Digital Drive: REVIEW: Revelation Audio Labs Silver i2s Cable by Robert in Alaska

Model:	Silver i2s
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$399.00
Description:	i2s Digital Cable
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by Robert in Alaska ( A ) on January 25, 2003 at 14:56:06
IP Address: 24.237.220.199

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for the Silver i2s

Recently I noticed a new I2S cable being touted on audiogon. Called the Revelation Audio Labs Silver I2S, it is constructed (according to the ad) of solid silver wire, is cyrogenically treated, and is teflon insulated with nitrogen filling. Hey, good enough to eat! So having the upgrade bug again, and having changed out everything BUT my I2S cable, I decided to give one a try. [By the way, I have never seen one sell for $399--they generally sell for well below that on Audiogon]. This is a review of that cable as compared to two other well-regarded I2S links: The Audio One and the Mystic Reference, both of which I also own.
EQUIPMENT and SETUP -- A year or so ago I upgraded to a Perpetual Technologies P3A DAC to be fed from my Audio Alchemy Pro stable platter transport. Both are tweaked with, for instance, better op amps, internal wire, caps, power supply, etc. The rest of my system consists of a Taddeo Digital Antidote (hardwired to the P3A in a shared case), Conrad Johnson PV-1 and two Tripath digital amps (similar to Bel Canto Evo). Wire is Van Den Hul The One (DAC to Pre), Synchronestra Signature (Pre to Amps)and Analysis Plus Oval 9 (Amps to Speakers). Due to a panel going south on one of my Sequel II's, I recently had to rotate in a pair of Carver Original Amazing Loudspeakers that had been lurking in a closet. I had found the sound of the Amazings less than amazing when I came by them as part of a used audio deal. However, I heard potential, so I held onto them. So when faced with music interruptus, I switched their convoluted internal passive crossovers for an EV DX34 Digital Sound Processor set between the preamp and amps. In this reincarnated form, these speakers are DYNAMITE!
Another thing the DX34 allowed me to do was to balance the response for my room. So with the help of a Stereophile test disc and a Radio Shack meter this review was done knowing that I was listening to a corrected, smooth in-room response from 1khz down to 20hz (yes the Carvers do go that low!)
MUSIC -- I chose three albums. Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim: This is a well-produced recording that does wonderful justice to both of these rich-voiced icons. Second I chose Diva by Annie Lennox. I love using this album for evaluating equipment changes. It is well-produced with some interesting effects and lots of layering. It can be enthralling or, if your system is not detailed enough or is hard-sounding this CD can sound like...well, you know. The third CD was the self-titled album by Marc Cohn, a fellow former Clevelander. Most people know this album from the late 90's airplay of "Walking in Memphis". Again a good evaluation album because it can sound good and it can sound opaque and strident as hell--it all depends on the system.
ROUND ONE -- It's "The Girl from Ipanema" and the Revelation puts Sinatra's voice very solid in the center of the stage. When Jobim's voice comes in it is slightly overmodulated sounding and the cable reveals this but yet doesnt sound like 'just harshness'. The voices are seperated and not swamped by the strings. The two vocalists are also easy to separate. It sounds tonally right, there is a 'truth of timbre'. There is also more there there. Hard to explain, if I said detail, you might hear bright or etched and it is not that at all. Vivid is a word that comes to mind, it just draws you in.
The Audio One sounded nice and smooth. Voices were mellow. However the soundstage seemed now less defined and more one dimensional. Less separation between voice and music. Less air, less detail. Attacks sounded blunted. Where the Rev is "Vivid" the One is "Flat".
The Mystic Ref sounds good! Good definition and at first sounds close to the Rev in overall sound character. Then you notice that those strings are almost strident (and this on a very mellow recording). Next you notice that there is less space between the notes. Still the detail keeps you listening. This passes much more information than the One. Might be a good run for the money with the Rev, though. Where the Ref draws you in, the Mystic may be a bit pushy.
ROUND TWO -- Annie Lennox is talking about "Money Cant Buy It" and at about 2:40 into it she really gets serious about this and hits you with a mass wall of sound with her voice going in and out of phase. The Mystic does a good job on this. Bass impact helps to move things along, the phasing tricks come thru clearly and the lyrics down in the mix stay understandable.
The One again is pleasant enough but loses too much information. It's just not quite in the same league.
I put the Rev back in and glare that I didnt know was there with the Mystic just melted away. The bass had about the same impact but more authority, making the sound fuller and more fleshed out overall. The sound is less mechanical and more musical. Everything is distinct in the mix, but where the Mystic was hitting me in the face, the Rev is again drawing me in. I like this.
ROUND THREE -- Now we're "Walking in Memphis" and we've left The One behind. At about 1:10 into it Elvis walks into Graceland and Marc belts out that "security did not see him..." and sort of overdrives the mic. This is the very discriminating point on this album that reliably tells me that my system is sounding good and revealing or just over the line where things become harsh and revealing. The Mystic was definitely harsh. The Rev was definitely good.
The Revelation definitely is good. Try it, you'll like it. And if you are doubting the difference a digital cable can make (like I was), doubt no longer!

Product Weakness: Cant think of any.
Product Strengths: A 'draws you in' quality that is very very nice. Great definition. Great soundstaging. Truth of timbre. Appears very well constructed. Lifetime warranty.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Tripath Digital
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Conrad Johnson PV12
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	AA Transport and PT P3A
Speakers:	Carver Original Amazings
Cables/Interconnects:	Synchronestra Sig, The One, Analysis Plus
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Sinatra, Lennox, Cohn
Room Size (LxWxH):	28' x 18' x 15'
Room Comments/Treatments:	Fabric softened behind speakers
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 weeks and 1/2 Day Shoot Out
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Cant think of any.
Product Strengths:	A 'draws you in' quality that is very very nice. Great definition. Great soundstaging. Truth of timbre. Appears very well constructed. Lifetime warranty.