2. cables
  3. 990492297

Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

Has anyone tried this "minimalist" cable kit? After receiving a recommendation from someone with similar musical values to myself, and whose ears I trust, I could not resist ordering one. I will report on how they sound in a few weeks, but am interested in others' opinions too.

For those that have not heard about them look at www.sakurasystems.com for an interesting read. The cable sounds as if it is very close to the specification of the conductors in Belden Cat5. So I may have spent around 100 times what the kit is worth. We shall see.

If you have not heard this cable, please don't bother posting your opinions of how it MUST sound here. Nor am I that interested in hearing how stupid I must be to order this kit - it's my money and you are free to make different decisions with yours. Sorry for this condition, but I am bored with those that have nothing positive to offer on this site, and post their opinions based on deductive logic rather than actual experience.
redkiwi

Showing 5 responses by austin

austin
5 posts
 
What a great thread! Just to throw in my 2 cents - I also have the 47 Labs cable and love it. If you haven't done so already, try replacing the internal wire of your speakers with the cable. I did so with my Spendor 1/2s (replacing pounds of really thick cable) and the results are outstanding. I think you are not getting the full benefit of the cable without going all the way to the speaker drivers themselves.
austin
5 posts
 
The changes are mostly in the character of the bass, not the quantity. You can hear subtle textures (like with upright bass) than before and it may be tighter. The midrange is also clearer since the bass speaker also handles much of the midrange too. There is just more detail all over and the highs are less shut in. The speaker also feels MUCH faster and more alive.

I also considered doing the external crossover, but I was worried I didn't have enough wire (and I didn't have a box hand for them).

The entire mod takes only a couple of hours and you'll need a soldering iron. A drill with a phillips but really speeds up the process too (lots of screws on the back).

Also, be sure to connect the binding posts really tight - if you don't they can come loose and you'll have to take the back panel off again (the voice of experience here :-).

Let me know how it works!
austin
5 posts
 
I second Ivo's comments. I just tried the cable for the first time yesturday too. Besides smoother trebble and more bass, there is more of a 3 dimensional quality now. I had been considering a sub, but I think I may be just happy enough now!
austin
5 posts
 
Just an update here - still using the OTC cables and thicker ones for power. I just sent all the cables off to be cryogenically frozen for a couple of days - I'll report back on the results!

Also, I must say I really mis the cable now that it's gone... even in my 2nd system where I was just using a power cord, I can tell a major difference when I went back to the stock cord - dull, homogenized trebble, etc.

Also, one thing I did recently was use some 400 grade sand paper to "polish" the ends of the wires - including the power cord plug. The exposed copper will tarnish, and it made a nice difference...

Have fun.
austin
5 posts
 
Hi All,

Just an update on the results of cryogenically treating the OTA wire.

First of all, treating them means they need to be broken in again. Once I got the inteconnects and speaker wires installed, I thought "where the heck is the bass". I left the system playing at a low level for a couple of days and the bass came back. The may have also had something to do with the Gaincard and Phonocube being unpowered for a couple of weeks - I do think they need some time to come back to their former glory.

The best news is that it didn't do anything bad - which was a concern at first. It defintely makes a difference with interconects and speaker cables - a bit clearer and a little more 3 dimensional. With power cables, I can tell no difference.

That's it. I'd recommend it. Maybe someone will try doing an entire gaincard.

Austin
More to discover