Computer Audio Design USB II-R cable & USB Filter The USB II-R is the latest USB cable from CAD or Computer Audio Design. CAD was one of the first companies that saw USB as the best solution for streaming high resolution audio, their 1543 DAC only had a USB input at a time when few […]
Network Acoustics muon Digital XLR digital cable The idea of a muon Digital XLR digital cable seems like an anathema, Network Acoustics are streaming specialists who have concentrated their efforts on ethernet and USB connections until now. What were they thinking when creating what is effectively an AES/EBU digital cable? It seems that when the […]
Gothic Audio Nublu Cryo interconnect cable Manchester cable-maker Chris Duwe and his Gothic Nublu cables have not featured here before on the Ear. But the company is worthy of our attention because its solid silver cables deliver remarkable value; proper sonics for not too many ££££s, especially when compared to some of the considerably pricier […]
Network Acoustics Muon Pro Streaming System ethernet filter and data cable Long before anyone dreamt of a device like the Muon Pro it was assumed that the music data heading for our streamer was just that. To suggest that it might be accompanied by electronic pollution that was damaging to sonic performance was to invite […]
Ansuz Mainz8 A3 & Mainz A2 power distributor and cables Ansuz is adamant that power distribution should not involve conditioning, thus its Mainz8 distributors apply no filtering or regeneration of the incoming voltage. This is because doing so saps energy from the sound. Ansuz also believe that the mains distributor is the most important element […]
Chord Company Powerhaus M6 distribution block Regular readers may remember me being very impressed with Chord Company’s Powerhaus S6, which I reviewed last May. It was one of those products that left a void, making it difficult to enjoy my system for a few weeks after it departed. Since my review, I have spoken to […]
I2S – pronounced eye-squared-ess for those unfamiliar with the term – is a serial digital signal bus scheme originally intended for board-level IC-to-IC transfer (integrated circuit). Now, an increasing number of audio equipment manufacturers are specifying I2S as a digital interconnect for use, for example, between a CD transport or a streamer and an associated […]
Townshend DCT Isolda and DCT 300 cables Townshend has been producing the DCT Isolda speaker and interconnect cable since the ’90s. Over that time, changes to the product have been incremental, which suggests they got the basics right in the first place. This review followed a chat between the editor and I regarding cable characteristics. […]
Network Acoustics Muon USB Cable Network Acoustics made the Muon USB Cable because they are mad about noise, by which I mean they hate it. Their aim is to eliminate the noise from streaming systems and by doing so allow those systems to reveal the full glory of the music. Electrical noise on the AC […]
The best of the best that we have reviewed on the Ear over the last 12 months
I would like to start this review with an apology to Joakim Juhl, the owner and chief designer of Oephi cables. He very kindly sent me a pair of the Lounge loudspeaker cables back in early August, followed shortly thereafter by a pair of the Lounge RCA interconnects. Now here we are in mid-November and […]
Despite knowing about cable manufacturer Atlas for many years, I only recently discovered that they are based just 25 miles away from me in Kilmarnock. It’s always inspiring to read about British success stories but local ones are even better. Founder and MD Kevin Kelly’s engineering background means the Ayrshire enterprise is very much science-led; […]