[stereovox]

Hi All,

I just wanted to take a moment and let you know that anyone interested in Stereovox products can contact us through Audio Circles, and I'll also be posting news from time to time.

Many of you have tried our new HDXV (High Definition Digital and Video) digital and video cable - we've gotten some terriffic feedback on it so far. It was designed to be a real Giant Killer and a "no-brainer" purchase at the price. This product introduced the idea of the "Studio" line, a cost-effective line that intends to trickle down our tech from the Reference line. Fairly soon we intend to fill out the Studio line with additional products, the first of which will likley be single-ended interconnects.

The Reference line will also get expanded very soon to include a Reference level balanced interconnects: BAL-600, which will retail for the same price as the single-ended Reference interconnect, SEI-600. For those of you with Reference-level systems that also perform best in balanced mode, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the BAL-600 release as it will likely be the final balanced interconnect you'll ever buy.

Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or if you happen to have the recipe for that traditional spicy Thai papaya salad ... definitely send that along!

Cheers!

Chris Sommovigo
STEREOVOX

[Hantra]

Swweeeeeet!

Welcome Chris!

I am loving my new HDXV so much, I haven't even made time to compare it with the AU24 it replaced.  I will one of these days though.  

Good to have you here, and maybe you can fill us in on some of your other products in the pipeline that are values as good as this!

BTW, are you getting your own Circle?

B

[stereovox]

Hi Hantra!

I don't know what to do in order to get our own Circle, but it could be fun to do that. I'll look into it as time allows.

I'm really glad to hear you love the HDXV - it's a point of pride with us as it demonstrates what we can do regardless of budget. And you got in for the promo price ... that promo ends at the end of the year and the price goes to $100 (still a crazy low price for what you get, I think...).

Studio interconnects are being worked on. Can't give you an ETA yet, but we'll look to make an announcement once we're ready to ship.

Cheers!

Chris

[JLM]

Please post a link to your website(s)

Please tell us about yourself and Stereovox.

thanks

[Hantra]

Well, I was going to wait until you got your own Circle, but I have to go ahead and ask the question everyone wants an answer to.  Not sure if you can really give an answer or not, but here goes:

We all know how they differ in materials and construction, but what we really want to know is what are the major sonic differences between the i2s, and the HDXV?  Also, is i2s your company, or just your design?

Thanks!

B

[Sa-dono]

First off, welcome to the Audio Circle!

As to your post, what happened to a simple "NO!" or "NO! Your cable sucks!!!" (kidding about this one) option? I think one of my friends is going to be trying your cable out soon, so I'll be interested in his thoughts. I can't say I am all that interested in your cable right now though. Of course you can try and build a quality I2S cable, and then we'll talk

[stereovox]

Well, I was going to wait until you got your own Circle, but I have to go ahead and ask the question everyone wants an answer to.  Not sure if you can really give an answer or not, but here goes:

We all know how they differ in materials and construction, but what we really want to know is what are the major sonic differences between the i2s, and the HDXV?  Also, is i2s your company, or just your design?

Thanks!

B

Hi Hantra,

i2Digital is a company that is separate from Stereovox - conceived of by myself but executed by another, for which I provided a single cable design. I have a 50% equity interest in the company but I do not run its operations or have any particular fiduciary responsibilities to i2Digital.

I don't want to step into the itchy territory of parsing the sonic differences between the i2Digital X-60 and Stereovox HDXV. The HDXV is my latest design, more than a year younger than the X-60, and incorporates some of my later thoughts regarding digital and video transmission.

I would definitely invite comparisons of the two from others - I think that they are both stellar designs and worthy of the most demanding and highest-resolution system, but performance in any particular digital system would likely vary depending on the equipment used .. and, of course, always depending upon the taste of the user.

Sorry to dodge that hot-potato like that, but I'm sure you understand why it wouldn't necessarily be appropriate for me to compare the two publicly. Luckily for all, i2Digital offers a 31 day MBG and a few of Stereovox's dealers offer similar programs to ensure your happiness. If you're truly curious, try them both out and keep the one you like best!

Cheers!

Chris

[stereovox]

First off, welcome to the Audio Circle!

As to your post, what happened to a simple "NO!" or "NO! Your cable sucks!!!" (kidding about this one) option? I think one of my friends is going to be trying your cable out soon, so I'll be interested in his thoughts. I can't say I am all that interested in your cable right now though. Of course you can try and build a quality I2S cable, and then we'll talk

Thanks for the welcome!

As for the plain old "NO!" option ... I never take plain-old "NO" for an answer!

As for an i2S cable, it's being thought about but there are other products in the development queue that are ahead of such a project right now. Because we develop whole cables and don't just pull OEM parts and wire from the shelves and combine, any particular product and project will usually be a fairly expensive endeavor ... so we try to choose development priority very carefully.

Cheers!

Chris

[stereovox]

Please post a link to your website(s)

Please tell us about yourself and Stereovox.

thanks

Hi JLM,

My website is located at:  http://www.stereovox.com

As for telling you about myself. My history in the Audio Industry as a professional dates back to 1991/92 when I founded Illuminati Electronic Systems and Cables and introduced a novel concept to the audio world: A precision 75 Ohm semi-rigid digital cable terminated with an impedance-compensated RCA connector for better impedance matching than standard connectors provided.

A couple of years later Illuminati products were distributed by Kimber Kable, and the catalog exanded to include products such as the D-60, Orchid, V-21, DV-30, DV-75, Ohm-Aha!, Uncommon Ground, and Snapdragon. A couple of years after that Kimber Kable took over the assembly and distrbution operations of Illuminati entirely, changed the name to "Illuminations" and are still marketing most of those products (Uncommon Ground and Snapdragon were discontinued, but I think the circuitry may have been adapted for one of Kimber's "Select" digital cables ... although I'm not sure, so you might want to check with them).

I hunkered down in Atlanta to research analog cabling and started to develop some new theories and new products. I was also partnered with Tony de Almeida making hi-res recordings of various symphonic performances, chamber music, brass ensembles, classical guitarists, etc. from Moscow to the DR to West Palm Beach (Kravis).

As the development of the cables brought forward commercially viable products, Tony and I decided to expand the scope of our recording enterprise to include cables. Stereovox released its first commercial product, the SEI-600 single ended interconnect, in early 2000.

The Stereovox catalog now includes three products (SEI-600, LSP-600, and HDXV) and will soon include a fourth: the BAL-600 reference balanced cable.

We haven't done much recording lately, although I am still exposed to live acoustic music regularly - my girlfriend is a professional violinist, damn good one. Actually, Saturday afternoon I went to hear her perform at an Atlanta Ballet gig (1001 Nights; Amirov) ... I've decided the following about Ballet:

It's bad pantomime set to good music ... I'd rather see Cirque de Soleil do the dancing through fiery hoops and such.

Cheers!

Chris

[Hantra]

Sorry to dodge that hot-potato like that

Heh. . No problem man.  As I indicated when asking, I really didn't expect an answer, but I really wanted to know about your interest in i2s just out of curiosity.

I wouldn't mind hearing that one, but I am really really pleased with this one, and not inclined at all to order the other.  

Can't wait to hear some of your other Studio products. . .

B

[viggen]

Hey Chris,

I've taken advantage of your $75 for 75 ohm special.  Coming from someone who thinks your D-60 cable really suck and have been burning in the new HDVX for about 5 days, my initial opinion on the HDVX is its probably the best digital cable I've used so far and is light years better than the D-60.

I've talked to John at TheCableCompany where I made the purchase of the HDVX, and he thought the D-60 and HDVX sounded similar, but the latter offered a better return on investment.  I have to agree and disagree with John.  They do not sound the same, and the JDVX do offer WAY better return on investment.  

Looking fowards to your analog studio cables.

Ed

[Hantra]

That's just like people who say the Von Schweikert VR-4 "sucks".  I mean, it's the most highly reviewed speaker in history, and while it might not be your cup of tea, it certainly does not "suck".  Same with the D-60.

[stereovox]

Hey Chris,

I've taken advantage of your $75 for 75 ohm special.  Coming from someone who thinks your D-60 cable really suck and have been burning in the new HDVX for about 5 days, my initial opinion on the HDVX is its probably the best digital cable I've used so far and is light years better than the D-60.

I've talked to John at TheCableCompany where I made the purchase of the HDVX, and he thought the D-60 and HDVX sounded similar, but the latter offered a better return on investment.  I have to agree ...

Hi Viggen,

LOL! Sucks? What didn't you like about the D-60?

In any event, I'm really happy to hear that the HDXV struck home with you. It's been 8 years since I designed the D-60 and I like to think that I've grown and learned something along the way. The HDXV locks in the basics in a way that has come together in a "whole" that is well beyond the sum of its parts.

Little by little the word is spreading about the HDXV - I'm glad that you're in the know and enjoying it.

Cheers!

Chris

[viggen]

Hey Hantra, Like you I also am using the Nixon DAC.  Mine is the non-tube version though.  So, it seems we are getting similar results with the HDXV with the Nixons?  

Yah, I think among the audio community, my opinion of the D-60 is probably the miniority.

[viggen]

Hi Viggen,

LOL! Sucks? What didn't you like about the D-60?

Hey Chris,

It was many years ago when I purchased the D-60 second hand.  I got it based on the almost unanimaous praise it received.  I never even seen the cable before hand.  Anyways, I was very impressed with the velvet case and the contrstruction of the D-60.  To explain what I was hearing after the D-60 is plugged in would be very figurative language wise. It is as though the sound is coming through a medical device.  Everything came across with a touch of sterility and sharpness in the mids but not the highs.  I tried to like the D-60 based on what others said and on the build quality/aesthetics of the cable, but it just wasn't happening.

Since that time, I've been using mainly analog cables for digital applications and even made my own digital cable out of a USB cord and was thinking about acquiring a SATA cord for the same purpose.  My logic was if the bits that the transport is tossing at the dac was going through at a faster rate, it doesn't matter if cable was not providing an uniform impedance.

You can say I had lost faith in the audio community in providing the consumer with a decent digital cable that doesn't cost a bundle.  Actually, I recall name calling the person who started marketing 75ohm technology to audiophiles (not you right?   ).  And, I was waiting for someone to come out with a highbandwidth cable, thus why I experimented with USB cords.  So, when I saw your HDXV ad on audiogon boasting 4ghz transfer rate, I decided to give your cable a try despite my previous experience with the D-60.  

Anyhow, whatever you did differently with the HDXV is definitely an improvement.  

Ed

[Hantra]

Hey Hantra, Like you I also am using the Nixon DAC. Mine is the non-tube version though. So, it seems we are getting similar results with the HDXV with the Nixons?

Well I love my HDXV!  It displaced a $240 cable.  Refer to my review for more details. .  (no pun intended)    

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=5743

[stereovox]

Hey Chris,

 ... You can say I had lost faith in the audio community in providing the consumer with a decent digital cable that doesn't cost a bundle. Actually, I recall name calling the person who started marketing 75ohm technology to audiophiles (not you right?  ). And, I was waiting for someone to come out with a highbandwidth cable, thus why I experimented with USB cords. So, when I saw your HDXV ad on audiogon boasting 4ghz transfer rate, I decided to give your cable a try despite my previous experience with the D-60.

Anyhow, whatever you did differently with the HDXV is definitely an improvement.

Ha ha! I was the guy you were apparently cursing for pushing the 75 Ohm impedance matching - that was the very CORE of my philosophy! Still is, actually. You can't have huge bandwidth without impedance matching ... that's just how it works. As impedance gets more and more mismatched, apparent bandwidth decreases as the standing wave ratio increases.

What winds up happening in a properly matched system is that the DAC sounds like it sounds instead of sounding like a smoothed-over version of itself. Often times additional detail is revealed but sometimes that also reveals other characteristics which some may feel are flaws.

The HDXV is a 75 Ohm cable, but employs some new ideas I've had about conductor size, dielectric composition, and shielding that differ somewhat from my previous designs. It also simplifies some aspects of construction and uses the best 75 Ohm BNC connector that I know of.

The HDXV just refines and simplifies principles that I have been working with since I founded Illuminati in 1992 when I introduced the original DataStream Reference digital cable. That you are enjoying and appreciating my newest design effort tells me that I'm on the right track!

Thanks!

Chris

[Hantra]

uses the best 75 Ohm BNC connector that I know of.

C:

Have you done any testing on systems with RCA connections swapped out for BNC?  I was wondering if I switched to BNC, just how much better that would sound with your cable. . .

Thanks!

B

[Sa-dono]

Thanks for the welcome!

As for the plain old "NO!" option ... I never take plain-old "NO" for an answer!

You're quite welcome. It's always nice to see more manufacturers here.

Your response worries me. Next thing we know, you're going to be in the paper as the next Kobe (Forgive me...Sport's Bar humor )

As for an i2S cable, it's being thought about but there are other products in the development queue that are ahead of such a project right now. Because we develop whole cables and don't just pull OEM parts and wire from the shelves and combine, any particular product and project will usually be a fairly expensive endeavor ... so we try to choose development priority very carefully.

Cheers!

Chris

I completely understand this. Well if you guys ever do release an I2S cable, I would certainly love to give it a try.

[Sa-dono]

It was many years ago when I purchased the D-60 second hand. I got it based on the almost unanimaous praise it received. I never even seen the cable before hand. Anyways, I was very impressed with the velvet case and the contrstruction of the D-60. To explain what I was hearing after the D-60 is plugged in would be very figurative language wise. It is as though the sound is coming through a medical device. Everything came across with a touch of sterility and sharpness in the mids but not the highs. I tried to like the D-60 based on what others said and on the build quality/aesthetics of the cable, but it just wasn't happening.

That's odd. I actually found the build quality lacking. I already killed one of the connectors, just taking it off a player I honestly wasn't trying to this time too I haven't given a listen yet for sound quality. I guess I should one of these days. I've already discovered the cable is not that well shielded though. Don't ask me how I know this