Sablon DC cable

[Sablon Audio]

I don’t think I have ever spoken here about my Sablon DC cable but perhaps it’s time to do so as I have sold more of them in the past month than I have in the preceding five years. Here’s one I made earlier.

Essentially there isn’t anything especially exciting about the design - it’s a twisted pair of the same conductors as I use elsewhere in my product inventory. I also uses two levels of shielding, with Oyaide dc plugs or whatever GX16 plug etc people require and high purity Oyaide solder.

From a commercial perspective, it appears more expensive on first brush than other brands due to my Sablon practice of including both worldwide courier shipping and a 10% loyalty discount within my list prices, which at this low price point distorts the underlying comparable value. Unsurprisingly therefore, most sales are to existing Sablon customers.

I haven’t tried to compare it to other designs on the market place but have just focused on making it the best I can using my regular materials. This should give people a fair insight into what to expect from the sound quality / presentational style and customers seem pretty happy with them. Despite being a relatively modest item, people sometimes report +40% type improvements in SQ compared today dc stock cables, which is a great outcome.

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

Looks interesting! Can it be ordered with XLR connector in one end and a 5.5x2.1mm DC in the other? (Paul Hynes PSU -> Lumin)

The cable in the picture seems very long for being a DC cable, is the length something you recommend or was it just an example?

 

[Sablon Audio]

Sure, that wouldn’t be a problem and I have a Hynes SR4 myself. The cable in the photo was what the customer wanted, though I did recommend he make it as short as possible.

 

[Ultrafast69]

Supporting your claim, DC cables do make a difference especially from OEM and IME do get better up the aftermarket line

 

[spiritofmusic]

Looking fwds to receiving mine for use on Farad Super3 24V LPS to SOTA Eclipse tt motor. Have the stock Farad DC cbl to compare.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Mark - I am very interested in one for my Sati power supply to the motor pod itself. I will need to have a look at the number of conductors etc as it might be more complex than I had (first) thought. I remember the Auralic Aries one I used of yours gave me a nice analog type removing of digititis. My main aim with this application is silence and reduced stray fields.

 

[Sablon Audio]

Sure np Bill and we can discuss offline when you know the spec

 

[spiritofmusic]

Thought I'd leave an initial impression on the Sablon DC cable, despite it needing several days to fully open up. I've tended to form early opinions of the other cables I've bought from Mark, which haven't varied that greatly weeks down the road.

This DC cable has gone on my Farad Super3 24V/5.5A LPS powering my new SOTA Eclipse/Condor motor/speed controller. If I had any issues at all with my initial install, it was just a tad of steeliness or tizziness to the sound. I moderated this quite a bit w IsoDamp to the inside of the motor pod, but wasn't fully on top of it. However it did enable me to bring my subs up a bit. Once the Farad was in, the sound was really percolating.

Installing Mark's DC cable has been an instant uplift. Critically in the lower mids/bass department, where the sound has become fantastically organic and earthy, eradicating any remaining areas of sharpness in the sound from the new motor.

Now, bass changes always leave me ambivalent to start...because so many changes to systems create more one-note bass. This is not the case here, the Sablon DC lead providing real color and suppleness in those lower frequencies.

How do I know the cable isn't providing simple euphonic bloom, but proper articulated and varied bass? Well, the record weight and periphery ring I had been using was too much with the Sablon DC cable. With these in, the bass just plodded and thickened. With them gone, the whole low end with the new cable is hugely varied LP to LP.

Interestingly, switching back to the stock Farad DC lead, the bass thins, and the sound benefits from reinstalling the weight and ring. But at the cost of one-note bass.

Reinstall the Sablon DC cable, eliminate the weight and ring, and the low end is alive, complimenting the action above.

Listening to long term fave LP, John McLaughlin/Electric Guitarist, track Friendship has always sounded dense and impenetrable w Carlos Santana, heavy organ, bass and percussion/congas. With the new motor, LPS and Sablon DC cable, it's still a wall of sound, but so much more articulation present, while maintaining full weight, texture and tone colours. This is a big milestone for me, and Mark's cable a big part of getting here.

 

[Sablon Audio]

Glad you’re enjoying my cable Marc and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Further gains will accrue as it burns in.

 

[Lagonda]

Thought I'd leave an initial impression on the Sablon DC cable, despite it needing several days to fully open up. I've tended to form early opinions of the other cables I've bought from Mark, which haven't varied that greatly weeks down the road.

This DC cable has gone on my Farad Super3 24V/5.5A LPS powering my new SOTA Eclipse/Condor motor/speed controller. If I had any issues at all with my initial install, it was just a tad of steeliness or tizziness to the sound. I moderated this quite a bit w IsoDamp to the inside of the motor pod, but wasn't fully on top of it. However it did enable me to bring my subs up a bit. Once the Farad was in, the sound was really percolating.

Installing Mark's DC cable has been an instant uplift. Critically in the lower mids/bass department, where the sound has become fantastically organic and earthy, eradicating any remaining areas of sharpness in the sound from the new motor.

Now, bass changes always leave me ambivalent to start...because so many changes to systems create more one-note bass. This is not the case here, the Sablon DC lead providing real color and suppleness in those lower frequencies.

How do I know the cable isn't providing simple euphonic bloom, but proper articulated and varied bass? Well, the record weight and periphery ring I had been using was too much with the Sablon DC cable. With these in, the bass just plodded and thickened. With them gone, the whole low end with the new cable is hugely varied LP to LP.

Interestingly, switching back to the stock Farad DC lead, the bass thins, and the sound benefits from reinstalling the weight and ring. But at the cost of one-note bass.

Reinstall the Sablon DC cable, eliminate the weight and ring, and the low end is alive, complimenting the action above.

Listening to long term fave LP, John McLaughlin/Electric Guitarist, track Friendship has always sounded dense and impenetrable w Carlos Santana, heavy organ, bass and percussion/congas. With the new motor, LPS and Sablon DC cable, it's still a wall of sound, but so much more articulation present, while maintaining full weight, texture and tone colours. This is a big milestone for me, and Mark's cable a big part of getting here.

So you have tested this DC cable separately, not as a part of the total improvement of your new package ? The DC lead is not supplying a audio circuitry but supplying 24 V to the 3 phase power generator making the power to drive a electric motor. You are getting these improvements from a cable that is not carrying a audio signal of any kind. This is not a critic of the Sablon cable, i am just trying to understand where the improvement is coming from. The LPS sound improvement i can accredit to not having noise from the SMPS sent into your otherwise clean power line, but this leaves me a little baffle.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Milan, only reporting it how I hear it. There's criticism of my reports I hear differences on my old stock motor when I changed pwr cord to that. I see the uptick from the DC cbl in the same light.

 

[kennyb123]

Low impedance power supplies are better able to meet instantaneous current demands. It would stand to reason that a cable could help or hinder the ability of a supply to meet instantaneous demands. It seems that the motor controller performs better when current is supplied as needed, which explains why both the Farad and the Sablon cable improved sound quality.

 

[Lagonda]

Low impedance power supplies are better able to meet instantaneous current demands. It would stand to reason that a cable could help or hinder the ability of a supply to meet instantaneous demands. It seems that the motor controller performs better when current is supplied as needed, which explains why both the Farad and the Sablon cable improved sound quality.

Unless SOTA is supplying the controller with an under dimensioned cable or power supply, i don't see that being the case. Bill Carlin from Phoenix Engineering has designed this as a complete package including the dedicated motor and measured and adjusted all parameters during operation at the different speeds powering real turntables. And Bill is probably one of the leading designers of TT controllers in the world.

 

[kennyb123]

Unless SOTA is supplying the controller with an under dimensioned cable or power supply, i don't see that being the case. Bill Carlin from Phoenix Engineering has designed this as a complete package including the dedicated motor and measured and adjusted all parameters during operation at the different speeds powering real turntables. And Bill is probably one of the leading designers of TT controllers in the world.

Sorry but I won't just write off someone's subjective opinions. You've made an appeal to authority but nothing you said rules out the possibility that the enhancements @spiritofmusic made actually further improved the controller. Decisions made in the real world always involve a series of tradeoffs. There is no such thing as perfection and there's nothing that can't be improved upon.

 

[Lagonda]

Sorry but I won't just write off someone's subjective opinions. You've made an appeal to authority but nothing you said rules out the possibility that the enhancements @spiritofmusic made actually further improved the controller. Decisions made in the real world always involve a series of tradeoffs. There is no such thing as perfection and there's nothing that can't be improved upon.

Sure there is always a possibility, but when it comes to this cable in this specific location i have my doubts. Marc has never heard a Sablon cable he did not find to be an improvement When he sees the name Sablon on the cable his brain automatically readjust to a better sound

 

[kennyb123]

Sure there is always a possibility, but when it comes to this cable in this specific location i have my doubts. Marc has never heard a Sablon cable he did not find to be an improvement When he sees the name Sablon on the cable his brain automatically readjust to a better sound

I totally get your skepticism. I was a skeptic about DC cables not too long ago. No longer as I now believe they have an outsized influence when used with low impedance power supplies. Keeping them as short as possible can be beneficial as well.

I’ve yet to try a Sablon cable so my comments are really more about DC cables in general.

 

[DetroitVinylRob]

I’ve been recently curious with the idea of what a pair of DC fully shielded cables might do running from the 18v 5A power supplies to their connection at the field-coil drivers in my system. NR AC mains cables and distribution have taken my kit to another level entirely. Really quite impressive. Noise isolation alone seems to be a major hitter here too I would imagine, but also interested/concerned about a possible tonal or timing shifts. Other considerations might be a possible shield ground from power source end of cable?

 

[Max Smith]

I compared the Sablon DC power cable with the Plixir Statement. Sablon's price is higher but it is much better than Plixir - more bass, a bigger soundstage, more natural timbres, with outstanding dynamics.

 

[Sablon Audio]

An M12D terminated cable just made to power a Telegaertner M12x Gold switch, driven by a Plixir LPS. Will shortly be offering a dc cable combo for the Taiko Switch and Router.

 

[Max Smith]

An M12D terminated cable just made to power a Telegaertner M12x Gold switch, driven by a Plixir LPS. Will shortly be offering a dc cable combo for the Taiko Switch and Router.

View attachment 118448

thanks! I'm sure it will make huge difference