Sablon Prince and King power cords - Enhanced 2025 version

[Sablon Audio]

Nothing stands still in this life. This observation is equally true of audiophile wires, with new models using different features surfacing regularly. Unsurprisingly, I try to keep abreast of the latest offerings, though few impress. Step changes don’t happen very often and are harder to achieve from an already high level of performance. Occasionally though, one might inspire me sufficiently to revise my model range. A recent example was the Evo signal cabling almost 3 years ago, however, this particular wire was less successful in power cords and the existing models soldiered on unchanged.

Sablon power cords have always followed a specific development path, with the emergence of progressively better-sounding connectors being adopted with larger wire cross-sectional area until the wire itself becomes a limiting factor. This approach reached its apex with the palladium-plated Bocchino plugs, both for sound quality and gauge handling capacity. A new wire has emerged, which I will now incorporate for new orders and also offer a retrofittable upgrade path for owners of existing Prince / King models.

Sonically, this new wire has a more vivid and structured presentation, with a richer organic tonality. Ambient midrange detail is enhanced, without losing any of the immersive musical presentation for which Sablon cables are renowned. These qualities are equally evident on each of my Taiko Extreme, Lampizator dac and Riviera amplifier.

Details are on the Sablon website and demo models will be made available. Concessionary upgrade pricing will be available to those who originally bought their cords from me.

 

[RichardA]

I can't wait to get some updated Sablon PC goodness into my system.

 

[LL21]

Nothing stands still in this life. This observation is equally true of audiophile wires, with new models using different features surfacing regularly. Unsurprisingly, I try to keep abreast of the latest offerings, though few impress. Step changes don’t happen very often and are harder to achieve from an already high level of performance. Occasionally though, one might inspire me sufficiently to revise my model range. A recent example was the Evo signal cabling almost 3 years ago, however, this particular wire was less successful in power cords and the existing models soldiered on unchanged.

Sablon power cords have always followed a specific development path, with the emergence of progressively better-sounding connectors being adopted with larger wire cross-sectional area until the wire itself becomes a limiting factor. This approach reached its apex with the palladium-plated Bocchino plugs, both for sound quality and gauge handling capacity. A new wire has emerged, which I will now incorporate for new orders and also offer a retrofittable upgrade path for owners of existing Prince / King models.

Sonically, this new wire has a more vivid and structured presentation, with a richer organic tonality. Ambient midrange detail is enhanced, without losing any of the immersive musical presentation for which Sablon cables are renowned. These qualities are equally evident on each of my Taiko Extreme, Lampizator dac and Riviera amplifier.

Details are on the Sablon website and demo models will be made available. Concessionary upgrade pricing will be available to those who originally bought their cords from me.

Hi...sounds interesting. What happens on the QSA Lanedri side with your cables. Are they still doing a Prince upgrade/treatment for your new 2025 Prince cable? Or are you incorporating QSA into the 2025? Presumably for those who did the Prince Lanedri upgrade...the 2025 upgrade changes the QSA treatment since you are replacing cable inside? Just trying to understand how this works. Thanks!

 

[Sablon Audio]

Hi...sounds interesting. What happens on the QSA Lanedri side with your cables. Are they still doing a Prince upgrade/treatment for your new 2025 Prince cable? Or are you incorporating QSA into the 2025? Presumably for those who did the Prince Lanedri upgrade...the 2025 upgrade changes the QSA treatment since you are replacing cable inside? Just trying to understand how this works. Thanks!

Morning Lloyd. As you surmise, the upgrade is more complicated to retrofit to the QSA cords but is still feasible should Anas wish to incorporate it. He is equally welcome to evaluate the 2025 models for their responsiveness to QSA treatment or continue to produce with the previous specification. I am not otherwise using their treatment in my cable range, it is reserved purely for the QSA Lanedri branded products.

 

[ronfint]

Last week I received a 2025 Prince Sablon power cord from Mark for evaluation on my Lampizator Poseidon dac. Except for power cords, my system is completely wired with Sablon cables. My power cords are all DIYed with Furutech wire and NCF plugs, and I thought these power cords performed admirably until I replaced the power cord to my dac with the 2025 Prince Sablon. This cable's performance makes a powerful case for its purchase.

One of my favorite bands is Ezra Collective, and a highlight of their new album is the track ‘God Gave Me Feet for Dancing’ with vocals by Yazmin Lacey (There’s also a fun YouTube video of this track.) and I thought that it sounded great on my system, but switching my dac’s power cord to the 2025 Prince Sablon brought on bloom and a sense of richness that made the music feel alive and full. Yazmin Lacey’s lovely voice is still running around my head. Her vocals soar, but I really didn’t hear the full effect of that until I started using the Prince Sablon on my dac. (My wife asked me for the name of the singer — her highest compliment.)

The Poseidon has fantastic bass presentation, but it has become clear to me that my old power cord has been a limiting factor. With the Prince Sablon, low notes on keyboard and bass fill ambient space and the decay of these notes adds to the feeling that the music is live. It would be hard to overstate the importance and power of this effect.

As far as I can tell, the benefits of the Sablon power cord come without any drawbacks. I highly recommend this upgrade, not only to the many fans of Sablon, but to anyone looking to make their music warmer and richer without losing the details and clarity that audiophiles love. Returning to my old power cord is going to be very difficult. As one often reads, you can’t unhear something once heard, and the sound of the 2025 Prince Sablon will haunt me until I replace my current power cord.

 

[MRIguy]

Last week I received a 2025 Prince Sablon power cord from Mark for evaluation on my Lampizator Poseidon dac. Except for power cords, my system is completely wired with Sablon cables. My power cords are all DIYed with Furutech wire and NCF plugs, and I thought these power cords performed admirably until I replaced the power cord to my dac with the 2025 Prince Sablon. This cable's performance makes a powerful case for its purchase.

One of my favorite bands is Ezra Collective, and a highlight of their new album is the track ‘God Gave Me Feet for Dancing’ with vocals by Yazmin Lacey (There’s also a fun YouTube video of this track.) and I thought that it sounded great on my system, but switching my dac’s power cord to the 2025 Prince Sablon brought on bloom and a sense of richness that made the music feel alive and full. Yazmin Lacey’s lovely voice is still running around my head. Her vocals soar, but I really didn’t hear the full effect of that until I started using the Prince Sablon on my dac. (My wife asked me for the name of the singer — her highest compliment.)

The Poseidon has fantastic bass presentation, but it has become clear to me that my old power cord has been a limiting factor. With the Prince Sablon, low notes on keyboard and bass fill ambient space and the decay of these notes adds to the feeling that the music is live. It would be hard to overstate the importance and power of this effect.

As far as I can tell, the benefits of the Sablon power cord come without any drawbacks. I highly recommend this upgrade, not only to the many fans of Sablon, but to anyone looking to make their music warmer and richer without losing the details and clarity that audiophiles love. Returning to my old power cord is going to be very difficult. As one often reads, you can’t unhear something once heard, and the sound of the 2025 Prince Sablon will haunt me until I replace my current power cord.

Yep... same exact thing happened to me, but with a Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC. Who knew that the Tambaqui had a whole higher gear? This despite already using a high-respected, high-end power cable. The Prince Sablon was so much better that it was impossible to go back. To your audible description I would add a notable increase in soundstage realizm and enjoyment.

 

[godofwealth]

Hmm.... I am running my Mola Mola Makua preamp/DAC/phono and the Kaluga mono blocks with generic power cords. Would I see a significant difference with these fancier ones?

 

[Sablon Audio]

@MRIguy @godofwealth - am happy to put you down on the demo list if you want to audition the 2025 model

 

[MRIguy]

Hmm.... I am running my Mola Mola Makua preamp/DAC/phono and the Kaluga mono blocks with generic power cords. Would I see a significant difference with these fancier ones?

I would say Yes. Differentiating the Good vs the Great requires an in-person experience that causes you to re-calibrate yourself. High-end audio is a tricky business.

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

I’ve for quite some time now had full loom Sablon Audio cables in my system and been very satisfied, since deciding to go all in with Sablon I have been able to forget all about cables and stop worrying so much, the level of sound quality has simply been exceptional! Last week Mark reached out to me asking if I was brave enough to upgrade one or two of my power cables to the new 2025 edition. Now, let me see, here I have a bunch of cables that one after the other has proved themselves over and over again and literally transformed my system for the better, and now he’s telling me it can get even better? Of course I didn’t need to think very long, or at all actually! Even though I probably was thinking to myself, just how much better could they possibly be?

The timing could perhaps have been better as I’m currently in between systems and doing a major change, throwing out amplifier, streamer and DAC for something new, and while waiting for this I have a very generous loan of a DarTZeel LHC-208 MKII which is a nice little all-in-one-box solution. The only “problem” is that it’s not my system that I knew from the inside and out, it actually sounds quite different than I’m used to.

The good thing is that only two power cables are involved, one from my Furutech wall outlet to my Ansuz power distributor and the other from the distributor to the amplifier. Mark arranged for pickup of two of my cables last Thursday, while I could leave two of the “old” model still playing in the system. Yesterday (Wednesday) DHL delivered the new upgraded cables, that was fast! Back and forth between Sweden and UK, including the work of actually upgrading the cables in less than a week. Amazing service from both a cable maker and shipping company I must say.



I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially as I’m not 100% familiar with the system, but I swapped out the old ones and in with the new ones, I could sense there was something different going on more or less out of the box, but I then gave it a few hours before listening more actively. I think I would like to re-iterate on some of what has already been mentioned above, the richness and fullness is actually quite a bit improved from the previous model, it punches harder than before and has a broader colour palette. Clarity and detail retrieval has always been top notch and it’s still there. It feels even more refined, organic and alive than before and I would like to call it a very successful and worthy upgrade, which totally made my day!

Will I upgrade my remaining cables? Definitely!

 

[Sablon Audio]

It’s certainly been a busy month with rebuilding older Prince / King models to 2025 spec and as a couple of questions have popped up a few times it might be beneficial to clarify here:

- I can arrange for courier collection/return with discounted rates to minimise downtime. This typically takes 2 days each way, giving a turnaround time of approximately 1 week.

- If you want to upgrade from Prince to King or need a longer length, this can be accommodated at the same time.

- Will I circulate a Schuko demo cord in the EU? I am happy to do so should there be sufficient demand to keep the cord circulating. Drop me a dm/email if you are interested

- 2025 spec power cords can be identified by having a Sablon heat shrink in the centre of the cord.

Since the typical response to hearing the reworked cords is “Wow!” and the cost is modest, I strongly recommend existing owners consider having their cords updated.

 

[Blue58]

Mark quickly brought my two King cords up to 2025 spec this week and to say I am happy is an understatement, (I believe hyperbole is banned on WBF ).

@VoicesInMyHead is correct on all points with a soundstage that goes on forever and a more organic feel, not that the original was lacking in any way, it’s just better by a significant margin.

Those with Taiko Extremes running XDMS will know the difference compared to Roon and imo this difference is what I perceive with the King 2025. A perfect match in my system.

Another knockout upgrade from Mark.

Blue58

 

[Sablon Audio]

@QuantumWave kindly shared a review of the 2025 Prince on his new Taiko Olympus battery(!) powered server in post #4273 of the thread linked below. I have also copied the text for ease of reading

Introducing Olympus & Olympus I/O - A new perspective on modern music playback

For those who just started reading up on Olympus, Olympus I/O, and XDMI, please note that all information in this thread has been summarized in a single PDF document that can be downloaded from the Taiko Website. https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/taiko-audio-downloads The document is...

www.whatsbestforum.com

In case of interest, here is an extra data point on the Olympus. I have been experimenting with a selection of power cables. Irrespectively of the power cord, the Olympus sounds absolutely marvelous. For me the rubicon has been crossed in terms of realism. I had good success with the Extreme with the Shunyata Omega XC, the Extreme was really scaling well with raw power. Here, I found a pairing made in heaven with the recently upgraded Sablon Prince 2025. I have to say Mark has been really down playing the amplitude of the upgrade: his new cord brings an entire palette to the mid-range that combined with the Olympus agility is really to die for. I can’t imagine a better pairing and the Sablon Prince definitely is here to stay! Hopefully this may be helpful for others to experiment. My only point of comparison as to how power cords affect the Olympus is akin to the Taiko router, dynamics is always there, but the subtle balance between textures, timbre, and the tonal palette remains largely affected by the choice of cord. BTW Mark also has now an excellent DC cable for the router/switch combo that I had missed, another great pairing i am hoping that one day someone will provide an explanation of this elusive phenomenon, electrical wiring tuning the audible properties of a distant magnetic coil, I am scratching my head!