening up the band so that it seemed to fill a larger space.

I thought maybe it was a matter of detail, that by lessening the resolution (somewhat) the SilverFi tended to sound warmer but it was not simply so. Repeated listening back and forth (I kept both cables connected to two inputs of the preamp  with the volume setting matched, but switched the CD player's outputs between both cables as needed) I found it near impossible to say one or other had more 'detail' so to speak. More likely each seemed to provide a little more detail of a certain kind, more attack with one, more decay with the other, but never in a manner that allowed me to say one cable offered 'detail' and the other didn't. it was also recording-dependent. Over a week I gained the impression that if you imagined the soundstage as a large sphere created in your room by the speakers,  the space drawn by the Ps Audios was  large and open in width and height but perhaps a little more flat or disc like in the third dimension. The SilverFi took that space, squashed it a little so it was not so wide or high  but compensated for this  by pushing the sound forward so the sphere came out to meet the listener, like a smaller but rounder ball between the speakers. The result was greater air at the frequency extremes with the PS Audio, but more midrange emphasis with the SilverFi.

Though the differences were subtle, they were consistent. The SilverFi seemed to deliver great timbral qualities, rich in tone, and detailed. Then the PS Audio seemed to take that sound and inject a little greater air, as if the musicians were separated a little further, widening the sonic presentation. Better or worse? Truly, a matter of taste. I really liked the SIlver Fi's when installed but then I would switch to the PS audio and think I preferred them for the air they provided, which I know some people may take for 'detail' or resolution but for me seemed more a matter of emphasis than inclusion.

Bass was a tad richer on the Silver Fi, more trebly on the PS Audio. Cymbals and snares were more present on the PS Audio but drew less attention on the SilverFi.  Patricia Barber's vocals were realistic with both and I could listen to either cable with pleasure on this recording.

I wish I could have had more time to truly compare the Phrygian and the Shaman but once I started seriously comparing the former with my reference, it seemed to only complicate matters to introduce a third. I did place the Shaman between my phono stage and my preamp, replacing my MAC Silver Braids and noticed nothing drastically different on a quick listen to vinyl, but this really was so brief as to be meaningless, other than to note the Shaman sounds fine, maybe a little softer than the potentially bright Silver Braids.

People have commented on the looks of the SilverFi, to me they are quite lovely, they feel well constructed, which is not to say robust and tough, but that they feel as if thought and quality parts have gone into their construction. They come delivered in a nice case and install so easily as to feel like a piece of quality audio jewely.

I could live with the Phrygian in my set up but I really would love to hear the top of the range product to see how far this design approach can be pushed. There is something 'right' about the sound of these cables, a sort of organic quality that reproduced acoustic instruments accurately, and I'd love to give them a chance on some other components of my rig. RIght now they are being tested on a set up involving a Class D power amp where they seem to provide a soothing balm. Ask me again when I get a chance to hear them with my BAT VK500...perhaps then they will sound too dark...or maybe their balance will provide synergy with the BAT.....I just did not have time to tell.

In sum, I like and could live with the Phrygian. I tend to prefer the PS Audio in my current set up but it's a close call and might be influenced by my familiarity as much as anything else .Change my set up slightly and all bets are off....the Silver Fi are real contenders.

[arthurs]

Great write up Andrew!  Hugh they are on their way to you next!