Home Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

REVIEW: XLO Signature 4.1b Cable

Model: Signature 4.1b
Category: Cable
Suggested Retail Price: $200/meter + $175 termination
Description: AES/EBU Digital Cable
Manufacturer URL: XLO

Review by Luminator on January 02, 2015 at 00:12:29
IP Address: 75.25.149.110
Add Your Review
for the Signature 4.1b


Warning: NSFW

I am the reviewer who tackles the unholy trinity of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Well okay, for us, "drugs" = "audio." Do not be the fool who, while posting a reply, complains about the unholy trinity. Be like those who know have gotten to know me, and e-mail me offline.

If you are unfamiliar with how a Luminator review works, you click on the links below, preferably in order. Absorb all of the information. Ask yourself what your room, budget, timeline, equipment, tastes, and software libraries are. Then bounce those against the information I just provided. It will be pretty clear, whether or not the product under review is or is not worth your time, efforts, social skills, and monies.

Getting readers to agree or disagree with me is irrelevant, not the point. My job as a reviewer is to arm you with enough and the right kind of information, in order for you to further your audio knowledge; try out new music (or see it in a different light); and say "yea," "nay," or "maybe under certain conditions" regarding the product under review.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

In the early-90s, digital separates (primarily CD transport and DACs) led to the explosive growth of high-end audio. As we purchased or acquired digital separates, we then had the *need* for digital cables.

By the late-90s, audiophiles became tired of the growing octopi which our systems turned into. Thus, the trend went back to one-box CD players.

In the early 2000s, music became available via computer. Thus, the CD went the way of the dinosaur. But ah, now that people were into computer audio, and the concomitant DACs, interest in digital cables was reborn.

Enter the original XLO Signature 4.1b AES/EBU digital cable. Back in the mid-90s, it was one of the few XLR-equipped cables, which did not roll off the treble, or suck out the top-end air.

I had pretty much forgotten about the XLO Signature 4.1b. Time passed, equipment came and went, cables by the dozens came through. But in 2003, my colleagues and I acquired an audiodharma Cable Cooker, which revolutionized what we knew about cables.

The XLO Signature 4.1b was already very good. Sticking it on the Cable Cooker unlocked its true potential, which turned out to be significantly higher than previously thought.

Many DACs now have an AES/EBU digital input [in the 90s, DACS typically only had S/PDIF and Tos-link inputs]. In your one-on-one communications with me, several of you have raised that old complaint about the AES/EBU connection curtailing the treble. Having tried dozens of transports, re-clockers, and DACs, we know that not all AES/EBU cables exhibit that high-frequency curtailment.

Without having to go to, for example, the expensive Nordost Valhalla and Tara Labs ISM AES/EBU digital cables, try to find an old (it supposedly first came out in late 1992) XLO Signature 4.1b.

The Audiophiles' DJ,
-Lummy The Loch Monster


Product Weakness: discontinued in the late-90s; like all cables, requires a cable burn-in device to unlock true potential; thin gold plating can wear off
Product Strengths: very little sound of its own; relatively thin and flexible


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: numerous
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): numerous
Sources (CDP/Turntable): numerous
Speakers: numerous
Cables/Interconnects: numerous
Music Used (Genre/Selections): rock, pop, oldies, metal, Hawaiian, dance, R&B, rap
Time Period/Length of Audition: >18 years
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Kimber Kable  


Topic - REVIEW: XLO Signature 4.1b Cable - Luminator 00:12:29 01/02/15 (2)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.