Cable Asylum: REVIEW: XLO S3-1 Cable by Luminator

Model:	S3-1
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$420 termination + $210/half meter
Description:	Single-ended line-level interconnect
Manufacturer URL:	XLO

Review by Luminator on July 01, 2011 at 14:20:49
IP Address: 38.122.6.26 Add Your Review
for the S3-1

Some audiophiles hate my reviews. Some audiophiles love my reviews. Each time I do post a review here on Audio Asylum, my e-mail inbox gets a little more crowded. Some of it is hate mail, some of it are love letters, some of it are suggestions, and the rest of it are requests to be quoted in my upcoming reviews. I do know that, when I do not write reviews, both sides (the haters and fans) beg me, as one guy wrote, to "...get off [my] lazy ass," and write some more reviews.

I swear, my reviews are just an excuse for the audiophiles to open fire. Since I wrote the Cardas Clear review less than a month ago, here are some choice remarks I have received.

"Aw man what happened to your go back to each [academic] semester trips in time?"

While that style has its fans, I had employed it for several reviews in a row. I just thought I'd put it aside temporarily. Don't worry; I haven't abandoned that style. It will reappear in future reviews.

"I see you've blogged about the [XLO] Ultra 1. Are you gonna do a follow up on it?"

Funny you should mention the Ultra 1. Back in the turn of the century/millennium, I did review the Ultra 1. As yes, in the past year, I did receive more samples. So yes, a follow-up review of the Ultra 1 is possible. But for now, let me examine the current-production S3-1.

"Did you ever write for a college newspaper? You sure sound like it."

No. The only time I got close to a newspaper was when I was a carrier for the Hokubei Mainichi.

"You should be the Originator, not the Luminator. I see other magazines and websites [adopting] your style, your taste, your humor, your techniques, your values. But you were the first."

Isn't that a good thing, especially if you like my style, taste, humor, techniques, and values?

"When you list your links, I wish they [Audio Asylum] would give us that open in new window [function]."

So do I. Alas, AA only allow one such "Open in New Window" link. So for now, you will just have to right-click and open in new tab/window:

From Luxury To Heartache
Ironbound
Surprise
Hi-Five
Mistaken Identity
Load
The Royal Scam

"I may or may not care about the audio. But I wanna know about the GIRLS! Surely your [sic] not telling us something about Margaret."

Actually, you are right. Writing about Margaret and her personality and actions would take a long time. And while I'm writing, she would be moving on to other things. However, Margaret does present me with parallels in reviewing audio products.

So let's go back to the mid-90s. Margaret was the type who tried each sport or activity at least once. That doesn't mean she was good at them, but eventually, she discovered which were worth her time and effort.

At that time, I learned that, when it comes to reviewing interconnects, we just have to try as many as we can. Only through those trials, will we know for sure how a product interacts and performs. At the time, I had a love/hate relationship with XLO's original Signature 1.1 interconnect. And here I am, 15 years later, playing with XLO's so-called Series 3 version, the S3-1.

Margaret, among other things, was my bowling partner/teammate. Yes, we were well aware that other bowlers thought it strange that Margaret and I were so tight, yet not gf/bf. When the summer 1996 leagues started, Margaret and I were thinking about a team name. She looked at the other teams, laughed, and joked, "Hmmm, maybe we should be The FWBs. Nah, let's call ourselves TFBs"

Another bowler furrowed her brows and said, "TFBs?"

Margaret grinned, "Yeah, The Fuck Buddies!"

The S3-1's RCAs may look like a locking-barrel design. But they are not. If you "unlock" the barrel, it will simply come off. More importantly, my friends and I plugged and unplugged the S3-1 on a wide variety of equipment. While the metal barrels could be slippery, these RCAs were much easier to handle than any locking-barrel RCA. But do be aware that on closely-spaced female RCA jacks, the S3-1's RCAs may come awfully close to touching each other.

For the record, Margaret and I periodically changed our team name. We typically used the titles of death metal songs. We may have ended up as "Maggot Colony."

One time, while bowling in a team (4 bowlers) travel league event on the S.F. Peninsula, Margaret and I just struggled. The other two barely hit their averages. Nevertheless, I, as the anchor bowler, had a chance to salvage the last game. I needed a double plus fill. I sighed, tried to relax, and executed the first shot. It was a light strike. Feeling a little looser and more confident, I readied for the next shot. As the lanes were dry, I told myself not to pull the shot. But instead, I didn't turn it enough, and knew it, as soon as the ball left my hand. I think I got a 7-count.

Let's get this out of the way. The XLO S3-1 falls short of my long-term references, the Nordost Valhalla, Tara Labs ISM The One, and Wireworld Platinum Eclipse. The S3-1 simply will not present as open a presentation or wide a view of the music. But the S3-1 costs a fraction of these others. So if the S3-1 fails to strike out in the 10th frame, you don't feel as bad.

I was angry, frustrated, disappointed, and bummed at not coming through in the 10th. Margaret never let a poor performance get her down. So she led me by the hand, and instead of driving me back to my home in San Francisco, brought me over to hers just up the hill from the alley. She said, "I know what'll make you feel better."

After changing out of our bowling clothes, we grabbed a bite at Nation's Giant Hamburgers. Regarding our lousy bowling, she remarked, "Boy, did we suck," and then we went back to her house.

In those days, I spent my money on, among other things, high-end audio. Margaret spent her money on, among other things, a whirlpool tub. She filled the tub with warm/hot water, and turned on the jets. I got in first, and could have sworn that The Jets' "You Got It All" emanated from the radio in the living room. When Margaret and her fat ass (her words) got in, the water was displaced, churned, or up-welled. It raised me off the tub's slick bottom. As I had been leaning back, I slipped right into the middle of the tub! When your head is submerged under warm water, your hearing is muffled or subdued. Unfortunately, that is how many audiophile products, including interconnects, sound.

And that is how XLO's top-of-the-line Limited Edition LE-1 interconnect sounds. That warm coloration blunts or subjugates the treble. Unlike the LE-1, the much cheaper S3-1 exhibits no warmth mucking up the upper midrange and lower treble. The LE-1 does reproduce rounder images and does possess greater instrumental liquidity, however.

After I sat back up, I started to relax. I had forgotten about bowling. In fact, I think I just mentally blanked out, stopped thinking at all. Ever spontaneous, Margaret used her shoulder, and started bumping into mine. She giggled, "We're just like that Peter Gabriel video."

She was referring to Gabriel's "Steam." But I remarked, "Uh, they were wrapped in white towels, in a sauna. Not naked in a whirlpool tub."

Be that as it may, there is no mistaking that the S3-1 lacks the artificial warmth of the LE-1. I know, I know. Some audiophile is going to say that the S3-1's lack of excess warmth is like removing the towels in the "Steam" video.

Margaret worked at several S.F. Bay Area Victoria's Secret stores. But she bought liquid bath soap not from VS, but from the bath stores in Union Square. That evening, I learned that, if the tub's jets stay on, they will continue to make bubbles from the bath soap. If the water level is high enough, those bubbles will get in your face, and overflow the tub.

The original Signature 1.1 had a tipped-up, "hot" upper midrange, which, with the wrong gear, could cause glare. The S3-1 does not have a hot upper midrange. I know, I know, some audiophile is going to say that the S3-1's lack of upper midrange hardness and glare is like keeping the bubbles below your jaw, and in the tub.

Margaret regretted that she did not get the whirlpool tub with a detachable showerhead. So to rinse off after a bath, we'd hop into the adjacent shower. Using this shower caused the bathroom to steam up. Now, I have lived in Hawaii, where it is hot and humid. In climates like that, you can get out of the shower, but the heat and humidity cause you to sweat. Margaret's house was near the coast, just south of San Francisco. There, the evenings and nights are cold and often foggy. When we got out of the shower, the warm steam did not make us sweat. Rather, its warmth was comforting, kind of nice. Nor was it so cold (as is typical of other S.F. Bay Area bathrooms), that we had to grab a towel quickly. You could just drip-dry first.

My audiophile friends and I experimented with multiple samples of the S3-1. We stuck some on the Audio Dharma Cable Cooker, and left others untreated. Quite clearly, the untreated samples have a gritty, more garbled distortion. Nor does the music flow as smoothly, or stop and start as cleanly. It's like having crusty boogers in your nose, ...or having steam cause you to sweat, thus making you feel "unclean" again, ...or opening the bathroom window to let in that 56-degree chill sting your freshly-showered body. You can spend money on audio. You can spend money on whirlpool tubs. But if you are serious about unlocking the potential of your cables, including the S3-1, you need a proper tool, such as the Cable Cooker.

Margaret had one of those chestbeds, with drawers under the mattress. I couldn't believe how many Victoria's Secret products she had. Even with an employee's discount, they must have cost more than a loom of original XLO Signature interconnects. Margaret had one whole drawer for bras, one for panties, two for nighties, and one for socks and stockings. Look, we already know about the myriad colors and styles of bras and panties. But when Margaret modeled all the nighties, I had no idea there were so many different styles and types.

My audio friends and I used the S3-1 with a wide variety of gear, covering many technology types, many price ranges. After subjecting all these S3-1 samples to the gear and music, a few consistencies evolved. (1) The S3-1 does a good job at maintaining image outlines. When Margaret donned a loose/hanging cami, I could still tell that the upper part tightly clung to her chest, but the bottom part hung like drapes. No, the S3-1 will not artificially turn the loose cami into a tight tank top. Nor will the S3-1 turn the loose cami into a view-obscuring parka or robe. (2) The S3-1 has excellent speed, enough to keep up with most gear and recordings. Margaret may have been a hack in sports. But when it came to putting on and taking off lingerie, she was so fast, smooth, and effortless. If you use the S3-1 with typical slow and downbeat audiophile gear, that's what you are going to get. If you use the S3-1 with gear with speed, such as the Cambridge Audio Azur 740C and 840C, all of a sudden, the music seems to have zip, dexterity, motion, and precision. (3) In absolute terms, the S3-1 is a touch dry. Margaret had those drawers full of underwear. But on the floor lay a bag of new, unused, and un-washed Victoria's Secret products. Compared to the washed and worn underwear, the new ones had more vibrant colors. I know, I know. The typical audiophile loves "warm" and "colorful" sound. The S3-1 does not err in this direction. In fact, in errs the other way. Instrumental textures become drier and grayer, kind of like clothes thrown in the washer and dryer. (4) When you add (1) through (3) above, the S3-1 does not have that "see-through" transparency as found on other interconnects. Take, for example, the Simaudio Andromeda playing the Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson version of "Friends & Lovers." The S3-1 reduces that distance and space between each image (though each image is well defined and firmly anchored). So it sounds more like Loring and Anderson being crammed into a room or booth, with the doors closed and windows shut. All those years ago, Margaret and I would go clothes shopping. Margaret would change in the dressing room, while I waited outside the curtain or slatted door. "How does this look?" she'd ask, and then have to go back in and change again. 'Tis not the same as being in the comfort and privacy of her own home, asking my opinion of each nightie.

One Inmate likes to write, "Damn it Lummy, you're such a tease!"

There is no substitute for experience. You just have to try this stuff for yourself. But as with any review, this one should arm you with enough information to help you decide if the S3-1 warrants an audition.

Upon putting the nighties back in their drawers, Margaret sighed, "But now that I live alone, I don't use these any more." She then opened the panty drawer, and pulled out and put on a thong (which, as she informed me, has a thicker waistband than a V-string). I know, I know. Some audiophile is going to say that the XLO S3-1 is a nightie, whereas other more transparent interconnects are like the more revealing hiphuggers, cheekies, thongs, and V-strings. I know, I know. Some audiophile is not going to stop, until he finds an interconnect which is like NO underwear at all.

As I look back, no, I do not recall how well or poorly I peformed in the following week's bowling leagues.

-Lummy The ~~Originator~~ ~~Tease~~ Loch Monster

Product Weakness:	requires a cable burn-in device, in order to unlock true potential
Product Strengths:	relatively flexible; not black; friction-fit RCAs

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, R&B, dance, Hawaiian, show tunes, TV
Type of Audition/Review: Home Audition

Amplifier:	numerous
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	numerous
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	numerous
Speakers:	numerous
Cables/Interconnects:	numerous
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	rock, pop, R&B, dance, Hawaiian, show tunes, TV
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition