Okay, the cables have been shipped to maxima95, have fun!
First off, I want to thank Dave for setting up the tour. Initially, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to participate since I was fairly satisfied with my current cabling, but the more I read about Dave's Cables, the more intrigued I became. I received XLR and RCA versions of the D3s and a set of 14 gauge speaker cables with jumpers.
I listen primarily to rock, followed by classical and a smattering of jazz. Overall, I prefer neutrality, since I would rather hear what's actually on the recording than have the music "smoothed over" by cabling or components. I used the following CDs for the cable evaluation: KT Tunstall - Invisible Empire, Mazzy Star - She Hangs Brightly, Joe Bonamasa - Live at the Vienna Opera House, Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House, The Band - Live at the Academy of Music, Tedesci Trucks Band - Made up My Mind, Led Zep - Celebration Day, The Black Keys - Black Keys (LP), Bartok Concerto for Orchestra LP (Reiner). I also had my (very understanding) wife sit in a few times to to get her reaction.
I use Cabledyne Silver Reference XLRs from a Jena Labs modified Oppo 95 to a Wyred 4 Sound STP/SE preamp, followed by Grover ZX RCA cables from the preamp to a Job 225 (outstanding amp), which drives Devore Nines from Transparent Music Wave Plus speaker cables. I also use Lectraline RCAs from a Herron Audio VTPH 2 phono stage into the preamp. Turntable is a Eurolab Premier with Moerch UP 4 arm and Lye Argo i cart. I use several power cords, including Triode Wire Labs, Core Audio Technology and Cerious Technologies. And last but not least, everything is plugged into an UberBuss. (I was unable to use Dave's cables between the preamp and amp because I need 1.5 meters and the longest Dave's IC was one meter.)
On to the review. Track 9 of KT's Invisible Empire has her vocals standing out further than the instruments on Dave's, whereas the Cabledynes had the vocals more recessed compared to the instruments. Not sure which was the more "accurate", but we preferred Dave's cables on this track, however it was largely a wash on the other tracks. Moving on to Track 4 of Mazzy Star, the vocals are waaay back in the mix on Dave's cables, while the Cabledyne's have the vocals more forward. Score one for Cabledyne. Again, it was more or less a wash with the other tracks.
Initially, it was a struggle to discern the differences between Dave's and my cables, but over time a pattern emerged.While Dave's cables are very pleasing and easy to listen to, I (we) found that they seem to obscure some detail with a smoothing affect that could lead to a certain "sameness" to recordings. They have a tendency to remove the leading edge of transients and vocals, thereby taking away from the rawness and energy of rock recordings. This was most apparent on the Joe Bonamasa CD. His voice was quite nice using Dave's cables, but lacked the rawness using the CableDynes (BTW- my wife and I saw Joe B. live last December). I think the defining moment came when I fell asleep one afternoon while listening to the Led Zep Blu-Ray. That should not happen! After I switched back to the Cabledynes, it felt as if someone threw cold water on my face and I was suddenly back at the concert. Also, when I used Dave's from the Herron to the preamp and his speakers cables, the sound was way too soft for my tastes. My wife also found it easier to discern individual voices and instruments with my cable set up.
Dave's cables are very well made and very musical! They presented sound in a different way than my cables and initially I was quite enamored of the XLRs. However for my listening tastes and preferences I ultimately preferred my own cables. I could easily see some people preferring Dave's though, especially if they listen to primarily to jazz or classical using digital gear.
Postscript: Near the end of my listening, I purchased the "Essence of Music" CD treatment kit and wow, what an improvement it made! CDs sounded much more analogue like. It also made the cable differences more apparent.
Glenn
