Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

Bwhite,
When you see the OTA connectors, you'll realise that the principles behind the Bullet plug are taken even further by eliminating the pins completely thru the use of simple but clever plastic pieces which pin the single OTA cable strand directly against the connector without an intermediate pin or solder joins at all.
I don't know which device came first but the only *advantage* of the Bullet over the OTA is that it is applicable to conventional wire configurations & thicknesses rather than dedicated to a specific wire as per the OTA's.

Bwhite,
Slawney is indeed a poet and I make no pretense of being able to match his lyrical stylings...but yes, I am in perfect agreement as to his assessments of the 47 Laboratory Stratos OTA.
These are a remarkable product and they have challenged most of my preconceptions about cable design.
Firstly, they are possessing of an incredible ability to follow even the most complex passages with speed,separation,articulation,pace and agility.
They capture the subtle emotion bearing nuances of dynamic inflections,both macro and micro, with aplomb.
They have an intense and engaging quality of living,breathing vitality and lucidness that I cannot recall having heard from any cable prior.
Tonally ,I find them hard to qualify,they don't seem to have a *sound* at all.
Mostly, they get out of the way of the music with a superbly natural coherence and otherworldly transparency.
One must consider that they can be fairly ruthless in revealing shortcomings or problems in one's system.
The Stratos OTA's will not gloss over the cracks with turgid,syrupy romance.Like the old saw goes-garbage in, garbage out.
The presentation is a bit more forward than some other cable products,tho not with any degree of pushiness or shortening of staging qualities.
If you have any dryness or aloofness in your setup, it will showcase that deficiency by laying it in your lap like a cold,wet fish.
My other caveat is that the single thin strand of wire is naturally somewhat fragile and the clever plastic terminations are somewhat ideosyncratic in use.
I have an audio related business and use the OTA's in 2 separate systems here and must regularly change out components for audition.I find that I must take a bit more time and care when swapping pieces to ensure the best connections.
Other than that,I have no inclination to audition any other cables again.They're that good.
Best,
Ken Lyon

Hi Red,

I first started out with the speaker cables alone and didn't introduce the IC's till well after the speaker cables had broken in.
I likewise tried twisting them into a loose weave but eventually decide that doing so made for a somewhat "tight" and more analytical presentation and so went back to running them as separate strands(bi-wired Neat Elites on Mana Soundbases).
I am somewhat hesitant to describe the sonics as my own system is quite different from your own(Roksan ROK s1.5) but will say that you should not fart around too much for a while.
It seems that burn in goes thru plateaus and stages that seen to completely alter the presentation by frequency bands.
At first I found the quickness and transparency that are so alluring(and upper octave harshness as well) but later it became very dark,even brooding and warm. Finally it regained the openness,fine detail and sweetness along with the speed.The tonal qualities did not fully balance out for almost 3 weeks tho all the basics of its signature had become evident by that time.
btw, I had tried the old DNM solid core years ago and had come to the erroneous coclusion that solid cores worked wonders in the mid band but always rolled the top and truncated the bottom.The 47Labs Stratos OTA has completely altered my perceptions, particularly in the superb power, articulation and extension of deep bass.Cardas and Harm Techs never made my room shudder,shake and growl like these little 2 ways are doing to my room now.
Ken

Not so fast, Red.
So far after 8 months of using the 47 Labs/OTA cable, EVERY time I got to thinking that there might be a weakness or anomoly that was cable induced, it turned out to be pinpointed to problems, inappropriate tweeks or coloured/flawed components elsewhere in my system.
I'd advise going back over your speaker set up for starters.
In my case, I use Mana Soundbases beneath my Neat Elites and discovered that the spikes were out of "tune"(overtight nuts) and another instance where I had assumed my cartridge setup to be "nutz-on-perfect".Not!(antiskate was a smidge off and VTA was slightly too low).
Ken

Slawney,
Did you notice the dark grey isolation shelves that 47Lab used at Frankfurt? Guess who?*wink*

The loudspeaker was designed and built by Sead Lejlic of Konus Audio, the european 47Lab distributor and they use a transmission line enclosure.

Best,
Ken

Hi Dave,
99% likelyhood that they were crimped if at all practical from what I know of the gentleman behind the loudspeaker.

Ken

Gray,
The first 2/3rds of this thread chronicalled very closely several AG members making this "act of faith" and detailed quite eloquently their findings on the 47Labs OTA cables/IC kit.
I've been using the 47 OTA's in Roksan and Rega systems for over 1-1/2 yrs now and continue to be impressed and satisfied.
My own positive experience has resulted in a number of friends switching away from their former cable faves to the OTA in systems as diverse as Audiomat,VTL and CJ valves to Exposure and Rowland systems with equally fine results.
Considering that 47Labs does not promote the OTA other than as an recommended adjunct to their own electronics with no advertising of the cables at all,I'd say that the number of non-47 Lab users here at AG exceeds what would be expected for such a product and that they also appear to be exceptionally enthusiastic and pleased.

still a happy camper here-using OTA throughout from phono stage & cd transport to dac to pre to amp to crossovers to loudspeakers.

best,
ken

Abex,
Regarding your CDP, some female RCA's only have one or 2 contacts for the male RCA's pin.Try rotating and reinserting the OTA connector in a few different orientations just to make sure that isn't the problem.

Ken

Don't fret kiddies.
You'll only feel stupid for a short while after you get your teeney -tiny little package with the weedwhacker line in it.
You'll probably have a good chuckle and then worry about hooking them up to your amp cause it's so skinny that you'll be positive that your amplifier will cause the sheath to and set the house afire.
These things take an incredible amount of time to burn in tho.I recall about 2 weeks to stop shifting tonal balance & settle in and another two before they completely stabilize.Have fun.

Best,
Ken

Bwhite,

My recollection is that the OTA as a speaker cable took some 200-250 hours of play for "burn-in" and that used as IC's perhaps as long as 3-400 hours.In both applications the first 100-150 hours were unusual in that they seemed to completely change in tonality in addition to the typical top end air & smoothness and bottom end definition/extension issues of other cable products.I would describe the final phases of burn-in as "settling in" with greater refinement,ease, solidity and coherency as the basic character of the cables had been fairly well established by that time.
Altho I can't really speak for Redkiwi,it's my impression that what you are reading as prolonged burn-in over many months is actually his reports and reactions to several alternate cable configurations that he has been playing with.