DH Labs - Shunyata Cable Comparison

I like DH Labs too.  I have a D750 coax, Mirage USB and Matrix Cryo between my DAC and pre.  

Thanks for your detailed description of your experiences with these cables. It can be a lot of work carefully choosing the right cables. But worth the effort.

Man, I can relate.  I've been back and forth with cables. Different combinations, etc. 

I've learned that certain songs sound great with just about any cable. I have to play a broad sample to see how the cables work with a variety of songs. 

@jfrmusic I’ve found that cables, like components, require at least several days of listening to adjust to new sound. The excitement and anticipation cools off and you begin to hear and understand what the cables or components are doing vs your previous reference/baseline. 

If I may…in my experience speaker cables make the biggest difference, followed by a power cord on the amplifier (some amps are less sensitive to power cable changes). If you’re swapping out interconnects and speaker cables all at once, that’s cool. But I would direct the largest part of the spend towards the speaker cables.
I upgraded speaker cables and went from Audience AU24SX to Audience FrontRow. Absolutely amazing! I think Audience makes top notch cables. I would encourage you to borrow if possible their FrontRow cables. They’re not cheap but they deliver. Open, natural and dynamic. These are on the level with the rest of your gear. Highly recommend these cables. 

DH Labs makes some very nice cables. I am partial to Purist Audio Designs. 

@audphile1

Thanks for your information. So far I’m extremely pleased with the DH Labs cables. They really give me a large open soundstage with depth and very extended highs. Vocal tracks are stunning and the bass is clean and solid. So for now I’ll stick with them until I get the upgrade urge. DH Labs cables really perform way above their price point. I think I like cables with silver content as I’ve found all copper cables to be warm and closed in.

Thanks for sharing your experience @jfrmusic 

Do you know whether these cables you borrowed were well-burned in or new ? 

@mclinnguy 

All cables from the library are burned in. Another advantage vs buying  Testing and returning because you were not hearing a settled cable. 

@jfrmusic sounds good! DH Labs are fine cables and are a great value for the money, that’s for sure. Enjoy the new cables!

If you’re borrowing from The Cable Co. they can credit the lending library fee towards purchase. Ask them about the comparison between DH Labs and Audience FrontRow if you haven’t pulled the trigger yet. 

@audphile1 

Thanks I will ask them

Thanks for sharing, I have been through the same process, starting with Blue Jeans cables as well. Like others have stated, it does take some time for cables and your brain to acclimate to a change. My experience is it takes a minimum of three days in place to fairly assess a new cable. It sounds like you are on track for some nice upgrades. 

@audphile1 

I asked my contact at The Cable Company about the Front Row cables and he said based upon my taste and system I would find them too warm. He said the AU24 SX would be a better match. So I’ll keep that in mind for a future upgrade. 

As an update I am going to audition the DH Labs Revelation Silver XLR Interconnects and compare to the Air Matrix Cryos. 

Seems like a lot of effort and money spent on things that make no objective difference. 

I have quite a few DH Labs cables in my system, and am quite convinced that they've improved the SQ of my systems across the board. They may not be the "be all & end all," but at their price points, I think they're very, very hard to beat.

@roadcykler  Two way street, glass half full, I know what I know, You don't know what you don't know. 

Seems like a lot of effort and money spent on things that make no objective difference. 

 Sound can have both subjective and objective aspects: 

Subjective
Loudness and pitch are subjective attributes of sound that are based on a person's perception. For example, people have different perceptions of loudness, so it can't be measured objectively. Also, two sounds of the same intensity but different frequencies may sound different to different people because of their different ear sensitivities. 

Objective
Sound intensity is an objective quantity that can be measured because it's based on facts and logic. Sound intensity is defined as the power transmitted per unit area by a sound wave. 

@roadcykler 

Sorry you're not able to hear differences in cables. In some odd way it's a blessing for you. For those of us who can we get closer to the real musical event in our systems with every upgrade.

@jfrmusic that’s really interesting! Because FrontRow is more resolving than the AU24SX. I went from SX to FrontRow and the resolution is no comparison but hey I’m not The Cable guy so what do I know 😂

@jfrmusic There is no call to condescend to a fellow AGer because they don't agree with you. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs.

@devinplombier 

I was not being condescending. Honestly I am sorry that some cannot hear the obvious differences between cables. I feel that they are missing out on substantial improvements to their system.

@audphile1 

I think he was addressing the sound in my system and felt that I would perceive them as warm. He wasn't addressing resolution which possibly could be masked if the overall sound is too warm. I understand this as I've experienced cables that in my system offer a warmer sound that provides impact at he expense of openess.

Cool. I meant to call them today to borrow a set of FrontRow XLRs to try against ny Nordost Tyr 2 (silver plated copper). Got to caught up in work. Hopefully tomorrow. If I get to try them I’ll post my impressions. 

@devinplombier 

There is no call to condescend to a fellow AGer because they don't agree with you. Everyone is entitled to their beliefs.

No, it is @roadcykler who was condescending, and now you are defending his condescending post. Someone quite clearly is stating that a product makes a difference in the quality of their life, and then some flat-earthers come here and say that they are wrong, like they "know better", that is the definition of condescending. 

It's quite hypocritical that you state everyone should be entitled to their belief, then when someone else states their own belief, and it doesn't line up with yours, you question it and then argue with them. 

But why, over and over again, if a person's "belief" is cables make no difference, why are they posting on, or even looking, at threads in the cables forum? 

@mclinnguy 

My thoughts are similar to yours. I was hesitant to start a controversy but it does seem every time there is a discussion about cables among those of us who understand their impact on sound someone is compelled to tell us we’re delusional and wasting our money. I don’t understand the need of some to insert themselves in these discussions when they have nothing to offer but disdain. And yes they are the ones who are always condescending.  

After years of reading threads on cables, I’ve come to an awareness that the people who are complaining demonstrate a number of issues.

1) They don’t listen to acoustic music (meaning minimally invasive engineering while recording the music), and have no idea what a french horn, a Stradivarius, or even a cello sounds like. It seems most of the complainers listen to highly engineered, multi-tracked-to-death music. NONE of that will help in their assessments of cables.

2) They have never trained their ears to listen carefully. They rely on "measurements" instead. So, they fly in the face of EVERY major designer’s dictum (at least those who were designing equipment in the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s) which was:

TRUST YOUR EARS.

The complainants - in every single thread I have argued on - sneer at this. I wonder if they think designers of TRUE high end equipment didn’t use their ears to "finalize" the design. They think the human ear is inferior to a measuring tool. Let me be blunt: they are fools, putting their faith in a 'measuring' instrument. Dumb as heck. The human ear can do things a microphone could only dream of doing. So, without any training whatsoever, they want to believe that no one could distinguish one cable from the other, when the more important argument is: does this cable make a Stradivarius sound exactly like a Stradivarius, or does the cable make it sound like a generic violin. They can never answer this question, because they don’t know. A measuring instrument is helpful, but it should never supplant the human ear. I mean, the hobby is called AUDIO. That means: you listen. They don't. They can't hear. It's that simple.

Furthermore, I’ve noticed that people who came "into" the audiophile community in the 21st century lack any knowledge of how a well-recorded symphony (almost any Mercury Living Presence or RCA Living Stereo) or even solo jazz (Miles Davs’ Kind Of Blue) sounds. (They also lack any insight into a community that existed 30 years before they were born.

Now, having had these records for 50 years, I know what they sounded like on my entirely-mid-fi system of the ’70s. But after I discovered the High End, and got on board with Audio Research, WATT/Puppies, Rowland electronics, and then SOTA, Goldmund and Versa Dynamics turntables, I could hear the significant jump from very good hi fi to good-god-that-sounds-like-a-decent-approxmination-of-the-symphony-I-was-at-two-nights ago. And then came cables.

Cables only became an industry after 1987. HP proclaimed the MIT cables as the best on the market, and then Karen Sumner started Transparent (she had been the distributor for MIT before that, so she’d taken their designs apart and learned what they knew and then she started Transparent. I don’t think that, to this day, Bruce Brisson speaks to her. I COULD be wrong about that). And then, other companies popped up: Kimber Cable, and Monster (who’d been around before nearly anyone!) saw a market to tap into. But back in the ’80s and ’90s (BEFORE the Internet), people were more serious about their stereos, not to mention that the audience that flocked to the High End were classical and jazz music devotees, and most of us KNEW what instruments sounded like. We’d grown up in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, where we were often forced to take a music class, or at least listen to the band perform in the school audiortorium. And we’d gone to parades for years (live music again!).

No such groundwork exists today for that (and I know because my parents were high school teachers). People get thru their entire adolescent and completely unable to tell even a flute from a clarinet. Very often, people listen to electronica (so do I), but use that kind of music to condemn cables, saying " I couldn’t hear a difference." And I’m thinking, yes, you’re using the wrong kind of music. There is very little dynamic range in a HUGE number of albums, especially those made in the ’80s. So, cables are not going to make a difference if one’s choice in music is mainly rock or pop. I used to be a DJ, and I started in the ’70s, so I KNOW the difference between albums in the ’70s and albums in the ’80s. The ’70s albums were very natural sounding, even though they were multi-miked. The Eagles sounded completely "human" even on albums that weren’t that well-recorded. By the ’80s, it was the worst decade for a lot of music I had experienced in my (by then), nearly 40 years of living. In other words, they have nearly NO acquaintance with acoustic instruments. I’m finding it very amusing that - supposedly - Gen Z is getting into jazz. Imagine that. They’ll hear acoustic instruments, because jazz is a bunch of men and women who are into blowing (horns, flutes), plucking (standup badd, guitars, cello, double bass) or banging (drum sets, xylophones).

Don’t pay attention to people who have no experience with naturally recorded music. (I’ve had people respond to a post, saying, "I don’t listen to classical or jazz " and my response was, ’Well, that’s fine, but , how can you assess any component if you are playing processed music all the time?’) The reality is: THEY CAN’T. They are an example of the three blind men touching an elephant. One touches the tusks, one the legs, and one the tail. Naturally, they all get it wrong. And so, the naysayers get it wrong as well. Untrained ears (and they don’t even WANT to learn how to listen correctly/carefully), poor choice in music, and a system with cables sitting on top of each other (if you think you stereo can’t sound any better, try dressing your cables so none of them touch, but ESPECIALLY a power cord touching a signal cable (interconnect or speaker): the sound, if you wait an hour after you’ve dressed your system correctly, will sound cleaner and clearer. But that advice falls on deaf ears. It’s a bit like trying to talk to a 16 year old and tell them they’re making the wrong choice: it falls on deaf ears. I worked with an EMT technician who was in a band, and I asked him, "How many of your friends know what ANY acoustic instrument sounds like?" And the look on his face told the story: he was disgusted, as he replied, "NONE OF THEM." Can you imagine being 50 and never having heard so much as a tuba playing? (And I am not slamming those who have reached 50 but can’t identify an instrument. I’m just saying how uncommon it would have been to get from kindergarten thru 12th grade and not once having heard live music (unamplified, thank you). I’m sure there are some of us for whom this is true, but not as many as people born in the 1990s and after. They would have had to seek out music, because schools removed them as a requirement (no such luck in 1964!)) for graduation.

Don’t waste your time with people who have absolutely ZERO curiosity about how they can improve their system without spending any money, but still observing rules (don’t put your speakers near the back or side walls, for example) that help them achieve better sound. And also can’t identify one single acoustic instrument. I don’t.

@gbmcleod

+1 Thanks for that.

I’ve run out of patience attempting to bring an all encompassing explaination to those that simply don’t get it. I learned more about sound quality by attending the symphony for ten years in the 7th row center than in much of the thirty plus years of being an audiophile before that. live acoustic music, being jazz or classical or a single instrument is the real key to having a reference to compare sound reproduction to. Hours and hours and hours of exposure is the real key to tuning your ear.

@gbmcleod I have this discussion with two of my sons that like to evaluate my stereo. I force them to listen to recordings with real acoustic instruments, horns, percussion, piano, etc.  I eventually give in and let them play their music. Some of it actually sounds pretty good.  Lol. 

The number of cretins frequenting these forums had increased exponentially in the last year or two. Best ones are those who have no system but have an opinion on components and cables. It almost seems as if ASR is down for maintenance on some days and they come here to produce that vomit they consider valuable input into discussions. Properly ignoring them cures the problem. 

The OP pretty much proved that cables make no difference. It's what you get used to.

But go ahead and flame me. After 50+ years and 10,000 + gigs, I'm sure most of you know more about what things actually sound like than me.

By the way, my albums are really well recorded.

@secretguy

As the OP I must say you have a very distorted reading of my post. To come to the conclusion you stated is hilarious. You just twisted my experience to fit your own position. BTW albums are well recorded because studios and recording engineers pay attention to the quality of the cables. They’re not using lamp cord from Home depot.

No, not lamp cord but they ARE typically using Belden, Canare, Or Mogami, all practically free compared to esoteric cables. 
 

I’ve tried and own cables from $150 to $3500, . Many. And I listen to a lot of extremely well recorded minimally processed jazz. If there are differences between them they are extremely subtle and I can’t reliably notice. And I’ve tired. My hearing is good and so is my system.

I’m not saying you’re dumb. But I’m entitled to communicate my experiences, and they differ from yours. And that’s fine. I kept my last pair of $3k speaker cables just for fun. They’re cool, well made, a nice piece of audio jewelry for my system. I just don’t hear any major differences between them and the $150 pair by WBC. 

But go ahead and flame me. After 50+ years and 10,000 + gigs, I'm sure most of you know more about what things actually sound like than me.

 

By the way, my albums are really well recorded.

And I am sure you know more about what things actually sound like than the likes of Rick Rubin, James Guthrie, Greg Wells, Clayton Wood, Andy Jackson at David Gilmour's Astoria studio, and Vlado Meller, all who use Shunyata products. 

How many Grammy's do you have from your well recorded albums again? 

Pro Audio- Shunyata

Here's a good Audiogon thread read from 2017:  Recording engineers - cable?

One correction from my post.

I don’t mean to suggest that simply being young means that people haven’t heard - or aren’t interested in - listening carefully (although it certainly sounds that way on re-reading it). I’m saying there are fewer opportunities to hear live music that isn’t amplified in some way, in a way that was never an issue 50 or 60 years ago, when I was in high school. You’d go to a friend’s house and he had piano practice, or tuba lessons (back then, I used to feel sorry for buddies who had to learn to play tuba). But many of us from that era knew one or two people whose parents forced them into music lessons, so sometimes you heard them playing piano from 10 feet away. We got a LOT more exposure to acoustic music and instruments (there wasn’t much else back then!) than nowadays.

I also respect megabyte’s comments, because he’s actually listened. He says he just didn’t hear it in the cables, and I believe him. I can respect anyone who has done the work and THEN says, I couldn’t hear it, but most of the time, on these forums, that is not the case. (Just ask someone challenging you about cables, what type of music they listen to, and it seems that it is rarely acoustic music (which includes rock!).People just seem to prefer to believe the entire field is snake oil (and that we can’t hear, which I find hilarious since I’m old and yet, I can still hear overtone structures of, say, pianos or harpsichords) , and those same people make disparaging comments, but again, without ANY experience. I have ZERO respect for those comments and the people behind those comments (but only on this subject).

My husband told me last year that he had no idea what ’dynamic range’ was until I took him to the symphony and we heard Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and another weekend, Stravinsky’s Firebird. After that, he got it when I explained that, in audio, some equipment will play only the medium-loud notes, but when it comes to softer notes (Piano to pianissimo), or even the big crescendos, the equipment can’t deliver.

And actually, classical music wasn’t something he’d been exposed to all that much. Once we started going to the symphony, that changed, and I would point out certain things, like staccato or legato (after the symphony, not during it!). Now he understands what I mean when I say I want to hear a piece of music at the symphony, and he’s begun to enjoy going to it.

The audiophile stuff (e.g. imaging, soundstage, specificity of image) are not things he’ll get, since he doesn’t listen to music that often at home, but the musical part of music? He can appreciate that, and appreciates our home system more. And that’s good enough for me.

And, finally, an anecdote about cables.

Back in 2013, when I bought Nordost’s Tyr 2 inteconnect and upgraded the speaker cable, a friend of mine came through on his way to Boston. He’s a conductor for a major symphony orchestra (not saying which one, because I’m not dragging him into it). He listened to my system and then turned to me - unprompted - and said that the hadn’t heard this much harmonic information from my system prior to now. That was strictly the Nordost interconnects and Shunyata’s speaker cable. He heard the improvements clearly, even though he had no idea what had changed, and he hadn’t heard my system in year or two. But he’s got very well-trained ears, I think we can agree.

So, a lot of this is down to experience and knowledge. Just like in any field where someone is required to know a subject in depth before passing judgement on it.

OP: teach me something here. Don't your electronics hugely overmatch your little Harbeths? You did call this a "bakground" system -- does this mean you also maintain a separate "monster" system?

@hickamore 

I didn’t say it was a background system. I said as background I am specifying the system. 
 

The Harbeths are certainly not overmatched. It is recommended that you give them as much power as possible. They are neutral, very smooth in the upper frequencies and the most life like in the presentation of acoustic and vocal music. Plus they deliver excellent low end response as they are only down 3db at 45 hz. I sold my two REL subs. Also  my room is not large and I sit about 8 feet from the speakers 

@jfrmusic 

I enjoyed reading your findings and thanks for posting. DH Labs offers good performance at reasonable prices. As I recall, DH Labs was my first aftermarket power cord about 20 years ago. I really enjoyed building my own power cables with wattgate plugs. DH Labs used to sell bulk power cable for DIY’s, not sure if they still do. They were eventually replaced by Purist Audio Musaeus Loom :-) 

Just ignore the cable detractors and enjoy the music and your journey. 

@lalitk

Thanks Yes DH Labs still sell bulk cable. I plan to try their top line Corona Power cable for my Amp and their Power Plus Cryo Power Cable for my DAC analog power supply.

I had a similar experience. I tried a DH Labs Air Matrix Cryo vs. a Shunyata Theta (RCA analog interconnects) between my DAC and my preamp. For my application, the difference in the sound between the two cables was profound -- to the benefit of the Air Matrix Cryo.

My dealer tells me that the DH Lab's cryo version provides demonstrably more clear resolution and a more linear frequency response. All I can say is that my digital system now gives my analog system a good run for the money.

I suggest you try both DH Labs versions in your system.

@jfrmusic 
Thanks. Now I get it. Still, first system I have seen where every electronic component is much costlier than the speakers they are all collectively feeding.

@hickamore

Well I bought the speakers first. Then when it was time to get a streamer after listening I just couldn’t unhear the N20. Unfortunately when I demoed the N20 at the store it was also connected to the MSB.. What a combo. So I just decided to go all in for a great source Then looking for an amp that was powerful but not too heavy I focused on the Bryston 4b3. But I also always wanted to hear an Accuphase and once I did again no going back The Streamer, DAC and Amp were all just about the same price. But to be honest the Harbeth speakers are perfect for me and the room I have plus I can lift them. I did audition the Harbeth 30s and Super 5s. Both a lot more money but I really preferred the non monitor like sound of the C7s. They are very open, airy and neutral and have beautiful midrange. I just love their sound. Perfect for Classical, Jazz and Vocals.

This is more a suggestion, after using Shunyata for 20 years. (part of that time, I also had Nordost, Transparent and Synergistic).

Shunyata cables (and Shunyata will tell you this) sound "good" in the first 50 hours, but for those of us familiar with the cable, it's more likely (especially with the newer lines) that one needs at least 125 hours on it. 

The things that improve over time are:

Hard consonants:  P, D (on the end of a word, such as "kicked"  or "pushed." Usually, those sounds are swallowed up when a singer sings those words. In the better cables (one without a rising lower treble) one can hear the entire word, clearly and fully enunciated.

The dynamic range at the louder and softer ends have more "energy." So, if someone hits a timpani, initially you'll hear the "punch" of it, but not the entire overtone structure. As the 125 hours (and that's one of those "somewhere-in-there" approximation of hours) get closer, you hear the entire spectrum, so the sound of the timpani rebounding off a back or side wall is clearer.

Although I like imaging and soundstage, I don't care as much about them as I do hearing a presentation that includes ALL the music, and the room boundaries as well (which is usually somewhat expensive to achieve). Floors are rarely heard in the average system. Mine is decent in that respect, but I've had much more expensive systems that revealed the ceiling height, the side walls and the floor. The only amp I had that revealed ALL the boundaries was the Goldmund Mimesis 9, which I had from 1990-1994.

But I'm wandering. Shunyata will not reveal all its abilities in less than 100 hours (at the least) Nordost used to take 400 hours or more. I thought, back in 2013, when I got the Tyr, that it had had enough time, but a week later, I was dismayed - when my conductor friend came over - to hear what he heard: a much smoother upper midrange and lower treble  and not that "sharp" sound that Nordost embodies before it is fully broken in. Well, Shunyata owners (and you can go to the Whatsbestforum to read about what other Shunyata owners with wildly expensive systems have to say). We ALL insist that Shunyata (before the NR designations) took 300-400 hours to break in. Now, I want to say, we listened mainly to classical, which has vastly more dynamic range than any jazz or pop recording,  and is almost always composed of acoustic instruments. If you are listening to the average recording, there's not a whole lot of dynamic range, so the "change" is not as obvious. Just a heads up about breakin time for Shunyata.

@gbmcleod 

The Shunyata cables I borrowed from The Cable Company library were burned in. They were not new. Same for the DH Labs. If you need 300+ hours to burn them in then you will have them beyond any trial period. Also Shunyata claims that their new process burns in cables for 5 days so they should sound close to their final sound when purchased. You may be right that the Gammas would reveal their true nature after a few hundred hours but I’d have to buy them to find out. 

@jfrmusic What a remarkable system assembly sequence. Thanks for sharing your story! Makes total sense in your situation. Would be interesting to learn how others evolved to wherever they are. @ghdprentice has generously shared his own trajectory, which I would characterize as a patient, determined, process-of-elimination development: goal-focused, scientific, with each step up the ladder fully documented, internalized, and articulable. Others have found happiness in more haphazard ways. Come to think of it, my own situation resembles yours in that the speakers are driving the train, and the track is globular. 

All you need is 12AWG OFC.14 will do it for most. Beyond gauge to distance adjustments, you will not hear a difference between cables. None. But if confirmation bias and placebo work for you, more power to you. The mind is a powerful thing. If you think there's going to be a difference, there will be. 

square

Thank you for you helpful, enlightening post.  I am sure many will appreciate it and benefit from it.  I wish there were more posters like you - posting elsewhere.

@jfrmusic   Thanks for sharing your cable auditioning experience with us.  Have you tried using a full loom of cables from the same manufacturer?  I did a similar audition a few years back and found there are noticeable SQ improvements using the same manufacturer for all cables (power, speakers, interconnects).  The other benefit is you'll discover which cable upgrades matter and which may not make much SQ difference.  

I selected to audition various Shunyata power cables and discovered that using their Omega power cable made a big difference for my dCS Rossini Apex DAC/Streamer but not much difference for my Gryphon Antileon Stereo amp, so I was able to reduce my spend on the 2 power cables it takes to feed the Gryphon Antileon amp. This discovery surprised me since the amp is a Class A amp capable of driving any speakers known to man.  I then moved to the Gryphon Pandora preamp to do the same with power cables and XLRs and ended the journey with the selection of Shunyata  speaker cables.  

I've become a big believer of the synergies gained by using a full loom of cables from the same manufacturer.  It's likely you can use the same approach with DH Labs cables.

@cycles2

That’s my plan. I need to replace my Coax/ BNC clock cable to DH Labs. Currently it’s Blue Jeans. Then all my interconnects and speaker cables will be DHLabs. Then I plan to audition their power cables.Also I’ll be surprised if I can find a power cable to replace the stock on my Accuphase amp. So far I haven’t. 

@gbmcleod

Well said in many words. My new distributor/dealer with whom I’ve acquired my hopefully last equipment upgrade (Von Schwiekert/Lampizator/Westminster Labs/Jay’s Audio w/VPI/SME IV mod) is a now a good friend as he recognizes my ability to hear from a life of listening and performing acoustic music at major venues in SoCal, as a part-time recording engineer, friends with golden ear hearing and remastering engineer friends. I am also the archivist for two classical music composers.

So, with my sizable 61,200 LPs/CDs/78s/R2R recordings I have great experience listening a minimum of 2 hours daily since 2005 and from 1970 to 1980, 6 to 8 hours (chamber music, small scale instrumental) while studying/reading. I also wrote and heard 70+ performances of classical music the Daily Bruin and Royce Hall productions.

Truly, my first excellent system consisted of a VPI 19-4/mod. SME IV analog front end with an Audio Research SP14 preamp and Classic 60 amp with unfortunately, electrostat speakers or various types, generic cabling until I got AudioSource until 1995.

It is with acoustic music that equipment reveals the totality of it’s/their ability. I enjoy Yello as well but don’t consider their recordings to be adequate to judge a system but it’s useful for dynamics and frequency response.

I have all the stereo Mercury Living Stereo LPs/CDs and 1/3 of the monos. The RCA Living Stereo LPs vary greatly as do London/Decca from the 50’s and 60’s but generally could produce wonderous recordings. It is unfortunate that quality of recorded production generally declined in the 1970s and began reviving in the digital era. Unfortunately again, the lack of engineer’s experience with acoustic music and the myriad digital computer treatment to "create" pop music circa 1995 to the present have ruined much recorded music.

I just was gifted a Billie Eilish LP. The production values are terrible. Thick, goopy backup music to really juvenile sounding singing that so many friends find superb and they’re in their 60s to 80s. They grew up with the Beatles and Beach Boys, my wife loves rock from the 60’s to 80’s, including Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, Guess Who, etc. I like them especially when the recordings are good (not so much the manipulated Queen).

Well, I suppose one get’s the idea that without hearing acoustic and well recorded/engineered music (Bones Howe and Howard Holzer who was even better than Rudy Van Gelder) there’s difficulty in audio engineering equipment and cabling.

One friend with whom I've sung for 4 decades and is a superb classical soprano is 81 and shares her enthusiasm for Eilish with my sister, a minor CD recorded/back-up Streisand/Democratic Convention singer back in the day.  I just delivered to her 2 CDs of Claudia Muzio, my favorite opera soprano, 45 tracks of Ruth Etting, Ella Fitzgerald Clap Hands Here Comes Charley coupled with Beverly Sills 7 arias from the Ballad of Baby Doe and a CD of two LPs of June Christy.  We will see if she thinks twice about how "great" "superb" Eilish is in conveying meaning and emotion in song.

For the money, DH Labs are great. I have a Mirage usb running from my streamer to my dac and it’s been there for quite awhile now.

All the best.