Damn fine review. The only thing lacking, in my opinion, is the price per meter. I know it's readily available on the website but it just seems germaine to the overall review process. Don't be a stranger!
Review: Pure Note Designers Edition Interconnect
Category: Cables
This is my first review, so please be kind! I just wanted to say a little about a reasonably priced cable (in our twisted little audio world) that has taken my system to a higher plane.
The Pure Note Designer Edition Cables are some of the finest cables that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my system. I hesitate to say that I heard these cables, because they seem to get out of the way and let the music flow better than most other cables, save one, ….more later, in my experience. I am no cable guru, but I have tried many and do recognize the important role that these conduits play. My musical tastes are varied, but jazz, R&B, classical and the blues figure prominently in my rotation. My preference sonically is for truth, unadulterated. I prize neutrality, dynamics, detail, speed and the lack of noise. Bass which is articulate and deep is also required…no boom. These attributes allow me to get the as close to the original performance as possible, and my system reflects these preferences.
The build quality of the DE cables is audio jewelry at it’s finest. The images on the website do not do these cables justice. The connectors have a heft and beauty that is to be appreciated both in a tactile and visual sense….jewelry,not unlike a very fine watch. None of this would matter if they didn’t pass the test performance wise, but in this case, it is a plus.
I came across Pure Note cables earlier this year in my search for a long run of cable between my amp and preamp. After going thru a number of manufacturers (Transparent Ref XL, MIT Magnum MA/Oracle MA, Siltech Compass Lake G5, Silent Source, Harmonic Tech Photon, SR Tesla Precision Ref) products, I settled on the Pure Note Alluvions because they either bettered or were as good as any of those listed in ways that mattered most to me. None could outright dethrone the Alluvions in any of the terms that I described above, or at least not in all respects. It was refreshing that they also cost significantly less than any of them……..’value’ in this industry is hard to find.
The Wireworld Platinum Eclipse was the only cable that made me think twice. The PE is that good, and did things that no other cable, in my experience had ever done in my system. It had improved on the neutrality, speed, dynamics, transparency, and articulation of the Alluvions ,in addition to adding a much blacker background, decay to infinity, and a naturalness that was….natural. Damn near perfect……but cost 6 times more. It may still find a place in my home.
Then came the Designer’s Edition cables. The specs made me think potential ‘Platinum Eclipse beaters’...or at least they would get me pretty close. I was not disappointed. A splash of gold is added, which I think lends to this cable being a little warmer than I remember the Wireworld PE, with all else being nearly equal. A direct comparison is in the works. These two cables made me turn DOWN the volume of my system. Much more information, more music makes it thru, superb dynamics, really wide and deep sound stage and the most subtle details come thru with remarkable ease. There is no loss of detail or specificity at the periphery. Bass notes are full and better delineated than I have ever heard (except maybe the Wireworld PE....I need to do a head to head!), including with the networked cables. DYNAMICS!!! The tone and decay experienced with these cables made it child’s play to pick out the confines of the recording venue and differences between instruments. The background is supremely quiet, or at least as quiet, as any in my experience. You really experience the performance in a more real way. The faintest details become readily apparent, but not in your face. Just enough to bring you that much closer to the performers/performance.
I now know what ‘smear’ refers to in cable jargon. These 2 cables have the least of any in my experience, and without networks! Talk about cleaning the ‘window’! I have nothing against networked cables, and have owned my share. However, it is nice to hear that level of clarity, or lack of timing error without the networks in the pathway. The Pure Note DE cable is very slightly warm of neutral, if you consider, as I do, the Alluvion and Wireworld PE as neutral. It’s wonderful to have choices!
I think of the PN Alluvion and DE cables in the same way of the Synergistic Research Precision Ref and Apex cables, another set that I have owned and hold in very high regard. If you are familiar with these cables, then you know what I mean……more warmth, bass extension, speed, wider soundstage, detail as you go up the line.
I highly recommend the Pure Note Designer Edition cables for their sonic merits. In the league in which they play in, they are indeed a value.
Mike (MCTGOOD)
Associated gear
Usher BE 20 speakers
Synergistic Research Precision Ref Speaker cables
Burmester 911 mk3 amp
Burmester 808mk V preamp
Burmester 948 power conditioner
MBL 1511E Dac
Rossner & Sohn Canofer S phono preamp
Redpoint Audio Model D TT
Graham Phantom II
Koetsu RSP
van den Hul Colibri
iMac music server
SR Tesla T3 UHC, T3, T2 power cords
Lessloss PCs, Acoustic Zen Krakatoa PC
Harmonic Technology Photon Source, Digital cables
Pure Note Designer’s Edition XLR, and RCA
Pure Note Alluvion XLR, RCA
Pure Note Alluvion Digital cable
Similar products
Synergisteic Research Precision Ref
Synergistic Research Apex
Harmonic Technology Photon
Silent Source
Wireworld Platinum Eclispe
Pure Note Alluvion XLR, RCA
MIT Magnum/Oracla MA
Transparent Ref XL MM2
This is my first review, so please be kind! I just wanted to say a little about a reasonably priced cable (in our twisted little audio world) that has taken my system to a higher plane.
The Pure Note Designer Edition Cables are some of the finest cables that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my system. I hesitate to say that I heard these cables, because they seem to get out of the way and let the music flow better than most other cables, save one, ….more later, in my experience. I am no cable guru, but I have tried many and do recognize the important role that these conduits play. My musical tastes are varied, but jazz, R&B, classical and the blues figure prominently in my rotation. My preference sonically is for truth, unadulterated. I prize neutrality, dynamics, detail, speed and the lack of noise. Bass which is articulate and deep is also required…no boom. These attributes allow me to get the as close to the original performance as possible, and my system reflects these preferences.
The build quality of the DE cables is audio jewelry at it’s finest. The images on the website do not do these cables justice. The connectors have a heft and beauty that is to be appreciated both in a tactile and visual sense….jewelry,not unlike a very fine watch. None of this would matter if they didn’t pass the test performance wise, but in this case, it is a plus.
I came across Pure Note cables earlier this year in my search for a long run of cable between my amp and preamp. After going thru a number of manufacturers (Transparent Ref XL, MIT Magnum MA/Oracle MA, Siltech Compass Lake G5, Silent Source, Harmonic Tech Photon, SR Tesla Precision Ref) products, I settled on the Pure Note Alluvions because they either bettered or were as good as any of those listed in ways that mattered most to me. None could outright dethrone the Alluvions in any of the terms that I described above, or at least not in all respects. It was refreshing that they also cost significantly less than any of them……..’value’ in this industry is hard to find.
The Wireworld Platinum Eclipse was the only cable that made me think twice. The PE is that good, and did things that no other cable, in my experience had ever done in my system. It had improved on the neutrality, speed, dynamics, transparency, and articulation of the Alluvions ,in addition to adding a much blacker background, decay to infinity, and a naturalness that was….natural. Damn near perfect……but cost 6 times more. It may still find a place in my home.
Then came the Designer’s Edition cables. The specs made me think potential ‘Platinum Eclipse beaters’...or at least they would get me pretty close. I was not disappointed. A splash of gold is added, which I think lends to this cable being a little warmer than I remember the Wireworld PE, with all else being nearly equal. A direct comparison is in the works. These two cables made me turn DOWN the volume of my system. Much more information, more music makes it thru, superb dynamics, really wide and deep sound stage and the most subtle details come thru with remarkable ease. There is no loss of detail or specificity at the periphery. Bass notes are full and better delineated than I have ever heard (except maybe the Wireworld PE....I need to do a head to head!), including with the networked cables. DYNAMICS!!! The tone and decay experienced with these cables made it child’s play to pick out the confines of the recording venue and differences between instruments. The background is supremely quiet, or at least as quiet, as any in my experience. You really experience the performance in a more real way. The faintest details become readily apparent, but not in your face. Just enough to bring you that much closer to the performers/performance.
I now know what ‘smear’ refers to in cable jargon. These 2 cables have the least of any in my experience, and without networks! Talk about cleaning the ‘window’! I have nothing against networked cables, and have owned my share. However, it is nice to hear that level of clarity, or lack of timing error without the networks in the pathway. The Pure Note DE cable is very slightly warm of neutral, if you consider, as I do, the Alluvion and Wireworld PE as neutral. It’s wonderful to have choices!
I think of the PN Alluvion and DE cables in the same way of the Synergistic Research Precision Ref and Apex cables, another set that I have owned and hold in very high regard. If you are familiar with these cables, then you know what I mean……more warmth, bass extension, speed, wider soundstage, detail as you go up the line.
I highly recommend the Pure Note Designer Edition cables for their sonic merits. In the league in which they play in, they are indeed a value.
Mike (MCTGOOD)
Associated gear
Usher BE 20 speakers
Synergistic Research Precision Ref Speaker cables
Burmester 911 mk3 amp
Burmester 808mk V preamp
Burmester 948 power conditioner
MBL 1511E Dac
Rossner & Sohn Canofer S phono preamp
Redpoint Audio Model D TT
Graham Phantom II
Koetsu RSP
van den Hul Colibri
iMac music server
SR Tesla T3 UHC, T3, T2 power cords
Lessloss PCs, Acoustic Zen Krakatoa PC
Harmonic Technology Photon Source, Digital cables
Pure Note Designer’s Edition XLR, and RCA
Pure Note Alluvion XLR, RCA
Pure Note Alluvion Digital cable
Similar products
Synergisteic Research Precision Ref
Synergistic Research Apex
Harmonic Technology Photon
Silent Source
Wireworld Platinum Eclispe
Pure Note Alluvion XLR, RCA
MIT Magnum/Oracla MA
Transparent Ref XL MM2
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