[Ulisse60]

Good morning
I will have to return the Skogrand RCA cables, unfortunately, but in the meantime, having had an excellent sound result, I tried some power cables as an alternative to the standard one, which among other things works very well. . .
By connecting Litz power cables of various types, materials and geometries to the integrated circuit, I find that you gain something compared to the Lavardin cable, but you lose on other parameters.
Tried a Shunyata Python Helix Alpha, valid but with less focus of the sound, a WG Prestige M, interesting but without large increases enough to be worth the replacement, from what I read online it seems that Lavardin likes solid core copper cables or cables in any case not too rich in litz texture which tends to slow down and weigh down the sound a little, always trying to understand if in addition to its own we could do better with alternatives, also taking into account the level of the Lavardin purchased used, I wouldn't connect a power cable to it with a value that is too demanding, just to maintain the correct proportions. . .
It remains essential to maintain the correct connection polarity of the power cable, following the phase marked behind the appliance, near the IEC socket, since by inverting the polarity you can clearly hear a clear loss of sound quality !
Tuninc continues . . . !! 
Greetings , Dario

[Ulisse60]

Good morning everyone
today I verified that my Daedalus Ulysses are 10 years old, and it seems to me that with age they are only improving in how they deliver music, they are compelling, coherent, immersive in the sounds of the musical program, whatever it is . . .
Given my age, I was born in 1960, they will accompany me until I have the ability to appreciate music, its beauty and ability to help me seek the best, to soothe the difficulties and obstacles of modern living, to project myself into a world of coherent, exciting sounds, certainly the best speaker in 35 years of passion, since the first ProAc Studio 125s of the 90s!
Thank you for the emotions you give me every time I turn on the audio system !!
good music everyone
Dario

[mresseguie]

Dario,

As an owner of Apollo speakers, I can't agree more with your assessment. These are keepers. I see we share birth years as well.    Let's hope we have a couple more decades to enjoy these beauties! 

[Daedalus Audio]

Good morning everyone
today I verified that my Daedalus Ulysses are 10 years old, and it seems to me that with age they are only improving in how they deliver music, they are compelling, coherent, immersive in the sounds of the musical program, whatever it is . . .
Given my age, I was born in 1960, they will accompany me until I have the ability to appreciate music, its beauty and ability to help me seek the best, to soothe the difficulties and obstacles of modern living, to project myself into a world of coherent, exciting sounds, certainly the best speaker in 35 years of passion, since the first ProAc Studio 125s of the 90s!
Thank you for the emotions you give me every time I turn on the audio system !!
good music everyone
Dario

Thank you Dario. It's words like yours that have kept me going with Daedalus all these years.
Be well,
Lou

[Ulisse60]

Hi mresseguie
we are passionate about a hobby that is increasingly for the elderly, and this makes me think that in 20 years, hoping to still feel good, Hi Fi will be a restricted passion for a few, but we will still have the Daedalus and our music collections and the desire to thrill ourselves with quality listening to music. . .
regards, Dario

Dario,

As an owner of Apollo speakers, I can't agree more with your assessment. These are keepers. I see we share birth years as well.    Let's hope we have a couple more decades to enjoy these beauties! 

[Ulisse60]

Thanks to you Lou,
in 35 years of audio passion I have had a significant quantity of speakers at home, dozens of sources, cables of many brands, amplifications of all types, but today, and it is incredible, I find the new Lavardin - Daedalus combination truly impressive in terms of overall quality , and by this I mean the pleasure of hearing music with a truly engaging and exciting immersion.
it's not a live listen, it can never be, but it excites me and makes me move my feet and snap my fingers and it's a sign of great realism, of a verisimilitude to live music that is truly remarkable!!!
I don't forget the source, the legendary Esoteric which always, always manages to play a role of great global quality in proposing a complete and correct sound.
If it happens to you, Lou, try listening to a Lavardin with your speakers, in my ears, a stratospheric result at a truly honest and accessible price, especially when used.
Thanks again for having created such communicative and easy-to-drive speakers, the more quality they receive, the greater the listening pleasure, with all musical genres, and it's not something so easy to achieve!
regards, Dario

Thank you Dario. It's words like yours that have kept me going with Daedalus all these years.
Be well,
Lou

[Ulisse60]

I don't want to advertise unnecessarily, but if anyone in the US or in Canada is interested, this is an incredible music machine with Daedalus speakers, identical to mine! good music everyone

https://reverb.com/item/82029602-lavardin-is-reference-integrated-amplifier?utm_source=aw&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hifishark.com&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=536903&awc=67144_1719151897_5845b6fae4d9a23dc29426d00ae6cec6

[Ulisse60]

Welcome back everyone
taking advantage of a friend's holidays, I stole his Stealth dream 20/20 power supply from him for the second time, and put it on the Lavardin, while a Walhalla 2 is now on my Esoteric K 01x.
I found a Nordost Tyr 2 RCA signal used, inserted between the CD and the integrated, excellent synergy with the speakers cable Tyr.
What can I say ?? The result is even more realistic, a complete sound, of great depth and impact, a rich, solid sound, great cleanliness and at the same time detail and micro-information, the breath of great music, even if in a small room, but we will also remedy This !!
The little Lavardin continues to represent a great miracle of complete, engaging sound, it benefits from improvements in connections, but does not lose its strong personality and very realistic and compelling sound!
Happy Sunday to you

[Ulisse60]

Welcome back everyone
after the summer holidays and a resumption of routine activities, I find myself at an important turning point, namely the comparison between my official Emmlabs pre and Gryhon essence power amp combo, and the small Lavardin reference IS integrated amplifier.
The dilemma, if we can call it that, is, should I keep both, using the Lavardin in the summer, given the characteristics of the Gryphon in class A, or should I give up the pre-power combo and promote the integrated to the main amplifier, given its excellent tonal and dynamic performances and excellent interfacing with my Esoteric K01x on the one hand and above all with my speakers on the other?
In order to put the Lavardin at ease, I got some good quality rca cables, in order to guarantee the best possible comparison, remembering that the Emm Gryphon combo is connected with Kimber KS 1136 XLR cables.
In the photo below you can see the series of rca cables that I got, some mine, others borrowed from friends, in the photo from left to right you can see:
Kimber KS 1030, Skogrand Tchaiwkosky first series, Purista Audio Design Aqueous 20° Anniversary, Acoustic Zen Absolute copper, White Gold Prestige M, Nordost Tyr 2, Vyda Vyger Orion Silver.
Among these 7 contenders I will have to find the best rca cable to use between Esoteric and Lavardin!!

[mresseguie]

That's quite a delicious selection of cables you have there. I'll look forward to reading your comments on their different qualities and which one finally rules the lot. "One to rule them all."

 

[Ulisse60]

That's quite a delicious selection of cables you have there. I'll look forward to reading your comments on their different qualities and which one finally rules the lot. "One to rule them all."

 

Hi

thanks for your request !!!


It will be my care and pleasure to make a report of the listening tests that I will carry out, specifying that my impressions, inevitably, are linked to my way of listening and perceiving music, to the environmental context and to the audio system present in it, and that for now experiences of many comparisons and listenings, are decidedly personal, also for how I "feel" the sounds and the musical reproduction!!
Good music everyone and stay tuned 

Dario

[Ulisse60]

Hi everyone

I started listening with the RCA signal cables that I presented in the posts of a few days ago, and I have already had some general indications on the cables that will continue the comparison and those that have already left the evaluation.

Among the interesting signal cables are the Kimber 1030, which in my set up turned out to be very good, like its XLR 1136 cousins ​​that I have from Esoteric, Emmlabs and Gryphon.
Mature sound, complete, well set up, without apparent defects or important negative aspects, cable that passes to the next comparison.
Like the Kimber, the Skogrand, Nordost and Vyda will also be compared again, while I have excluded the Purist Aqueous, the Prestige M in WHite Gold and the Acoustic Zen Absolute copper.

Acoustic Zen Absolute copper:
Excellent cable considering its range and the fact that it is a product from many years ago, it expressed a coherent sound, refined enough, tonally well set, but it has a lower part of the musical presentation that is a little too accentuated, which in my opinion context tends to cover the details a bit and does not allow you to raise the volume as it over-excites the environment, which is small and therefore perhaps determines my opinion. However, it is a healthy cable and capable of giving a lot of satisfaction in the right context.

Purist Audio Aqueous:
The worst cable of the comparison set, in my context, for an unbalanced, confused sound and with a decidedly intrusive mid-low part, one can sense that it is a project from almost 20 years ago, with limitations especially when comparing it with the other 6 cables of the test set. I expected a better result but in my system environment and for my ears and preferences it was not competitive.

The Prestige M White Gold:
It was also rejected, not because it was invalid, it performed well without great peaks in quality but also with few shortcomings, let's say a good generalist cable, but compared to the 4 remaining ones it is certainly a step below, presenting a less detailed and dynamic sound, although tonally healthy.

I'll stop here, the next chapter will see another round of comparison between the 4 remaining RCA cables of which only 2 will compete for the place between the Esoteric CD player and the integrated Lavardin IS ref.
Until next time
Dario