PHC1
Addicted Member
I've had a chance to audition the Wireworld Gold Starlight AES/EBU 110ohm digital cable against the Nordost Silver Shadow AES/EBU courtesy of Ivan. First, the Wireworld cable is very impressive from build point of view. Heavy construction, looks to be very well heavy braid shielded and has solid silver conductors, at least that's the impression I am under as it says so on the cable.
Digital cables are hard to evaluate, you are lucky if you find one iota of difference between them. My own Nordost Silver Shadow did stand out a little among others, I was able to locate one preowned at less than 50% of the cost and I am happy with it.
This comparison between the cables was obviously between the MCD and MDA.
Switching back and forth between the two, I did notice that the gold starlight had what I would say a positive effect on the sound. First the starlight comes across as a smoother cable, the highs are a little more relaxed, the midrange a little fuller and a little less forward sounding. I did not notice much difference in the bass between the two. So is the starlight less resolving? No. There is no difference in the details, resolution or the amount of air. They are both great cables in bringing out stunning amount of detail from any music but the Starlight is just more laid back and I would say to my taste more natural sounding as compared to the slightly forward and a bit more "enthusiastic" presentation of the Silver Shadow. Either one is a great digital cable, one could use the difference between the two to close the gap closer to their preference and taste. I liked the Starlight better.
What can I say? The Wireworld cable is expensive at $2300 retail. Is it worth it? To those seeking perfection and squeezing the last ounce of performance from their system , I would say YES. It's definitely worth considering.:yes:
Judging from what I heard from the Starlight, and I would be willing to bet that in this case, a comparison between digital cables would be the least amount of difference one could expect from other cables out there, I would love to hear what their speaker cables and IC's would bring to the table.
Ivan, you are one lucky man to be able to wire your whole system with these wonderful cables. :thmbsp:
Am I keeping the cable? No. With the MS300 in the system now, I have a feeling that out of sheer convenience I will spend much more time listening to it as I will with the MCD1000. The expense would be unjustifiable. My curiosity has been peaked however to see what a nice pair of balanced XLRs and in the future speaker cables would bring to my system. :thmbsp:
Digital cables are hard to evaluate, you are lucky if you find one iota of difference between them. My own Nordost Silver Shadow did stand out a little among others, I was able to locate one preowned at less than 50% of the cost and I am happy with it.
This comparison between the cables was obviously between the MCD and MDA.
Switching back and forth between the two, I did notice that the gold starlight had what I would say a positive effect on the sound. First the starlight comes across as a smoother cable, the highs are a little more relaxed, the midrange a little fuller and a little less forward sounding. I did not notice much difference in the bass between the two. So is the starlight less resolving? No. There is no difference in the details, resolution or the amount of air. They are both great cables in bringing out stunning amount of detail from any music but the Starlight is just more laid back and I would say to my taste more natural sounding as compared to the slightly forward and a bit more "enthusiastic" presentation of the Silver Shadow. Either one is a great digital cable, one could use the difference between the two to close the gap closer to their preference and taste. I liked the Starlight better.
What can I say? The Wireworld cable is expensive at $2300 retail. Is it worth it? To those seeking perfection and squeezing the last ounce of performance from their system , I would say YES. It's definitely worth considering.:yes:
Judging from what I heard from the Starlight, and I would be willing to bet that in this case, a comparison between digital cables would be the least amount of difference one could expect from other cables out there, I would love to hear what their speaker cables and IC's would bring to the table.
Ivan, you are one lucky man to be able to wire your whole system with these wonderful cables. :thmbsp:
Am I keeping the cable? No. With the MS300 in the system now, I have a feeling that out of sheer convenience I will spend much more time listening to it as I will with the MCD1000. The expense would be unjustifiable. My curiosity has been peaked however to see what a nice pair of balanced XLRs and in the future speaker cables would bring to my system. :thmbsp:
