Cable Asylum: REVIEW: XLO Reference Type 4 Cable by Luminator

Model:	Reference Type 4
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$150
Description:	S/PDIF coaxial cable
Manufacturer URL:	XLO

Review by Luminator on February 29, 2012 at 11:33:16
IP Address: 75.25.149.110 Add Your Review
for the Reference Type 4

In the early-90s, we audiophiles were hell-bent on getting digital separates. Thus, demand for digital cables exploded.

By the late-90s, we audiophiles wanted to simplify, and went back to one-box CD players. This trend continued in the early 2000s, especially when we bought SACD players.

But then optical discs fell out of favor. Computer audio took over, and we were back to acquiring DACs. So it's time to dust off those old digital cables, including the original XLO Reference Type 4. By clicking on the following links, you can read the details.

19 Naughty III
Force Behind The Power
Dangerous Curves
Waking Up The Neighbours
Just Another Day In Paradise
Baja Sessions

I initially started handling and auditioning the XLO Ref Type 4 in 1993, when the DAC was the Theta Cobalt 307. Since that was some 19 years ago, I do not recall the exact model numbers, but I personally have used the Ref Type 4 with the following brands of digital gear: Adcom, Arcam, Audio Alchemy, California Audio Labs, Cambridge Audio, Cary, Classe', Conrad-Johnson, Counterpoint, dCS, Denon, EAD, Esoteric, Krell Digital, Linn, Mark Levinson, Meridian, NAD, Oppo, PS Audio, Simaudio, Sonic Frontiers, Sony, Tascam, Theta, Wadia. Those of you who follow my blog have already seen many of these digital components.

If you have read the clickable links above, you know that a certain someone likened the Ref Type 4's white-colored heatshrink wrap to a tampon. Now, we audiophiles are prone to succumbing to peer pressure. But when I heard that, I dropped the Ref Type 4, and didn't really use or think about it for a couple years. Thus, I missed out on using it with Anthem, BAT, Bel Canto, Kenwood, JVC, Marantz, McCormack, Parasound, and Pioneer digital gear, with which I had experience.

But over the years, I have used the Ref Type 4 with a wide variety of gear. Through it all, the Ref Type 4, Cooked or not, has performed consistently. That is in stark contrast to its bigger sister, the Signature 4.1, whose sound varies wildly, depending on what it is mated to.

For starters, the Ref Type 4's tonal balance is skewed to the mid/upper bass. Not only does this area display a mild excess, the quality is tilted towards the warm side. Psychoacoustically, listeners might find the other end rolled-off. But careful listening reveals that that is not the case. The quantity of treble is in line with the midrange. However, there is a qualitative loss of sparkle, timbre, bite, and shine.

In the mid-90s, I was using the Ref Type 4 between a Theta Data Basic II and DS Pro Prime IIa. That certain someone and I were playing the Cranberries' No Need To Argue , when she commented on one of her ex-boyfriends. To him, sex was something sweaty and dirty, something not to linger too long with. The Ref Type 4 doesn't have the best ability to scoop out the micro details. It is not the most articulate, focused, or resolving in decoding micro sounds such as a singer's breath, throat and chest movements; the click of a drumstick hitting/striking the drum head or cymbal; the vintage and make of 80s keyboards; the guitar strings on k.d. Lang's "Constant Craving;" the re-recorded guitar solos on Dokken's Beast From The East . So if you like your sex and porn in hi-def, you may not like the Ref Type 4.

Many listeners will be drawn to the Ref Type 4's calling card, its ability to get soundstage depth correct, with space, layering, and image stability.

So what does this all mean? In general, the Ref Type 4 will work best in systems which tend to sound 2-dimensional and lean in the bass. Many mass-market CD players, when used as transports, possess this sound. Many computers can sound a bit stiff and paint-by-numbers. Many DVD's have sound which lacks subtlety. In these cases, the Ref Type 4 can be the perfect compliment, kind of like promising the ex-boyfriend that, after (good) sex, he can have a nice bath or shower.

-Lummy The Loch Monster

Product Weakness:	discontinued in late-90s; writing can rub off; not tonally neutral
Product Strengths:	fits into tight spaces; looks cool; not stiff; still going strong after two decades

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): various
Time Period/Length of Audition: since 1993
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	numerous
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	numerous
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	numerous
Speakers:	numerous
Cables/Interconnects:	numerous
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	various
Time Period/Length of Audition:	since 1993
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner