Black Cat Silverstar BNC to BNC

A dealer I work with in the Seattle area (Quinn Audio Video) was kind enough to loan me several cables to audition in my own system.  I recently scored an EXCELLENT deal on some Martin Logan Theos speakers, and I am running them bi-amped from a Marantz SR7007 (which isn't too bad in "pure direct" mode!). 

After purchasing the speakers, I upgraded my speaker wire to Anticables 3.1 (2 sets for bi-amp).  I then became frustrated by the audio limitations of my Chromecast, so I invested in a Bluesound Node 2i and a set of Audioquest Golden Gate cables (ran analog to get MQA decoding).  After Amazon launched their HD (I hate that term) music service, I decided to grab a generic video/digital coax cable and see how it sounded using the DAC in the Marantz, since Amazon isn't using MQA.  Digital sounded MUCH better than the analog, even with the generic digital cable vs. the Golden Gate cables.  I added the Silverstar (with the included BNC to RCA adaptors) and was stunned how much better the sound became.  The "fuzz" around everything all but disappeared...and the vocals were much more defined in space.  Bass was tighter, and everything in general had improved definition.   The sound improvement is completely worth the price of admission, in my opinion.  I have no idea if this cable is broken in or not, but I have a few weeks to play with it.

I almost hate to try the other loaners...I am completely sold on this cable...next I am going to try the iDAC he loaned me with and without the linear power supply upgrade.  I also have a set of Black Cat Coppertone to try, as well as power cable upgrades.  If they are as significant an improvement as these, I might just go broke buying all of this! :)

Question re: BC Silverstar Mk2 (or any digital cable for that matter): I have read that cable length is important-- that you use at least a 1.5m cable to prevent bounce-back reflections.  In email back and forth to Chris (maker of BC cables) he said that there shouldn't be a problem, but I figured I'd ask the forum here since you all seem experienced in various cable types.  I'd prefer to use 1m, less cable mess and less cost!  Thanks in advance for replying.

@ aniwolfe

Thanks for the update and I am certain it is going to get even better! Chris has got musicality mastered...

Wig :)

Both of these cables are clearly cut from the same cloth as Wig has stated. No question about that. At first I thought Chris had sent me a SSMK2 with different jacket. I admit I was concerned.
WIth just 7 hours, things changed quite a bit. Its like comparing a 5 year old wine to a 25 year old wine from the same winery. If you want your digital to sound more like music this is the type of cable Chris is designing, he is not trying to make special effects. While the soundstage on the SS was very good, the Tron is mesmerizing. It will only get better.

@shkong78 

Did you come to a conclusion with your Black Cable comparison?

I have been using the Silver Star MkII for a month or so and its the best digital cable I have ever used.

HOWEVER!!!! 

I took a risk and bought the TRON MK3 and installed it today. Currently have about 7 hours on it. Will report back with impressions soon vs the SSMKII. Was it worth the big upgrade price??? We shall see

I'm a fan of Black Cat / Stereovox, but since switching to AES, I've not used a regular SPDIF cable for a while. However, BNC is always going to be preferred to RCA. This supposes your equipment has BNCs, obviously! Otherwise, things can get very murky in SPDIF cable land, cause what you're really trying to do is find the best match of impedance between your source and receiving equipment, and this is a lot of what leads to subjective ranking of different cables that are all over the map.

FWIW, I preferred the old Stereovox HDXV to the Silverstar MK1, and I preferred a (no longer available) Analog Research Technology UByte 1 (5/6ft or so coax) to the HDXV. This cable was so long in order to minimize signal reflections in most applications. Sounded really good to me. In more recent times, I liked a Neotech NEVD-2001 with WBTs from takefiveaudio in Canada.

I am using Jay's CD2 MKII Transport as well and it is a fantastic sounding player connected via a Black Cat Digit 75 SPDIF BNC/BNC...

Wig

Go straight for the Tron . .

Even if you have to beg, borrow, or steal.

Omg it's extraordinary.

Anyone can tell me the differences between StereoVox VX Ultra Reference and the Black Cat DIGIT 75?

Apparently the Silverstar sounds good straight out of the box, then worsens rapidly within a day and takes a week or so to return to good, thereafter it slowly keeps improving over the next few weeks of play.

After being back to US, I started comparing between Silverstar Mk2 and Silnote Morphius cables.

Silverstar is connected from BNC of Jay’s CDT MK2 to RCA input of Lyngdorf 2170 and Silnote is connected from RCA output of Jay’s to another RCA input of Lyngdorf.

It is too early to reach any conclusion since I had only 120 hrs on Silnote and only 20 hrs on Silverstar.

Both cables may not have been not burnt enough yet.

Interesting thing is that they sound very close with Silnote more relaxed and analog sounding and Silverstar more focus and bass.


But the difference is rather small and I will keep listening another 2 weeks before making clear conclusion.

Mike Powell loved it on OCD Hifi Guy. The Mk.1 is the white cable.

does anyone know how the original silverstar compares to the mk2 version?  the reason i ask is i got agreat on the original.

"It is clear that the TRØN is superior in the background with the silky background and balance of the sound."

"There is a feeling that the sense of reality is more uplifted because momentum and dynamics expression before / after are wider, and propulsion is carried."

Yes.

I upgraded to the Tron, due to urging from an audiophile friend.

"The Tron was tempting but couldn’t justify spending that much for a SPDIF."

It’s so good it will more than justify its price.

(assuming the rest of your system is capable of scaling to it)

Season's greetings to all.

What the Silverstar 75 Mk.2 BNC to BNC does right out of the box is put the meat back on the bones of digital music and it makes a vinyl lover like me so much happier. The Jay's Audio transport is thus set free.

And yes, it makes beer taste even better (again).

@shkong78 
+1

After I am back to US, I will compare between Silverstar and Silnote digital cables.

If Silverstar is much better, then I may also try out Digi75.

Cable is dependent on system and personal taste.

So you will never know until you try.

@wig 
Thank you for your for your reflections.

I'm getting excited, my Silverstar arrives this week. Musicality is most important to me, hopefully I'll be mesmerized as well!

@wig

With Blackcat Tron, you may be able to get musicality and transparency at the same time.

The following is a google translation of review by Korean.

Thomas


The crossover comparison of the Digit75 and TRØN could not consistently lose focus because of interest due to the difference in sound quality rather than fatigue due to multiple cable changes. First, TRØN immediately suggests the distinguishing features of high-end and mid-range cables. It is clear that the TRØN is superior in the background with the silky background and balance of the sound.

woongsan.jpg
Woongsan - I Love you
I love you

For example, in ’I love you’ in Woongsan, the harmonies of piano touches are very musical with very fine particles and moderate dignity. It’s obviously a strong and profound sound, but it’s a bit heavier and has a lower tonal balance, so you feel a sense of stability and elegance. It gives very clear and distinctive focusing so that the vocal image position as well as the size of the sound image can be measured.

The vocals are heavily loaded with energy and feel the power to wiggle deeply. There is a feeling that the sense of reality is more uplifted because momentum and dynamics expression before / after are wider, and propulsion is carried.




arild.jpg
Arild Andersen - Bryllupsmarsj
Kristin Lavransdatter

Arylide Andersen’s [Kristin Lavransdatter] album ’Bryllupsmarsj’ is more than a few digits behind the Digit75 link. Thanks to the overall tonal balance, the heavy and calm atmosphere always makes music more reverent. The deep, nascent bass of the pipe organ seems to be painted for the first time on a desolate background. It is as natural as the ink painting, and the shade contrast is expressed widely. The saxophone is filled with liquid energy and stretches like a meandering river. Depth, punching power, and density are rising, but at the highest octave and hi-lat, it is like a live fish just caught.


Mahler-Tennstedt.jpg
Klaus Tennstedt - Mahler Sym.NO.8
London Philharmonic Orchestra

The spread of the stage in the 1st movement of Mahler ’s 8th’ Tianjin Symphony ’in Tenshutte is as big as the Digit75 and there is no clogging. However, the biggest difference in the vicinity of the chorus is the deep layering of the layer from the bottom to the front and a wider perspective. The pitch is even lower, the depth and depth are rising, and a sense of authority is felt.

The stage falls backward, and there is no turbulent surface around the climax, and a dense, controlled sound is heard. The sound of the timpani head is also heavier, lower and deeper, running towards me, but full of vitality without being aggressive at all.

It is true that after the test, TRØN and Digit75 are very different in price. TRØN has more than triple the price of Digit75. Of course TRØN recognizes that the performances are better suited to the rewards of class and acoustic instruments such as classical and jazz. High-end audio is ’Cost No Object’ but does not pursue ’Cost Performance’. Therefore, it would be reasonable to choose TRØN as the former and Digit75 as the latter.


blackcat_01_1.jpg
"Overview"

Robert Kappa, the myth of photojournalism, said. "If your picture is not satisfactory, it is not enough for you to reach the subject." In a hi-fi system, cables are things that have to be seen deep enough. However, depending on how much you understand the existence and how you observe and apply it in detail, the results will vary from one thousand to the next. The cable only serves to connect the components responsible for the main function, but ultimately determines the satisfaction of the system. The Blackcat digital cable explains why a single cable is often a crucial casting boat in an audio system. It is the most impressive cable among the digital coaxial cables I have tested in recent years.

@ garrard,

Digit 75 is more transparent with better bass and lower floor noise over the Silverstarr but the Boomslang is way more transparent over both SS and Digit 75.

BC strengths are the illusion of real instruments occupying a space with your listening environment and the Boomslang is like listening to a high resolution CD, you hear all the detail and ambiance but don't feel like you are a part of it but it's still a fantastic SPDIF.

Wig

@wig 
How does the Digit compare to the Silverstar, and the Silverstar to the Boomslang (which is "tree snake" in translation from the Afrikaans).

My BC Digit 75 has been burned in and have settled nicely into my system, it is not as transparent as the Boomslang but is so musical and has the ability to place life-like images within your listening space with a more refined midrange and better placements of images within the soundstage...

Wig

Apparently the Siverstar is more textured and forgiving

Guys,

Had the opportunity to listen to the BC Digit 75 cold and right out of the box and it’s amazing! Cut from the same cloth as the Silverstarr MK II but with a lower floor noise, better transparency and more impactful bass.

Have it on the cooker and will integrate into my system on Wednesday but allow it to settle for 4-5 days and should be more of a revelation!

The midrange is so pure and addictive, now I know why I was mesmerized and just had to buy the BC; hit me up if you are looking for some very good SPDIF that I will not need...

Wig

Speaking to my importer, 1.23m would be a special order as the standard lengths offered are 0.5m / 1.0m / 1.5m. The thinking was also that a length of less than about 0.75m could act as an AERIAL and longer was better, but the Silverstar Mk2 (red & black) changes over the Mk1 (white) includes a screen to reduce / prevent RF interference and therefore addresses the problem so that even the 0.5m works well.

This is not my opinion, but what I am told.

Its Chris’s standard length. That also would be a great question to ask Chris.

@aniwolfe 
No problem, but I am intrigued as to why the specific length of 1.23m?

@garrard

I thought you wanted a recommendation on length and best termination. My bad I see you were helping lordcloud.

The RCA adapters in this case is not a bad thing. The only way to configure truly 75ohm cable is with BNC termination. So having BNC cable with RCA adapters, is better than having a digital cable terminated with just RCA.

@aniwolfe 
I'm not sure what your last post means?
I have already ordered BNC to BNC as that is what I require.
I do not like adapters anyway.

@Garrard 
Order BC SS MKII 1.23M BNC with RCA Adapters 

^^^^
However, they are built to order, so maybe a special request???

@lordcloud  I believe the Silverstar is BNC or RCA only, I may be wrong.

Wondering if I need to consider their AES/EBU now..............

I have just placed my order for the Silverstar 75 Mk2, apparently they are made to order.

@ garrard,

Yes, the Boomslang is very good indeed but in my system the Black Cat Silverstarr MK II is more open with better separation and refined layering. I primarily listen to acoustical instruments and this is where the BC SPDIF is in a league of its own; instruments are full bodied with a life-like resonant quality to them with notes being projected or swelling up toward the listener creating the atmosphere, decay and the reverb of the acoustical space.

@ aniwolfe

I also owned the Empirical Reference BNC and it was a decent SPDIF but no better than the Oyaide DR510 I was currently using. Your MK II will continue to get better as it settles into your system and at the asking price, it’s an outstanding cable.

Wig

^^^^
Good to know, it does seem to be excellent (not just for $300).

I am burning in a BC Silverstar MKII. So far compared to my Empirical Audio Reference, it is more open, extended and Dynamic. Empirical is more veiled in the midrange. The BC still needs to settle down more. I believe 200-300 hours of play is needed, I only have about 75 hours.

@wig I believe your Boomslang is an excellent digital IC, you say the Siverstar Mk2 is much better?

Please let us know how the Silverstar compares to the Digit.

No problem and these will find a new home after receiving my Black Cat Digit-75 next week.

Wig

Thanx for your reply wig

@wig

What are the other BNC-terminated S/PDIF digital cables you have? What are their lengths?