SC Carbokab 225. Something special?

Yes, I've sold quite a few AES/EBU cables using Carbocab225 as it falls within the relevant spec for AES/EBU.
Twist the shield and attach to pin 1 (ground). Then obvs the 2 conductors go to pins 2 and 3.
And yes, pinout is mostly a conventional 3 pin XLR config but I always have to check with clients what they're using it with. I made one recently with a pin1 delete. I'd have to troll back through the orders to recall what it was though.

Soundwise, used as an AES/EBU cable I can't tell the difference between this and the vanDamme digi-grade 110-Ohm cable which I usually use. Both sound fine.
The noticeable nuances, for me at least are when it's used as an analog SE cable.
I hooked up my Nakamich Dragon to the Extron switch and fed it some DSD files from my AudioDG NFB28 to record. The playback results, using various Sony Metal tapes were predictably, epic.

 

Just chiming back in after spending more time with this cable. Honest to God any other RCAs in my drawer sound muddy and lifeless in comparison. IMO in my system of course.

The difference is similar to going from a very cheap new production tube to a rare NOS tube.

I've accepted that I can't go back and will leave this cable in my system for the foreseeable future.

After more time the standouts I'm noticing is ridiculous resolution and clarity. So much plankton. And like I said earlier, it feels like the entire frequency spectrum is coming through. Crazy extension from top to bottom.

I don't find this cable bright or dark, just very clear.

I'm only using cheap rean connectors but have no desire to solder on more expensive alternatives. It sounds perfect the way it is.

Thanks @Chris Cables for recommending this!

 

Firstly, you're welcome! I'm glad you're experiencing the same as a few of us on here, as well as many of my clients!

Would you care to share your system specifics / signal path?

I'm finding via client feedback that the nuanced improvements are picked up on mostly by owners of very high end gear. I don't know why that is nor care to speculate but it's certainly 'a thing'.
My own signal paths aren't particularly high-end (read 'expensive') but I still certainly observe the positive differences when compared to other cables.

Who's running what here with the Carbocab225? I'd be interested to hear from everyone but I'd be particularly interested to hear from full-analogue signal path users....

 

For sure, I have a post with more detail in the system synergy thread but here goes...

Schiit Urd / Holo Audio Red -> AES/EBU -> Yggdrasil A2 -> Carbokab SE RCA -> DNA Stratus V3 -> ZMF Atrium Open / ZMF Verite Open

I wish I had a second system to play with as I think I would still be able to notice the difference with that cable, but who knows. It's fun to experiment. I may bring a pair to my friends house eventually to see (hear).

 

Now THAT'S what I'd call a nice signal path!

 

@Chris Cables how was the headphone cable you made from Carbokab 225?

 

I don't think I ever mentioned anything about making a headphone cable with it.
It would be limited to an SE cable if I ever did as it has only 2 conductors and shielding that you could effectively split and use for both ground pins of the headphone connectors if it had an L/R split.
No problem to make an SE cable for a TRS-TRS cable of course.

 

Yeah, this stuff is cheap enough to hand out 1M pairs to cable agnostics/non-beliebers just to get a taste of something actually quite good, not just different. @gaspasser I've got some leftovers I could build you a couple 1M interconnects if you want to try; I probably wouldn't try to dissect the cable to come up with a 4-pole headphone cable though.

 

This thread has inspired me to pull out my soldering iron that I got a few years ago and never really used much. Any recommendations for nice XLR connectors - I am thinking around the price range of the DH labs XLRs which were mentioned already.

 

I use the Carbokab in pretty modest setups.

Headphones setup:
Ifi Zen Dac -> Ifi Zen Can -> HD650

Speaker setup:
Rotel 1576 -> Pascal poweramp -> DIY Celestion hornspeakers + Subs

The difference between cables are pretty obvious and consistant, between the 2 systems. So do not think that these difference are only applicable to highend systems.

 

I have Nagaoka MP-500/Origin Live Illustrious/Basis 1400 with some sort of supermagic silver cable to Abbas el84se phono pre then Carbokab to HH Scott 222c out to either Altec 604e or diy Mark Audio alpair 10p large desktop monitors. Or Gungnir MB SE out with Carbokab to the same amp and speakers.
For me the cable differences were much more apparent on the Altecs than the mark audios, to the point where I wasn't sure if there was a difference on the desktop speakers, but resolution and frequency extension are not their strong points.

 

You can't go wrong with Neutrik XLR connectors in my opinion. The build-quality is bullet-proof!
NC3MXX-B & NC3FXX-B are my standard preference as well as for supplying all client builds.

I just recently started supplying the right angled Neutrik XLR connectors. A lot of people don't even know they exist but they can really help with space-management behind equipment.

 

@Chris Cables have you tested the Amphenol XLR connectors?
I am also a big fan of the Neutriks you suggested.

 

I did!
I was intrigued enough to buy a set and consider them as a much cheaper option to the Neutriks (by about 50% cheaper!)
I get through about 80 sets a week (set= 2m 2f) so it makes sense to explore if there's a cheaper alternative.
However, on inspection I found them to be an (admittedly not bad) imitation of the Neutriks.

The thing that really lets them down in my opinion is the internal plastic collett. It's made of MUCH thinner plastic than that used in the Neutriks, which means that there's potentially not as much purchase/grip effected on the cable when the end cap is screwed onto the barrel.
That essentially means that the cable is more likely to fail if pulled on accidentally as the strain relief is weaker.

It's a good budget alternative however and I like the scolloped design feature between the plastic and metal parts of the barrel.

Edit.
I also had a look to see if I had any Belden 8412 left over. I was sure I had but after a thorough search I don't seen to have even 1cm left! Apologies.
If you're finding it difficult to source it where you are then PM me and maybe I can source some for you here in NL and post it onto you.
You'll benefit from the tax-free price I can get it at from a supplier too when purchasing via my company. I'll invoice you but it will be cheaper than buying it retail.
The postage cost might negate any potential savings however. Swings and roundabouts!
Where are you located?
editedit: ah Finland. Shouldn't be too expensive to post there from NL.

 

I’m running it everywhere that uses balanced. For my subs i use the spirit, aes it’s binary also by Sommer.
Setup for now is as follows though i am experimenting with the pre/hp amp.
Minidsp SHD studio-binary/aes-Yggdrasil OG-carbo/xlr-Audio-gd Phoenix(with bias tweak)-carbo/xlr-xkitz active analog crossover-carbo/xlr-Quested S7R and -spirit/rca-BK xls200x2 subs.

Very happy with this setup.

 

Nice!
Also, what's the 'bias tweak' you refer to for your Audio-gd Phoenix? Been playing around with the internal dip switches?
I have an NFB28 and NFB10 and have had them upgraded with the Amanero USB boards.
Haven't heard/auditioned anything else to warrant replacing them in around 10 years.
The black chassis paint has all evaporated off to reveal the copper chassis below, which personally I love! Patina. lol

 

Well the stock bias is voltage is 15v for the 4 differential amps but you can increase it for a brighter sound or lower it for a warmer one. For my preference with the HD600 i went a bit lower to 14.5V. It’s kind of a bitch to do since you need to adjust 4 trimpots to be close to one another but also when you take off the top the thermal drift sets in quick. It’s a bit of whack a mole with trimpots.

I’ve had this amp for about 12 years and it’s been in and out of use several times during my journey. Seem to always come back to it though.
Still looks pristine as well… also it’s kind of nice when you switch from speakers to headphones because it’s getting late and everything is warmed up already!

 

How does this compare to the mil spec silver plated copper? That's what I have at the moment for my sub cables and wondering about giving this a crack instead.

 

For a sub application I doubt you'd hear any discernible difference unless your cutoff is high up the range and even then it's a 'maybe'. I tried this with my REL Q100E's (running at circa 30Hz and lower) and couldn't differentiate between my usual Belden8412 IC's.

For an analogue (full FR) application you would definitely hear a difference.
I spent hours comparing these with vanDamme XKE which has silver shares as well as some heavy gauge 12AWG SPC balanced XLR's and the SS is notably different. Not in a better or worse way, just different.
Out of curiosity, why mil-spec? Better shielding?

 

The cutoff is about 110Hz on mine, which is high enough that I can definitely hear a difference between the cables I have now and the no name coax SPDIF RCA's I had previously. What I really want is the best possible speed, definition and clarity. Tonality obviously doesn't play a role. Mil-spec SPC as my friendly local cable maker had a big roll of it and I figured it's gonna be fast and possibly splashy but I'm definitely not gonna hear the splash! (It's unshielded by the way - I tend to prefer unshielded cables.)