# Review : Artisan Cables "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects and "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Headphone Upgrade Cable



## slim.a

*Preamble :*

 While I am writing a review about cables, I don't think that cables have a sound of their own but I believe they induce losses to the signal being transmitted that can be audible to various degrees depending on the transparency of the system. So my review is based is how they interacted with my system and with my ears 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 The reason I bought my cables from Artisan Cables without even listening to them is because I was very impressed by the 6 moons review of the "silver dream" interconnects. The reviewer compared them to the Kimber Select KS-1030 silver (which cost £2,000/m) in the context of a high end speaker system. That was an impulse decision I am glad I have made.


*Technical aspects :*

 The artisan cables are as "simple" as they get. They all use a solid silver cable with teflon insulation and silver plated connectors (for the interconnects). The conductors are loosely fitted into their teflon sleeve which make them surrounded mainly by air. Air is a better dielectric than teflon and teflon is a better dielectric than pvc (for example).

 However, there is no shielding on the Artisan cables so they might be susceptible to pick up noise. I was relieved to find out that in my system even with a computer,tv set, wifi router, ... and a lot of other electronic gear nearby, I didn't have any such issue (noise pick-up/hum) with either the unshielded interconnects or the headphone cable.


*System Used :*

Main Chain :

 Foobar 0.8.3 --> Kernel Streaming --> M2Tech hiFace BNC --> Stereovox XV2 --> Audio-gd DAC-19mk3 (modes A & B) --> Artisan Cables "Ultimate Silver Dream"/Cables Hifi & Cie Khnoum --> Audio-GD C-2C (w/ upgraded pot) --> Artisan Cables "Silver Dream"/Moon Audio Blue Dragon V3 --> Sennheiser HD-650

Power related accessories :

 Hi-Fi Cables & Cie PowertransPlus Power Cords (x2)
 Bada LB-5600 Power Filter Plant
 Olflex Power cord
 Supra Mains Block
 Essential Audio Tools Noise Eater Parallel Filter

Vibration Control :
 E&T Spider Rack, Vibrapods, Vibracones, Sandboxes, Brass cones, Acrylic and Fiber carbon sheets,
 Herbie's Audio Lab Tenderfoot, SuperSonic Component Stabilizer

Other gear :
 Sources : Creative Audio 2ZS Notebook, EMU 0404 usb, Zero DAC, Audio-GD DAC-100
 Headphone Amps : Little Dot MKIII, Audio-GD ST-3



*Some of the music used for this review :*

 Sol Gabetta - Schostakowitsch Cellokonzert Nr. 2/Cello
 The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five
 Mahler - Symphony n 5 - Decca
 Natalie Dessay - Italian Opera Arias - Emi Classics
 Puccini - La Boheme - Decca
 Hans Zimmer - Gladiator Soundtrack
 Soundrama - "The Pulse" (Test CD)
 Diana Krall - Live in Paris
 Norah Jones - Come Away With Me



*The «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects :
*
 During the last year, I tried many interconnects in my system, most of those interconnects were budget/entry level (Kimber PBJ, DH-Labs Silver Sonic BL1, Sharkwire, Monster Cable, ...) and I also own one high-end interconnect (The Hifi Cables & Cie khnoum). While I kept all of those cables, I mostly listened during the last year to the Hifi Cables & Cie Khnoum. It had the best resolution, the best imaging and was the most natural sounding. Overall, I tried that cable with several dacs and headphone amps and I couldn't find any fault with it at that time as it seemed to me it completely disappeared from the signal chain compared to the other cables.

Note on Burn-in :

 When I first tried the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects, I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed, the sound was better than my budget interconnects (Kimber PBJ, DH-Labs, ...) but was far from the performance of my reference interconnect. While the soundstage was bigger and deeper than the khnoum interconnect it seemed however that there was haze to the sound and that there was a definite loss in resolution. Low level details seemed to be missing. The sound was also warmer than my reference interconnects which was surprising from silver interconnect
 However, since it was recommended by Artisan Cables to let the cable burn-in for 50 hours, I felt that there might still be hope for improvement.

 So, I let it burn-in for 24 hours without listening to it : I used a mix of music and pink noise for the burn-in session. After 24 hours the sound improved a lot and the haze was gone.
 Overall, I felt it took 100 hours of continuous playback of music + pink noise before the sound of the interconnects settled. During that period, the sound of the interconnects "cleans up" and low-level details emerge from the background.

 I know that many people don't believe in cable burn-in and, as a matter of fact, I didn't use to believe in it until a few months ago. However, I experienced many times that the sound of cables changes with burn-in. So whenever I get a new piece of equipment (dac, amp, cables) I let it "burn-in" for a few days before making my final decision. Also, since I have accumulated a few dacs, headamps and cables, I can burn-in equipment while keeping a base of reference.

The Sound :

 After a few days of continuous playback, the sound of the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects was outstanding which makes it harder to describe than a faulty/colored cable.

Soundstage and imaging :

 The easiest thing to describe is the soundstage. The «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects have a huge soundstage which isn't much wider than my old reference Hifi Cables khnoum interconnect but which is much deeper than anything I have listened to in my system. It makes all my other interconnect seem rather flat and 2 dimensional. (I have to note that I have never tried before a pure silver interconnect in my system).

 At the same time, the imaging is pinpoint precise. In fact, there are some cable that try to fake a big soundstage at the expense of the image precision but the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects can do both very well.
 Also, the imaging of the bass is amazing. With other cables, the bass seem to be diffuse while with "Ultimate Silver Dream" the bass is clearly localized in the soundstage, which increases incidentally the bass impact and slam.

 The imaging can be described as holographic. When listening to Take Five - The Dave Brubeck Quartet with the Khnoum cable, I could already hear the localization of each instrument and the "relative" depth of the recording.

 However, when I listen at he same track with the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects, there is much more going on. The space between the instruments seem bigger and there is also more depth in the recording. When focusing on the drum for example, you not only hear the hit and thereverb but you also feel the size of the drum and feel that there is a real wall at the back of the recording place. Also, besides the sense of localization that other interconnects can give (to different degrees), the "Ultimate Silver Dream" added something I didn't have before, which is a sense of "body" to the performers and instruments while keeping plenty of "air" in between them.

 This air between instruments also benefit the rendition of live performances. On "A case for you" (Diana Krall - Live in Paris), I was not only impressed by the depth in front of me but also "behind me". The ambiance of the scene is more easily perceived. When you hear the multiple coughs at the beginning of the track and the whispering/exchange before DianaKrall starts singing using the Khnoum interconnects, it is more of a distraction than part of the recording. When switching to the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects, those details are better integrated to the whole experience and thanks to a better depth, all those details don't seem to be coming from the same line. Also, at the clapping of the public at the end of the track, there is a greater sense of the presence of the public because, once again, the details are integrated in a real space that has enough depth (vs. artificial sounds).

 Overall, the soundstage is very faithful to the source, it changes a lot from one recording to another in width, depth and height. While you get a sense of tremendous depth on a classical music recordings and live music, you get, in comparison, a more foreword and flatter presentation when the music is recorded/over processed in studio. On some classical recordings such as Mahler - Symphony n 5 - Decca, you get a spooky feeling that the sound of some instruments (horns for example) come a few meters away while retaining their true resolution (not by mean of dulling the sound). Frankly, before trying the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects, I didn't think my system and particularly the Sennheiser hd-650 were able to portray such a well defined soundstage.


Timbre and Tonal Balance :

 The "voicing" of this cable is as close to neutral as I have tried in my system. There was no discernible sonic character to the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects. The frequency extension at the extremes of this cable is amazing, it has very low deep bass and the highs are extended. It is also very neutral sounding. Some recordings sound bright, other warm, ... Each time I thought I discerned a sonic signature, I would change the recording and change the sonic signature of the system (though this was especially true when paired with the "Silver dream" for thesennheiser instead of the blue dragon).

 Playing Sol Gabetta - Schostakowitsch Cellokonzert Nr. 2/Cello is a real treat. On the track number 2 (my favorite), each stroke of the cello is clearly differentiated and is beautiful sounding. This is unlike listening with a tube amp where all the music is sugar coated. This is high definition beauty, and you feel like there is a real artist playing a cello just a few meters from you. Then when other instruments start playing, each one of them have a distinct character, and blossoms through the soundstage. It is a truly excellent track where all instruments played sound realistic and playing just in front of you.

 On good piano recordings (such as Glenn Gould, The Goldberg variations, 1981), the specific timbre and accoustic power of the Steinway piano are totally preserved. The Piano is not floating around but is firmly grounded (more weight to the sound). The harmonic structure of each stroke of the piano is superb and while each note has more inner resolution than theKimber PBJ or DH-Labs BL1, it is less dry than the Khnoum interconnects.

 I also played the test CD "Soundrama - The Pulse" which contains many tracks of sounds of nature : rain, sea shore, ... And that CD sounded very natural and realistic when using the "Ultimate Silver Dream".

 While the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects don't have a sound of their own, they highlight any fault or sonic signature of your source. Switching back and forth between the digital filters of mydac (PMD100 and DF1704), the gap between those two filters was even more apparent than with my other cables.


Dynamics :

 The Dynamics are really explosive with the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects. Whether it is micro-dynamics or macro-dynamics it doesn't seem to suffer any compression whether played at low or high volume. Large scale volume transitions in classical music are as good as anything I have heard, and curiously, even modern music (which is usually heavily compressed to sound louder) seem to be more dynamic than what I was used to.

 While the dynamics are much better than what I get with the Kimber PBJ, DH-Labs BL1 and sharkwire interconnects, it is about the same level of the Hifi Cables interconnects.


Definition :

 The "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnect can be described as having a "relaxed" high resolution sound. The low level resolution is exceptional but the details are never thrown at you.

 Comparing the low level defintion with the Khnoum cable (my former reference cable) was a rather difficult task because of the differences between the soundstage of the two cables. I first thought that the Khnoum cable had more definition but it was due to the fact that it has a "flatter" soundstage and it had a slight bump in the mid treble frequencies.
 So to be sure, I played a test CD "Soundrama - The Pulse" which is recorded at a very low level. I have to set the volume at the maximum in my headamp (the audio-gd c2c) to get a reasonable volume level. So this recording should show any deficiencies with the DAC and the interconnects. On the fifth track, at about 10 seconds, there is a big bell that is rung. With the Khnoum interconnects, the ringing of the bell would mask the sound of the chain to which the bell is attached but I was able to easily hear it through the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects.
 Throughout that test CD, I was able to hear new details but most importantly, those details were not thrown at me but they were put in context and everything sounded natural.

 While I had a hard time comparing the resolution between my former reference cable and the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects, I have to note that both of them are excellent and miles ahead from what you would get from cables such as the Kimber PBJ, the DH-Labs Silver Sonic BL1, or the Sharkwire which are considered to be very good cables for the money. When reverting back to a lesser cable, it is like when you move from a 1080p (high def) to a 480p (dvd). Some people think the difference is huge (I do), and other people don't seem to care about the difference.

 However, there is an area where the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects fell short of the Khnoum cable is the blackness of the background. Thanks to its many layers of shielding (Teflon PTFE, mu-metal, Silver plated screen, ...) the Khnoum cable seems to have a lower noise floor of any cable I have tested, which makes the silence feel "more silent". This is hard todescribre since none of the cables I have tested exhibit noise (even with the volume of my amp set at the maximum). But there is a definte difference in the perception of the blackness of the background where the khnoum cable is ahead of my other cables. The «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects are still better in that aspect than the shielded DH-Labs BL1 interconnects for instance.


Overall :

 The amazing thing about the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects is how much the sound changes from one recording to another. On my current equipment, I cannot find any sonic signature/fault with this cable. If it is warm or bright or slow, it is always coming from elsewhere in the system or in the recording. These are very revealing cables but not in a bad way. It doesn't emphasize the mid treble such as some cables that tend do it to increase the perceived definition, but it is rather unforgiving as it highlights shortcomings the dac/cd player.

 To sum up, the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects throw a huge and believable soundstage (when it is present on the recording), they are also neutral sounding and most of all, the music seem to flow easier. Also, while the sound is great with audiophile grade recordings, it is very good sounding with a broad range of not so greatly recorded material simply by not adding any distortion or brightness to the recording.

 Finally, while it is hard to grade audio components by numbers, here is how I think the cables I mentioned in my review compare to each other (with my ears and in my system) :


 Sharkwire: 50

 Kimber PBJ : 55

 DH-Labs Silver Sonic BL-1 : 60

Cables Hifi & Cie Khnoum : 100

Ultimate Silver Dream : 120



*The "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Headphone Upgrade Cable :*
  (_Edit: The "Silver Dream" cable reviewed below has been discontinued and replaced with the Mark2 cable. See my review of the new model here )._

A quick note on the Moon Audio Blue Dragon v3 :

 I have used the Blue Dragon cable for more than a year and I found that it provided a tremendous improvement in sound quality over the stock cable of the Sennheiser hd-650.
 The sound is much more cleaner with the Blue Dragon compared to te stock cable, it also has more extension on the top and much deeper bass. When adding the Blue Dragon to the sennheiser, it is like adding a (quality) sub-woofer to your system. I started hearing new bass details I wasn't suspecting the sennheiser were able to transmit. The perceived sound is also a little bit louder than the stock cable (at the same volume). However, it seems that the Blue Dragon (as it is discribed by Moon Audio) was voiced to boost the bass a little more than the highs.
 Overall, the Moon Audio is a big jump over the Stock cable with a big increase in resolution/definition. The sound is cleaner and the tonal balance is pretty close to the stock cable. The sound can be described as smooth and warm.


The Sound :

 The reason I bought the "silver dream" cable for the sennheisers is that I felt that whatever change I made to my front end and head-amp, the sound of my system remained rather smooth sounding, which is not surprising from the sennheiser hd-650 but I was suspecting that the blue dragon cable played a big role in that smooth sound. So I looked for cables that would open the sound of my sennheisers : I was hesitating between the silver dragon and the apuresound. But when I read the very impressive 6 moons review of the "silver dream" interconnects, and when I found out the sennheiser upgrade cable from artisan uses the same silver cable as the interconnects, I decided to try the plunge and go all silver. I ordered the Artisan cable upgradesennheiser cable along with the interconnects.

 Unlike what I experienced with the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects, I didn't notice the burn-in effect as much with the headphone cable probably because it outperformed the Blue Dragon straight out of the box and I didn't have any other point of reference at that performance level.


Soundstage and imaging :

 Straight out of the box, the "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Cable opened up the sound of the hd-650 (i.e. no burn-in). As it was the case with the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnect, the soundstage was large and deep. The depth was particularly phenomenal compared to the Blue Dragon. The imaging more also focused and holographic than the blue dragon which is already a big step up over the stock sennheiser cable.

 However, the amazing thing about the "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Cable is that they also increase the height over the blue dragon. If I were to make a speaker analogy, it is like when you switch from a small monitor speaker to a big full range tower speaker when playing at the same volume. The "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Cable just seem to push the soundstage deeper in all directions and feels it with more authority and coherence than the blue dragon (or worse, the stock cable).

 With my current system, I don't feel that the soundstage of my headphone set-up suffers in comparison to normal system speakers. It feels natural and watching movies/series with the set-up just makes it moreimmersive than many conventional speaker systems (I am not speaking about $10,000+ speaker systems).


Timbre :

 The "silver dream" cable for sennheiser shares the same "natural" tonal qualities as the «Ultimate Silver Dream» interconnects but compared to the Blue Dragon, the "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Cable has a lot more frequency content while having a deeper, tighter and more articulate bass.

 The Blue Dragon have a distinct sonic signature which is smooth at the top end and warm at the mid-bass but remains pretty close to the sonic signature of thehd-650 with their stock cable. On the other hand, the "Silver Dream" did change the sonic signature of the hd-650 making them more open and much more revealing, the sound was probably more neutral but I wasn't sure I liked what I was hearing. There was just too much high frequency content between theDF-1704 module in my dac and the all silver interconnect. I tried many tweaks such as switching my m2tech converter with the warmer sounding teralink-x, switching digital cables, trying back the PMD 100 module, ... but all of those involved trade-offs in definition/resolution I wasn't willing to settle for. It was until I received theBADA LB-5600 Power filter and used it instead of my Supra Mains multiplier that I finally hit the "perfect" tonal balance in my system. The sound became vivid yet natural.

 This digression might seem insignificant but I just wanted to point out that the "Silver dream" sennheiser cable might upset the balance of a system contrary to the Moon Audio Blue Dragon which is closer to the sonic signature of the stock HD-650 cable. This shouldn't be problematic however with a tube amp as I didn't notice any treble "hotness" when I paired it with the Little Dot mk-3.


Dynamics :

 The "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Cable has great dynamics especially in the bass. In comparison, the Blue Dragon seem to "saturate" and hit "compression" in the bass much earlier than the "Silver Dream".

 This added dynamics is especially interesting again when watching movies/series. The dynamics are so close to the real thing that it becomes spooky sometimes.


Definition :

 The "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Cable share the same quality of "relaxed" definition as do the "Ultimate Silver Dream" interconnects. Compared to the Blue Dragon, there is a noticeable increase in resolution that is apparent on the Audio-gd C2C headphone amp but not so much with the Little Dot MK3.

 However, even when using the Little Dot MK3, there is a noticeable increase in definition on both upgrade cables over the stock one which seems to suck all the low level details.


Overall :


 For those who are seeking to upgrade their headphone cable for the Sennheiser hd-650, both upgrade cables provide a big improvement over the stock cable. They both sound much cleaner and "de-veil" the sennheisers. However, while I found that the "Silver Dream" cable clearly outperformed the Blue Dragon in my system (mainly in definition and soundstage), it is easier to recommend the Blue Dragon than the Silver Dream. Indeed it is easier to live with a loss of definition and smooth sound than a high definition sound which tend to be aggressive.

 Again, below is how I would grade the cables relative to each other (with my ears and my system) :


 Stock HD-650 cable : 40

Blue Dragon V3 : 100

Silver Dream : 140



*Conclusion :*

 To sum up, I would say that the Artisan Silver Cables brought to my system more transparency, a bigger and bolder soundstage, and holographic imaging. These are absolutely great cables (for the money and to the extent of my knowledge) that pushed my system a little bit further towards neutrality. Also, while they ruthlessly reveal weaknesses about the equipment being used, there is a greater range than usual of recordings/music that sound good through the system.


*Pictures of my system :*


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## slim.a

Updates:

 - I wrote a full length comparative review with the SAA Equinox here : http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/co...5/#post6401648

 - After a little bit of delay, the "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Headphone Upgrade Cable Mark 2 is finally out : http://www.artisansilvercables.com/sennheiser.htm


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## jhanby

Awesome system.

 Out of intrest, what stand is that ?


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jhanby* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Awesome system.

 Out of intrest, what stand is that ?_

 

Thanks. The rack is an E&T Spider Rack I bought on ebay (here).


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## tosehee

does it have 6 cables per channel? so, 12 cables twisted and braided together?

 $10.80 per foot per cryo. 
 half meter is like 1.65 foot.
 thus, the total material cost is

 $10.80 * 12 * 1.65 + cost of connector + labor charge =
 $214 + cost of connector + labor =

 Looking at the calculation above, it seems like a great value product.

 I wonder how much they charge for their solid core. If they got it cheaper, then the calculation varies, of course.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *tosehee* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_does it have 6 cables per channel? so, 12 cables twisted and braided together?

 $10.80 per foot per cryo. 
 half meter is like 1.65 foot.
 thus, the total material cost is

 $10.80 * 12 * 1.65 + cost of connector + labor charge =
 $214 + cost of connector + labor =

 Looking at the calculation above, it seems like a great value product.

 I wonder how much they charge for their solid core. If they got it cheaper, then the calculation varies, of course._

 

The "Ultimate Silver Dream" uses 8 cables per channel and the "Silver Dream" (the one that was reviewed by 6moons) 4 cables per channel. 

 So yes it seems to be a great value just by looking at the cost of silver wire. 

 By the way they seem to be selling their _0.6mm un-braided pure solid silver wire, with Teflon insulation _at £18/meter, which would make it £6/ft.


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## alvin sawdust

Nice review slim.a.Funnily enough i have the blue dragon on my senns (HD650) and was toying with the idea of trying the Artisan.Have you noticed any change in sound as regards burn-in?


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *alvin sawdust* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Nice review slim.a.Funnily enough i have the blue dragon on my senns (HD650) and was toying with the idea of trying the Artisan.Have you noticed any change in sound as regards burn-in?_

 

The sound of the "silver dream" headphone cable did improve with burn-in but not to the same extent as "ultimate silver dream" interconnect.

 If you are upgrading from the Blue Dragon, like I did, you can expect an increase in frequency extension and quantity at the highs, better defined bass, and deeper soundstage straight out of the box. With burn-in there is an improvement in transparency and low level details. 

 However, since the cable is so much different sounding than the Blue Dragon, I didn't have a sound reference solid enough to make accurate perception of the burn-in effect (as I noted in my review). It was easier to pinpoint the burn-in effect on the "ultimate silver dream" interconnects since they were rather close sounding to the Khnoum RCA interconnects I have been using for months.


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## alvin sawdust

Funny thing is Artisan don't seem to be advertising the headphone cable anymore on their website.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *alvin sawdust* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Funny thing is Artisan don't seem to be advertising the headphone cable anymore on their website._

 

I went back to their site and it seems that they removed the sennheiser upgrade cable from their list of products. 

 By the way, I didn't mention it in my review but there was a slight delay (3-4 days if I remember correctly) on the order of the headphone upgrade cable because they were out of stock of cardas connectors. So maybe they are out of stock again ?


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## nautilus983

Hello slim. a,

 how does the artisan ultimate silver dream compare to the Kimber PBJ and BL-1 when listening to 192k and 128k mp3s? I intend to buy the Oyaide DB 510, due to your review and favorable price. However, the ultimate silvers are really expensive, at 300 dollars for the minimum length, when compared to the PBJ and BL-1, which cost 100 dollars or less... I understand that with lossless music tracks the difference will be perceivable, but how is the difference with mp3s?

 Thanks


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## nautilus983

never mind, after seeing how passionate they are having read their main website, I am going to get the ultimate silver dream. I am always pleased when manufacturers fully work with their heart and come out with useful things such as this.

 edit:
 I am most probably going to buy the ultimate silver cables, but I had failed to notice that they offer a 99 pound entry level version that can better compete with the PBJ and BL-1 in their price segment.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *nautilus983* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hello slim. a,

 how does the artisan ultimate silver dream compare to the Kimber PBJ and BL-1 when listening to 192k and 128k mp3s? I intend to buy the Oyaide DB 510, due to your review and favorable price. However, the ultimate silvers are really expensive, at 300 dollars for the minimum length, when compared to the PBJ and BL-1, which cost 100 dollars or less... I understand that with lossless music tracks the difference will be perceivable, but how is the difference with mp3s?

 Thanks_

 

Hi nautilus983,

 It is a difficult question to answer as it will depend on your system (by the way, what is your system?). 
 In my current system, the difference is very noticeable between the PBJ/BL1 and the Artisan Cables on almost any file being played. There is much more information coming through (or less loss of information) with the Artisan Silver Cable whether I am playing 192kps mp3s or 24bits/96khz high rez files, the differences in soundstaging, transparency, frequency extension and dynamics are easily spotted. 
 I have to admit however that I didn't try recently 128 kbps mp3s so I cannot comment on them.

 You should be aware that the ultimate silver dream are very transparent and they will reveal any flaw of your source (dac or cd player). They don't have a sonic signature like the BL1 (that exhibit a slight brightness) but they are less forgiving than the Kimber PBJ or the Sharkwire for example.

 By the way since my review, I tried the Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects against the Actinote Aria (they retail for €800) and I found them rather close and ended up preferring the Silver Dream because they had a more open and spacious soundstage, and a more articulate bass. So of course, they are expensive when compared to entry level cables (PBJ/BL1) but they offer a good value when compared to other high end cables (their true competition).

 Edit -- I just saw your second post. Let us know what you think about it if/when you get it.


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## nautilus983

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *slim.a* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hi nautilus983,

 It is a difficult question to answer as it will depend on your system (by the way, what is your system?). 
 In my current system, the difference is very noticeable between the PBJ/BL1 and the Artisan Cables on almost any file being played. There is much more information coming through (or less loss of information) with the Artisan Silver Cable whether I am playing 192kps mp3s or 24bits/96khz high rez files, the differences in soundstaging, transparency, frequency extension and dynamics are easily spotted. 
 I have to admit however that I didn't try recently 128 kbps mp3s so I cannot comment on them.

 You should be aware that the ultimate silver dream are very transparent and they will reveal any flaw of your source (dac or cd player). They don't have a sonic signature like the BL1 (that exhibit a slight brightness) but they are less forgiving than the Kimber PBJ or the Sharkwire for example.

 By the way since my review, I tried the Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects against the Actinote Aria (they retail for €800) and I found them rather close and ended up preferring the Silver Dream because they had a more open and spacious soundstage, and a more articulate bass. So of course, they are expensive when compared to entry level cables (PBJ/BL1) but they offer a good value when compared to other high end cables (their true competition).

 Edit -- I just saw your second post. Let us know what you think about it if/when you get it._

 

Thank you for your answer, Slim 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 This is going to be my system:

 M2Tech hiFace > Oyaide DB-510 BNC > New Audio-gd DAC-19 (with either PMD100 or DF1704) > Artisan Cables Ultimate Silver Dream > Decware CSP2 with Mullard CV2492/Sylvania 5Y3G tubes > JVC DX1000

 I would like to ask you some further questions, but I think that they better pertain to the thread on the Dac19MK3, so I'll ask them there


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## FraGGleR

OCC Silver can be had for $5/ft (much cheaper if you know a distributor) and regular 4N silver (which is what is used in these cables) can be had for under $1.50/ft, and those look just like Homegrownaudio.com's lowend connectors that retail for $6 a piece (In fact, Homegrown makes identical cables with nicer connectors for less). Teflon tubing like they used is $10 for 100ft. Not as bad a markup as I have seen elsewhere, but there is practically nothing to these cables. 

 What surprises me is that these have about as basic a design as you can find in DIY cable making, and yet they are reported to be better than $4000 cables? I don't know what to think of that. It is amazing what marketing can do, i guess. I could whip up a set of interconnects in about an hour when I get home that would be identical to these (probably nicer since I have OCC Silver and have cooler looking plugs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




), but it would be a miracle if someone gave me $300 for them. Actually knowing how cheap you can get materials and how easy it is to make cables like this, I don't know if my conscience would allow me to ask for more than $150. 

 I am glad you like them and that the geometry sounds good to not only you but also professional reviewers. It means that I really am getting top notch quality for my money by building my own cables.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *FraGGleR* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_OCC Silver can be had for $5/ft (much cheaper if you know a distributor) and regular 4N silver (which is what is used in these cables) can be had for under $1.50/ft, and those look just like Homegrownaudio.com's lowend connectors that retail for $6 a piece (In fact, Homegrown makes identical cables with nicer connectors for less). Teflon tubing like they used is $10 for 100ft. Not as bad a markup as I have seen elsewhere, but there is practically nothing to these cables. 

 What surprises me is that these have about as basic a design as you can find in DIY cable making, and yet they are reported to be better than $4000 cables? I don't know what to think of that. It is amazing what marketing can do, i guess. I could whip up a set of interconnects in about an hour when I get home that would be identical to these (probably nicer since I have OCC Silver and have cooler looking plugs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





), but it would be a miracle if someone gave me $300 for them. Actually knowing how cheap you can get materials and how easy it is to make cables like this, I don't know if my conscience would allow me to ask for more than $150. 

 I am glad you like them and that the geometry sounds good to not only you but also professional reviewers. It means that I really am getting top notch quality for my money by building my own cables._

 

FraGGleR,

 You have to keep in mind that not everybody have the DIY skills to make a proper interconnect cable. But even if I knew how to construct one, I wouldn't do it myself and there is a simple answer to that. I wouldn't know what geometry, how many strands, what dielectric, and what plugs would make a natural and neutral sounding cable. Should I choose 0.4mm or 0.8mm solid concductors? Solid core vs. multi-core? WBT plugs? What solder?...

 If you look at the Ultimate Silver Dream interconnects, they are using 8 conductors per channel. Also, it uses mainly air as a dielectric : they put their silver conductors in a loose teflon jacket (which takes time to do I guess). So even if the raw materials do not cost more than one third of the price, I am happy to pay the premium for the research done and time spent making the cable. 

 So why the Artisan Silver Cables can beat some cables priced at $1000+? In my opinion, it is because many cable companies sell marketing hype about complex geometries and/or shielding when it is possible to make things simpler. Are the Artisan Cables perfect? probably not since I didn't listen to all the cables in the world but what I can tell is that compared to other cables that are sold at a lower or higher price, they provide an excellent value for the price.

 Finally, FraGGleR, if you the DIY skills go for it! If I had the DIY skills and knew what combination of conductor/dielectric/geometry/plugs would work I would do it to. Unfortunately I (as well as many) don't have those skills so we are stuck buying stuff that are already made and that are known to work. I have read many reports of people complaining about the leaness or harshness of silver based cables, so I guess not everybody can do it right and putting high purity OCC silver and $100+ WBT plugs doesn't guarantee you get a well balanced cable from the first try.

 By the way, I checked the Homegrownaudio website. And the cable that has same geometry (8 conductors) as the "ultimate silver dream" cable is sold for $245 for 1 meter. However, it uses an inferior design since it uses a FEP dielectric (not even real teflon PTFE) instead of the mainly air dielectric used in the artisan silver cables. However, they have an interesting cable, the DNA, that uses cotton dielectric (which is better sounding than teflon) but it costs $525 for 0.5m.


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## nautilus983

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *FraGGleR* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_OCC Silver can be had for $5/ft (much cheaper if you know a distributor) and regular 4N silver (which is what is used in these cables) can be had for under $1.50/ft, and those look just like Homegrownaudio.com's lowend connectors that retail for $6 a piece (In fact, Homegrown makes identical cables with nicer connectors for less). Teflon tubing like they used is $10 for 100ft. Not as bad a markup as I have seen elsewhere, but there is practically nothing to these cables. 

 What surprises me is that these have about as basic a design as you can find in DIY cable making, and yet they are reported to be better than $4000 cables? I don't know what to think of that. It is amazing what marketing can do, i guess. I could whip up a set of interconnects in about an hour when I get home that would be identical to these (probably nicer since I have OCC Silver and have cooler looking plugs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




), but it would be a miracle if someone gave me $300 for them. Actually knowing how cheap you can get materials and how easy it is to make cables like this, I don't know if my conscience would allow me to ask for more than $150. 

 I am glad you like them and that the geometry sounds good to not only you but also professional reviewers. It means that I really am getting top notch quality for my money by building my own cables._

 

According to tosehee:

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by * tosehee* 
_does it have 6 cables per channel? so, 12 cables twisted and braided together?

 $10.80 per foot per cryo. 
 half meter is like 1.65 foot.
 thus, the total material cost is

 $10.80 * 12 * 1.65 + cost of connector + labor charge =
 $214 + cost of connector + labor =

 Looking at the calculation above, it seems like a great value product.

 I wonder how much they charge for their solid core. If they got it cheaper, then the calculation varies, of course._

 

The cable should have 8 cables per channel. The price seems to reflect the cost of the product, and I thus believe in their honesty.


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## cosmicmindwarp

The silver in Artisan Cables costs us close to your figure of $5 per foot (silver is more expensive to buy in the UK than the US). The Ultimate Cable has 8 conductors per side (so 16 conductors in a pair). We are generous with our lengths, so a one metre cable ends up using about 3.5 feet per counductor. With 16 conductors, we have a total of about 56 feet of silver used for a one metre pair. 56 x $5 gives a figure of $280 worth of silver in a one metre pair of Ultimate Silver Dreams. Add to that 56 feet of teflon tubing, 4 RCA connectors, labour costs, postage costs (we offer free World Wide shipping), advertising costs, tax payments, web site costs etc and you can see that our margins are pretty modest. 

 Have a look at the construction of the Kimber KCAG at KCAG : Cancel RFI with this all-silver intercon... 
 It has 3 multistrand silver conductors, wrapped in Teflon and some cheap RCA plugs.

 The KCAG is currently selling here in England through Russ Andrews at £714 for a one metre pair. A typical profit margin for a high-end cable is at least 8-10 x the cost - often it's MUCH more. We set out to offer better value than that. Our prices, when all costs are taken into account are less than 2 x the overall cost - which any businessman worth his salt would be horrified at! We are able to maintain this by selling direct only: normally there are big distribution networks, with various middlemen, who all take their cut.

 The simplicity of construction is there, because complex shielded cables tend to sound much worse than shielded ones - unless they're VERY expensive. I don't pretend to understand the technical reasons for this, but everyone who gets to listen always confirms it.
 The reviewer at 6moons compared ours to Kimber's KS-1030 (a complex shielded cable) which retails at over £1800 for a one metre pair here in England in a very high-resolution system and found ours to be incredibly close and bought the review pair.

 Obviously, you have the knowledge, expertise and equipment to make your own cables - and of course a DIY-er can make them cheaper. Most people would not be willing tackle that job - they just want to buy an upgrade that gives a good improvement in sound and is decent value. It's true that we can't match the value of one guy making up leads on his own, but we can and will continue to offer MUCH better value than any other high-end silver cable manufacturer.


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## galaxy72c

Interesting Silver Dream headphone cable review.
 I search all over the internet, found only interconnect and speaker cables,
 not the headphone cable. Please send us the link. Thanks a lot, Slim.A


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *galaxy72c* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Interesting Silver Dream headphone cable review.
 I search all over the internet, found only interconnect and speaker cables,
 not the headphone cable. Please send us the link. Thanks a lot, Slim.A_

 

Artisan Silver cables discontinued the version I am currently using and they are working on a replacement (a v2). The difference will be that the new version will be reinforced with Kevlar so it should be more resistant/durable even in harsh conditions.
 I will post a link whenever they release the new version.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *galaxy72c* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Interesting Silver Dream headphone cable review.
 I search all over the internet, found only interconnect and speaker cables,
 not the headphone cable. Please send us the link. Thanks a lot, Slim.A_

 

After a little bit of delay, the "Silver Dream" Sennheiser Headphone Upgrade Cable Mark 2 is finally out : ARTISAN SILVER CABLES "Silver Dream" pure silver Sennheiser Headphone Upgrade Cable


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## Shahrose

Here I was expecting to debunk the IC and coax cable myth but to these ears there's definitely a change in sound with my recent cable upgrades. The differences are subtle but they are in areas that matter, and in many of them. Good stuff.

 That being said, I can't say I'd recommend these cables for the price. It was worth the cost for me, but I would understand those who would disagree. I maintain that one should upgrade their transport/DAC/amp/headphones before cables.


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## Black Stuart

Cosmicmindwarp,
 a very good reply and very honest. SlimA said it all did'nt he.

 A lot of those who get involved in modding gear and making their own cables lose sight of the simple fact that as SlimA said - there are many who don't have diy skills, so are happy to pay someone who is.

 They cannot step outside of their particular box and then make silly pronouncements.

 Cosmicmindwarp - I have spent over 3 years developing my i/cs and could have saved myself a lot of time and money if I had really taken onboard the simple maxim that 'air is the best dialectric'. 

 The same quality of wire wrapped (commercially) in Teflon or Kapton (mil spec) simply does not compare to the same wire being bare - it is as simple as that.

 I have used quality silver/plated OFHC wire and am now trying UP-OCC (6N) and Mundorf silver/gold wire. 

 I have to say that the s/plated copper wire is outstanding but SlimA if you hav'nt replicated the i/c as signal wire inside your amp - you don't know just how much better the sound can truly be.

 I use double sheilding which must be kept a minimum distance from the signal conductors and a novel return wire system.

 Like the Silver Dream - IF I go commercial they cannot be cheap, simply because of the materials costs. As for those multi $thousand types - they may use sexy coverings, there are plenty of smucks who will pay plenty for visual bling - let them, it's their money.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Black Stuart* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I have to say that the s/plated copper wire is outstanding but SlimA if you hav'nt replicated the i/c as signal wire inside your amp - you don't know just how much better the sound can truly be._

 

I had already thought of replacing the internal wires my DAC/headphone amp but since I have zero soldering skills I decided to not touch inside them.

 In fact, the importance of the wires is one of the reasons I sold my old audio-gd dac19mk3/c2c and replaced them with the new combo dac19dsp/c2. Besides the better digital filter in the DAC, the main difference between what I had and what I am getting is the ability to use the ACSS (CAST) transmission between the DAC and headphone amp. While most audio gear transmits signal in the voltage mode, the ACSS technology allows the signal to be transmitted in the current mode. This supposedly reduce (but doesn't entirely negate) the effect of the cables. If the current connection proves to be better, I will have the rca connectors of my ultimate silver dreams converted to ACSS (CAST). Hopefully, that techology should minimize the effects of the internal wiring as well.


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## Black Stuart

Hi Slim,
 you will have seen my post on your thread. I use s/plate OFHC copper with double sheilded air dialectric.

 I am about to build some i/cs using UP-OCC silver and will make up an identical pair and also an unsheilded pair.

 Take not of what I said about replicating identical signal wiring inside your amp/s as you use for i/cs - it's the bare wire (sheilded) that makes a huge difference.

 If you like your i/cs now you will love what changing your amp internal signal wiring will do.

 Let me know if you are interested.

 Regards - Stuart


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## slim.a

I just remembered that I forgot to mention that Artisan Silver Cables sent me last week their Mark 2 Headphone Upgrade Cable. I received it Saturday and all I can say is that I am very impressed by the build quality. It is as good as the Moon Audio Blue Dragon and better than Stefan AudioArt Equinox. The worst looking cable (besides the stock one) is their Mark1 cable (the one that I am using). But I kept using it because it sounds so good compared to all the other cables I have tried so far.

 As for the sound quality, I haven't done any serious listening so far. I will post my impressions later and I will also have the opportunity to compare them to a Revelation Audio Lab cable that rosgr63 is going to send me.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Black Stuart* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hi Slim,
 you will have seen my post on your thread. I use s/plate OFHC copper with double sheilded air dialectric.

 I am about to build some i/cs using UP-OCC silver and will make up an identical pair and also an unsheilded pair.

 Take not of what I said about replicating identical signal wiring inside your amp/s as you use for i/cs - it's the bare wire (sheilded) that makes a huge difference.

 If you like your i/cs now you will love what changing your amp internal signal wiring will do.

 Let me know if you are interested.

 Regards - Stuart_

 

Hi Stuart,

 I will definitely put the replicating of signal wires inside the amp/dac on my to do list. Your experience confirmed what I was already suspicious about. Now, I will just have to source some of the Artisan Silver Dream cable but they seem to have discontinued selling bulk wire in their website.

 Thanks.


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## Black Stuart

Just for a 'reality check' I decided to replace the sheilded s/plated copper signal wires with the UP-OCC silver wire unsheilded inside my h/amp.

 Initial impressions are the same as for i/cs made the same way - at this moment, early days I know but the focus, soundstage and detail are not there and the quality of the bass is all blowsy.

 The sheilded wiring was so much better at this stage - vamos a ver/ let's see what more burn in will do.

 At this time the s/plated OFHC copper is way ahead - quite a surprise!


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## alvin sawdust

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *slim.a* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I just remembered that I forgot to mention that Artisan Silver Cables sent me last week their Mark 2 Headphone Upgrade Cable. I received it Saturday and all I can say is that I am very impressed by the build quality. It is as good as the Moon Audio Blue Dragon and better than Stefan AudioArt Equinox. The worst looking cable (besides the stock one) is their Mark1 cable (the one that I am using). But I kept using it because it sounds so good compared to all the other cables I have tried so far.

 As for the sound quality, I haven't done any serious listening so far. I will post my impressions later and I will also have the opportunity to compare them to a Revelation Audio Lab cable that rosgr63 is going to send me._

 

Hi slim.a,any further impressions with the mark 2 cable?

 Just received mine and although it is early days i quite like what i am hearing.Need to let it play for a while before i can say anything definate but the high frequencies sound cleaner,i think copper is a smidgeon grainier in this respect.

 Nice build quality too,almost identical to the blue dragon except for the hint of red through the cable instead of blue.


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## slim.a

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Black Stuart* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just for a 'reality check' I decided to replace the sheilded s/plated copper signal wires with the UP-OCC silver wire unsheilded inside my h/amp.

 Initial impressions are the same as for i/cs made the same way - at this moment, early days I know but the focus, soundstage and detail are not there and the quality of the bass is all blowsy.

 The sheilded wiring was so much better at this stage - vamos a ver/ let's see what more burn in will do.

 At this time the s/plated OFHC copper is way ahead - quite a surprise!_

 

Let us know how it goes on after burn-in.


  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *alvin sawdust* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Hi slim.a,any further impressions with the mark 2 cable?

 Just received mine and although it is early days i quite like what i am hearing.Need to let it play for a while before i can say anything definate but the high frequencies sound cleaner,i think copper is a smidgeon grainier in this respect.

 Nice build quality too,almost identical to the blue dragon except for the hint of red through the cable instead of blue._

 

Glad that you liked their upgrade cable. As for me, I am still in the process of burning-in the Mark2 cable. So far I like the sound a lot as it is close to the Mark1 cable. I am also trying the Revelation Audio Lab cable that rosgr63 sent me. 

 I intend to write a full review on the Mark2 with comparisons aginst the Mark1, stock cable and Revelation Audio Lab cable (which uses cryo silver) in the next 2 weeks.


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## Black Stuart

I just sent a pm to slim.a so I thought I should precis that for this thread.

 One should'nt bother listening straight away to a wiring change but we all do. What I should have done is waited a bit longer - oh well.

 I left the amp on all night and had a listen this morning. I had used lesser tubes, not wanting to use hours on my unobtanum NOS tubes. 

 The 6N silver accurately showed the difference in the tubes but where I was looking forward to the organic and emotional content of my NOS when I changed them I was a bit dissapointed, since these attributes were there right from the beginning with the SPC (s/plated copper).

 The 'haze' or 'veil' was there as slim.a said and was expected. Wonderful detail on female voice, depth on piano and percussion had detail too but where is the organic emotion. The veil should lift and if this organic emotion comes through then it will indeed be better than SPC.


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## slim.a

Thanks for sharing your impressions with us Black Stuart.

 Concerning the burn-in, I felt that I had a lot of improvement with the ultimate silver dream during the first 100 hours. But I also think that they continued to improve ever so slightly long after that. 

 That is one of the reasons I have kept silent about the Mark2 sennheiser cable that Artisan Silver Cables sent me for review. I feel that it is still evolving so I am waiting until it settles down before writing a review.


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## SoFGR

Currently  using  19mk3 (usb, my hiface is still on the way )  +  compass amp ( C2C is temporally  out of order ) along with the  ultimate silver dream SE + AKG K601,  VERY impressed,  the soundstage just  sounds very REAL, even in  games like l4d2  i hear  the  zombies / survivors   talking  like  they're next to my ear, i don't feel like  using  in-game 5.1 settings and cmss3d headphone anymore, just plain old   stereo. 
   
  Granted  my  previous  pair of  interfconnects ( sharkwire pink RCA )  were  average at best but i did not expect  to hear  such  a  difference, small details  come out  so effortlessly  and  everything  sounds  so damn smooth / focused, I can't  wait to get  my C2C  repaired ( it was 100% my fault mind you, not  a hardware  malfunction ) to  see  what  else I am missing.


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## slim.a

Quote: 





sofgr said:


> Currently  using  19mk3 (usb, my hiface is still on the way )  +  compass amp ( C2C is temporally  out of order ) along with the  ultimate silver dream SE + AKG K601,  VERY impressed,  the soundstage just  sounds very REAL, even in  games like l4d2  i hear  the  zombies / survivors   talking  like  they're next to my ear, i don't feel like  using  in-game 5.1 settings and cmss3d headphone anymore, just plain old   stereo.
> 
> Granted  my  previous  pair of  interfconnects ( sharkwire pink RCA )  were  average at best but i did not expect  to hear  such  a  difference, small details  come out  so effortlessly  and  everything  sounds  so damn smooth / focused, I can't  wait to get  my C2C  repaired ( it was 100% my fault mind you, not  a hardware  malfunction ) to  see  what  else I am missing.


 
   
  I had the same combination (dac19mk3+c2c) as yours before and I agree that everything sounds real with the Ultimate Silver Dream. I compared the Ultimate Silver Dreams to a few interconnects costing up to €800 and the Ultimate Silver Dream was either on par or better those interconnects.
  (I have yet to try Black Stuarts RCA cables though).

  
  Quote: 





alvin sawdust said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *slim.a* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> ...


 

 It took me a little bit longer than expected but I have finished writing the review of the Mark2 cable here: http://new.head-fi.org/forum/thread/492395/review-mark-2-artisan-silver-dream-headphone-upgrade-cable-for-the-sennheiser-hd-650


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## swissheadphonelover (Aug 5, 2021)

Reactivating this thread.
Replaced cable between dac and Feliks Audio Euforia with Artisan Ultimate Silver Dream rca interconnect. The result is excellent, I can 100% confirm what was written in this thread more than 10 years ago. Price performance ratio is outstanding. I will now replace all analog and digital interconnects with Ultimate silver dream. They will replace cables from a very renowned brand which cost about 6 (!) times the price of the Artisans.


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