Tyson's Review of the Hapa Coax/BNC Copper Aero and Silver Aero

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Tyson

How do you review something that is so good it made your old setup sound broken?  Well, here we are, and that's exactly the conundrum I face.  OK, first some background info.

System





Room Description
Fully finished garden level basement
Acoustic Treatment
DIY acoustic panels; Custom absorbent Roman Shade window coverings
Digital Source
Roon ROCK Server -> Hapa Audio Silver Aero USB -> iFi iDSD Pro
Other Sources
Sony 4k Blu Ray Player; Roku Ultra streaming device
Preamp
iCon 4 zen (autoformer preamp)
Power Amp
First Watt BA3; First Watt Aleph J; Dennis Had Inspire MB14 SEP Monoblocks; Almarro A318B SET; TAL Korneff Type 45 SET; Elekit TU 8233 2a3/300b SET; Sun Valley 211/845 SET (alternate depending on my mood)
Speakers
GR Research NX-Oticas
Subwoofers
6 x 12" Rythmik Audio OB Servo subwoofers
Speaker Cable
Nemak hand polished silver
Interconnects
Hapa Audio Quiescence Silver
Power Cables
DIY GR Research
Power Conditioners
2 x PS Audio P5 power regenerators (one for digital gear, one for analog gear); 3 x Bybee Power Conditioners







Aero Copper Coax/BNC Review

I already own a previous version of the Aero Copper Coax/BNC cable.  It's a great sounding cable, it easily beat out my prior reference BNC/Coax cable which was from Bolder Cables.  And the Bolder Cables was no slouch, having itself beaten out other designs like those from DH Labs and a bunch of others (Kimber, AudioQuest, Cardas, etc..).  With the original Aero copper I felt my system was already at reference level.  The only little niggle I had about the sound was that I felt it was (very slightly) too soft and a little dark.  To address that, I'd been planning to move in my First Watt Aleph J to replace the First Watt Burning Amp 3 I have in there currently. 

I put in the brand new Aero Copper Coax (a fairly major redesign, from what Jason said).  Honestly I didn't expect much to change because things were already so good.  Oh man, I was so, so wrong.  With the new Aero Copper, everything just lit up.  All softness and bits of darkness just vanished and in it's place was a massive soundstage and much more percussive sound, and even better tonality.  What's crazy is normally when I try out something new in my system, its EITHER resolution OR tonality that improves.  But never both at the same time.  This was incredible.  An insane jump in performance. 


Aero Silver Coax/BNC Review


OK, so the copper was a game changer, what about the silver?  I mean, isn't silver always bright and thin compared to what copper does?  Not this time.  In fact, if anything the silver has EVEN BETTER tonality than the copper.  And certainly more resolution, better microdynamics and all the things that really let a musical performance breathe and come to life.  Soundstage is just gargantuan, even bigger than the copper Aero.  But not just that, the definition of the instruments within that soundstage was notably better.  And the separation of the instruments was god tier. 

A Musical Example

I used a bunch of different tracks to test these cables out, but the one I want to focus on here is Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever.  I like this track because it's got all kinds of dynamic swings and shadings, real electric guitars, a real drum set and of course her incredible voice. 

Original Copper Aero - Good center image, but the soundstage tends to clump in the middle, 30 degrees from center and 60 degrees from center.  Tonality is good but a bit muted and everything sounds pleasant but misses out on some of the emotional aggression this song possesses.

New Copper Aero - Still a good center image but the rest of the soundstage has massively expanded, going way oustide and way behind the speakers now.  No more clumping at 30 or 60 degrees.  The drum set sounds much more like an actual person sitting there playing.  And the guitars are just HUGE and MEAN sounding now.  That's so cool!!! 

New Silver Aero - Take everything about the Copper version and turn it up to 11 for the Silver version.  Soundstage is even more massive, including now being very TALL.  Just fills my entire room top to bottom and side to side now.   Tonality not just 'better', but rather you can tell micro-tonal differences that were just smeared together before.  I'm specifically thinking of the primal screams she was putting in over on the far left at the end of the song.  It could be heard with the other cables, but the overwhelming guitars tended to swallow it up.  With the Silver Aero, not only can you hear it clearly but you can hear that its a wail of PAIN.  Just.... fucking awesome. 

Conclusion

I think you might be able to tell that I like these cables a lot.   :lol:
« Last Edit: 15 May 2023, 03:50 am by Tyson »

artofaudio

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Tyson,

That is a lovely setup!  It really looks great.

dflee

 Nice revue Tyson.
Can’t dispute anything you stated. I’m glad I got Jason to build mine.  He also let me play with both and while my system probably doesn’t resolve like yours, that was the same conclusion I had. Although I didn’t put it as eloquently as you. Just an out of the park smash for Aero AG coax.

Rocket_Ronny

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Thanks Tyson.

What do the cables cost?

Do you still have your other speakers?

Rocket Ronny

Tyson

Tyson,

That is a lovely setup!  It really looks great.

Thank you!

Nice revue Tyson.
Can’t dispute anything you stated. I’m glad I got Jason to build mine.  He also let me play with both and while my system probably doesn’t resolve like yours, that was the same conclusion I had. Although I didn’t put it as eloquently as you. Just an out of the park smash for Aero AG coax.

Yep.  The entire Aero lineup is just spectacular.

Thanks Tyson.

What do the cables cost?

Do you still have your other speakers?

Rocket Ronny

Copper Aero - https://hapaaudio.com/shop/digital/aero-cu-coax-bnc/

Silver Aero - https://hapaaudio.com/shop/digital-cables/aero-ag-coax-bnc/

If you want to try them out in your system (for free), there's a tour going on right now - https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=185768.0

Re: my other speakers, yes I still have them, I just moved them to my upstairs system:




whydontumarryit

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Premium cable prices are really not a concern for the hardcore buyers. Although, the difference in price between the copper and silver disturbs me because inevitably someone will make a sad attempt at justification when there is none. Reduce the silver price to what it should be.

Pez

Although, the difference in price between the copper and silver disturbs me because inevitably someone will make a sad attempt at justification when there is none. Reduce the silver price to what it should be.
Welcome to the forum whydontumarryit!

This is a misconception that I’m not sure how to avoid.  :scratch: The difference in price isn’t just the quality of the parts, it’s the level to which I polish the conductors in order to get the most out of silver. The difference is four hours of polish for a copper wire, versus a day and a half worth of polishing for the silver wire. Aside from the labor, there are a ton of expendables involved with the nano-polishing process whereas the hand polishing of copper is has way less.  :thumb:

Here is some info on the hand polishing process for Copper: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=182776.0

Here is some info on the Nano scale polishing process of Silver: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=182989.0

I hope this helps, I would love to have you on the tour! :thumb:

whydontumarryit

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Thanks for the invite, Pez. I appreciate it.
Now, it's a shame that this process can't be streamlined through some mechanical method to save on what is obviously slave labor. How could there not be a better way.
If you haven't already done so, can you give me the details (or the link) of the system you have that enables such a critical evaluation of these nuanced differences in components. After all that's what we are all here for.

thanks

Tyson

Thanks for the invite, Pez. I appreciate it.
Now, it's a shame that this process can't be streamlined through some mechanical method to save on what is obviously slave labor. How could there not be a better way.
If you haven't already done so, can you give me the details (or the link) of the system you have that enables such a critical evaluation of these nuanced differences in components. After all that's what we are all here for.

thanks


They were pretty clear on my system.  I put the details of my system in the first post.  I don't own super-expensive gear and I tend to DIY a lot of stuff. 

Nick B

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Thanks for the invite, Pez. I appreciate it.
Now, it's a shame that this process can't be streamlined through some mechanical method to save on what is obviously slave labor. How could there not be a better way.
If you haven't already done so, can you give me the details (or the link) of the system you have that enables such a critical evaluation of these nuanced differences in components. After all that's what we are all here for.

thanks

I’ve had the pleasure to audition the all silver loom and the cables are outstanding…superb. What made them so good for me was the level of detail they retrieved and the holographic presentation. I can’t afford those cables right now, but I still appreciate a product that performs so well. I’m also fortunate that I listened with a JM Reynaud speaker that has the excellent AMT tweeter. I’ll list my system for your information. It performs at a level to appreciate the nuanced differences that Jason’s cables provide. It would be interesting if you listed your system….

Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra amp
Supratek Chardonnay preamp
JM Reynaud Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
iFi Zen Stream & Mojo Audio lps
Wywires Silver cables & Audio Envy power cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

WGH

... can you give me the details (or the link) of the system you have that enables such a critical evaluation of these nuanced differences in components.

Don't you mean systems, there are plenty to choose from in the Hapa Circle. We all can't be delusional, if fact in my review(s) I have mixed feelings about the Aerogel interconnects in which I said the Haiku and AerØ did not work as well with the Kimber 8VS speaker cable as the full loom that included the Hapa Torsion speaker cables. In my setup the Quiescence has better synergy with the Kimber. But if I had unlimited funds I would do a full loom of the polished silver interconnects, USB and speaker cables in a heartbeat. I miss them dearly.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=183297.msg1924471#msg1924471

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=183932.msg1944092#msg1944092

Missing the tour means you have no point of reference.

Pez

I just came from Tyson's house where I had to fight him to get the cables back.  :wink:

I had a chance to listen to the original Aero Cu coax in his setup vs the new Cu and Ag versions. As he described, the level of refinement from the first version copper to the new one was a huge jump. Fuller more fleshed out presentation with a lot of soundstage width. I really was impressed with how much of an improvement the cables made, but I was equally impressed on how big of an improvement he's made to his basement system overall. It was markedly better and the new Cu just put things over the top.

Now, with the Ag, there's an opening up of what's even possible. The depth of the soundstage improved and all instrumentation and vocals sound so much sweeter. I really don't want to say too much about either one as I prefer folks come to their own conclusion, but I will say that Tyson did a great job of explaining what the changes sound like in his setup.

Thanks to everyone here with their kind words on Hapa Audio! I'm humbled by all the great folks here and their praise.  :) I will be getting the tour started tomorrow! Folks who have signed up be on the look out for an email tomorrow and folks who haven't, better get on it quick, the tour is almost full!  :rules: https://forms.clickup.com/8415154/f/80txj-920/FA8PLZHL7YKXPIW0RL