AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Hapa Audio => Topic started by: Pez on 22 Apr 2021, 12:37 am
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Coming hot off the heels of the Breathe C tour I'm very excited to announce the Quiescence C tour! (https://forms.clickup.com/f/80txj-196/61H96EWC8LZI7AOW1K) FOUR MORE SLOTS AVAILABLE!
Quiescence C
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=223350)
(https://hapaaudio.com/product/quiescence-c-copper/) Quiescence C, jacketed with our carbon fiber/Silver plated copper/Mylar shield
"If you are looking for a reference quality cable... I would highly recommend that you give Hapa Audio Breathe C or their other versions a try" (https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=174850.msg1846757#msg1846757) -Wig
"I simply was not expecting what I heard. I was blown away. (https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=174850.msg1847894#msg1847894) -Jackmonster
"It was like rediscovering my entire collection again." (https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=174850.msg1852758#msg1852758) -nlitworld
These are just a handful of the comments from AC folks who were on the Breathe C tour. If I had to describe the difference between Breathe C and QC I would say... :duh: who am I kidding! This is Audiocircle you all are capable of making up your own minds on this stuff. Now's your chance to get on board for the Quiescence C tour.
The tour will include 1 pair of QC cables in 1 meter and another in 1.5 meters. The one meter pair has the KLE-I Copper Harmony connectors and I terminated the 1.5 meter length with the upgraded KLE-I Absolute Harmony connectors that have quickly become our most requested upgrade.
I will be keeping this one a bit more tight. It'll be one tour with 5 spots open. The Breathe C tour filled up in a matter of days with double the spots, so sign up quick! (https://forms.clickup.com/f/80txj-196/61H96EWC8LZI7AOW1K)
And one last thing, the tour has already started! Charmerci was kind enough to volunteer to be the first stop. He is kindly putting some time on the cables for the tour and will share his thoughts. There will still be 5 spots open. :thumb:
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If this is where I sign up, I would love to be on the tour.
I will be away from May 4-11th but home and ready to listen anytime before and after that.
Thank you
Matt
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I appreciate Jason letting me use them. I received them and can only have them playing about 5 hours a day because I have a tube DAC and I don't want to have it playing when I'm not around. Each day, they seem to be "opening up" so I'll refrain from saying anything about them until they settled down. Then I want to compare them to my set of IC's.
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Mttbsh check your PM. You're in!
One more spot better grab it now!
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Mttbsh check your PM. You're in!
One more spot better grab it now!
Many thanks Pez. I'm really looking forward to hearing the cables in my system!
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Many thanks Pez. I'm really looking forward to hearing the cables in my system!
Indeed! One spot left folks, any takers?
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Your killin me Pez your killin me.
Last and probably least if I may.
Don
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Don,
Ok you're in! :popcorn:
That rounds out the tour. I'll be sending info regarding order etc once I aggregate all the addresses. Expect Monday at the latest. :thumb:
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Any spots left?
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For you Bob? Absolutely!
Then there were 7! :wink:
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Hey folks,
Quick update, I wanted all the tour folks to know, info is still incoming. I'm a bit more busy than I anticipated. I'll be updating the tour folks tomorrow. Meanwhile the QC tour cables are still breaking in, so no time lost!
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Alrighty, all participants check your email!
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thank you Jason!
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Hey folks,
I'm a bit more busy than I anticipated.
It's a good problem to have! The secret is getting out.
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Alrighty, all participants check your email!
Did I miss something? Nothing in the email.
Well, that's been fixed. Thanks, Jason.
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Hey crew, so I was thinking about the logistics of the tour. I think with 8 people one leg will take way too long. I’ve decided to split the tour instead! The form is now open again if there is anyone who’d like to join the tour nows your chance! I’m doing 2 more slots per coast so a total of 12 people. For those of you who have already signed up, we will proceed as planned with the order, but I’ll be sending an email with an update when the tour is full with a new order that over takes the old one. :thumb:
Sign up now! We got to 8 spots within two days. 4 left!
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Well, Pez said that he "cooked" the IC's for about 100 hours. Today/this evening, I hit over 100 hours on my system when I noticed a big change! So I would say based on that, 200 hours of break-in. I'm busy the next couple of days so I should do more serious listening by the end of the weekend. But who knows? So far, these things seem to sound slightly different every day I listen to them! :scratch:
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Thanks again for breaking in the cables. Whip them into shape! :whip:
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Yeah, I was a little too anxious to see what the Quiescence C had to offer direct from my turntable to SUT. This with only the 100 hour break-in Pez provided. Although I heard great potential and an uber quiet presentation, I sensed more break-in was needed. Unfortunately, not much was going to happen break-in wise being fed the wimpy signal from a low output MC. Went back to my Moray James IC from the Amadeus to SUT and placed the Hapa QC between SUT and phono stage. That combination is truly sweet. Now after a few months with the Hapa being fed the stronger signal provided by the SUT, I'll switch these two cables around again. This all said, I undoubtedly hear a great deal of potential when using the Hapa Q on the analog side of the equation as well.
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I'm terribly sorry for the delay. The reason for the delay is that every time that I've listened to these tour cables, their sound is changing. I now have 180 hours on these and they are still changing a bit for the better, now mostly at the higher frequencies though the overall characteristics of the cable is pretty set. I can only do about 1 or 2 hours each night of loud serious listening.
They'll be moving on to the next person on Saturday - because I work all day tomorrow and I'll post a full report this weekend after I compare them to my regular cables.
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I'd like to thank Jason for letting me test out his new Quiescence C(opper) cables. He sent along two pairs in the Hapa box with the bag enclosing them which you have seen in the other tour thread – hopefully. He also included little caps for the connectors!
Very quick summary, I enjoyed them very much.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=224361)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=224362)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=224363)
As said earlier, they needed to be broken in. For me, most stereo equipment does not need to be broken in over more than a short period of time. Right off the bat, they sounded fine but Jason told me that they needed another 100-150 hours. As I have an AVA Ultra DAC with older tubes, I didn't just want to leave my stereo running all day long while I was out. If one of the tubes failed while I was out which was possible, I didn't want it to be left on for hours. But after a while, Jason told me that I could keep them a bit longer. So I hooked up my inexpensive Modi 3 DAC and let it run most of the day to get in the hours.
My procedure was to just listen to music while I was around in my small place. Suddenly, after around 30 hours or so (not to forget Jason's 100 hours of “cooking” before I received them), I did notice a perceptible difference in the high frequencies for the better while doing something else. Each night for an hour or two, I would listen to my reference recordings. These are songs which over a long period of time, I've found the sound to be most enjoyable at loud volumes on my not-very-changing system. I think it's been at least four years since I've changed out a major component. I am especially sensitive to “bad” high frequencies at high volumes, especially distortion. In this review, all the comments are “at volume,” meaning 80-85 db as referenced on my un-calibrated phone sound level meter at my listening position about 8 feet away. (The cables are perfect at lower levels! lol) My reference recordings aren't necessarily the state-of-the-art ones. It's funny how some recordings that I thought were more or less flawless, no longer were. One was Barbara Morrison's I Know How To Do It. In this test scenario which may or may not have to do the QC cables, the bass was a bit too overwhelming and her voice was a bit harsh. (Whenever I say harsh, it means that I emotionally have little physical tolerance and I cringe and want to turn down the volume simply because of those frequencies. Painful.) Other recordings such as Fleetwood Mac's Sara and Al Stewart's Year of the Cat, are songs that I love. Their recordings are not fantastic, to say the least, but I love to crank them up and use them as a test of a system or component to see how loud I can turn them but before cringing.... I could turn these two songs up louder than usual with the QC's. There were about 10 songs that I repeatedly listened to almost every night for about two weeks. Warm Ways by Fleetwood Mac being the song that I can turn up the loudest and thoroughly enjoy the sound. “Unfortunately,” the sound changed every single night which has never happened in my recollection in my 40 years of listening to various components. Not that I always specifically sat down to listen for changes in the sound of a particular component. I seemed to notice another change/improvement in the cables at around 100 hours and finally, before I sent them on yesterday at 180 hours, the high end harshness at volume on “those” recordings was continuing to reduce.
However, after having these RAAL tweeter Philharmonic speakers for about 4 and half years now, I suspect after doing some recent research is that they are not high volume drivers. It very well could be that the harshness that I hear on my system is simply them distorting. So this is a caveat that you need to remember as I write about them.
So, how did they sound? Smooth. They are best IC's I've ever had in my system. Instrument placement was wonderful, sometimes even being able to tell when an instrument was behind another one. From what I remember from my recent listening sessions with the Hapa Breathe C's, those made recordings sound like the players were in the room that they were playing in with less precise positioning of the QC's. After packing the Hapas to ship, I put back my IC's in and it seemed like the instruments' sounds were coming more from a pretty flat plain, much less depth. The bass was more prominent and more full on the QC's which I enjoyed very much but as mentioned above, in some recordings, it became a bit too much when played loudly. They also added a bit more clarity. Jan Ian on her Between the Lines album sounded like she was singing into the microphone. The QC's made that sound more noticeable.
Now here's the hard part. Saying what I didn't care about them. As I said they sounded smooth which in this case means that it takes the “bite” out of the sound. So, it softens the sound of a pluck of an acoustic string bass or the initial snap on a drum stick hitting the snare drum, for example. It goes across the acoustic sound board. So I guess if you like live acoustic jazz, this might not be your cup of tea. I would imagine large symphonic recordings would be ideal for these.
When I listened to my IC's after I packed up the Hapas, they weren't quite as pleasant as the Hapas, but the snap of the instruments slightly improved and the high frequencies were a bit more harsh at volume. However, personally, I'm afraid that the high costs of these are not in the cards for me for the amount of improvement as well as its lack of snap. The next most expensive IC's that I have and have heard are the G Huffmann's EX+ and the Morrow MA-3 which were both well under $200 when I bought them a couple years ago. The QC's could very well be fantastic for someone who has a much better system than my “budget” system. For me, I think the Breathe C's would probably be the better option, though I would have to listen to them again to be sure.
Anyways, designing sound systems are all about compromises and costs so you can't have everything at a low cost.
Thanks again, Jason!
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Charlie,
Thanks for taking on the task of breaking in the QC cables for the first leg of the tour.
I wanted to mention to folks on the tour, I decided to put a set of KLE-Absolute Harmonies on the 1.5 meter pair and the 1 meter pair has the Copper Harmony set. This will allow folks to potentially do some comparisons between the two connector variety options. Both sound lovely, but as others have noted, the Absolutes are just a more refined sound overall.
Looking forward to everyone's impressions! :thumb:
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Hi everyone,
I skipped the line for the Quiescence C tour and bought one last month along with a Breathe C cable as well. Both of which have the Absolute connectors to them.. I'm running the 0.5m Quiescence C as a phono cable and the 1m Breathe C from phono to receiver. Now just for clarification, I have a fairly budget system for several of the components. Analog front end is a Schiit Sol turntable, Benz Micro Zebra L cartridge, Pro-Ject Tube Box S2 phono stage, Pioneer Elite receiver and Klipsch RP5000f speakers and DIY speaker cables with KLE Harmony bananas. Slowly but surely I am upgrading components to decent audio reproduction quality.
After running each of the cables from pc sound card to receiver for quite a few days to burn them in, they're finally opening up all the detail I knew would be there. With this combo and the Absolute connectors, the bass extension is there in spades when I thought it was a little smoothed over on the Breathe C cables from the tour. They still present themselves with a wonderful smoothness and sense of poise but when called upon these have the nice attack like James Bond with a machine gun. As much as I love getting swept up in the groove of the music, I absolutely love nerding out on all the little hidden details and these cables perfectly balance the two nicely. I fully support using a set as phono cables for anyone who was curious of such things. Really I can't say enough nice things about these cables and how happy I am about the purchase. Absolutely overkill in comparison to a lot of the other gear it is currently with, but a massive instantaneous upgrade in sound quality and refinement to the system.
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Having read glowing reviews of Hapa Audio cables I was looking forward to the opportunity to listen to them during this tour. As background, for the past 5 years I’ve used interconnects and power cords from a well-respected cable manufacturer many of us on Audio Circle know, and have had no interest in replacing them with anything else, they’re that good.
The QC KLE-Absolute Harmony and Copper Harmony pair arrived last weekend. I placed the copper harmony pair between my Channel Islands Audio DMC-1 server/DAC and my Tortuga passive pre (by the way, the DMC-1 just came out last summer and seems to be flying under the radar as it hasn’t received much press but is an amazing piece of gear, the internal DAC betters my Yggdrasil). I put the Absolute Harmonies between the Tortuga and my DAC King Stereo Maraschino amp.
The QC KLE-Absolute Harmony pair particularly impressed me. Right out of the box, they were indistinguishable from my existing cables, which is a great compliment, but as they ran in for a couple of hours they opened up more, in fact despite having had quite a few hours of break-in before I received them, I noticed incremental improvements during my time with them.
In comparison to my existing cables, the QC KLE-Absolute Harmony pair delivered a wider soundstage and instrument separation – very 3D - greater clarity, detail and improved bass. Charlie (Charmerci) who auditioned the cables before me felt that the bass was at times overpowering. In my system I felt the cables simply allowed tighter, deeper bass through, which afforded the sound more heft or body. I did adjust my subs down a couple of notches, but the bass is the best I’ve heard from my system. Charlie also mentioned they were smooth to the point of taking a bit of bite out of the sound. I didn’t notice that anything was smoothed over, only improvements across the board, they just let more of everything good through so that music was more present, live and refined. I believe the Hapa cables let you hear the full potential of your equipment.
Do you get the feeling that I liked QC KLE-Absolute Harmonies? suffice it to say that I just bought a pair before sending the touring ones on to the next person. I hope he enjoys them as much as I have.
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Gents, thanks again for taking the time to give your impressions. It's not always easy to summarize what one hears in a way that makes sense to the end reader, but you all are doing a splendid job of it. Thank you! :thumb:
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Big thanks to Jason (Pez) for organizing and making the QC tour happen. I certainly enjoyed my time with the interconnects. I think they are pretty-pretty special. Because of vacation plans, my time with the QC was a bit shorter, so I placed them exclusively between the Audio Mirror Dac and 45 SET. The QC are good looking cables! Well made, light weight, and flexible - all of which I like.
My current (about 5 years) cryo treated copper interconnects with KLE Harmony do not rise to the level of Jason's interconnects, plain and simple. The QC take everything I like about my "neutral" interconnects: tone, dimension, speed, and dials it up. They just bring you closer to the music. With the SET amp and Omega speakers, I thought I had the dimensionality licked. Albeit, I can't have my speakers 7ft out in the living room. The QC deliver a very layered soundstage, not necessarily a bigger one per se, just a more dimensional one. QC are fast people! And shielded! My stereo is quick but these guys are Usain Bolt fast. Once you get hooked on that speed - I am telling ya...
It was evident from the very first track that QC can delight on the clarity side. They remove that last little bit of haze, you do not even realize is there, until it's not. I suppose some might perceive the QS as slightly less warm or lean but for me they deliver the resolution and tuneful bass in spades.
I certainly think J did his due diligence while designing these cables. I have auditioned a handful of nice interconnects over the years but none really bettered mine enough to bother. The Hapa QC proved to be that one interconnect that made a tangible enough difference to bust out the wallet. Cheers
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226005)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226006)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226007)
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JM, Rock on man! I've enjoyed chatting with you and love how unique your setup is. More good times to come. :green:
thanks a million for sharing your impressions.
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I just wanted to reiterate that these cables need a lot of hours before you get a real sense of how they can bring the music. I received mine already cooked for 100 hours and frankly, compared to the fully broken-in pair I auditioned during the tour, they sounded a bit flat. I knew this would be temporary. It took another 150 hours for the magic to arrive, and they continued to improve up to 300 hours of play. Once fully broken in, I have heard no other interconnects that can compare. The only reason I mention this is that I would hate for someone to return the cables before putting some serious mileage on them... patience is definitely rewarded, they're amazing!
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It's been a while since I wrote a review, so I may be a bit rusty. There's a good chance I'll edit this a couple times before I'm satisfied that I got my message across.
I got back into this hobby in 2013 after a 26-year hiatus. For much of that time I was having far too much fun galavanting (wandering) around many of the countries in East Asia (with most of the time spent in Taiwan) soaking in the cultures, food (OMG!), people, and languages (primarily Mandarin). Most of the places I lived in were concrete boxes that suck the life out of audio. Anyway, by the time 2013 rolled round, I'd been back in the US for ten years, and I was ripe for a new audio adventure. I started out with baby steps because I was afraid to spend too much money. Slowly but surely, I added ever higher quality components that brought my system to the point where it is now. I absolutely love my Don Sachs amp and preamp; my SW1X DAC III+, and my Daedalus Audio Apollos with Wywires speaker cables, a PI Audio UberBUSS, and TWL power cords. I no longer dream about listening to this or that pair of speakers at audio shows nor do I wonder if there's a better amp out there. Okay, I'll admit to playing with the idea of upgrading my DAC to the SW1X DAC3 Special or <gulp> the DAC4, but it's not a "I gotta do it!" need.
When Jason (Pez) announced his new line of cables and his eagerness to send out demos, I just had to give them a shot. Somehow, I conned...er...persuaded him to send me a total of four pairs of single-ended interconnects to audition. He sent me two pairs of the Quiescence C and two pairs of the Quiescence S IC cables. [THANK YOU!] I received the QS cables a couple weeks before the QC cables.
I tried four different combinations and got four different resulting sounds. For simplicity, I'll list each combination followed by my impressions.
1. All QS cables DAC to preamp to amp - This was a livelier, more forward sound than I'm used to - front row seat, perhaps. Higher frequency mids tended to be a bit bright for my liking. There's an adjustment switch on the back of my Apollos that adjusts higher frequencies by 0.5db (I think this is correct.) I set the switch on each speaker to the lowest setting and found that this improved the brightness a bit, but there was still too much 'ssss' and 'shhh' for my tastes. All silver isn't what my ears want to hear in my already revealing system.
2. QS from DAC to preamp; QC from preamp to amp - This combination sounded okay, but nothing to get excited about. Nothing stood out as "WOW!" I tried different genre of music hoping to hear something special, but I came away thinking, "$$$$ gets me this?!?" Meh.
3. All QC from DAC to preamp to amp - All this copper combined with all three tubed components bathed me in warmth. I <almost> imagined myself swimming in a pool of Maple syrup. :o Bass was powerful - too powerful for my liking. I felt as though I had moved a bunch of rows back except that the drums moved with me. I'm not sure how else to describe it.
4. QC from DAC to preamp; QS from preamp to amp - HOLY SHIT! This is jaw-droppingly good! The lows are dynamic and realistic striking a balance between power and finesse (struggled with which word to use). Mids are beautiful and just warm enough to keep me smiling - no need to change into swim trunks. I love listening to women's vocals, piano, acoustic stringed instruments, and lots of Jazz, and this combination makes all of it sound mesmerizing. :wink: Highs are right where I want them - clear.
As you know, combination #4 may not sound so great in your system. YMMV, ya know? However, it sounds f------ AWESOME in my living room.
I just paid for one 0.5m pair of QC with the standard solder and one 2m pair of QS with the Absolute Harmony solder. This combination of lengths will allow me to slide my audio stand against the wall to the right, but leave my amp on a slab on the floor between the speakers. It'll be better for my soundstage and will go a long way toward mollifying my wife <perhaps>. My stand was built in such a way that the 0.5m pair can be used vertically or horizontally without straining the connectors or the cables. [I already tried both orientations with a 0.5m demo pair.]
Jason is super easy to communicate with, but I expected that after reading so many of his RMAF reviews.
If anyone reading this has questions to ask of me, ask away. I probably forgot something or I may not have been very clear.
I may have to hold my demo cables hostage until my new cables arrive. :icon_twisted:
Michael
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That is an excellent insight. I tell my clients around 250 hours for full break in, but there are a ton of variables that could in fact increase the amount of time it takes. I burn in all orders for 100 hours unless otherwise specified by my clients. This gets the cables passed the worst part of the process, but that doesn't mean they're ready for prime time.
Any way, thanks again folks for posting your impressions.
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Saved for photos.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226621)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226622)
A little belated birthday present for Aldcol. :thumb:
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226624)
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Excellent review Michael! I’ve been contemplating what combo #4 would sound like in my system, just haven’t pulled the trigger. Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison and share with us your findings!
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Excellent review Michael! I’ve been contemplating what combo #4 would sound like in my system, just haven’t pulled the trigger. Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison and share with us your findings!
Let us know, you can be the next stop on the review set. 8)
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Let us know, you can be the next stop on the review set. 8)
I’ll send you a message!
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Michael, looks like you've started a defacto tour here. :lol: If anyone else is interested in signing up to hear these let me know, I'm currently coordinating with 2 other folks to hear these once I'm done crafting Michael's cables. :thumb:
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No way, Jason! I'm boarding up my windows and barricading my doors. I'm not letting these outta my sight until my new cables arrive.
:peek: :flame: :flak: :tempted:
I finally connected my Tom Christiansen Audio HP amp to my SW1X DAC. I've got the extra pair of QC connecting them. The Audeze LCD-2 sound very different now.
I'll try the QS tomorrow, I think.
:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
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If you think Jason's RCA interconnect cables are amazing, you should try his headphone cables, they'll elevate those Audezes quite a bit.
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If you think Jason's RCA interconnect cables are amazing, you should try his headphone cables, they'll elevate those Audezes quite a bit.
Howdy!
I asked him about HP cables, but I just don't spend enough time listening through headphones to justify the expense. I also asked him about the possibility of his someday making speaker cables. That expense I could more easily justify.
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I just don't spend enough time listening through headphones...
Maybe you would if you heard them with my cable. :green:
Honestly, the thing I have learned from my own listening habits is I will go out of my way to listen to something that sounds amazing. :dance: I got my demo cable back from Mr. Hollis (check out his thoughts here) (https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=176471.0) and would gladly lend it out if you're interested. :thumb:
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let the break-in commence
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226237)
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Although I’m late offering my opinion I was fortunate to be included in Jason’s kind offer to demo his Quiescence cables and I wanted to share my experience. I’m not proud of this but before I received those cables I didn’t believe cables could make a difference and for that reason I thought this was a great opportunity to confirm that belief.
I’m currently waiting for my first DAC to be delivered so I’m running a Bluesound Node 2i plugged directly into my integrated amp using some hand me down RCA’s. Prior to receiving the Hapa Audio cables I spend some time listening to a variety of the music that I know best trying to set a baseline. Once I received Jason’s cables I plugged them in and gave them a day to settle in. Again I’m far from having a golden ear but from the first song (all music streamed via Qobuzz) I noticed that notes just sounded very sharp and there was a pleasant depth to the music. That first night I figured that my brain was telling me that these higher priced cables had to sound better than my old RCA’s and that’s what I was hearing, nothing more. I simply listened to the music that night without trying to pinpoint why I was enjoying it so much.
The next night I decided to put things to a test, and while everyone may scoff at me, I’m a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan and have been since they formed. I’ve seen them too many times to count and not a week goes by without listening to one of their albums. One of my favorite songs, and a test song when I listen to other folks audio systems, is 'Slow Cheetah' off their Stadium Arcadium album. That evening I put that song on, turned up the volume, and I was simply blown away. I heard a soundstage that spread out much further than I had ever heard and I also detected things in the song that were new to me. Vocals, guitars, drums, and Flea’s bass were deeper, sharper and had an intensity that I had never heard before (intensity in the context of the RHCP’s is a good thing!). That night I became a believer that cables were the reason for the improvements that I was hearing. I was actually floored by what I was hearing and I replayed that song many times that night, my smile growing wider each time.
Will I buy a pair? That’s a resounding yes. As I told Jason I have to make a couple decisions once I receive my DAC but I will be supporting Hapa Audio and will have a pair of those cables in my system as soon as possible. I believe those cables are a must have. Thank you Jason for this opportunity.
Brett
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The next night I decided to put things to a test, and while everyone may scoff at me, I’m a Red Hot Chili Peppers fan and have been since they formed. One of my favorite songs, and a test song when I listen to other folks audio systems, is 'Slow Cheetah' off their Stadium Arcadium album.
For me it was the song "Suck My Kiss" that sealed the deal and proved I must have these cables and for the exact reasons you listed. The detail and soundstage that is present is unbelievable. In that song there is the guitar solo mostly out of the right speaker and halfway through you hear Flea sing backup into the mic out of the left speaker only "doo doo doo doo doo doo" that I had NEVER heard before that moment, but now can't mistake it. I can't go back to a lesser quality option to live in denial that I'm missing out.
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Nlitworld thank you for confirming that I’m not crazy hearing what I heard. I’m going to throw BSSM on tonight and give it a good listen. I know I’ll be missing a lot without the Hapa’s but it’ll give me something to look forward to.
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Note: I design my cables to sound amazing ONLY with RHCP music. Any other music that sounds good that isn't RHCP is just a coincidence. :nono:
Rock on gents! It's awesome to read how great things are sounding for the AC crew. It's a lot of fun reading these reviews. :thumb: :lol:
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JM,
Building your cables was very interesting. Usually I build the QC cables one at a time because it’s just easier to terminate that way, but with your build I just made one giant cable and sectioned it up. I took a phone pic of the entire length after I got done with the silver plated copper shield. 8 meters of cable!!!!
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226272)
Confession time, after I took this photo and I started cutting it up, I realized I screwed up and only had 7.5 meters. :duh: so I made another 1 meter cable and saved the .5 meter. :thumb: :icon_lol:
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If you spin, you owe it to yourself to get THIS repressing of BSSM https://www.discogs.com/Red-Hot-Chili-Peppers-Blood-Sugar-Sex-Magik/release/3336940
Ducking mind blowing!
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=226283)
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what a monster. i got them all hooked up. sounding really nice. nice floors pez! thanks for everything
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Ducking mind blowing!
It sounds like the cables were not just quackery then. :lol: Yes I do spin vinyl and have the Quiescence C cable from turntable to phono then Breathe C from phono to receiver. :thumb: That album is on the list of ones I need to finally pick up. There's just too many good albums to choose from these days.
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Glad to hear it.... Actually, wish I could hear it! :wink:
Looking forward to the future, I have several products that are on the cusp of release! stay tuned.
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Ahhh, Copper.
An old Frazier episode where Niles was asked to join a classical music discussion group and with his limited knowledge asked Frazier what to do. Frazier replied “when you get into a conversation that is beyond you just say “Ah, Bach”” and that would get him through the predicament. Well I’m goin with it.
Ah, Copper. It just has a way about finding that warm spot in the heart and allows you to enjoy the music for music’s sake. Of course it also has something to do with the quality of the product and the Quiescence Copper of that caliber. This is a very full sounding cable, which on my system that is on the warm side to begin with, lays out a nice sound stage with just a hint of smearing.This is probably more my system than the cable. It’s probably the reason the QS is one of the best cables I’ve ever had in my system. The QC is a fine cable and I’m enjoying it over the Breath Copper but won’t compare since it has been a while and I don’t have the BC for direct evaluation. It’s a toe tapping thing. I’m set up with a single male to double female rca adapter so I’m able to change on the fly and compare different cables just by changing source. With direct comparison to the QC, it held its own to my two reference cables in sound evaluations, one, a pair of diy cables made for me from a friend and two, the Spirit II cable made by Triode Wire Labs. The Spirit is one of the most forgiving cable I’ve ever had and is articulate and still have a very full body. The Diy are very neutral but with gobs of detail (best I’ve ever had in the world of laid back copper) with an incredibly dark background. I ran this combination out of my dac with two inputs in my pre during my time with Jason’s creations. I put the second pair between the pre and amp but didn’t seem to hear a significant difference when changed back to the Spirit II. Since my system is on the mellow or dark side right now I feel the QC would be great for a neutral to lively system.
The build and material used for the QC is top of the line and a thing of beauty. It’s almost a shame connections are in back of the equipment with these babies cause the shimmer is something to behold.
Can’t thank Jason enough for the time with all of the cables I’ve run through my system since his start up and wish him nothing but the best for a bright future cause all his cables do have some really good redeeming qualities to them. Since I already own the other cables mentioned above, I will be staying where I am with that illusive QS still in my sights down the road.
Sounds like Michael found an interesting combination.
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Don,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. The Quiescence S is a hard cable to best, that is for sure. I'd say more, but perhaps I've already said too much. :nono: :wink:
I'll be in touch soon for instructions on the next up in the tour. :thumb:
Also, I'm combining this thread with the official tour thread since we seem to have merged topics already.
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Here’s my shotgun assessment of the Hapa Audio demo cables compared to my Danacable Diamond Reference ICs which run from my DAC to preamp. I use XLRs from the preamp to my amps, so I only compared the differences with a single set of Hapa Audio cables installed. The Diamond Reference cables have been my favorite ICs for the past several years. I started my listening sessions at the “bottom” and moved on up.
Breathe Copper – ooohhhh… the cymbals that keep on shimmering – never heard that before. I’m intrigued…bass is thicker than what I’m accustomed to. In fact, the overall sound is slightly thick (i.e., slightly less revealing of microdetails). These cables remind me of a short, stocky dude who’s trying too hard to be the king of the yard. Almost…close enough to worry about my Danacables ‘cause we got three more to go. Keep in mind I’m comparing $399 cables to $1,500 IC’s and I’m talking about very subtle differences.
Breathe Silver – markedly different from its copper sister. Fast!!! Sounds like silver -- significantly livelier (i.e., brighter, but in a good way). Bass was on point. More precise, but not as warm as the copper. I think this cable would work well if you listen primarily to instrumental music and your system could use another dab of Brut by Faberge. Better sounding than the Breathe C and we’re still climbing…
Quiescence Copper – just as “fast” as Breathe S, but not as lively. Mildly temperamental – a good thing. Bass is a cross between Breathe C and Breathe S. Believe it or not, I connected a bit more emotionally with the Breathe C. Two things would make this a perfect cable – bass like the Breathe S and a tad more emotion. My top choice of the three so far. About 98% on par with my reference IC for nearly 1/3 the price.
Quiescence Silver— bingo! This cable represents the best of every aspect of the other three cables and more. I expected it to be livelier like the Breathe S, but it has the same smoothness as the Quiescence C. Tight bass - check. Emotionality -- check. Clarity – check. Musicality – check. Yeah, it’s all there. The Quiescence S also bested my reference IC because it peeled back another layer of detail which is the hallmark for justifying an upgrade.
Final thoughts -- great performance, fair pricing, high quality, pliable, aesthetically appealing, and personalized service – I dunno what else you would want. Go ahead -- spring for the top of the line. However, if your wallet is giving you the middle finger, choose one and you won’t stray far from where you want to be. Your system deserves to be treated with respectable cables and Hapa Audio is the real deal. Now hurry up with the XLRs, man!!
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Early:
Perfectly stated.
Don
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Brad,
I said so via email, but I wanted to mention again how much I appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts! It's interesting to see what someone thinks of all of the current analog line up side by side as you have posted. :thumb: