DNM Stereo speaker cables-experiences?
Hello DNM solid core speaker cables,good bye to my $3300 per pair grossly overpriced,and overhyped, garden hose type cables,excellent neutral sound,top to bottom ,vocals to die for, again might sound different in another system..but for me its audio nirvana,,,cayin 300b SET integrated,omega systems single driver(by the great Louis of Omega systems in Norwalk Ct.)this is the best sound i have had in my home in 25years,,, |
It's great that you love the DNM Speaker cables, now look into the HFTN IC's you'll be glad you did. They take coherrence and naturalness to a whole new level. They run about $500 1m pair. http://www.dnm.co.uk/hftns.html#SpeakerHFTNs can be purchased here http://www.simplifiaudio.com/online_store/dnm_cables_store.html |
FWIW, I like that DNM sells some expensive and highly regarded gear however they stick with their minimalist wire design. I'm sure these are highly profitable but I have no problem with that as long as they also seem to represent good and practical sound value compared to the more esoteric competition and the extraordinary price tags many other "high end" wires bear. |
It's a couple of weeks down the road, and I've done extended listening with DNM stereo speaker cables versus high end stranded cables. I must say overall I prefer the sound of the DNMs. My initial thoughts were that something was lost in terms of frequency extremes and dynamics with DNM. That sounds correct when comparing to Kimber Monocles. However the musical and timbral attributes of the DNM are impossible to deny and these factors ended up being much more compelling to me. The DNMs have a smooth coherent liquidity and are less fierce in both the bass and treble compared to the Monocles. The Monocles open a wider window in purely frequency response terms, are more exciting, but the DNMs offer me a smooth texture and soundstage evenness and a particular timbre that I keep coming back to. When they are in my system I stop listening to cables and just want to listen to the music, particularly classical music and jazz. I think the preferences are a lot to do with synergy and personal taste and one's expectations of what good hifi should offer. Or, maybe I'm getting old..... |
I have been using the DNM Stereo cables and HFTN IC's for sometime now. They replaced Crimson and Audio Consulting Solid Silver and Cryoed speaker wires. Everything that Mapman and Gnobber (cool moniker BTW) has written is spot on. Top to bottom coherence and very articulate bass. Music just flows from these cables as if they weren't even there. DNM has recently developed a speaker cable add-on version of the HFTN. The Speaker HFTN were designed to work with amps that are a feedback design. The science behind them is beyond me, but DNM is not into putting out produts wth out very extensive research. I haven't listened to the Speaker HFTN since my amp is a zero feeback design and not necessary. Contact a dealer and get a description of what they are about and maybe ask them for an in home audition. Good-luck |
I have used a pair of DNM ICs too for about 7 years and they are very good for the money, truly coherent and smooth with refined texture. And they are very light and flexible, so they would absolutely be a great choice for tight physical placements. (Sorry not to answer your question.) My main cables are Stealth Indras. (I need a bumper sticker: My other cables are Stealths...) |
Gnobber, thanks for your input, especially about the bass on DNM cabling. My Stirling V2 LS3/5a speakers are 'shoebox' sized, thus bass limited. However, with the right components, the bass can be really surprisingly punchy and well-shaped. So far, the DNM speaker cables don't allow access to that arena of possibility, so I definitely lost a bit of potential nice bass quality. That's why I asked about break-in, hoping it might magically appear at some point. I think you are right....you probably need to have plenty of bass energy from your speakers in the first place, to make the trade-off worthwhile. Synergy, synergy. |
I recently changed out to DNM interconnects, replacing MIT cables. Initially I wasn't sure about what I thought was leanness in the bass, but over time I came to like the DNM bass- quicker, more articulate. On the mids and highs they are very clean and detailed, so I was willing to accept the bass, given how good the upper end was. My speakers were already pretty powerful on bass, so perhaps I had some room to tradeoff bass in favor of better trebles/mid. |
"My Monocles sound like they turn the color up to 'vivid' rather than 'natural', and their bass certainly goes deeper." I recently noticed an increase in "vividness" using the DNM ICs when I replaced the tubes in my ARC pre-amp with new highly touted and expensive ones provided by ARC. "Vivid" is not a trait that I would have used to describe the sound in comparison with the older more run of the mill tubes used prior. Its a good thing to me that the DNMs enabled this somewhat subtle but important difference to come through. I am really sold on the DNM product. I wish DNM products were more readily available in the US and that I could afford and justify trying others. |
Mapman, yes, I take your point about coherence....the DNM sound has a gestalt about it that is pleasing. And I too experience the 'leanness', which gives the impression of clarifying the instrumental/voice parts, so I appreciate the same qualities that you do. My Monocles sound like they turn the color up to 'vivid' rather than 'natural', and their bass certainly goes deeper. Is vivid better than natural....I don't know yet! The term you use, 'Overall musical enjoyment' is the benchmark, rather than dissecting out individual tonal qualities as a way to measure 'good'. |
Dunno about the speaker cables ( I would expect some similarities in sound based on similar design principles) but I find the DNM ICs to have a uniquely coherent sound top to bottom and in the midrange in particular that helps musical subtleties show through. Their tonal balance at least in my system tends towards a leaner tonal balance with very good detail. Lyrics sung are easily discerned even in recordings that I have found difficult in this regard with other ICs that also tend towards a bigger though not necessarily better bottom end. The DNM Reson ICs could sound lean in the bass I imagine on systems that might be challenged there already otherwise. Bass is very well defined though and sounds just right on my larger full range floorstanders. WIth my smaller monitors, I might lean towards other ICs that seemingly tend to deliver more low end, like the networked MIT ICs. HArd to comment on the break-in question, but given their minimalist design, I would not expect anything unusually long there with these compared to most others, in fact I would expect these to break in relatively fast. DUnno for sure though. IT may well vary from system to system based on different amp/speaker impedance matchings, amplifier power ratings, typical volumes applied, etc. From what I know, I would not look to DNM wires in general as a solution to deliver bass levels that might not be there otherwise. Other wires seem to do that better. But when everything else is nicely balanced otherwise, the DNM wires are my current favorites overall. Whenever I switch them out for something else, I always feel I have taken a step backwards in terms of overall musical enjoyment. |
