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Review: Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold Interconnect

Category: Cables


Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold cable-recipe for music!


I ordered a Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold digital cable with Furutech Rhodium XLR connectors. Just enough cable for a snug fit between my CD-transport and d/a converter. The gold cable is quite expensive, so it must be good, right? No, it isn't. It's plain awesome! So, what's the secret recipe? Let me tell you:


My tube amplifier was all powered up and ready to go. No need for a pre-amplifier. I stick with a passive attenuator; the purest signal.


The Jade Audio with chunky Furutech connectors oozes quality. It's quite stiff, so I had to carefully knead it in the right shape. I advise anyone who uses these cables to take extra care and treat these - as Jade Audio states in their brochure - with respect! I let the digital cable settle in for a few hours.


Then with everything ready to go, and my pile of reference CDs in front of me, the listening session could begin!


I started with Jennifer Warnes' 20th Anniversary release of "Famous Blue Raincoat". Familiar tracks suddenly took on a new dimension. "Ballad of the runaway horse" sounded different. It was as if I added a new component. The bass was tight, clear and deep without becoming muddy. There was plenty of space around the instruments and Jennifer's voice cut like lightening through a dark cloud. The midrange sounded magical and those highs portrayed in a way I had never heard before, not even with the most expensive equipment! The duet "Joan Of Arc" with Leonard Cohen is always a must-hear for audiophiles. Those bells. I wanted to hear those bells. But wait a minute! What had happened to those bells? I restarted the track and then realised that that is the way the bells should sound! I was very impressed.


The listening continued with Marianne Faithfull's newest "Easy Come, Easy Go". The title track is just amazing and what was clearly heard was the way Marianne pronounces her words. That special accent of hers was clearly revealed. Extraordinary!


Mary Couglan's "The House Of Ill Repute" faired extremely well too. The track "Pornography" just drew me into the music, no sharp edges, I could pinpoint the position of the musicians. Unbelievable!


As if that wasn't enough, I decided to grab some classical CDs. Saint-Saëns's "Organ Symphony" sounded just like the vinyl record. Lots of space around the instruments and the organ going very deep. You can guess by now I was very stunned by this cable's capability of portraying music the way it was intended to sound. Confirmation was "Gounod's Faust and Bizet's Carmen". Simply magnificent. There just aren't enough words to describe the potential of this digital cable.


The more CDs I put on, the hotter the equipment became and the better the music sounded. All these differences were possible just by adding the Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold digital cable. That's quite an achievement!


After the listening:


While everything was still warmed up, I hooked up my other CD-player again. What I had always encountered as pretty good sound from my system, now sounded thin and disembodied in comparison. It took me a few days to get used to it again.


Verdict:


You owe it to yourself to at least audition the Jade Audio cables. You can pick the Vermeil, the Hybrid, but the Pure Solid Gold is my favourite! Now if you'll excuse me, I have the Jade Audio's cable hooked up in my main system. Happy Listening!


Question:


Did anyone experience this transformation in his or her system too? If so, please share with the Audiogon society. My compliments to J.D., the designer and owner of Jade Audio. He's a real genius!

Associated gear
Quicksilver Audio tube amplifier with NOS GE 6L6 tubes, Audio Synthesis Passion passive attenuator, Audio Synthesis Transcend Decade CD-transport and DAX-2 d/a converter, TDL Chiltern loudspeakers.

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5 responses Add your response
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Nice review Sweetmamma31. I have often thought of reviewing JD's cables, but I am a lazy ass who never got around to it. I have never heard his digital cables, but I have heard, and owned, all of his analog cables, Vermeil, Solid Gold, and Hybrid, as well as his Vermeil speaker cables.

All I can say is that they are stunning! I wound up prefferring JD's cables over many other 'heavy hitters', like PAD Dominus and 20th Anniversary, Stealth Indra and Metacarbon, Audioquest Sky and Kilimanjaro, and the list goes on and on and on. I've heard quite a few, and JD has really nailed what music sounds like to me.

Now if you want to sit in the 'front row', and have the music in your face, JD's cables will not be for you....try Virtual Dynamics or other cables. However, if you like soundstage depth, and a nice relaxed mid-hall presentation, with a natural harmonic presentation, I cannot recommend JD's cables highly enough. You really need to at least hear his cables, as he has a money back guarantee, and most don't return them.

I have sent many to JD over the years, and most thank me....in fact I cannot recall anyone who was not stunned by his work.

IMHO, JD's Vermeil cables are amongst the best bargain in cables today.

Cheers,
John
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Ditto. I'm too cheap for the gold or hybrids, but the Vermeils have replaced Cardas GR throughout my rig.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,208 posts
 
I'd embarrass myself trying to write a legitimate review.... but I am a satisfied owner of two pairs of JD's hybrid interconnects.
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
Hi Sweetmamma,

I thank you for the review. You have been a great supporter of my cables over the past year, and this very specially build digital all solid gold cable was an unknown product. I have had great feedback on the Hybrid and Vermeil digital, but you are the first to have a 100% solid gold digital interconnect. It sounds like the assumptions I made were the right formula.

Your reference female singers are mostly new to me. I will need to check them out.

In case people are confused, Moonya the cat above has been used in some of my ads. My dear friend Sweet and Moonya are great supporters and I have been honored with your friendship. You and me need to spend some time discussing female vocals, my favorite, and it looks like you will have some new names to chase.

Finally, let's all applaud how well writing review was. Sweet is in Belgium, and English is her second language. I'm impressed!

Thanks,

jd
sweetmamma31's avatar
sweetmamma31 OP
34 posts
 

Dear J.D.,

Thank you for the nice comments on my review. I thought whoever can develop such a cable, deserves to be praised! It is after all a labour of love. It's true that the Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold digital interconnect is of extremely extraordinary quality. It's a standard to which others should be measured; it should be the reference cable of the many reviewers out there working for the most read hi-fi magazines.

I never heard digital sound like analogue, but with the Jade Audio hooked up, all that was actually missing from vinyl were the pops and cracks. I'm not trying to sound biased here, but I can spot an exceptional sound when I hear it. Golden ears they call it I believe. Just like the ears of my cat, Moonya!

When two worlds collide -- in this case where analogue and digital meet each other -- what does one get? Magic and Jade Audio stands for magic! There's high potential in this pure solid gold concept and that's something to further pursue.

I have sent my cable back to Jade Audio so that J.D. can perform a little tweaking and I can't wait to get it back. Another, longer, deeper listening test is due, so stay tuned! Watch this space and check back often!
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