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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Wire World Platinum Starlight USB Cable by jonbee Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys. |
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98.225.22.34
Model: Platinum Starlight USB Category: Cable Suggested Retail Price: $600 Description: Premium USB cable Manufacturer URL: Wire World Model Picture: View
Review by jonbee on August 30, 2014 at 10:09:22
IP Address: 98.225.22.34Add Your Review
for the Platinum Starlight USB
Since I built my music server 2 or 3 years ago I've tried a number of USB cables and am always struck by how much they affect the sound. I have two servers now; even though both my NAD M51 and Eastern Electric Minimax Plus DACs have asynch USB inouts, I found I prefer the sound using the Musical Fidelity VLink192 spdif converters, so the USB feeds the MF devices and AES/EBU cables feed the DACs.
Cheap give away cables sound gritty and flat, definitely inferior to the Sony 9100/modwright signature player I had been using.
Moving to an Audioquest Coffee was a definite step up, and the sound now matched or exceeded the Sony player. I replaced the Coffee with a Mapleshade USB, which surprised me with a nice, smooth, non-digital sound that I liked very well. More recently, a Black Cat Silverstar USB also gave me the smooth sound I liked, but with more extension on the extremes. The result was a very high quality sound, but I noted that my system still lacked the ambience and spaciousness that I was hearing from really good vinyl setups.
I got a good deal on a Wireworld Platinum Starlight (aka Platinum Starlight 6) cable, and with that the ambience, separation and "blackness" between the instruments improved greatly. The images opened up and spread out wide and deep from my Daedalus DA-RMA V2 speakers. It was exactly what I felt I was missing. The Wireworld was just much more 3-d and the sense of space is greatly enhanced. In my system I'm feeling that I'm finally hearing what the recordings offer. It does not sound quite "like" vinyl, but I'm now feeling that I'm not missing some important musical information.
Much more $ than the others (of course!), but now that I've heard how a really good USB cable compares in my system, there's no going back for me. Are there better cables out there? I suppose so, but I'm very pleased with what I'm hearing.
Product Weakness: A bit stiff, not exactly cheap. Product Strengths: Huge, open and airy soundstage, very detailed yet naturally smooth
Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Hypex N-Core NC-400 Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): NAD M51 pre/DAC Sources (CDP/Turntable): Windows 7 Server/ Jriver 19 Speakers: Daedalus DA-RMA v2 Cables/Interconnects: Wireworld/Wywires/ZenWave Music Used (Genre/Selections): lots Room Size (LxWxH): 17 x 20 x 8 Room Comments/Treatments: eats bass, bu otherwise good Time Period/Length of Audition: 1 week Other (Power Conditioner etc.): PS Audio PPP, Uberbuss Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
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Topic - REVIEW: Wire World Platinum Starlight USB Cable - jonbee 10:09:21 08/30/14 ( 17)
- I Need To Make A 90 Degree Angle Coming Out Of My Computer - RadioWonder 14:06:53 09/9/14 ( 4)
- I think it should work fine... the Platinum is a bit stiff, but ... - jonbee 13:23:21 09/11/14 ( 0)
- RE: I Need To Make A 90 Degree Angle Coming Out Of My Computer - fantja 14:33:17 09/9/14 ( 2)
- RE: I Need To Make A 90 Degree Angle Coming Out Of My Computer - RadioWonder 23:34:45 09/9/14 ( 1)
- RE: I Need To Make A 90 Degree Angle Coming Out Of My Computer - fantja 05:53:03 09/12/14 ( 0)
RE: REVIEW: Wire World Platinum Starlight USB Cable - fantja 14:14:20 08/30/14 ( 2)
- This Is What You Are Referring To - Luminator 23:11:47 08/30/14 ( 1)
- RE: This Is What You Are Referring To - fantja 04:29:59 08/31/14 ( 0)
This Might Actually Get Even Better - Luminator 11:12:36 08/30/14 ( 8)
- RE: This Might Actually Get Even Better - RadioWonder 12:06:59 09/14/14 ( 6)
- RE: This Might Actually Get Even Better - alan m. kafton 15:16:47 09/14/14 ( 4)
- This Is What I Plan To Do... - RadioWonder 18:04:54 09/14/14 ( 3)
- RE: This Is What I Plan To Do... - alan m. kafton 19:42:18 09/14/14 ( 2)
- RE: This Is What I Plan To Do... - RadioWonder 00:38:34 09/15/14 ( 1)
- RE: This Is What I Plan To Do... - fantja 19:45:17 09/15/14 ( 0)
- RE: This Might Actually Get Even Better - RadioWonder 12:33:39 09/14/14 ( 0)
RE: This Might Actually Get Even Better - fantja 16:21:46 08/30/14 ( 0)