My 2019 Update Thread - My final system I think.

[Wakefield Turntables]

"Brute Force Soldering", I like that!

[Barry]

I trust you are not using solder alone to short out the pins.

[Gazjam]

No,
Theres wire in there too (somewhere...)

[Gazjam]

Posties Been...










(I'm off work this week and a bit bored, so another write up )

I use balanced XLR between my Pre and power amp.
I've only even used the supplied cable that came with my PS Audio gear when I bought it, but as its the main link between Pre and Power I got curious if I was hearing all my Preamp could do.

As an experiment, I had a snoop around at Pro Audio XLR's, what was used in Studios and what was well thought of.
Took a punt on a pair of Mogami 2549 based cable, with Neutrik connectors.

Initial thoughts on plugging it in was it was clearer, but had little bass.
After few days though the sound filled out and top end got even better.
Proof of concept done.
Prefer to try things for myself - and not all balanced XLRs sound the same.

Cool, whats next?
Have respect for the Pro Audio guys, and their no BS way about snake oil and marketing that they have, and I thought if anyone would see through Marketing BS to go for bang for buck it would be them.
If I was investing in a "suitable" XLR cable for my Preamp this was the way to go.

On my Audiolab 6000CDT isolation thread https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...diolab-6000CDT
I'd mentioned a YouTube audiophile I like, Hans Beekhuyzen.
What was his reference XLR cable I wonder?

It was a Grimm SQM, as sold here.
https://www.analogueseduction.net/an...IMMSQMXLR.html

Researching this cable on Pro Audio forum Gearspace.com I kept coming across a cable from a Mastering Engineer over there with a fascinating story, and how many other Studios were replacing their wiring looms with his new cable.
On a pro audio forum, seriously?

Yup, right enough.
California based Grammy Award winning engineer, him and his Business partner were looking for their ultimate "mastering level" XLR cable as they weren't satisfied with what was on the market.
Usual BS hifi story I thought, but did a deep dive and sure enough.
They came across an Italian no-name cable that blew them away, and they spent 6 years developing and prototyping their own cable from that.
Eventually came to market as Ghost Cables.

So got these beauties the other day fresh from across the Pond in California.

Cable Construction
Shielded twisted pair, 8 rotations per foot.


Full story HERE.
https://gearspace.com/board/product-alerts-older-than-2-months/1390508-ghost-cable.html

He goes in to the science of what he's done in some detail, not random marketing fluff.
What impressed me was he did LISTENING tests through the prototyping stages, and constantly compared his to other leading cables on the Market.
Also real world feedback from studio owners that have used his cable and how they are way above any Mogami, Canare, Belden and the like "pro" cables.
My own experience directly comparing it to the Mogami bears this out.

He tells of a shootout with higher brand "Hifi" cables, and only losing out to two $1000+ cables, from Acoustic Zen and Nordost.
What they both had in common was they did not use Neutrik connectors, but their own.

He offers his cable with standard Neutriks, but like always the guy did his research.
Unlike the bespoke connectors, the main difference was that Neutriks use plated brass alloy in their XLR pins,
His Ghost+ cables, like the Zen and Nordost do it differently, his design using Tellerium copper pins, which has much better conductivity than the plated alloy that Neutriks use.
Attention has been paid to pin construction and resonance damping.
There's other stuff done to the higher grade cables as well, all good.

The cables have opened my amps sound up so much compared to even the Mogami.
Plumbed the original XLR in as a sanity check, lasted 2 minutes.
Naa.

This cable is astounding in what it does for stripping away the equipment and getting it out the way.
A real sense of live performance and (puts on Hifi Hat) "Transient attack" that I've never heard in my system.
Every genre, every album that quality is there in spades. I love it.
I guess Im hearing coloration I'd got used to being striped away and really hearing what my preamp can do.
Its quite a thing to hear.

I want to go fully balanced in my setup, I'll be getting another set of these when I pick up the new balanced Phono Pre for my P10 down the line.
Some saving to to first, toast n beans for a while again.

Highly recommend this cable,
The good news?

Price is good.
£200 a pair for a 6.5ft length.

Wall of Diminishing returns hit HARD.
https://ghostcable.com/en-gb

[struth]

looks expensive... you'd never see me buying anything expensive

[Jimbo]

Looks interesting Gary and good price too.

Do you run XLR throughout your whole system?

[Gazjam]

I do James yeah.

Phono amp was the last one to go balanced,
well, will be when I get it!

But yeah,
Everything else balanced, including the mains transformer powering the system.

[Barry]

My system is fully balanced, source to speaker, and I make up all my own cables. You might think that £200 for a 2 metre cable pair is reasonable - I do not, especially as most of my interconnects need only be 50cm long, both for tidiness and reduction of cable losses.

I'm always suspicious of suppliers who cover their cable with braiding - what are they hiding?

The best cable I have heard are those used by Neumann (for their microphones) and by EMT.

[Gazjam]

Who pissed on your cornflakes Barry?

£200 might not be reasonable to you, possibly not for a lot of folks understandably.
It is for me though, and well under the sensible Kit/cable spend ratio for my own system.

Its not random braiding, its Techflex, a particular type he chose (after listening) used for its RFI damping.
Its only used on his top cable, not on the standard.

And he publishes his cable spec on his website, with diagrams and everything.
Whats being "hidden" is the cable section illustration I put in my post, perhaps look again if your interested.

Not heard Neumann or EMT cables, sure they are good too.

[Barry]

LOL - nobody pissed on my cornflakes! Actually, I don't eat cornflakes; breakfast today was muesli with Greek yogurt, toast and Mocca coffee.

But I digress. Yes, I did read the 'blurb' by Ghost Cable, and interesting reading it makes. First of all, they make the correct statement that cables have no (intrinsic) sound of their own but do possess electrical properties (line resistance and capacitance, etc.) which interact with those of the items between which they connect.

They then go on to say that their cables have found favour with guitarists who like the way the cables affect the sound of their guitars. This is entirely understandable as the pickups of electric guitars have a high resistance (anywhere between 5K and 20K), so the cable capacitance will affect the high-frequency roll-off. Indeed I have seen vendors selling cable having a range of line capacitances, so the user can choose one which best provides the sound he seeks.

The important thing to note is that the guitar, cable, and amplifier constitute an instrument; the cable being as important to the overall sound as much as the choice of strings. Ghost Cables then say their cables have also found favour with recording studios where recording, mixing, editing, and re-mastering are done. All of these activities affect the overall sound and as such create the final sound, so it could be argued they too are instrumental. Once the final tape is made for the production of CDs and LPs, the 'sound' has been fixed.

When it comes to the reproduction of CDs or LPs, what is required is that all of the reproducing equipment should be as neutral as possible, including all the cables and interconnects. In the case of the cables, this is not hard to achieve as the impedance of the source will be low (very low, a few Ohms for solid-state gear, and about 1kOhm for valved gear), so any high-frequency interaction will be small, often beyond the upper hearing limit. So Ghost Cables need have no advantage over any other quality cable; and the diagram showing their construction looks no different from that of other manufacturers such as Klotz, Van Damme, Mogami etc. The use of an isolated carbonised nylon braid as an RFI shield is not really effective: it would have been better to have used a semi-conducting sheath [I]in contact[I] with the outer braid.

So yes, a well-made cable which will perform well, but essentially little different from the competition when used for sound reproduction. The chat about cable directionality and 'burn-in' is nonsense but does no harm.


If you are pleased with your Ghost Cables Gary then good for you - enjoy them. As regards the ratio of interconnect to equipment pricing - I don't really have an opinion, save to say that whilst my preamps, CDPs and power amps each cost thousands, I still prefer to make up my own cables which probably only cost no more than £20 for a set.