[mdfoy]

Mapletree owners,

Which umbilical did you upgrade to?  I have heard of the RAL, but it appears that tyring to buy one can be a nightmare.  Are there other umbilical vendors out there?

[topround]

I have the Ultra 4 SE. I have never experimented with the umbilical and probably would not unless there was a proven design.
I once had a Channel Islands Dac with the external powers supply and I used both the standard and the RAL labs umbilical. The Ral umbilical was made of silver, standard cord was a cheapo copper job.
The RAL cord gave an amazing soundstage and huge openess. It was very apparent the difference between the two, the RAL was addicting for a whille, being so open, it just made the stage so much bigger, but it changed the tone. And that was where everything changed. It had a slightly colder more metallic sound. Acoustic guitars had a much warmer more natural sound, more wood with the copper, the silver cable made it sound more steely. Unfortunately I could not live with that, brass and voices , they have to be right for me to be happy.

I have a friend who says that you shouldn't use silver in any power application like umbilicals or power cords. It is a generalization, I know, but in my limited experience this is what I have found.

I had called RAL to ask if they could make one of their umbilicals out of copper, but they never responded. I once had a RAL i2S cable that was unlistenable, but that may have been an isolated case

There probably is room for improvement from the umbilical in the mapletree, and I would love to try one.
Sorry for the rambling but my kids are arguing next to me right know so I must go.

bye bye

[Berndt]

I liked the RAL umbilical for my U$.
I received it within a week of ordering.
Bill

[jtwrace]

I just got a RAL yesterday for my Cary SLP-05.  I bought it from here: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?powrcabl&1219604150

I will will tell you that I think this person has some relation to if not is RAL.  If you look the e-mail address up on PayPal it goes to RAL.  I would say that he/she is trying to fix there tarnished name from what happened in the past.

With that said, I had no problems at all.  Item was shipped when promised and in perfect condition.

[mdfoy]

Cool, I may check them out.

[mdfoy]

All,

Which RAL umbilical would I need for a Mapletree 2ASE?.  All of them appera to have male pins.  The Mapletree has male pins on PS2 and preamp.

[Airborn]

From the Audiogon link above, here is a 4 pin female umbilical by RAL.

 And here is an 8 pin female U

Why wouldn't one of these work?

[srayle]

Revelation is defunct. I returned this umbilical after finding no improvement, the refund check bounced,
and the proprietor is unfindable. Praise the Lord, help this poor lost soul... Please help heal him of the ripoff lifetyle.

[mdfoy]

Airborn,

My Mapletree uses a 3 pin female umbilical, like the 5 and 8 pin units pictured.  I spoke to Dr. Peppard, and it is a microphone cable connector. I mistakenly ordered a 3 pin RAL Passage cable, which has male pins, and cannot use it.  Anyone need one?

[Airborn]

mdfoy,
Yeah, my my Ultra 4A SE uses the 3 pin female connector too.  Sorry I can't use the RAL passage cable.  Did you get the RAL passage cable from the Audiogon seller (Audiohottie)?  If so, how was the transaction?  Is it really a RAL cable??

[mdfoy]

Airborn,

Yes, I did get it from the audiogon seller(audiohottie), and the transaction went well.  I just ordered the wrong cable.  It is labeled Revelation Audio Labs, and looks correct. I sent an email to check for a 3 pin female

[mdfoy]

Airborn,

I just received a replacement female umbilical from RAL.  Theresa was great, and I would deal with them again.  The cable is breaking in, and at first listen is an improvement across the board from the stock cable   I will keep you informed.

[Airborn]

Good to hear.   If it works out for you I might have to give them a call, although I've got some other areas to upgrade first.