Calvin was kind enough to send me the demo set of XLR ICs and USB cable, for me to listen to in my system. The ICs were used in the only length location suitable in my system - between my DAC and preamp, and the USB between my Sonore and Matrix streaming devices. I listened only to one at a time - to keep the variables to a minimum I did not listen to the Infigo ICs and the USB in-system at the same time.
Once having received the cables I did hook them all up to my system to cook 24/7 (signal present but without listening to my system). Calvin figured 10-20 hours would be enough to get these demo cables settled in, but I did no listening until 50+ hours were on the cables. I started with the XLR ICs and my transport as the source, thereby bypassing the USB input of my streamer.
First, all my comments should be taken with the usual “in my system”, “YMMV”, “level matched when comparing cables”… the usual care and qualifiers when doing this sort of thing. Second, there are no “winners” and “losers” here. My conclusion is that these Infigo cables are quite good, with the final determination being whether they are the preferred match to a given system.
In my system, I found both the ICs and the USB to be more alike than different in how they sounded, so my comments while general do apply to both.
The Infigos brought a liquid, open, easy listening quality to the music, with a nice transparency and very good image placement. Only by comparison, I found my normal configuration to be just slightly more solid in image outlines (e.g., singer’s head, stand up bass) and slightly more transparent in image depth. The Infigos produced only a slightly less “tactile”, but potentially, arguably, more “balanced” sound. When I was using either the Infigo IC or USB, my listening posture was one of “taking it all in”, whereas in my normal configuration there was an added “hey I’m bopping my head a bit more” to the music. I did enjoy listening to them, but ultimately preferred my current configuration.
Folks can look at my own equipment profile to get a sense of how my system may present itself. While perhaps not a perfect match for a system like mine, I suspect they’d fit very nicely in other systems. I honestly kind of feel that some sort of amalgam between the Infigos and my current ICs would be just about perfect. I can highly recommend folks give these cables a try. I may be making a mistake in the long run by not buying some of these to have on hand just in case things change in my system. Thank you Calvin for giving me this opportunity.
As a personal observation, I’ve always felt our hobby has this nasty aspect of having to compare one thing against another. It‘s the way we do things, but it’s something that I’ve come to decide isn’t always fair to high quality components. Just because one thing happens to be a preferred synergistic match for a given person in a given system does not make something else bad. The Infigos are good.