Sablon USB cable - 2020 model

Tuckia

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Jun 3, 2019
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Tuckia

Well-Known Member
Jun 3, 2019
471
729
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No issues. Much easier to sell for free.:)
But seriously, the old cable is still a good cable. Always interested in the new shiny object though. Certainly don’t mean to disparage Mark’s products, just referencing an old feud. Very interested in this new offering and the PC’s we talked about previously.
You’ve got me interested in the Acme tubes now too.
 

Tuckia

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Jun 3, 2019
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Sablon Audio

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@ronfint - thanks for sharing your feedback with the WBF community. The amanero usb input card which your Lampizator uses (ditto Nagra and T&A) is innately musical sounding and my new unpowered cable works like a charm on it.

@Tuckia - I had a quick look at your posts to understand what you were referring to. I note that you were previously using my entry level model, which you replaced by another brand costing over twice as much, rather than the superior Elite version which others on this thread own. That was a very good cable in its own right however my new model is a big leap ahead.
 

romaz

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Oct 7, 2015
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I received the new Sablon USB cable 5 days ago for evaluation and have compared it extensively against my current reference, the Intona Ultimate USB. I have tried it on several music servers including my new SGM Extreme and across the board, its performance has been consistent. This is my first experience with a Sablon product and to be honest, I had some doubts. I assumed that to obtain musicality, you had to compromise technical performance as this has been my experience more often than not.

I have compared many USB cables in shootouts over the years and the Intona Ultimate excelled in resolution well beyond any USB cable I had heard before. Based on the extremely tight tolerances that the Intona Ultimate had to meet for Intona to call it an "Ultimate" and not just a "Reference", it was fair to assume that the new Sablon would probably fall short in this regard but I was hoping that it would more than make up for this shortcoming in other ways.

Upon inserting it into my system, I was quite surprised to find that both detail and depth resolution of the new Sablon essentially matched the mighty Intona Ultimate. If there is a difference, the difference is extremely small and not distinguishable based on blind testing. To match the Intona Ultimate at its greatest strength is really a win for the Sablon by virtue of its much lower price point.

But this Sablon is not just about resolution. There is more air where the Intona sounds closed in. The Sablon also portrays texture better resulting in better delicacy and nuance. Intona readily admits that their USB cables weren't designed with high-end audio in mind and so I had always wondered how the Intona Ultimate might sound if Intona had also focused on a better quality conductor and dielectric and not purely on tight impedance tolerance. I believe it would probably sound like this Sablon USB cable.

If you are looking for a bass-centric or midrange-centric USB cable, I don't think the Sablon is it as the treble qualities of this cable are simply too fantastic to be ignored. The treble has wonderful air and atmosphere with a beautiful sparkle that never sounds bright or harsh. If you are looking for a warm cable, I wouldn't call the Sablon warm which to me ears also equates to "slow" as this is a very lively and spirited cable and yet it does not sound thin or wiry. To my ears, it provides a very balanced presentation with nothing accentuated but also you are left not really wanting for anything as you never feel like anything is missing. There is beautiful coherence and poise and it performs as exquisitely with complex orchestral music as it does with sultry, soulful vocals. This new Sablon is now my new reference.
 

EuroDriver

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Sep 16, 2015
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I received the new Sablon USB cable 5 days ago for evaluation and have compared it extensively against my current reference, the Intona Ultimate USB. I have tried it on several music servers including my new SGM Extreme and across the board, its performance has been consistent. This is my first experience with a Sablon product and to be honest, I had some doubts. I assumed that to obtain musicality, you had to compromise technical performance as this has been my experience more often than not.

I have compared many USB cables in shootouts over the years and the Intona Ultimate excelled in resolution well beyond any USB cable I had heard before. Based on the extremely tight tolerances that the Intona Ultimate had to meet for Intona to call it an "Ultimate" and not just a "Reference", it was fair to assume that the new Sablon would probably fall short in this regard but I was hoping that it would more than make up for this shortcoming in other ways.

Upon inserting it into my system, I was quite surprised to find that both detail and depth resolution of the new Sablon essentially matched the mighty Intona Ultimate. If there is a difference, the difference is extremely small and not distinguishable based on blind testing. To match the Intona Ultimate at its greatest strength is really a win for the Sablon by virtue of its much lower price point.

But this Sablon is not just about resolution. There is more air where the Intona sounds closed in. The Sablon also portrays texture better resulting in better delicacy and nuance. Intona readily admits that their USB cables weren't designed with high-end audio in mind and so I had always wondered how the Intona Ultimate might sound if Intona had also focused on a better quality conductor and dielectric and not purely on tight impedance tolerance. I believe it would probably sound like this Sablon USB cable.

If you are looking for a bass-centric or midrange-centric USB cable, I don't think the Sablon is it as the treble qualities of this cable are simply too fantastic to be ignored. The treble has wonderful air and atmosphere with a beautiful sparkle that never sounds bright or harsh. If you are looking for a warm cable, I wouldn't call the Sablon warm which to me ears also equates to "slow" as this is a very lively and spirited cable and yet it does not sound thin or wiry. To my ears, it provides a very balanced presentation with nothing accentuated but also you are left not really wanting for anything as you never feel like anything is missing. There is beautiful coherence and poise and it performs as exquisitely with complex orchestral music as it does with sultry, soulful vocals. This new Sablon is now my new reference.

Mark experiments relentlessly, and over time he uncovers significant components that raise his cables to a new level
 

Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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@romaz, I have long followed your constructive and thoughtful posts on Computer Audiophile / Audiophile style and you are clearly a key opinion leader in the world of streaming. As I said to you, I was pleased to see you join the WBF community and the fact that you have received multiple likes for each post here suggests others feel likewise. I am both thrilled and flattered with your assessment of my cable's virtues on your Extreme / Dave front end, not least of all against such an accomplished reference. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and thanks are also due to Emile for providing us both with such a super transparent server to develop / enjoy it on.
 
Last edited:

onsionsi

Well-Known Member
Nov 27, 2019
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@romaz, I have long followed your constructive and thoughtful posts on Computer Audiophile / Audiophile style and you are clearly a key opinion leader in the world of streaming. As I said to you, I was pleased to see you join the WBF community and the fact that you have received multiple likes for each post here suggests others feel likewise. I am both thrilled and flattered with your assessment of my cable's virtues on your Extreme / Dave front end, not least of all against such an accomplished reference. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and thanks are also due to Emile for providing us both with such a super transparent server to develop / enjoy it on.

First of All i would like to congratulate @Sablon Audio for your upcoming USB cable.

Indeed @Sablon Audio, I'm following @romaz from around 4 years since I started my journey to find the best DAC I can live with.

Let me tell you that many many audiophiles bought products as per Roy recommendations and I sort my self one of them and since i haven't that much time to travel and listen and also our country hasn't a wide range of dealers, I bought everything blindly based on Roy advice and recommendation on forums or on PM and he didn't hesitate at once to reply to me despite maybe I have a different flavor from Roy.

In addition to that, you may know Roy is assessing many prototype products for manufacturers to enhance their products in the final stage.

From this standing point, i would like to thank you Roy for your contribution on this hobby.

The last thing, I was willing to buy Intona Ultimate USB cable based on Roy opinion but now since the Roy has a new reference which is your cable, i will order your cable on the foreseeable future.
 

Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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Some fb just in from a customer in UAE who isn’t a member here on his new cable which arrived about an hour ago.

I can see clearly what its doing, every song is like new song. The resolution and the smoothness and the presence is something else.
 
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Blue58

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Jan 20, 2013
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Mine arrived yesterday and it’s all the above and more and that presence carries throughout the house unlike
anything I’ve heard before.
No need for an Extreme now :eek:;)
 

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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Barry, what you meant to say was no need for a $120k statement dac or new Usb when you finally succumb to the Extreme.
 

Sablon Audio

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May 22, 2015
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Since it's in production I was looking for pricing on your site but couldn't find it... would you be willing to share that here in USD? TIA!

Hi, am a bit behind on the website...several years tbh...anyhow it’s the same price as the old Elite model. I don’t think Steve wants prices posted on here so I’ll drop you a pm to confirm
 

kimurastanley

Well-Known Member
Mar 16, 2019
256
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Singapore
I listen to the new Sablo USB cable for the past 3-4 days and I concur with what have been said before. The strengths of the cable are the palpability of music, better decay, amazing resolution, expansion of sound stage horizontally and the depth as well.
I compared to the previous elite USB cable and the improvement is very apparent.

The gain that I obtain from the new cable VS old one is like watching a 3D TV compared to 2D TV. The vocal, guitar, piano notes etc are now so palpable.

I don’t have an Intona ultimate to compare side by side. But from my memory, the difference of Intona ultimate and the elite USB was not so apparent when I tested few months ago.

I have not tried all audiophile USB cables out there. But this new USB cable is my top pick for my taste of music. My new reference USB cable for now.
 

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