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| Model: | Il Primo 75 ohm Digital Cable and Grand Finale Top Match Interconnect - RCA |
| Category: | Cable |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $Digital Cable 490 Interconnects 1090 1m |
| Description: | Please see the web site |
| Manufacturer URL: | HMS |
|
Review by GG (A) on April 14, 2002 at 09:12:12 IP Address: 24.71.223.142 |
Add Your Review for the Il Primo 75 ohm Digital Cable and Grand Finale Top Match Interconnect - RCA |
This is my first effort at any sort of review of a product. I am very cautious about doing this because I really have no special qualifications to do this other than a love of music. The only reason I am offering my thoughts about a product is because of the considerable help I have received from other inmates. I felt it time to offer something in return to those out there who might be interested in this equipment. I am not doing this because I have any other interest such as financial, I am a lowly doctor and am unlikely or incapable of earning a living selling anything.As a preamble I do not have a huge repertoire of equipment experience. I bought my first system, Magneplanar SMG's, Quad 33/303 and a Rega planar table. This system lasted 21 years though when kids came the Maggies went in the basement, to be replaced by Linn Toukans and the Rega replaced by a modest Sony cd player. A few years ago I realized that while I loved music dearly I did not love the sound I heard at home and found the car stereo to be more pleasing. When we redid the family room I decided to treat myself. The system I put together needed to be musical most of all, and have an extremely high wife acceptance factor. After reviewing everything locally and on the net I put together a system I am very fond of.
The digital source is an Audiomeca Mephisto II transport with separate power supply connected to an Audiomeca Ekianthus DAC by an Ensemble Gigaflux digital cable. The turntable is an Audiomeca Romance with Romance arm and a Benz micro ruby 2. These feed a Musical Fidelity M3 integrated amp and the speakers are Piega P8ltds. All wiring prior to this review was Audiotekne interconnects, speaker cables, and power cables with a Cardas Neutral Reference phono cable and an Audiotekne power supply. The stand is custom made of heavy MDF with sand filled plinths on carbon blocks. I realize many will think this an expensive indulgence, I included, and others may consider it less than ideal but it has met all my objectives. It is an acoustical delight to my ear (and that of my family) and the looks are greatly appreciated by my wife. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to set this up.
This review would not have taken place had one fact not been very noticeable. My turntable was markedly superior to the CD player. Though I hadn't listened to vinyl in years, its ability to reproduce music that, to my ear, closely approximated the essence of live performance amazed me. While the Mephisto was much better than others I had heard (Linn Ikemi, Wadia, Classe and Musical Fidelity) it was no match for the turntable. In an effort to improve this sound I experimented with various isolation devices. The CD player now sits on inverted symposium rollerblocks with tungsten upgrades that in turn rest on a symposium svelte shelf. While the addition of the symposiums improved the system a magnitude I did not think possible, I wanted more.
I wondered what new cabling would offer and had a budget of about 1500 dollars. While I would have loved to try out Siltechs or Valhalla's, these are not readily available in my area and I must confess I can't see myself spending more on cabling then my source. I began to see information on the Asylum and Audiogon about the HMS cables and when the digital cable came up for auction I bought it as well as the Grand Finale interconnects.
As an aside, but an important one, I know that Tekunda has come under considerable criticism by some inmates and I am certainly not about to get into any argument over this. I do not have the knowledge to determine if his actions on the site were acceptable but I can tell you that my dealings with him have been highly satisfactory. He has been honest, reliable, pleasant and prompt and clearly has a great love of this hobby and music. I have met a large number of people selling audio in my life and very few have approached his level.
I received the cables shortly after ordering and in excellent packaging. I put them into my system and sat back, only to be quite disappointed. While they did have some excellent qualities in terms of accuracy and transparency, they were very technical and not very musical. I had been warned that the digital cable had not been burned in but was still surprised by the outcome. I played the system a fair amount over the next few weeks and then had a friend came over and we listened. The sound was better (I know an imprecise term but adequate for this part of the review) but still very analytical and not as musical as the Ensemble/Audiotekne by a long shot. My friend suggested I leave the system run nonstop for 3 days and then go from there. After this I noticed substantial improvements in the overall musicality of the system and decided to set up a small test.
At the outset I am no audio reviewer and I recognize there are a multitude of shortcomings with any such assessment. I have not tried a lot of different cables in my system and my system, as all, has significant faults. Principal among these is my listening room that is 18 X 45 feet with cathedral ceilings. The floors are hardwood with rugs but décor dictates I cannot really apply much in the way of room treatments aside from art and furniture. A baby grand piano limits just where I can position the speakers. With these in mind I invited over 3 friends to see which, if either, of the two cables gave us more musical enjoyment. I listen to mostly classical, jazz and vocalists. I have been exposed to a fair amount of live music, though little in the way of rock. My other friends have similar musical tastes but with markedly different systems. One has horns and tubes and has been involved with high-end audio for many years, while another is on more of a budget and a big tweaker. The third has a nice British system and is very classical music oriented.
For the test we started with the HMS cables and went through four discs. We listened to each disc and compared comments (I guess if we were more scientific we would have written down notes and compared them at the end - but we aren't that scientific, this is still a hobby). The first was the Manger test disc which I believe an amazing recording. We listened to two tracks - Livingston Taylor - Isn't She Lovely and the Yuri Honing Trio - Walking on the Moon. The opening to Livingston Taylor is a whistling solo and the clarity and musicality was remarkable. While imaging was excellent, the soundstage seemed a bit compressed. With the second the same attributes were seen only this time the soundstage was superb, even given the relatively narrow spacing of the speakers. One person, the biggest vinyl addict amongst us, noted just how vinyl like this sounded. The next disc was Edgar Meyers Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites, a disc I am not too familiar with. Meyers plays cello pieces on a double base with amazing agility. We listened to track 9 - Ste no. 1 in G. The transparency and clarity was remarkable, one could hear almost every breath Meyer's took, as if you were in the front row, but not so much as to be intrusive or unnatural, it just let you feel the great emotion and energy he put into the piece. The reproduction of midbase notes and reverberation was particularly good. The next song was 'I am a Town' from Mary Chapin Carpenter - Come on, Come on. Chapin's voice was, in everyone's mind, beautifully reproduced, with each word clear and distinct but very natural. The final tract was also my choice - there have to be some benefits to being host - 'I Can See Clearly Now' from the Holy Cole Trio Treasure album. This is my litmus test. The bass I find as real sounding as any I recording I have come across. But the real test is her second refrain of 'nothing but blue skies' when she holds the note for what seems forever. I am fortunate to have heard her trio on a number of occasions and for whatever reasons this note strikes the depth of my musical soul (forgive the poetic waxing). Even though I have heard this tract hundreds of time I was amazed at the shiver that went down my spine. At this point we changed back to the ensemble/audiotekne cables and listened in reverse order.
The difference was apparent immediately. In fact within about a minute my friend with the remote stopped the disc. We had no trouble in agreeing there was a significant difference and in determining what the difference was. A huge amount of vitality was gone. With Holly Cole both the opening bass and the voice just didn't hit you in the chest the way the way the HMS cables did (I should mention we tried to maintain similar volumes though we did not use a meter - again too complicated for a bunch of friends). The sound was still very lyrical and smooth but lacked the visceral impact. I thought about saying a loss of dynamics but this just doesn't do the difference justice. Review of the other tracks confirmed this though to varying degrees. The difference was less noticeable with Mary Chapin Carpenter, the beauty was still there, well captured, though the transparency in the way she enunciated words (and the emotion this conveys) was much less. In the cello suite again the music was beautiful but as one friend put it, it was almost like something had come between the music and us, like a blanket or saran wrap. We only listened to part of Livingston Taylor and on this superb recording the difference was perhaps a bit less noticeable but readily apparent. I should add that I have now spent over a month with the cables and every feeling I have about them remains.
In the end, this is difficult for me to write. I do not wish to throw any cloud over the Audiotekne. The dealer who sold them to me has a superb ear, has been very helpful in all my dealings and a great guy. The cables are superb and have brought me a huge amount of pleasure. Had I not been looking to improve the digital sound reproduction I would likely have looked no further. Until I had heard the HMS I thought the Audiotekne were the best interconnects I had come across - very musical and yet accurate. They still are, but in my opinion there is no contest with the HMS. Indeed I would find it extremely hard to go back to listening to my system without the HMS. The only drawback I can see is that they may be too revealing for some systems, though I have no reason to assume this. It has been said that audiophiles tend to crave difference and that this may be the reason for our conclusions and love of the latest flavor out there, but I really don't think this the case. These cables, in my system, permit me to get that much closer to the music and get that much more enjoyment from the system. Any system represents a synergy and as such it is impossible to say what is good in one will sound good in another. Be that as it may these cables are so good that I would highly recommend an audition. That you have a 30-day return policy is extremely important, and the dealer seems very flexible about this.
I realize this review is probably too long and not very good but I hope it will be of some help to those of you out there considering new cables.
| Product Weakness: | The cables take a considerable time to settle into the system and need a lot of burn in time. They may be too accurate or forward for a bright system. Cables are very system dependent and should be carefully researched and listened to in any system before big outlays. Not inexpensive. |
| Product Strengths: | Extremely accurate, transparent and dynamic with great musicality. Great value for the money as best I can tell. |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | Musical Fidelity M3 integrated amp |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | None |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Audiomeca Mephisto II transport with separate power supply connected to an Audiomeca Ekianthus DAC by an Ensemble Gigaflux digital cable, turntable is an Audiomeca Romance with Romance arm and a Benz micro ruby 2 |
| Speakers: | Piega P8ltd |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Audiotekne interconnects, speaker cables, and power cables with a Cardas Neutral Reference phono cable, Ensemble Gigaflux Digital Cable |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | see review |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 45 x 18 x 25 |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | see review, a tough room with limited flexibility at present for room treatments |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | approximately 35 days |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Audiotekne Power Transformer, CD player now sits on inverted symposium rollerblocks with tungsten upgrades that in turn rest on a symposium svelte shelf |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
GG, in your review you stated that, in your system, the CD was no match for the turntable. Is that still the case? Would you elaborate on the match-up between the CD & LP with the HMS wire?
I read the comments on my post with some interest. I hope the post was of some use to others looking at the cables. I would agree that break in period should not be listed as a short comming, just more of a point of information. It took over 150 hours to break in my speakers. If I were to level one criticism about the post it is that I did not compare this to the most expensive cables, but that really wasn't the point. In the end all I said was that the cables, in my system, sound excellent to both myself and a number of friends, and I thought they were well worth trying out if you are looking for cables and willing to spend that sort of money. I was disappointed to see a lot of fighting again, and its funny as it tends not to occur as much with other products. As my title suggests, its the music (I am tempted to say - ITS THE MUSIC STUPID - but don't wish to get more fighting going) that counts. Sit back and enjoy whatever music and system you have and don't get so upset about things. A hobby which causes you to act in insulting and aggressive ways can't be much of a hobby and I didn't think that was really the point of listening to music. If I wanted that I would be watching wrestling (no offense to any wrestling fans). As I stated in the review, tekunda was extremely honorable in all my dealings and I would not hesitate to deal with him again.Gary
I have also been auditioning the HMS digital cable and the HMS Grand Finale IC's in my system. I was using the Omega Mikro AV IC. The HMS are better in my system and are improving with break in. My dealings with Christian have all ways been very positive. I would recommend the HMS cables that I have in my system without reservation. It is all about the music. Thanks for your review.
.
If the HMS cables enable your digital gear to sound more analogue-like, I would suggest you to try the HMS phono cables for your LP gear. In my system, the improvement of HMS over Audiotruth Extreme exceeded my expectation. I would speculate that with HMS phono cables, your LP gear will again leave the digital sound in the dust. For my system description, see the inmate system name lpcd2001.
As importer of the HMS cables I would like to say a few words about the burning-in time of HMS cables and cables in general.
DR. Strassner insists that every customer is told that although the cables are being burned in on an Audiodharma cable cooker before delivery, the cables will need an additional 150 hours of burn-in time in the customer's system.
Actually this is not a product weakness as Gary may have suggested. From the feedback of my customers I know, that the 150 hours Mr. Strassner strongly recommends, is about the time when the new owner really starts to experience the performance of the cables and only then does it make sense to change the settings in order to fine tune the impendence.
The greatest factor contributing to the 150 hours of burn-in time is, according to Dr. Strassner, the static energy build-up in the cables, which comes from handling and bending the cables. This energy needs to be released and this just takes time. There are a few other factors involved also, so customers have to give the cables time and be patient, but will be, as in Gary's case, greatly rewarded.
But these 150 hours is not a typical HMS cables issue, any audio cable will need a given time to burn-in, regardless of a cable cooker. So it’s fair to assume that without a cable cooker it would take much longer, to get the cables to the point where they perform their best. I had people tell me of other cables that needed up to 400 hours.
But since physical laws are involved, I would not go so far and call a given break in period a weakness. Every gas engine needs a couple of hundred hours to break in too.
Gary writes also that the cables might be to revealing for some systems.
Of course HMS is of such quality, that only revealing systems will benefit the most. You can have the greatest graphics card in the world, but if your monitor is not able to work in hi-res mode, the performance gain of the graphics card is somewhat wasted. So I assume, since HMS does carry a price tag, although they are lot cheaper than many of its competitors, audiophiles, who are searching for a certain performance level and have the budget to spend the money on HMS, will in general have a system already, which will benefit from the performance and at least know that they have excluded a potential weak link, that is the cables.
Like the example with the monitor, the customer now knows that the weak link is not the graphics card, but the monitor and can decide now if he would like to upgrade their system.
I agree with Gary that cables are system dependant, so I cannot stress enough (and have done this in the past) how important it is to audition cables at home in your system.
(nt)
I have followed the whole Tekunda thing from the beginning, but man, what is YOUR problem?What an over-reaction to a rather innocuous post. And what did he say that has anything to do with your "grow-up" comment?
Sorry, I guess I should have posted under Bryan's first post below.
My comment was NOT directed at Tekunda, as I feel he did nothing wrong. I just posted where I did to voice my displeasure at how this whole thread digressed into petty slinging.I just don't like when people are hanging around waiting to ambush a product or person ( a la Newform Research ) as if they have a personal vendetta against said product/person.
We had a good review going on, with dealer/manufacturer comments as followup, then look what happens. Maybe people don't like Tekunda's subtle sales-schtick that accompanies his post, who knows, but he is a businessman informing people of his product within the AA guidelines.
- Andy
After watching this whole thing from the beginning, I finally got sick of the endless advertising here a few minutes ago on another of Tekunda's recent posts. There wasn't anything particularly offensive about the post that set me off, it just goes on and on ("Hi, Tekunda here, have you considered the excellent HMS cables in the last 5 minutes?"), with no end in sight. It's no longer signal, it's noise.I wonder what Mr. Strassner (or his alter-ego, Dr. Strassner) will have to say about this.
Hello,> > But since physical laws are involved, I would not go so far and call a given break in period a weakness. Every gas engine needs a couple of hundred hours to break in too. < <
I completely agreed with you. The break in period is very important but most audiophile just ignore it. Some audio components need certain time period to burn in for best performance. Again, 100% agree with you!!
> > Gary writes also that the cables might be to revealing for some systems. Of course HMS is of such quality, that only revealing systems will benefit the most. < <
Even the HMS has such quality as you stated, but I think it just system dependent, not only revealing systems will benefit the most. Some system might not like the HMS cable, but the system itself can be revealing.
> > You can have the greatest graphics card in the world, but if your monitor is not able to work in hi-res mode, the performance gain of the graphics card is somewhat wasted. < <
This is depends on the personal preference of monitor choice.
> > So I assume, since HMS does carry a price tag, although they are lot cheaper than many of its competitors, audiophiles, who are searching for a certain performance level and have the budget to spend the money on HMS, will in general have a system already, which will benefit from the performance and at least know that they have excluded a potential weak link, that is the cables. < <
Yes, I have visited your website, and found that the pricing of HMS cabling is pretty reasonable. However, it is still not a bargain pricing. I am quite interested in the HMS AES/EBU digital cable, power cord and speaker cable. Actually, the power conditioner which use on the HMS power cord is operating in active or passive mode?
> > I agree with Gary that cables are system dependant, so I cannot stress enough (and have done this in the past) how important it is to audition cables at home in your system. < <
That's right!! No such thing called universal.
Nice talking to you!!
Best Regards,
PPT
> > As importer of the HMS cables I would like to say a few words about the burning-in time of HMS cables and cables in general. DR. Strassner insists that...LOL.
> > is told that although the cables are being burned in on an Audiodharma cable cooker before delivery, the cables will need an additional 150 hours of burn-in time in the customer's system.
No kidding?
> > Dr. Strassner, the static energy build-up in the cables, which comes from handling and bending the cables. This energy needs to be released and this just takes time.
Why not pack them in antistatic bags and spray them with Nordost ECCO 3 before and after shipping?
> > Of course HMS is of such quality, that only revealing systems will benefit the most.
LOL.
Thanks for reminding all of the inmates that you are the importer of these cables and for sharing your thoughts on cable break-in.
Not again, Bryan, ok?I think any manufacturer has the right to put things into perspective, if in a review, issues are called "product weaknesses", which can be explained through clarification and are no product weaknesses at all, but physical phenomena which occur in all cables.
< <
> Because the static energy is not coming from the outside world! Every decent build cable should be shielded in such a way that no static energy from the outside has a chance penetrating the inside the cables. I thought this is so obvious that I did not mention the fact.
I would assume that any cables profiting from a static bag and Eco spray is not shielded enough, to prevent static energy from penetrating. That would mean you would have to spray the cables continuously, while in your system, or keep them in a static bag.
How else would you prevent such a poorly shielded cable from picking up static energy? As a customer, I would prefer a shielded cable, where static energy which can be prevent with a pray is no issue at all.
Since the HMS Grand Finale is shielded in such a manner, spraying the cables with ECO 3 and putting it into static bags will not make a difference.
The static energy is building up inside the cables, through the process of touching and bending the cables. You put it into a container, you take it out, you adjust it in your system, all of this is creating static energy inside the cables, which needs to be released and as I mentioned also, the static energy build up inside the cables is only one factor for the time needed to burn-in a cable.
Whosoever wants to know more about these issues, is welcome to call Mr. Strassner. He speaks quite good English and is happy to share his scientific opinions.
Hello again,> > Because the static energy is not coming from the outside world! Every decent build cable should be shielded in such a way that no static energy from the outside has a chance penetrating the inside the cables. < <
Theoretically, you are correct, but practically I could not agree on this one!! Shielded Cable does not absolutely mean sound the best. It has a trade off between shielded and unshielded cable. Shielded cable can be very quiet, but "most of the time" can sound slightly bright and dynamic compress. Unshielded Cable can be sound more open and smooth, but not as quiet. Of course what I am saying is based on the same design structure with or without shielding. Refer to your homepage, the HMS power cord has 6 different steps of filtering slope, and sonically it might help the problem of Shielded cable
Yours Sincerely,
PPT
Amusing as always. You'll bite on and argue about anything, it seems. Like one of those wind-up toys.Bryan, be careful, or he is likely to send you emails full of wild threats of lawsuits he will file against you.
It seems the wind-up toy are you, since your name always pops up starting some kind of pissing match.
I have tried to explain the logic behind the reason for cable burn-in and I took the time to write two posts, since Brian did not get it the first time. What is wrong with helping another audiophile understand some rather complex issues?
If you find this amusing it definitley shows, how far your understanding as an audiohpile goes and I do not wonder anymore that your only contributions are of rather personal manner.
It seems that is all you are able to.
Let us see, will you respond, or do you need some more winding-up?
> > Because the static energy is not coming from the outside world! Every decent build cable should be shielded in such a way that no static energy from the outside has a chance penetrating the inside the cables. I thought this is so obvious that I did not mention the fact.So, the HMS cables are so well shielded that no external static can penetrate inside? Even from the ends?
And the static you speak of is being generated from the inside, not the outside, and this is common with all cables, not just HMS?
If this is true, what about reviewers who swap cables often and never have a chance to get 150 hours on a cable after bending etc when swapping? In other words, reviewers who haven't let their cables sit for 150 hours after swapping back and forth, are presenting to inaccurate results?
> > Since the HMS Grand Finale is shielded in such a manner, spraying the cables with ECO 3 and putting it into static bags will not make a difference.
Really. Have you tried Ecco 3 on these cables after letting them pick up a charge from lying on carpet? And not heard a difference?
> > The static energy is building up inside the cables, through the process of touching and bending the cables...
So, the static is coming from the outside afterall!
I have a hard time finding much logic in what you write.
The basic action of creating static electricity is separation of two insulators that were previously in contact. Whoever/whatever causes separation of 2 insulators thus supplies mechanical energy which is converted into static electricity. Separation can mean rubbing, moving etc. You can also induce static electricity into insulators by external statically charged bodies nearby.The internal insulated conductors are moved one in respect to another by bending the cable. So, theoretically, the wire insulator material inside the cable can be charged by bending a shielded cable.
Regards,
TonyB
> > The static energy is building up inside the cables, through the process of touching and bending the cables...> > > > So, the static is coming from the outside after all!
> > > > I have a hard time finding much logic in what you write.
Your logic is off here. We have to make clear what is coming from where.
If the bending of a cable creates static energy inside the cables, the force who causes the static energy is coming from the outside world, but tnot the static energy itself. (I think this is logical)
The force is moving the atomic structure inside the cables, which is creating static energy inside the cables.
So the static energy is NOT coming from the outside, but created inside.
So yes, indeed, at least with HMS, having the cable lay on a carpet full of static energy e.g. is not creating anymore static energy inside the cables or affecting the cables adversely. HMS cables are completely shielded, so again, spraying with ECO will not make a difference here.
I cannot and will not speak for other cables, or what reviewers should or should not do with cables.
I can only speak for HMS cables and was told by Dr. Strassner, that once the cables are connecting to a system and fully burned-in, static energy problems and the resulting sound degradation does not exist for the Grand Finale line of cables anymore. That is some of the patented product strengths of thsi line of cables.
It is the same for the speaker cables. Through means of ferrite blocks they are shielded in such a complete manner, that you do not have to raise the cables off the floor. You can even have power lines running parallel to the cables. No harmful energy will penetrate these cables.
And I know that many cable manufacturers have not solved this problem. Why would they suggest you use cable hangers or other devices (before I had HMS cables in my system, I used toilet rolls to lift my cables off the floor)and strongly suggest you keep power lines in a 90 degree angle, if you cannot avoid having them cross your cables? Because their cables are not sufficiently shielded.
With HMS, these are no issues anymore and this speaks more than anything else of the superb shielding qualities of these cables.
I thank you kindly for taking the time to explain all of this complex cordage physics to me not once, but twice. Sometimes I'm just to thick. It seems that after you explain something to me, I have another thing that bothers me about all of this. Heres another question. If your cables constantly have a bend in them, from the way they are dressed off of your typical rack, wouldn't these cables be in a constant state of static charge, and therfore it won't matter if you put 150 hours on them or 1500? Also, can you explain to me how 150 hours of NBS discharges the static. You have explained that the static is on the inside, not the outside, eliminating the use of something like Ecco 3, but your explanation that 'it just takes time' to release the energy is pretty vague.
> > If your cables constantly have a bend in them, from the way they are dressed off of your typical rack...I apologize as it must be my rather insufficient English that I cannot convey a simple thought like that, so please give me one last shot.
Its not the cables having a constant bend in them, which is causing the static energy. Once the cables are dressed off of the rack, they are fine.
Its bending the cables forth and back, (movement being the outside force) which is building up the energy inside.
The cables come coiled up when they arrive. I take them out of the box to put on the cooker, so here the second bending forth and back occurs,(the first bending has occured by the person who coiled up a straight cable to put it into a container t oship it to the US)
So the cables will straighten out, once taken out of the box and after being cooked, I coil them up again (cables are being bend again) and once the cables arrive, the customer takes them out of the container and like a spring, the cables straighten out. I hope you get the idea. Quite a lot of bending forth and back has happened before the cables finally arrive at the rack at their "final resting place."
Once they are dressed up and no further movement occurs (as long as no kids or pets play with the cables) the static energy will dissipate eventually.
That is Dr. Strassner's theory and if this is too vague for you, you can prove him wrong.
Your explanation isn't an issue of understanding english it is an issue of understanding what you are talking about. While you can get a static charge externally due to the outer jacket rubbing against a nylon carpet for example, flexing a cable will not cause a static charge unless it is poorly designed with inferior materials. Flexing a cable will cause it to act as a generator, but any build-up of an electrical charge will be dissipated when it is connected. What you will here is the cable mechanically relaxing and electrical equilibration due to the capacitance/ inductance values settling in. This can take a significant amount of time to occur. I find your concrn about this confusing as when you began your original quest for the best you felt this was insignificant by your own words. During those evaluations you would change cables constantly to come to your conclusions. So with the above being true you really don't know how it truly compares to all those other cables as you never left them in long enough to equilibrate. One last comment is why we never hear from Mr. Strassner himself to explain the technical merits of his products, but instead hear your interpretation which you obviously don't understand.
Mark
I faxed my thread and your response to Mr. Strassner. He said that he cannot share with your opinion at all.
He completely agrees that I conveyed his thoughts as accurate as I could. Static energy is being created through flexing the cables (and needs time to dissipate) and since he is not only making audiophile cables, bus has another business, making measurement banks for huge corporations busy developing supra conductors, he said this phenomena can be easily measured.
So rest at peace, Mr. Strassner as a scientist, would not be worth "the butter on his bread" could he not explain the static charges in cables. And it is absolutely not true that only poorly designed cables with inferior materials show this behavior.
He said that this is utter nonsense!
If you still have problems believing him, or if you would like to upgrade your knowledge about cables, Mr. Strassner is "da man" to talk to and he invites you to call him.
But he has no time to engage in internet discussions about proven occurrences in cables. Everybody interested in HMS cables, or audiophile cables in general can call him and he will be glad to explain whatever problems you might have.
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