Zavfino

Damn, I had a feeling you were going to say that, lol. I wish I could make the Dart PC work in my current setup, but I’ll take your word for it - I do want to add in the SC/ICs. 
 

Raymond told me the Fina cords were much more flexible, so here’s hoping - I want to add a couple to my DAC and streamer. The Prima mkII PC was fantastic but man that thing was unwieldy.

So close to 200 Hours in on these cables and they just keep getting better. Such a great value.

Just cannot get over how fantastic these cables are. 

@juanmanuelfangioii ok awesome. Details please…sound signature…warm, neutral, bright? How’s the imaging and clarity? How do these compare to the cables they replaced and what were those cables? 

@juanmanuelfangioii i just logged on to ask these very questions but @audphile1  beat me to it! I am also curious to know your amp and speakers. I’m ready to pull the trigger on some Prima MKII SCs and thinking these will decimate my AQ CV-8 SCs. Imagining and soundstage are my top priorities. 

Wow did not think I would be writing a review for PTA...LOL

Okay lets start with gear.

I rotate amplification in and out of my system but for the most part this review will revolve around the Norma Audio Revo IPA-140. a fine Italian beauty and it is very neutral. 

Speakers are Sonner Audio Legato Unum on the factory Sonner stands, these are driver aligned 2 ways. I also have 2 REL T Zero Subs love compact subs.

Digital is a Moon by Simaudio 680D Streaming DAC with the Mind2 player.  CD Transport is my Bel Canto CD3T transport.

Analog is Clearaudio Performance DC Turntable with an MP200 cart. Phono section is a SPL Phonos Voltair.

So over the years I have used a lot of cables, Signal Cable, AQ, Nordost, Transparent (do still like them) and Cardas. 

So the Zavfino cables had been ordered on a lark and because of the good reviews here at Agon and at WBF. I had Cardas Clear Cygnus Interconnect Cables in RCA and XLR. Digital cables were Cardas Clear AES/EBU Cable (still is) and may change this later. Speaker are terminated with Cardas Clear Cygnus Speaker Cables. Power cored in my system are all Signal Cable Silver Resolution on the analog side and the Magicpower Digital Reference on the 680D and CD3T. Have no plans to change PC at this time.

 So I ordered the Zavfino Prima MKII Speaker cables and 2 of the Arcadia OCC Interconnects for my analog side. 

So now after 200 + hours on my system here are my impressions. No coloration at all, clear and very neutral, imaging/soundstage is wide, depth of sound imaging is perfect not forward or to far back  (as it was with the Cardas) These cables quite simply do not get in the way of the music in any way at all. Tonality is excellent bass is bass and no loss of speed, midrange is perfect and they are not bright at all. 

These cables are a bargain at  twice the price and I am glad I bought my Cardas cables used. If I bought them at full pop I would be really angry (not really).

Okay this is good as it gets for reviews from me and I have real work to do.

Hope this helps @audphile1 ​​​​@treebeard1. 

Have a great week. 

@juanmanuelfangioii thanks for the information. Very helpful. 

@juanmanuelfangioii nice system and a good write up! Thanks for this!

Funny…I was looking at the Arcadia for the analog portion of my system as well, a link between my Sutherland KC Vibe MkII phono stage and the Pass XP-12 where BlueJeans RCAs are currently handling that signal chain. 
I’m looking for a neutral interconnects and was worried the Arcadia may be a bit forward sounding. I might have to give ‘em a shot now. 
Was also considering giving Transparent cables a try but they aren’t cheap(Transparent Super are nearly 4 times the cost), a bit more than what I wanted to spend. 

Scored some prima speaker cables today...hole in head filled for a little while.My wife will be happy bout that too.On the other hand looking forward to getting them finally.

@digsmithd 

Congratulations! I believe you’re in for a treat with Prima Speaker cables. Please post your feedback at your leisure. 

Have had Arcadia balanced ICs now for a couple of weeks, and they are equaling or beating cables almost 10x more costly that have been my reference. So now I'm going to try the Silver Dart ICs, in hopes they will be even better. 

I just ordered Arcadia RCA. Will receive it soon. They will be installed between the step up and the pre. Hope they are well protected from EMI and RFI because I still have some noise when I listen vinyls (earth is well connected and cables as far as possible from each other). We will see. 

@senza I’m waiting on my Arcadia RCAs as well and they’re also for the link between phono stage and preamp. They have an uphill battle against a well broken in pair of BlueJeans RCAs which are surprisingly awesome in that spot. But for the price I couldn’t resist trying the Zavfinos.

Zavfino cables are fabulous. 

@audphile1 I think you’ll find that Zavfino cables have an exceptionally linear frequency response, particularly compared to pretty much any cable near their price, once they are fully broken in, perhaps closer to 300 hours than 200. When mine were new, they were more forward sounding, slightly less transparent, and highs were not as extended. Give them time.

My experience is very similar to how Juan Manuel described them. I really wouldn’t change much of anything he described.

The only thing I would add is that even though they are quite open and extended on the top end, I hear the lowest sub-bass region is being very slightly rolled off, including the all copper cables. This may just be my preference speaking, as I like to have a sound signature which has above average sub-bass energy. I’m using a non-Zavfino power cable on my DAC to achieve the sub-bass energy level I want, along with a couple other sonic qualities. However, I’m very picky about bass presentation, and the Zavfino cables are super transparent and fast throughout the entire bass region.

I found that for my subwoofer, this desirable quality of bass response can be brought forth even more by using multiple Zavfino all-copper cables in the signal path closest to my subwoofer. Specifically, a power cable on my preamp, an interconnect from there to my sub (an Arcadia), and a power cable on my sub.

Overall, I’m very happy with them now that they are well broken-in. Five of my eight power cables are Zavfino, and two of the five interconnects that I currently use are Zavfino.

@gladmo hopefully I won’t need to go thru the entire break in as I picked up a used pair. Just some time to settle. 
What power cord are you running on your DAC….just curious. 
 

@audphile1 To properly answer that question is a little complex, so to keep this discussion on topic you can DM me about it if you like. 👍🏼

@gladmo renewed our PM chat

@audphile1 Super long message sent! 😬 🙊

Will do lalitk...see them fri-sat.Excited to get these.

I ordered the Highlands MK II tonearm cable on the advice of @slaw.  Should be here next week.

Got the primas this morning...Quality is outstanding.Really nice build.Packaging + and just a well thought out product.They sound good being that they sat for a couples months.Warming them up.Already sound nice and that occ texture/timber coming through...more later!

Just chiming in on my initial impressions of the prima speaker cable.As posted these were bought used but very nice condition/xllnt.The 9 awg really make the most of modwright and atc 19's.Still am getting things settled as i redid the jumpers (spade too banana) and was glad to see they are screw type/not soldered.I did have to manhandle them,also put a power conditioner on source.That is still settling in as much my getting use to it as well.

Over all the cables are really good sounding and just are a good fit for my system.Nothing really jumps out for now and i guess thats good?.Just a nice clear window and musical presentation.A great product.

Thanks for sharing @digsmithd , thanks for taking the time to update the thread with your impressions. As you say, likely you will hear more improvement down the road with more time to stabilize and settle in.

For what is worth, I will copy paste below what I wrote last year in October half way through my Zavfino journey then:

What I have found with Zavfino is that they react very well to “full loom” concept. Meaning all cables from the same brand, and preferably same tier of same brand. 
I am gradually getting there. The more I add, the better the overall system sounds as a whole. The improvements are cumulative, and I believe mostly due to the full loom concept.

The Arcadia RCAs are in! Letting them settle between the phono stage and the preamp. Initial impressions…improvement over the BlueJeans in the bass extension and quantity, fuller sound overall. I was afraid they’d be too zippy up top but it’s not the case. They’re also light and very flexible which is always nice. Have too many cables I wrestle with already.
These were used so I’m just letting them cook for few hours.

Hi everyone 

I bought the ARCADIA MK2 but the bass is too boomy so the music loses its refinement , the image is less natural and compress.

I have a question from Fusion owners 

Does it worth to change it against Fusion , is the bass in Fusion in control and the image open and natural 

thanks in advance 

Which cable did it replace? 

I compare it against qed signature and tellurium q black 2 and it should replace Vertere Acoustics Pulse D-Fi.  

I am not familiar with any of those brands. I have heard of Tellurium brand, and for some reason thought it was more pricey than Zavfino for each tiers. Acadia if I am not mistaken is only $150 for 1.5 meter pair. I have no experience with lowest tiers of Zavfino, but I would logically think Fusion is a step up to Acadia being solid silver and pure PCOCC copper combo 

@behzad 

In my experience, Fusion IC holds the sweet spot in terms of performance and money. Fusion has a more balanced and detailed sound compare to Arcadia. 

@behzad 

Here are my comments on the Arcadia and Fusion interconnects from last December. I hope these are helpful:

Now that I have had three weeks to try out the Zavfino Fusion and Arcadia interconnects (as balanced XLRs), I wanted to update the initial impressions I summarized earlier in this thread. Most of my impressions have remained unchanged. I still think that the Fusions sound clear, open, and quite natural, with well-balanced sound overall. In my system, the Arcadia continues to sound warm, smooth, and forgiving, but the highs sound a bit softened or rounded off. There seems to be plenty of bass, but it doesn't sound particularly well-controlled or refined to me. Imaging is okay, but not outstanding. In contrast, the Fusion is more transparent, images better, and sounds more "real."

Because my early listening favored the sound of the Fusion over the Arcadia, I spent more time with the Fusion and made direct comparisons with my reference XLR, the Cardas Clear Reflection. In comparison to the Cardas CR, the Fusion doesn't sound as full-bodied or rich. It simply has less "meat on the bones," as some reviewers like to say. It was also not as forgiving on poor recordings or as musical on good recordings that included many overlapping layers of sound, such as the song "The Price of Love" on the recent Robert Plant-Alison Krauss album "Raise the Roof." Too often, I thought that the Fusion needed more weight to match the rich fullness of the Cardas CR. In terms of the warm-cool spectrum, I thought the Fusion was fairly neutral while the CR adds a bit of warmth without overdoing it - at least in my system. 

Although I had hoped that the Fusion might equal or even surpass the CR in my system and for my preferences, the CR still won out. Providing amazing clarity and excellent imaging while costing less than a third of what the CR costs, the Fusion XLR is an exceptional value. 

@sdl4 

Very clear and concise comments on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Anyone else have the Silver  Dart? I'm testing them vs the fusions (which are great) now.

@sdl4 thanks for your feedback 

Here’s what I’ve got…

I’d say the Arcadia are worth a shot for sure in this price range. I’ve been throwing record after record on (using them between my Sutherland phono stage and Pass preamp) and I’m really digging the Arcadia. On the phono stage I’ve compared them to BlueJeans which are decent and also (don’t laugh) to the old pair of Monster M950i that I keep on hand and use in “emergencies “ while in between cables.
I prefer the Zavfino by a lot.

When compared to Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper on my Bricasti M3 DAC they’re not reaching the same level of performance achieved by the AZ and not to anyone’s surprise. 
Arcadia’s major strength in my opinion is in not attempting to be what they’re not. They don’t pretend to be uber high end. 

Pros:
1. natural sound (zero harshness, transparent, sweet sound), they never cross the line

2. no glare in the mids

3. plenty detailed but relaxed and laid back, they won’t tire you out. 

4. deep bass

5. excellent soundstage width and depth

6. light and very flexible, build quality is top notch

Cons (based on comparison to AZ Absolute Copper):

1. Not the last word in absolute resolution and air

2. somewhat loose, but deep and big, bass that’s missing a bit of texture, speed and springiness 

3. Not the best instrument separation

I’d be unfair if I said that they’re not worth consideration especially in the price range up to $500 for comparable length.
They won’t be killing most of the giants costing 4-5 times. But they’re a solid choice at this price and represent excellent value.
So set your expectations accordingly. As always, take this with a grain of salt as I’m describing what I’m hearing in my system (view my system under my ID). I wouldn’t hesitate recommending these cables. They’re staying where they are for now. 

Trying to decide between lines….Anyone compare Zavfino and Cerious speaker cables Prima MkII to Graphene Matrix? Or RCA IC Fusion to Graphene Matrix? The Cerious used vs Zavfino new aren’t too far apart in price.  Thanks

I was fortunate to be able to purchase a pre owned silver note dart power cord. After placing it in my power conditioner I bought a second one from the same seller.  WHOA. The  second one is on my amp. These cords are extremely stiff and since mine are only 1.5 meters and so stiff, I haven't been able to try them elsewhere.These are keepers but I can't remember how many times I've said that over the many years. I owned the Graphene Matrix Cerious Technologies cords for quite a while,. Great cords and now Bob is coming out with new product. In the meantime I cannot praise these Zafvino power cords more highly.

My Zafino loom ( interconnects and speakers) is complete. Power next!

@juanmanuelfangioii which cablbes did you settle on?  Prima mk II speaker cables?  Arcadia or Fusion IC?

Prima Mk 2 and the Fusion IC. Power cords will be the next pashas. Have come good ones now but at some point my OCD will drive me to buy them.

I have been making some power/diy cables for source and i have to say it is probably been more crucial component than i realized.Vh audio flavor 1/furutech fi-15 plus has really been a nice upgrade.Next will be the furutech fp tcs 21 with furutech fi-11's will be next.Power will be after these have run in.ugh!

Nice. VH Audio is a great site and Chris is a great guy to work with.  I have made all four flavors of his DIY recipes and they perform very well. He has some really nice wire to have fun with.  Time to explore some of these highly regarded cables as well.

It is as if i should have done in reverse upgrade...Source power,ect- 1st...interconnects- 2nd...speakers cables- 3rd.Its like im starting to really hear my zavfino primas sc and jumpers with some clarity...fwiw.

@digsmithd I'm glad to hear that you are liking what you are hearing with the Zavfino products. Results will vary for people depending on the components used and listening skills. I don't believe there is any one correct order of which cables to upgrade :-)

Probably not...💸.I will add that the vh audio flavor 1 sounded really great with 105d last night.

Has anyone heard the Highland MkII or Gold Rush phono cables?

Just ordered the Gold Rush, couldn't resist with present promotion.

I was thinking about trying some Primo or Nova speaker cables.  But 2.5 meters (which is all that shows in the pull-down) won't do.  Since that is the standard size, if they will make a longer set, then it would be custom and not returnable.

Has anyone experienced this ?

Thanks for any information.

Yes, they can customize any reasonable  length. Not sure about the Zavfino return policy on custom lengths. Did not have to deal with such situations personally.

You can, however, clear all these things up by asking Raymond at Zavfino USA