Experiences With Costly Balanced XLR Interconnects Above $3,000

My Cardas Clear Beyond XLR smoked Clarus Crimson XLR in a direct shootout yesterday.

The difference was huge.

I just bought the Acrolink DA6300 after comparing with Jorma, Vertere, Argento Flow and MIT. The DA6300 was the quietest and had more depth and separation. Vertere was also very good the others smooth but homogenous sound in my system. The DA6300 was a no brainer beautiful cable very involving and transparent. Tight bass, crisp highs with out being bright, and smooth mid range.

@presmara thanks for the post. Is your Acrolink the latest DA6300IV? I’m seriously considering this but need some time to recuperate from my recent spending. It’s a very costly cable where the price is higher than some of my components, but it’s still slightly cheaper than the WW Platinum Eclipse 8 XLR.

Hi Ryder I am in Australia and access to a large range of second hand cables is limited. The ones I bought were the DA6300II, but I was happy to go with these as the performance jump was in no doubt. I did not “think” I heard a difference - it was night and day transformation. I do not buy HiFi unless there is a significant no brainer improvement.

I assume the DA6300IV will be better again but I would have to buy brand new. I saw there were some DA6300IV ( not many) for sale via HiFi Shark, but I did not want to take the risk of fake cables which has happened to a few of my buddies. 

I am running the DA6300 between an Antipodes K50 and Mola Mola Makua DAC/Preamp. The change to the DA6300 this weekend transformed the sound to a whole new level and I am no longer analyzing the sound, it is so sublime, relaxing and non fatiguing, but still very transparent and detailed.

I have a fully fleshed out sound field, with very solid deep bass, lightning fast dynamics with more space between performers and a very wide and deep soundstage. I am using DA6300II interconnects from the Makua into a Vitus SS101 power amp and synergistic research UEF atmos level 4 speaker cables into Gauder RC7 Mk2 diamond tweeter speakers. 
 

I feel sorry for people who want to attack others here, saying wire is wire. Because that is not true - I am a scientist and know we cannot measure everything, but still do value what we can measure. And in the end it is all about synergy, what is best in one system is not the best in another. What I do like about Acrolink is they are very transparent with what is in their cables, they are beautifully constructed and they give you a lot of measurements which show significant measurable differences. And yes there is a lot of snake oil out there where the secret sauce is hidden. I do trust Acrolink based over many decades of experience and their scientific approach. I would have liked to try the Cardas beyond probably very nice also. 
 

Hope this helps. Trust your ears! 
cheers

mark
 

I am waiting on Jeff Smith of Silversmith Cables for his new XLR cables.

They should be out in a few weeks. I have had great success with his Fidelium speaker cables. Very reasonably priced at about $1200 for an 8’ pair. They absolutely creamed my $6K former cables that are now, relatively, junk.

I mentioned my long standing debate with Ralph about the AES standard saying that if that standard is followed by manufacturers of gear used that expensive XLR cables are not needed. I have followed Ralph’s advise while using his Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamp. I use Mogamis. But am copying Jeff on this thread since he insists that good cables are, in fact, very important.

I do now lean toward buying Jeff’s new XLRs. Like his great Fideliums, his XLRs will also be reasonably priced are around $1K for a metered pair. All Jeff’s cables are fully refundable for 30 days. 

For a supposedly high tech company, Acrolink’s website is absolutely horrible and offers nothing but meandering bloviation regarding Japanese tech leadership and metal purity circa 1999…hilarious!  I read some of the cable construction pages 😳

Hot mess comes to mind …best of luck 🍀