Ok, I finally got off my ass and tested my Napalm Ultra against lonewolfy's HDXV & Onix Thunder digitals he was kind enough to let me borrow.
I used very familiar clips from the Criterion Edition of Armageddon, and the high bitrate DD track on the Superbit release of The Fifth Element.
Before running these tests, I re-laser aligned my speaks. And re-dB matched them to within .5db of each other. Just to make sure everything was running as well as it shoulda been...
First up the
Onix Thunder. Very flexible cable. Not exactly fond of the locking RCA's though. They work fine, but are a little bit of a hassle to use.
As far as it sounds, well it's fairly decent. Bass seemed a little excessive, and not as tight as it could be. It wasn't overly bright, nor was it dark. With the exception of the slightly loose & excessive bass (which really isn't that bad), it's a good solid digital.
Next up the
Stereovox HDXV. Fairly flexible cable, though a bit stiffer than the Onix Thunder. And man, is this thing skinny. I've never seen a cable that was built well that is as slender as this thing is. Used it with the RCA adapters as I don't have BNC digital connections.
DAMN are those RCA adapters tight on the RCA jacks!
I was warned about them being excessively tight. But didn't think they'd be this bad. I was afraid I was going to damage my RCA jacks from plugging & unplugging this cable during the tests.
As far as it sounds. This is a nice cable. Bass was more controlled & less excessive than the Onix Thunder. It's definitely more detailed than the Onix Thunder. But I also found it to be a bit bright. It wasn't much of a problem with shorter periods of time. But I could hardly watch an entire movie without it being painfull. This was the first time I've ever had to stop listening to something in my setup because it was too bright. Now I know the meaning of "listening fatigue".
If you've got a system that's a bit on the dark side, or more forgiving of a little brightness, then this is a damn nice digital for you. I can see why it's worked great for many a setup. But I can also see why some people didn't care for it. It's probably the second most detailed digital I've tried in my setup. But I can't sit through an entire movie w/out it hurting my ears. After 45-60 minutes, that's all I could stand.
Lastly, the
Bolder Cable Cryo'd Napalm Ultra (will be referred to as the CNU). This sucker is damn near twice the thickness of the Onix Thunder (and the Onix is itself a fairly thick cable), and noticeable stiffer than the HDXV. While quite stiff, it can still be worked with. And the Eichmann Silver Bullet plugs on the CNU are quite easy to work with. A little tight, but no "death grip" like the HDXV RCA adapters or even the Monster "Turbine Cut" RCA's.
Now for the sound of the CNU. It takes the level of detail the HDXV has, and turns it up a slight bit. It's also got a cleaner signal. Bass is good, and slightly tighter than the HDXV. It's also
very natural sounding. It's like taking all of the strengths of the HDXV, turning them up a little bit, but w/out the brightness the HDXV has.
So in conclusion, the Onix Thunder would be more than useable in my system. The HDXV does many things better than the Onix, but at the cost of being overly bright. But, the Cryo'd Napalm Ultra was definitely the best choice to use in my system.
So I'd say the HDXV is more than worth a listen if you're in the market for a digital. But it may or may not work in your setup. The Napalm has been an awesome cable in every setup I've tried it in. It's been a better sounding cable in every setup I've tried it in. Though the improvement has varied slightly from setup to setup.
So if the cost of the Napalm doesn't scare 'ya, go for it. I don't see why you'd be disappointed. If that's a little out of your budget, go for a standard Bolder Digital w/Silver Bullets or the HDXV if it's not overly bright in your setup.
