I own a Sablon USB 2020 and have just received the NA MUON USB; no contest from cold...
USB cable recommended?
- Thread starter ozzzy
- Start date
I have the Sablon 2020 and was considering selling it in order to get the NEW one, the EVO model which seems to be a clear step up to the 2020, Have you tried the Eno, how is the Moun so far now ?
Then you might find this interesting:
Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
some initial feedback on my recent experiments with usb vs. aes/ebu for my Taiko/TotalDAC system. previous setup: Taiko USB card ==> Sablon usb==>TotalDAC reclocker==>aes/ebu cable==>TotalDAC d1-direct really old setup: microRendu==>usb cable==>sotm dx-usbHD w/superclock w/battery...
www.whatsbestforum.com
Matt
The Muon has now completely opened up. Very transparent but without loosing that organic sound. Bass is tighter and slam is better too.
I did try to demo the Evo but funny enough Mark has demo units all over the world, except for where he lives i.e. UK…
I've been using the Muon for more than a month now. Prior to the Muon was the Supra Excalibur which I thought was amazing and put on the path
I've been using the Muon for more than a month now. Prior to the Muon was the Supra Excalibur which I thought was amazing and put on the path to trying something possibly even better. I have 3 others including a freebie from my stash of cables.
The Muon had a crazy burn-in cycle. It was all over the place, often sounding disjointed and once sounding so spacious it elicited loud wow moments from both my wife and I. When it finally settled in it did lose that amazing spatial quality but still maintained a soundstage that stretched beyond the boundaries of our speakers. During this time I would replace the Muon with the Supra as a comparison. The Supra was not all that different. Maybe the Supra had a better attack but perhaps not in a good way. It wouldn't take long before I longed for the Muon. The Muon just seemed to possess a realness about it. More on this realness.
I've grown used to having a digital setup composed of Supra CATx Etherregen, Ultrarendu, LPS, and the fanless server playing through HQPlayer using DSD256 on the Holo May KTE DAC. This setup has been serving me well although the complexity can be damning at times. Don't get me started on the filter selection. There's to many! Music is presented with a clean picture, really, nothing to complain about. Throw whatever song through it and it sounds great. Prior to the Muon I would play with removing the network feed and go straight from computer to DAC using the May's NOS. That was often interesting and often a bit too raw sounding. I would miss the cleanliness of the added network components.
In comes the Muon. The Muon sounded not too different from the Supra as I mentioned when used with the etheregen, ultrarendu, HQP components. But when I moved to Muon to the USB port on the computer motherboard the sound changed. It wasn't "clean". It was raw. By raw I mean that it played the file, seemingly unfiltered. Now from a technical standpoint, my mind would chant USB from a noisy motherboard using a Dell PS brick, (gave up on fancy LPS's on computers). What am I hearing? Somehow it seemed that the Muon didn't care much that there was a noisy motherboard sending music from a NAS drive. I was looking at the May display - 44.1Khz - and it sounded glorious. Music appeared more extended, a bit more dynamic, more space, more tactile. It wasn't all roses however. Poor recordings were not quite as tame. I wouldn't say strident, the Allnic T2000 takes care of that, but it does beg to turn down the volume a bit (We listen to music LOUD in a dedicated room). I will add that when a song comes up, it is so present it sort of shocks the senses. Strangely to me I had to stop playing music more than once to access just what I listened to. That is, I was so amazed at what my system was capable of and wondered too if perhaps being mesmerized by that 'realness', I didn't lose the actual content of the song. What I mean is that listening to the song and moving to the flow such as wanting to sing or play air guitar morphed to sitting in the studio and witnessing the performance in real time. For example, I played Sade's 'Soldier Of Love', I just sat there unmoving. The song ended and so did my listening session. I had to leave the room. Even writing this, I can vividly remember the song and wonder why I couldn't play the next. I had to process.
I keep stretching the limits of my system. The room, the power, the components, the tweaks. I continue to be a student of audio never dismissing what others have experienced unless they have reached a firm belief that this or that doesn't matter. Everything matters in this hobby of ours. USB cables matter. I'm over that.
So what did the Muon do in my setup? It is after all a damn USB cable. It does show in my mind anyway that there's so many solutions to delivering music to one's speakers it's mind boggling. My wife now seems to prefer the 'raw' sound bypassing most of the network components. In a few days we will take delivery of a CD Transport (Project RST2). I have to know. I have to compare shiny disc spinning - i2S to the May vs streaming file via Muon USB to the May.
Is the Muon worth the money? It costs a lot. The Supra doesn't cost a lot and may be the best bang for the buck in my opinion which isn't worth much because I haven't been able to compare many high end USB cables. I'm only attempting to relate how one high end USB cable performed in my system. I think the Muon and perhaps other serious USB cables are for those seeking the best possible USB transmission and are willing to spend serious (serious to us anyway) money on that solution.
Happy listening.
trying something possibly even better. I have 3 others including a freebie from my stash of cables.
The Muon had a crazy burn-in cycle. It was all over the place, often sounding disjointed and once sounding so spacious it elicited loud wow moments from both my wife and I. When it finally settled in it did lose that amazing spatial quality but still maintained a soundstage that stretched beyond the boundaries of our speakers. During this time I would replace the Muon with the Supra as a comparison. The Supra was not all that different. Maybe the Supra had better attack but perhaps not in a good way. It wouldn't take long before I longed for the Muon. The Muon just seemed to possess a realness about it. More on this realness.
I've grown used to having a digital setup composed of Supra CATx Etherregen, Ultrarendu, LPS, and the fanless server playing through HQPlayer using DSD256 on the Holo May KTE DAC. This setup has been serving me well although the complexity can be damning at times. Don't get me started on the filter selection. There's to many! Music is presented with a clean picture, really, nothing to complain about. Throw whatever song through it and it sounds great. Prior to the Muon I would play with removing the network feed and go straight from computer to DAC using the May's NOS. That was often interesting and often a bit too raw sounding. I would miss the cleanliness of the added network components.
In comes the Muon. The Muon sounded not too different from the Supra as I mentioned when used with the etheregen, ultrarendu, HQP components. But when I moved to Muon to the USB port on the computer motherboard the sound changed. It wasn't "clean". It was raw. By raw I mean that it played the file, seemingly unfiltered. Now from a technical standpoint, my mind would chant, USB from a noisy motherboard using a Dell PS brick, (gave up on fancy LPS's on computers). What am I hearing? Somehow it seemed that the Muon didn't much care that there was a noisy motherboard sending music from a NAS drive. I was looking at he May display - 44.1Khz - and it sounded glorious. Music appeared more extended, a bit more dynamic, more space, more tactile. It wasn't all roses however. Poor recordings were not quite as tame. I wouldn't say strident, the Allnic T2000 takes care of that, but it does beg to turn down the volume a bit (We listen to music LOUD in a dedicated room). I will add that when a song comes up, it is so present it sort of shocks the senses. Strangely to me I had to stop playing music more than once to access just what I listened to. That is, I was so amazed at what my system was capable of and wondered too if perhaps being mesmerized by that 'realness', I didn't lose the actual content of the song. What I mean is that listening to the song and moving to the flow such as wanting to sing or play air guitar morphed to sitting in the studio and witnessing the performance in real time. For example, I played Sade's 'Soldier Of Love', I just sat there unmoving. The song ended and so did my listening session. I had to leave the room. Even writing this, I can vividly remember the song and wonder why I couldn't play the next. I had to process.
I keep stretching the limits of my system. The room, the power, the components, the tweaks. I continue to be a student of audio never dismissing what others have experienced unless they have reached a firm belief that this or that doesn't matter. Everything matters in this hobby of ours. USB cables matter. I'm over that.
So what did the Muon do in my setup? It is after all a damn USB cable. It does show in my mind anyway that there's so many solutions to delivering music to one's speakers it's mind boggling. My wife now seems to prefer the 'raw' sound bypassing most of the the network components. In a few days we will take delivery of a CD Transport (Project RST2). I have to know. I have to compare shiny disc spinning - i2S to the May vs streaming file via Muon USB to the May.
Is the Muon worth the money? It costs a lot. The Supra don't cost a lot and may be the best bang for the dollar in my opinion which isn't worth much because I haven't been able to compare many high end USB cables. I'm only attempting to relate how one high end USB cable performed in my system. I think the Muon and perhaps other serious USB cables is for those seeking the best possible USB transmission and is willing to spend serious (serious to us anyway) money on that solution.
Happy listening.
I've been using the Muon for more than a month now. Prior to the Muon was the Supra Excalibur which I thought was amazing and put on the path to trying something possibly even better. I have 3 others including a freebie from my stash of cables.
The Muon had a crazy burn-in cycle. It was all over the place, often sounding disjointed and once sounding so spacious it elicited loud wow moments from both my wife and I. When it finally settled in it did lose that amazing spatial quality but still maintained a soundstage that stretched beyond the boundaries of our speakers. During this time I would replace the Muon with the Supra as a comparison. The Supra was not all that different. Maybe the Supra had a better attack but perhaps not in a good way. It wouldn't take long before I longed for the Muon. The Muon just seemed to possess a realness about it. More on this realness.
I've grown used to having a digital setup composed of Supra CATx Etherregen, Ultrarendu, LPS, and the fanless server playing through HQPlayer using DSD256 on the Holo May KTE DAC. This setup has been serving me well although the complexity can be damning at times. Don't get me started on the filter selection. There's to many! Music is presented with a clean picture, really, nothing to complain about. Throw whatever song through it and it sounds great. Prior to the Muon I would play with removing the network feed and go straight from computer to DAC using the May's NOS. That was often interesting and often a bit too raw sounding. I would miss the cleanliness of the added network components.
In comes the Muon. The Muon sounded not too different from the Supra as I mentioned when used with the etheregen, ultrarendu, HQP components. But when I moved to Muon to the USB port on the computer motherboard the sound changed. It wasn't "clean". It was raw. By raw I mean that it played the file, seemingly unfiltered. Now from a technical standpoint, my mind would chant USB from a noisy motherboard using a Dell PS brick, (gave up on fancy LPS's on computers). What am I hearing? Somehow it seemed that the Muon didn't care much that there was a noisy motherboard sending music from a NAS drive. I was looking at the May display - 44.1Khz - and it sounded glorious. Music appeared more extended, a bit more dynamic, more space, more tactile. It wasn't all roses however. Poor recordings were not quite as tame. I wouldn't say strident, the Allnic T2000 takes care of that, but it does beg to turn down the volume a bit (We listen to music LOUD in a dedicated room). I will add that when a song comes up, it is so present it sort of shocks the senses. Strangely to me I had to stop playing music more than once to access just what I listened to. That is, I was so amazed at what my system was capable of and wondered too if perhaps being mesmerized by that 'realness', I didn't lose the actual content of the song. What I mean is that listening to the song and moving to the flow such as wanting to sing or play air guitar morphed to sitting in the studio and witnessing the performance in real time. For example, I played Sade's 'Soldier Of Love', I just sat there unmoving. The song ended and so did my listening session. I had to leave the room. Even writing this, I can vividly remember the song and wonder why I couldn't play the next. I had to process.
I keep stretching the limits of my system. The room, the power, the components, the tweaks. I continue to be a student of audio never dismissing what others have experienced unless they have reached a firm belief that this or that doesn't matter. Everything matters in this hobby of ours. USB cables matter. I'm over that.
So what did the Muon do in my setup? It is after all a damn USB cable. It does show in my mind anyway that there's so many solutions to delivering music to one's speakers it's mind boggling. My wife now seems to prefer the 'raw' sound bypassing most of the network components. In a few days we will take delivery of a CD Transport (Project RST2). I have to know. I have to compare shiny disc spinning - i2S to the May vs streaming file via Muon USB to the May.
Is the Muon worth the money? It costs a lot. The Supra doesn't cost a lot and may be the best bang for the buck in my opinion which isn't worth much because I haven't been able to compare many high end USB cables. I'm only attempting to relate how one high end USB cable performed in my system. I think the Muon and perhaps other serious USB cables are for those seeking the best possible USB transmission and are willing to spend serious (serious to us anyway) money on that solution.
Happy listening.
trying something possibly even better. I have 3 others including a freebie from my stash of cables.
The Muon had a crazy burn-in cycle. It was all over the place, often sounding disjointed and once sounding so spacious it elicited loud wow moments from both my wife and I. When it finally settled in it did lose that amazing spatial quality but still maintained a soundstage that stretched beyond the boundaries of our speakers. During this time I would replace the Muon with the Supra as a comparison. The Supra was not all that different. Maybe the Supra had better attack but perhaps not in a good way. It wouldn't take long before I longed for the Muon. The Muon just seemed to possess a realness about it. More on this realness.
I've grown used to having a digital setup composed of Supra CATx Etherregen, Ultrarendu, LPS, and the fanless server playing through HQPlayer using DSD256 on the Holo May KTE DAC. This setup has been serving me well although the complexity can be damning at times. Don't get me started on the filter selection. There's to many! Music is presented with a clean picture, really, nothing to complain about. Throw whatever song through it and it sounds great. Prior to the Muon I would play with removing the network feed and go straight from computer to DAC using the May's NOS. That was often interesting and often a bit too raw sounding. I would miss the cleanliness of the added network components.
In comes the Muon. The Muon sounded not too different from the Supra as I mentioned when used with the etheregen, ultrarendu, HQP components. But when I moved to Muon to the USB port on the computer motherboard the sound changed. It wasn't "clean". It was raw. By raw I mean that it played the file, seemingly unfiltered. Now from a technical standpoint, my mind would chant, USB from a noisy motherboard using a Dell PS brick, (gave up on fancy LPS's on computers). What am I hearing? Somehow it seemed that the Muon didn't much care that there was a noisy motherboard sending music from a NAS drive. I was looking at he May display - 44.1Khz - and it sounded glorious. Music appeared more extended, a bit more dynamic, more space, more tactile. It wasn't all roses however. Poor recordings were not quite as tame. I wouldn't say strident, the Allnic T2000 takes care of that, but it does beg to turn down the volume a bit (We listen to music LOUD in a dedicated room). I will add that when a song comes up, it is so present it sort of shocks the senses. Strangely to me I had to stop playing music more than once to access just what I listened to. That is, I was so amazed at what my system was capable of and wondered too if perhaps being mesmerized by that 'realness', I didn't lose the actual content of the song. What I mean is that listening to the song and moving to the flow such as wanting to sing or play air guitar morphed to sitting in the studio and witnessing the performance in real time. For example, I played Sade's 'Soldier Of Love', I just sat there unmoving. The song ended and so did my listening session. I had to leave the room. Even writing this, I can vividly remember the song and wonder why I couldn't play the next. I had to process.
I keep stretching the limits of my system. The room, the power, the components, the tweaks. I continue to be a student of audio never dismissing what others have experienced unless they have reached a firm belief that this or that doesn't matter. Everything matters in this hobby of ours. USB cables matter. I'm over that.
So what did the Muon do in my setup? It is after all a damn USB cable. It does show in my mind anyway that there's so many solutions to delivering music to one's speakers it's mind boggling. My wife now seems to prefer the 'raw' sound bypassing most of the the network components. In a few days we will take delivery of a CD Transport (Project RST2). I have to know. I have to compare shiny disc spinning - i2S to the May vs streaming file via Muon USB to the May.
Is the Muon worth the money? It costs a lot. The Supra don't cost a lot and may be the best bang for the dollar in my opinion which isn't worth much because I haven't been able to compare many high end USB cables. I'm only attempting to relate how one high end USB cable performed in my system. I think the Muon and perhaps other serious USB cables is for those seeking the best possible USB transmission and is willing to spend serious (serious to us anyway) money on that solution.
Happy listening.
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Yes I do.
I can guess that many might prefer the cleanliness of the ether/rendu/DSD converted sound.
Either way, for the purposes of this thread, the Muon was a step up in both scenerios.
I got this USB cable from Singapore:
Gotham GAC-4/1 Starquad Shielded Audiophile USB Cable - Quartz Acoustic Pte Ltd
It is handmade from Gotham GAC-4/1 cable, in my case 1,5m lenght with USB-A at the source and USB-C at the DAC.
The price/performance ratio is excellent, highly recommended
Matt
Gotham GAC-4/1 Starquad Shielded Audiophile USB Cable - Quartz Acoustic Pte Ltd
It is handmade from Gotham GAC-4/1 cable, in my case 1,5m lenght with USB-A at the source and USB-C at the DAC.
The price/performance ratio is excellent, highly recommended
Matt
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I need to decide on what to use as well. Options are reusing my current Intona Premium 0.5m + 0.2m + galvanic isolator, a Shunyata Omega 1.5m, Intona Ultimate 1.5m, or FTA sinope, or ???
Gary Leeds of Hear This was kind enough to allow me to audition their Westminster Lab "Standard" USB" cable. Because I use Innuos PhoenixUSB reclocker, my front end requires two USB cables. Having two Sablon EVO USB cables I removed the down stream EVO out of the Phoenix to make my comparison to the Westminster Lab "Standard" USB. Ideally the best comparison would’ve been two cables out and two cables in to replace the existing so it was not a ideal comparison.
The Westminster Lab "Standard" was highly detailed like EVO but with more up front presentation. The EVO has a bit more warm bloom that could benefit some systems such as mine that can lean to the cool side tonally. In highly resolving more neutrally balanced system, the Westminster Lab could be great fit. I would recommend auditioning this cable if your comparing top USB contenders.
The Westminster Lab "Standard" was highly detailed like EVO but with more up front presentation. The EVO has a bit more warm bloom that could benefit some systems such as mine that can lean to the cool side tonally. In highly resolving more neutrally balanced system, the Westminster Lab could be great fit. I would recommend auditioning this cable if your comparing top USB contenders.
Michael,
thanks for suggesting Supra Excalibur. Ihave received it yesterday. I am still in shock. Any other usb cables I have tried Oyaide, AQ Carbon, Fidata, AudioPhase, Curious were always with very minimal differences. Excalibur makes so much difference it is hard to believe. I could tell the difference every single time in a blind test.
I have explored a bit the topic which reminded me that any usb audio transmission is unidirectional i.e. - no chance to resend in case of errors/missing data. All in all hard to believe but usb cable can make a substantial difference.
It would be great to know how the FTA Sinope compares to these cables as the older FTA Callisto “used to be” mostly considered best on this forum
The Westminster Lab USB seems possibly one of the best, but their prices significantly higher than the others mentioned. Theirs uses a special alloy which must be expensive to produce.
@Vangelis - thanks for the comparisons
The Westminster Lab USB seems possibly one of the best, but their prices significantly higher than the others mentioned. Theirs uses a special alloy which must be expensive to produce.
@Vangelis - thanks for the comparisons
When we were doing more custom system installations consisting of multiple amplifiers in actively amplified systems a few years back we used Supra LoRad power cabling. It was very quiet, offered a neutral sound, and was incredibly affordable. We also liked being able to buy it in bulk so we could terminate at any length needed.
What's this have to do with the thread? Simply that although I have not heard it I suspect Supra's USB cable is indeed also very good value and terrific value for money. As far as I know, Madisound is still the US source for Supra products.
For anyone with a sincere interest in knowing what the Westminster USB cable might do in their system, we are always happy to send one for evaluation. With so many excellent cables available at all price points, our view is the only way to know what works is to listen for yourself in your own system.
What's this have to do with the thread? Simply that although I have not heard it I suspect Supra's USB cable is indeed also very good value and terrific value for money. As far as I know, Madisound is still the US source for Supra products.
For anyone with a sincere interest in knowing what the Westminster USB cable might do in their system, we are always happy to send one for evaluation. With so many excellent cables available at all price points, our view is the only way to know what works is to listen for yourself in your own system.
I have ordered the Audioquest Diamond. Tried a few high end brands even Uber expensive cable. Ended up ordering AQ Diamond. U cannot go wrong
I currently use a Wireworld Platinum series 7 USB cable. I'm considering a Shunyata Omega, WW Platinum series 8, or the FTA Sinope USB cable. Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to compare them in my system. I understand all systems are different, but has anyone compared the aforementioned cables to each other?
What would you prefer?
A higher end USB cable like for example Shunyata Omega, Sablon EVO, FTA sinope vs a good reclocker like Innuos Phoenix USB reclocker or Ideon Mastertime together with 2 more basic USB cables. Have not tried this myself but wondering if possible cables itself has eveloped to be competive to the reclocker. I have always found reclockers to be a nescessity in the digital usb chain more important than USB cables but I may be wrong.
A higher end USB cable like for example Shunyata Omega, Sablon EVO, FTA sinope vs a good reclocker like Innuos Phoenix USB reclocker or Ideon Mastertime together with 2 more basic USB cables. Have not tried this myself but wondering if possible cables itself has eveloped to be competive to the reclocker. I have always found reclockers to be a nescessity in the digital usb chain more important than USB cables but I may be wrong.
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