[Pez]

Holy Smokes! Great reviews Y'all! It's great to see so many folks finding new enjoyment in their systems and music. That is really the reason behind why I make cables. 

Those are really interesting user reviews! Hope that the "I'm in!" is not over...

Regards,

The Priest

If you post here you're in! FYI, there is no time limit as long as the tour is going on.

[dflee]

First off I'd like to Thank Jason for the incredible offer of trying the Breathe C in my system.
Unfortunately with all I've got on my plate at the moment I wasn't able to get into them like
I did the Quiescence (love that cable). I'd have to agree with most written so far and has
made me want the Q all the more. C will find it's way into a strong market in it's price range
as a quite competent competitor.

Don

[bentconvert]

Impressive reviews! Congratulations!

[genjamon]

Ok, here are my impressions of the Breathe C from the western tour.  These impressions are a follow-up to the review I posted a few weeks ago regarding the rest of the Hapa lineup here: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=173888.msg1844603#msg1844603

In that review, I found the Quiescence silver and silver/gold to be some real next-level stuff in terms of absolute fine detail and completely holographic soundstage.  They suffered a little or a lot in terms of thinness of the sound, though, with the silver/gold being warmer and a bit less thin of a sound.

The Breathe S, in comparison, was quite a bit thicker/meatier than the Quiescence, but at the expense of detail.

I've had the Breathe C in my system since Sunday.  I had a session on Sunday where I compared the Breathe C to my DIY Zenwave D3 cables and formed an initial impression.  Then I had a very busy week and didn't get around to listening again until this afternoon.  But the Breathe C have stayed in the system the entire week and had music playing through them 24/7, to give them the best opportunity to shine.

After both Sunday's initial session and this afternoon's, my sense is that the Breathe C shares much in common with the Breathe S.  It has that same meatier/weightier sound in comparison to my D3's that the Breathe S had.  It also sounded a bit veiled in comparison, with the D3's letting through more detail, and individual instruments sounding cleaner and clearer.  Voices and instruments also have more focus with the D3, whereas the Breathe C smeared them a bit.

But the Breathe C is also supremely musical.  It has a very nice weighty sound, and while it sounds a bit slow and dull at low listening levels compared with the D3's, it loves it when you crank the volume.  It has a very coherent sound, and is incredibly smooth.  You won't hear any hint of glare coming from the Breathe C. 

These impressions were formed using pretty much the same songs as I used my original review linked above.  I don't really think the Breathe C did justice to Sarah Chang - Le quattro stagioni (Vivaldi: The Four Seasons), but it showed its virtues on the rest.  I also liked it a lot on Ray Lamontagne's Till the Sun Turns Black album - perhaps better overall than my D3's. 

But the D3's are more dynamic than the Breathe C by quite a margin - in fact I have to turn my volume up a couple clicks to match the same perceived volume with the Breathe C in the system.  And since I do almost all my listening at very low volumes while either studying or late evening after the toddler has gone to bed, the D3 are a better fit for my lifestyle while also probably having the overall better performance between the two across all the various categories. 

In sum, I agree that the Breathe C perform very well for their price point and at that price point offer significant competition to very high parts quality and design quality DIY ICs.  They have many virtues and have a character that will shine well in most systems out there. 

[Pez]

Hey Folks,
First, I apologize for the late reply, I thought I replied earlier, but apparently I either didn't hit 'post' or internet gremlins ate the message. 

Big thanks to Don for posting up some of his impressions, I realize how crazy things are for you at the moment so I'm all the more grateful that you took time to evaluate.

Everyone else, thank you for taking the time! Glad to see you all aren't afraid to put them up against the big boys. 

[krustykat]

I'd like to thank Jason for sending out 3 sets of his new Breathe C cables.  During the week that I had his cables I was able to try them in both my main system and my headphone system.  I was very impressed with the build quality of the cables.  They look beautiful and are very flexible in use.   The KLE RCAs are a big plus too! Most cables in this price range would not use such a high quality connector.

In my main system I used 2 sets, the first between my DAC and Preamp and the second between my Preamp and Amp.  In this system, I thought that the tonality of the cables was spot on, with very strong bass and a smooth top end.  The soundstage was a slightly recessed compared to my DIY silver cables, but instrument placement was much more focused than the silver cables.  It was very easy to pinpoint exactly where every instrument was.  The leading edge of dynamic sounds was a touch muted compared to the silver cables.

In my Headphone system I used the Breathe C between my DAC and Headphone Amp. I typically listen with Sennheiser HD-800 headphones on this system. If you are familiar with the Sennheiser HD 800 you will know it is a hard headphone to match to any system.  I put up with it's harsh high end because they have the most 3d sound of any headphone system I've tried.  Fortunately, the Breath C was exquisite on this system.  Installing the Breathe C was a breath of fresh air - it cured the high end nasties on this headphone and produced the lushest sound I've heard from this system yet.   Using Audeze LCD-XC cans the sound was strong and dynamic and very dense without being bloated.  A true winner!

IMHO the Breathe C cables are a very good all-around cable that would suit the needs of most people. The exhibit the qualities one would expect from a high end copper cable.   There are other cables that are more holographic, dynamic, detailed or have more extension, but you will be paying more for these cables.  Much more.

[Pez]

Folks,
Due to popular demand, I am now including the option to upgrade to the KLE Absolute Harmony connectors with Breathe C. I am combining the best KLE connector with Mundorf Supreme gold/silver content solder. The improvements are tremendous. Cleaner top to bottom performance, added dimensionality and a robustness that is really nice.

Krustykat, thanks again for taking the time to review the Breathe C cables. I'm looking forward to sending you the TOP SECRET cable I'm working on for you. When it's complete and you have it, I think folks here would love to see what we've cooked up. 

[TomS]

Folks,
Due to popular demand, I am now including the option to upgrade to the KLE Absolute Harmony connectors with Breathe C. I am combining the best KLE connector with Mundorf Supreme gold/silver content solder. The improvements are tremendous. Cleaner top to bottom performance, added dimensionality and a robustness that is really nice.

Krustykat, thanks again for taking the time to review the Breathe C cables. I'm looking forward to sending you the TOP SECRET cable I'm working on for you. When it's complete and you have it, I think folks here would love to see what we've cooked up. 

Can I upgrade my grand prize if I don't even have them yet  ?

[Pez]

Can I upgrade my grand prize if I don't even have them yet  ?

Absolutely (pun intended) When the tour is over I'll have the cables back here and I can go ahead and make that happen! 

[TomS]

Absolutely (pun intended) When the tour is over I'll have the cables back here and I can go ahead and make that happen! 

Any plans for a Breathe C XLR version?

[Wig]

Hapa Audio Breathe C update with KLE Absolutes

Guys,

I have had my updated Breathe C cables in my system now for 2 weeks and the upgraded version with Absolutes is the way to go in bringing out more beauty of Hapa’s DCSG Topology. I am hearing more immediacy, more transparency/clarity, quicker leading edges and faster transients with images being more immersive and bolder.

If you liked what you heard with the standard RCA’s, you are really going to like them even more with Absolutes…

Wig 

Over the past 5 years I have owned and evaluated a conga line of cables ranging from foils, commercial helix designs, liquid metal, stranded and solid OCC Copper and Silver conductors retailing in excess of $5K and they all had positive attributes.

As an avid DIYer/tweaker and the builder of 5 variations of the Helix Design, mines are configured with KLE Absolute Plugs, 1 run of Neotech OCC Solid Silver/1% Gold and 1 run of Neotech OCC Solid Silver as the signal and a double run of Mil-Spec Silverplated Copper as the neutral which is known as the Schroeder Method “SM” and in my opinion has been the best sounding cables I have ever heard in my system regardless of cost…

My audio (signal) senses went up another level when I saw the launch of Hapa Audio and I immediately delved into the technology of his DCSG - Dual Chirality Star Geometry which went much further in reducing crosstalk and inductance but would I be able to discern any difference over my already phenomenal sounding DIY Helix cables?

The Hapa Audio Breathe C Tour Cables arrived in excellent condition and presented in a very professional manner with the Hapa Logo on the internal box and 3 sets of cables individually secured with Velcro straps and protected in nice cloth-type draw string bag; very classy. The cables build quality are outstanding and are very flexible and almost weightless.



After 4 days of continuous burn-in, I was eager to hear the DCSG typology in my system with my own ears and with the music I typically listen to; Classical Acoustic Guitar, Violin, Cello and some Jazz.

Cued up 5-7 CDs of my favorite string instruments (play so often, the kids hum the notes : ) and was AMAZED! Tonality was the first thing I noticed with the Breathe C, Acoustic Guitar’s/Cello’s sounded fuller with more body, resonances, decay and “REALISM” …    The instruments themselves were more life-like in size/scale and had an intricate and delicate sound that was not present with my previous cables.

After many A/B comparison between my DIY Silver/Gold Helix and Hapa Audio, the Breathe C just has more transparency and clarity without any brightness, forwardness or harshness. What you hear is a much wider/deeper and expansive soundstage, tighter image focus, better layering and the “chameleon illusion” as if your speakers are not even there…The level of detail and fluidity you hear between and beyond the boundaries of your loudspeakers with the Breathe C is quite astonishing and with the Beauty of Copper… 

Being that the DCSG typology is similar to my DIY Helix Coax, I decided to try the Breathe C as a digital cable. My DIY Helix Coax has the same cabling as mentioned above but the coatings have been stripped off (naked) and placed inside 2 separate Teflon tubes and lightly twisted together. This “Air” Version yields better separation, better detail retrieval, more air and better image focus. The moment I inserted the Breathe C into the mix, I noticed the same attributes of textural body, resonances and a beautiful organic naturalness that exuded from wood-based instruments that the analog cables provided…

The supplies to build a DIY Helix Cable will cost you north of $230+ depending on your choice of conductors and that does not take into account all of the labor necessary to build a quality sounding cable. Hapa Audio Breathe C is more than worth the price of admission and at a price to performance ratio, the Breathe C wins hands down…

As with all cables, it comes down to system “synergy” and listener preferences but I can say without hesitation that the Breathe C is the best sounding cable I have heard in my system and I have owned and evaluated over 25+ brands…

If you are looking for a reference quality cable utilizing the latest techniques with proven noise/crosstalk rejecting, the finest Angel Litz Copper with vibration damping properties, I would highly recommend that you give Hapa Audio Breathe C or their other versions a try; As for me, my system will be outfitted with Hapa Audio Breathe C… 








System Components:

Purity Audio Harmonia V2 2A3 DHT Tube Pre-Amp
Luxman Mq Uc KT88 Triode Tube Amp
SW1X Std III+ DHT Tube Dac
Jay’s Audio CD2 MK3 CD Transport
Puritan PSM 156 Conditioner with Ground Master
Liberty Audio X-VOX Loudspeakers (PBN Audio Company)

Power Cables:

5 X DIY Helix with Neotech OCC Solid Copper wiring/Furutech/Parts Connexion CF Plugs

Interconnects & Digital Cables:

3 X DIY Helix with 1 run of Neotech OCC Solid Silver/1% Gold and 1 run of OCC Solid Silver

Speaker Cables:

Kirmuss Audio Adrenaline 7 AWG Litz Array Cabling

Accessories:

Audio Rack sitting on Symposium Roller Blocks
4 X 2” Solid Maple Shelves for each component
IsoAcoustics Isolation devices installed on all components and under Loudspeakers

Wig 

[Pez]

Any plans for a Breathe C XLR version?

Great question, for XLRs I have a few designs that I am testing currently. I will say this, no it will not be based on the same geometry as the Breathe/Quiescence line. it is a geometry specific to a balanced signal. I hope to have it ready for primetime sometime in Q2. Keep your eyes open.

Wig,
Thanks for comments on the Absolute Harmony sonics. Everyone should know Wig has a lot to do with me offering the upgrade to Absolute Harmony and so far he's been right, a lot of folks are going that direction. Regarding the sonics, you nailed it. The Absolutes are my favorite connector of all time and well worth the upgrade. The sonics achieved by it and the special attention to the Mundorf Supreme solder are what I prefer for literally every RCA style I make.

[nlitworld]

Hearing all these good things about the cables makes me all the more excited and anxious to give them a go when it's my turn in a few weeks. **insert small child's voice saying "hurry up already"** It's going to be good fun!

[Wig]

I am happy for you and it shouldn't be too long before your tour cables arrive with hundreds of hours on them 

Wig

Hearing all these good things about the cables makes me all the more excited and anxious to give them a go when it's my turn in a few weeks. **insert small child's voice saying "hurry up already"** It's going to be good fun!

[charmerci]

They're on their way to the next person. I really enjoyed listening to them very much. I'm really busy with online projects through Sunday night and I work all day Monday so it'll be Tuesday at latest before I will write a full report.


I would have liked to have kept them. It made listening at volume (80+ db) more enjoyable than my present IC's.

[nlitworld]

Cables just showed up here today and I just sat down to listen to a few songs before reluctantly back to housework. Firstly I would like to say thank you again for the opportunity, and follow that up with "Are you freaking kidding me?" First impression is simply mind blown. I'm going to get some a/b listening this week on both digital and vinyl. I might even find some good industry buzzwords to throw out writing about them next week. For now, just know there is a big smile on my face as I attempt to make my ears bleed. 

[charmerci]

I'll do a quick summary and then expound more below. The first thing that I noticed was how surprisingly lightweight these things are. I used only one cable from my USB/SPDIF (XMOS XU208) converter to my AVA Ultra DAC. (Odyssey Tempest pre > AVA Synergy 240 amp) I kept the music playing all afternoon without paying attention to differences. In the evening, I was really enjoying them. They really seemed to deepen the soundstage and recordings seemed to have a greater “spaciousness” compared to my Morrow MA3's and Grover Huffmann EX and EX+s. Meaning that it sounds more like the performance is being played in a room rather than instruments floating in space. Overall, they sounded “smoother”. By that I mean they didn't sound as harsh. But it seemed to come at the expense of a little less leading edge snap to the bass notes, i.e. plucked bass and the stick hitting the drums. There also seemed to be a comparatively roll off of the bass and overall less bass there. It seems to be the trade off for having a slightly less “harsh” sound, most often noticeable when a singer sings the “s” sound. This is listening to loud levels as I said in my previous post, more than 80 db average as register by my phone app. (Yeah, I know.) Overall, I really did like them enough that I would like them in my system.

*

OK, this is the long version. I'm on a perpetual budget so I generally buy used, having champagne ears on a beer budget. I feel that most designers/manufacturers are older guys who have spent years listening to loud music and I suspect (but probably can't verify) that their high frequency hearing is diminished. The reason that I bring this up is because over the recent years, I've seem to notice that newer equipment, both electronics and speakers, tends to have, to my ears, be a bit too bright/harsh in the higher frequencies. Sometimes known as clarity. (This also includes digital harshness. I am also very aware that much of the sound is determined by the room especially when listening loudly.) I've had this present system with the Philharmonic Audio New Philharmonitor (with RAAL tweeter) for many years now. I have 10K+ songs in my computer of which I've heard each album probably around 100 times. Over the years, I've selected a certain number of songs which I have put into my Best Sound playlist which I use as references. As it's extraordinarily difficult for me to even tolerate listening to new music (from the last 30-40 years), my choice of good sounding recordings are probably not the best that's out there. I like to crank up my favorites, so sometimes that volume has to be limited to when that harshness becomes too intolerable to me. (At low volumes, I have no problems listening to music out of a crappy, tabletop radio for hours.) So for example, I use Fleetwood Mac's Worried Dream off of The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac as a fabulous test of voice. He is right there in the room. Wow. (Piano and drums are ok, the other instruments, meh.) I love Year of the Cat. I use that to see how loud I can get before the sax and guitar solo irritates me – and there is always a volume limit to when that will happen. The sax and guitar were far more tolerable to listen to with the Hapas. On a couple of songs, there would be some instrument that would be more “there” that kind of surprised me. I'd always “heard” it but it would be much more prominent. Unfortunately, I didn't take note of what instrument and which song that happened.

Before I received the Hapas, I had bought GR Research Audio Nirvana speaker cables. Turning up the volume, even my Best Sound playlist sounded intolerable with my IC's. I thought that I needed maybe to break the GR's in. I listened for many hours at lower volumes to break them in before the Hapas came in. After I received the Breathes, they didn't seem to be better but I listened to them loud for one session and they were much better. But I decided to try to keep breaking them in because they had some more wonderful characteristics than my other speaker cables Knukoncepts Karma Kable. But alas, maybe I need much more time on the GR speaker cables because high frequency harshness at volume was still somewhat bothersome. In other words, I could listen to the Karmas at a louder level without cringing. Again, I goofed by not taking notes on these differences.

My last night with them, I put in the MA-3 between the SPDIF converter and the DAC and some of the high frequency harshness returned (again at 80+ volume) but so did a little more bass but still much preferred the Breathe. When I tried the EX+ there, a slight HF harshness came back when a singer would emphasis 's' in the lyrics. I put the Breathe back in that position and put the EX+ between the pre-amp and the amp. I forgot to make notes (it's Tues. and that was Friday night) but I seem to remember that I enjoyed that combination.

One other slight shortcoming with them is no signal, they picked up a local radio signal that went away when I used just one pair of my other IC's.

To sum up, outside of the minor issues with the bass, I really enjoyed my time with the Breathes and thank Jason and Hapa so much for the opportunity to listen to them. I'll have to see if I can budget a couple pair as 3 sets are too much expense for me.

I know I was supposed to take photos of them but my room's a bit of personal embarrassment so here's the back with my rack pulled out.
 

One thing that I noticed about the cables however was the small contact strip. Wouldn't a larger surface area make a difference? I'm not sure but I guess that it's just the negative/ground and only needs to be minimal.
 

[Pez]

Char,
You did quite a bit of experimenting with the cables. Sounds like it was mostly a positive experience. It's not always easy to determine where high frequency harshness is coming from, but if you have any gear that isn't fully broken in, odds are that's your culprit.

Regarding the KLE connectors. The design is intentionally low mass and especially the common pin. The purpose is to reduce the potential for Eddy current issues that all full metal ring style barrel connectors have. This was a brilliant design solution by Mr Eichmann and is partially responsible for the clarity and dynamics of the cables design.

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts! I really appreciate it. 

[charmerci]

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts! I really appreciate it. 

Thank you. It was great to have them and enjoyed the improvement in my system.

[jackmonster]

Just wanted to give an update with my experience with Jason's cables.  I was part of the Breathe C tour. Absolutely loved them.  But, of course, I was curious to try his other cables. He sent me the Breathe S
and the Quiescence S.  He did not have the material to send me the Quiescence GS.  All are very good cables with their own characteristics.  Both the Breathe S and the Quiescence S offered more detail
than the Breathe C.  Between those 2 I preferred the Quiescence S because it added a little more warmth than the Breathe S.   Detail is important to me but I kept going back to the Breathe C's.  The just sounded right  IN MY SYSTEM. I could certainly see many people favoring the other ones.  So I listened to 2 very smart audiophiles (Jason & Wig) and ordered the Breathe C's with the Absolute Kle connectors.
Bingo! The tone was still there but with more detail and clarity. I was not second guessing myself about not getting the Quiescence S.  I really didn't believe the Absolute connectors would make that much difference. As Wig stated- there was a nice increase in clarity, immediacy and faster transients. The background detail is more pronounced/bolder.
  Still the nice tone, but just "more" of everything you want in a cable.   Simply more of the "you are there" quality.  FOR MY SYSTEM - for wonderful.
It would have been interesting if Jason sent out the "regular" Breathe C cables along with the ones with the Absolute Kle connectors.  I'm curious what the reaction might be from the rest of the people on the tour.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to any future products from Hapa Audio.