ND555 Impressions

There are many that will argue with you on that - but not me. :slightly_smiling_face:

DB.

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Hi all,

What an interesting thread this is.

I had not been reading until today everyone’s take on Ethernet cables as a couple of weeks ago I took a “punt” on a Diamond cable knowing full well I could return it before the men in white coats come to take me away after spending all that money on one!
Well as soon as I plugged it in the difference was noted straight away…by some margin. I love it, and it continues to improve. Last night I had one of my most enjoyable listening sessions in quite a while. I also took delivery in January a pair of new 808’s which have completely blown me away. Kudos to eh…Kudos!

I would not of believed that an Ethernet cable could make such a difference. I guess I was in denial as all cables, power lines etc have brought improvements along my audio journey.
DB explains the audio improvements so much better than me, suffice to say I’m a happy Bunny.

Audio journey end? For a while!!!

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Don’t fool yourself the journey never ends :-), a potential upgrade of the Ethernet cable is also on my wishlist. If I make the step I I am not sure if it will be audio quest diamond or chord music.

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It never ends Darren.

If you don’t know it I bet you suspect it.

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Who was it who said ‘…you can check out any time you like but you can never leave…’ (followed by guitar solo).

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Give us a clue , must have been before my teen age years😉

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Yeah…right!

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Nigel, Have you actually moved down south to you B&B yet?

Gazza, that is a long and painful story, so no. But it is still the plan, it is just going to take rather longer than we thought.

So all upgrades are suspended.:disappointed:

Sorry to hear that, bummer all round the the sound of it🙈

My cables appear to be entering into a burn in period yikes!!!.. started sounding mellow and soft…and has gradually got more and more analytical… with phenomenal bass …great reaving mids but now some added lisp…to some vocals. My experience tells me this will gradually fade over the next couple of months …we will see.

About how much time do you have into the “burn in”?

What cables are they? The Cinnamons?

I have about 4 days on the cables consisting of:
Viablue EP 7S
Cinnamon
The sound is gradually changing - it’s going through a slightly sharp phase at the moment. All the other things are great … speed, image…etc I am hoping another few weeks will seem them settle down.
A quick question - I have some Vertere Pulse B din to XLR’s for the NAP500 … to replace the 17 year old std jobbies… When I did a quick test … I thought the Naim cables were better. However, I thought as they were second hand they would not require running in … I keep thinking maybe I should persist and keep running them…and maybe they will bed in…any views??? Do old cables need re-running in???

I think the general opinion is that they may just need to settle in a little bit but not actually burn in again.

I’ve got to admit I’m starting to hate the Audioquest Vodkas with a passion: Typical high-end cable hi-fi special effects with a loss of texture, decay, musicality and emotion. Even the timing seems to suffer. I’m hoping they’re going to burn in more, but sadly seem to have stabilised.

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It’s interesting you say that about the Vodka wires. I have them and have none of the effects you mention. Maybe I’m just deaf.

Hi how long have you had the Vodka’s - it can take a while…Super Lumina in my experience takes at least 6 weeks. The cat 6 cables i had before … sounded poor from the off then gradually opened up - with a hint of hardness/sheen then mellowed and settled in - Super Lumina’s are similar. I suspect those Vodka’s will take quite a while… I suggest you 24/7 run them. What is your system?

Interesting. I thought you had Cinnamons. We’ll have to a have little hi-fi afternoon listen while our better halves are out shopping or something before I send them back (unless they miraculously change). It’s quite noticeable to others, too. Did you have a burn-in period for them? Compared to the Designacable “Premium Cat5e” using Belden 1305A cable they are (at least for the past week) slightly lacking in bass extension, have an upward tilt and loss of decay that exaggerates the leading edge, giving an impression of greater dynamics, slightly fudge the timing and have tremendous out-of-speaker-separation. The texture of instruments, from strings to drums and brass, is thinner and less detailed and alive.

The Designacable cables sounded a little dull and sluggish from the start and took about a week to burn in. At first I thought the cheapie Cat5e cables were better.

Thanks. DB has recommended giving them 2-3 weeks. I am currently at 2. My system is ND555, 2 x 555PS, 552, 500, Shahinian Diapasons. Mogami cables for the latter, Hiline for the ND555 to 552. I preferred it to the Superline. Lavender elsewhere.

One was ex demo and the other used, and they sounded good from the start. Your system is far better than mine and it’s entirely possible that the interaction of cables and electronics is different. All my other cables are SL which may make a difference. Certainly strings are very natural and real and not thin at all. Piano is also extraordinarily good.