Hi all, since having the Extreme in my system, I have done a handful of reviews with it and several other experiments and comparisons. Every now and then, I will post some of my experiences here on WBF, if I think they can be helpful for Extreme owners.
After having reviewed the Final Touch Audio
Sinope USB cable and
Metis Ethernet cable, I liked both so much that I decided to keep them as personal references.
Just recently, I reviewed the
Jorma USB Reference cable and the Jorma Ethernet cable and I'd like to share a summary of that experience. As always, I personally don't believe in any single "ideal" cable since it is always a matter of system synergy and user preference. But with the below, I hope to provide a nice bit of perspective.
Jorma USB Reference
Where the Taiko Extreme server is concerned, one can choose between TAS (Taiko Audio System) and Roon for music playback and there are sonic differences between the two solutions. This is why I used both TAS and Roon during my assessments. Fortunately, irrespective of the playback method, I heard precisely the same differences between the cables. For my USB cable assessments, I used both local and streaming Qobuz content.
My first impression is that the Jorma provides less incisiveness in the bass, which makes fast bass drum ghost notes appear less distinct. It has a more relaxed sound, less chunky and impactful, and less direct. While that may come across as a detracting factor, longer listening reveals that no detail is glossed over and after having listened to the Jorma for a while and then switching back to the FTA Sinope, the latter sounds comparatively "square" and staccato and a little matter-of-fact.
In return, the Jorma is airier and considerably more fluid, and like the FTA Sinope, the Jorma is incredibly neutral, yet also very natural, arguably more so than the admittedly quite strict Sinope. In addition, and this is something that you really start appreciating after listening for longer, while the Jorma is not strictly presenting the maximum in terms of chiseled-rock-kind of incisiveness, there is a decidedly "human" and organic quality to its presentation. I'd be tempted to use the term "analog" if that wouldn't conjure associations with overt lushness or rich creaminess.
The Jorma USB cable sounds significantly faster and tighter, as well as more incisive and more impactful than the Final Touch Audio Callisto or the Pink Faun Digital Interlink USB. The former has long been an HFA Favorite for its uniquely organic, ultra-refined, and utterly free-flowing presentation, even if it was not the last word in terms of bass solidity and slam. The latter is remarkable for sounding smoother, lusher, and richer than the Callisto whilst having a similarly organic and free-flowing presentation. But just as with the Callisto, you pay the price in the bass department.
With the Jorma USB Reference, there is never the impression of trading one quality for another and that is really the best compliment that I can give a cable.
Jorma Ethernet
For the Ethernet cable tests, I made sure to start with a Qobuz streaming source so that we actually have music flowing through the cable... although, with the Extreme, do we really listen to the stream directly? Certainly, with TAS, the server first buffers the stream and then plays from memory. This is another reason why I made sure to not only use TAS but also Roon.
Retaining the Jorma USB Reference cable and adding the Jorma Ethernet cable to the Taiko server in place of the OEM CAT6 cable makes for an absolutely dramatic increase in soundstage width and depth as well as a further increase in fluidity and flow. In addition, the singers and instruments gain deeper tonal saturation, leading to a meatier sound and more body within the soundstage, which further helps develop deeper 3D imaging.
Like the Jorma USB cable, but slightly more so, the Ethernet cable provides a presentation that is focused on the natural musical flow, rather than going out of its way to provide the utmost in terms of solidity and chiseled-rock-like bass. This is in line with what one expects from a Jorma cable: natural musicality with high resolution and a high level of refinement. While the Jorma USB cable by itself is perfectly centered between relaxed and free-flowing on the one hand and fast and incisive on the other, the Jorma Ethernet cable does lean more toward the relaxed side.
So far, I have been playing only from Qobuz. I know I'm going to be called out for this, but indeed, I hear the same differences between the cables when playing music that is stored locally on the server. Moreover, I hear this with TAS as well as with Roon. This supports the growing suspicion that it's not so much the data stream itself but rather superimposed factors that are messing with what we hear as the end result.
Swapping from the Jorma Ethernet cable to the FTA Metis Ethernet cable, the sound becomes more solid and impactful, as well as less organic, stricter, and more direct, in fact quite similar to the FTA Sinope USB cable. It's interesting how these two brands offer very different perspectives that are upheld through the different connections.
I contemplated also including a test with the Jorma Ethernet cable connected directly between the server and the DAC but I know from earlier experience that the Extreme sounds better via USB, so that would not have yielded helpful insights.
Swapping to the Pink Faun Digital Link LAN introduces yet another perspective, even richer, more liquid, and more free-flowing than the Jorma. In another setup than mine, one that verges on clinical or over-controlled, this can likely be an absolute blessing but in the context of my system, this cable pulls the sound too much toward mellow and relaxed. Like the Pink Faun USB cable, the LAN cable is lush at the expense of propulsion, momentum, and rhythmic expression.
If also taking the OEM Cat6 cable into account then that cable would be positioned all the way over on the other end of the spectrum with lots of control but a bleak tonality and a flat and kind of forward soundstage. So here's the million-dollar question. Is the OEM Cat6 cable leaving out harmonics and fullness or allowing lots of malicious noise to come through, or is it simply relaying the truth, warts and all? In other words, are the high-end Ethernet cables beautifying the signal or do they provide a more truthful rendition? Honestly, I have no way of knowing and I'm afraid it comes down primarily to personal taste and system synergy. What cannot be denied, however, is that Ethernet cables really do matter, a lot, actually.
So, where does this leave the Jorma Ethernet cable on the sonic landscape? Well, if the Pink Faun is relaxed and mellow and the Final Touch Audio is strict and upfront, the Jorma falls in between but is positioned more toward the Pink Faun than the Final Touch Audio. In terms of tonality, I'd consider all three to be neutral, in spite of their large other differences. So far, it seems that an Ethernet cable is not capable of truly changing the tonality of a system. It can, however, strongly affect the balance between control and flow, and with it, the emotional involvement.
