Pachanko SATA Cable

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

Curious what the difference if any there are between Paul Pang, Jcat, and Pachanko.

 

 

Yes, that is the question.

 

I recently trialled a friend's JCAT SATA cable on the music ssd and was surprised with the SQ improvement (I was expecting none). In short improved tonal balance with smoother mids,less harshness without other losses. Indeed, incremental improvements in other areas. The JCAT unfortunately has known issues with mobo and ssd compatibility, Windows (10 in my case) frequently not recognizing connected drive. There is a JCAT SATA v2 cable just out so maybe addresses these problems.

 

Has anyone had similar compatibilty issues with Pachanko?

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

David

How long was this cable ? Did you also try the shortest possible SATA 3 6GB/S cable, which has 2 separate internal screened cables ?

Hi Alex,

JCAT SATA is 40cm and I only need about half this length.

 

AFAIK the standard SATA cables that came with the MOBO are all 6bps. I am assuming this as the MOBO has only SATA III 6gbs ports. I do not know if they are double shielded. Is the shielding part of the SATA III spec?

 

The JCAT SATA was a noticeble SQ improvement

 

I have used the Pachanko SATA cables and many of my friends and associates have used both the Pachanko Digital "Sata/Mk2" (Red) and Pachanko Digital "Sata Reference" (Black) without any issues, the improvement is sound quality has been vetted and confirmed by all who installed them. I am now using the Sata Reference on my O/S SSD and Music SSD. Very highly recommended.

 

Good to know, thanks

 

Hi Guys

I had a PPA sata cable on my OS disk in the audio pc of my 2 pc streamer and replaced it with Pachanko's red SATA cable. The improvement was obvious immediately. Music had more body and better focus. This only improved over the next week.

Recently I have switched that cable to his black Reference Sata cable. This brought even more improvement in detail, tonal balance and clarity.

 

Which PPA was it? Pity no-one has compared Pachanko to JCAT. I believe PPA makes JCAT cables so it might be interesting to know which PPA it was and therefore if it is the same cable used by JCAT. I do know that the JCAT reference *usb* cable has some differences to the PPA version ie it is made especially for JCAT that way.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

Thanks Alex, I'll give it a try

Cheers

David

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

IMO and at least 10 others who have compared the "stock" SATA cables to the modified cables from Pachanko, PPA and JCat, there is an immediate improvement when the stock SATA cables were replaced with the better quality SATA, that being said, the Pachanko came out the winner each time.

 

We had three folks do an A/B/A listening session with the PPA Sarah, PPA Black and the Pachanko SATA, In all the tests the Pachanko SATA was the clear winner, however the PPA Black was a close second, but costs much more than the Pachanko SATA.

 

Thanks for the info. I wonder why the expensive brand SATA cables sound better.Electronics is not my strong suit. Perhaps it is due to the multicore or if they use twisted pair construction cancelling noise. I believe standard SATA cables use non twisted pairs. Expectation bias is always a possibility but in my case I was NOT expecting an improvement, quite the reverse, I was expecting it to be BS marketing hype.

 

I actually contacted Chan from Pachanko. IMHO he needs to seriously look at his marketing and I told him my opinion FWIW.He has three SATA cables on his website at different price points but with the exact same description. The lack of 'hype' is refreshing but similarly I dont think there will be too many wanting to buy expensive cables based on his "love and passion" .

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

David

Perhaps you will soon be in a position to be able to help answer the question as to whether there is any marked (not tiny) SQ advantage with an expensive aftermarket 40cm SATA cable over a shorter 25cm SATA 3 6GB/s cable ? .

 

Yes comparing the cable you recommended to the JCAT SATA v1 which is in Peter's server I built for him. Alex, we will also get you over and you can decide for yourself!

I hope the much cheaper cable does rate favourably. I am in a bit of a quandary if it does not as I have lost a bit of faith in the reliabilty of JCAT products (thus I am here researching Pachanko).Marcin declined to swap the faulty JCAT v1 for a v2 cable. In fairness, he did suggest some tweaks to the BIOS to see if that solved the compatibility issues. At Pete's place today the jcat was less problematic after a couple of reboots so he decided not to do anything further for now.I will also need to rethink about which usb card and cable I want to go with.

 

 

It makes sense to me that an aftermarket SATA cable may perform better at longer lengths than a normal SATA cable of the same length, due to improved screening and perhaps lower resistance conductors.

 

Now Alex, you are beginning sound like one of those dang "objectivists". Throw in a spurious measurement or two and we might think you have defected ;-)

 

 

A generic SATA cable as still used by many, only has 7 wires side by side without any shielding . Most newer motherboards are likely to have come with at least one 40cm SATA3 6GB/s cable

 

Is that *generic* SATAII with 7 wires side by side and no shielding as opposed to *generic* SATAIII with two shielded wires?

 

Just to add to (my) confusion I read somewhere that there should be no difference between shielded and unshielded as SATA uses differential signaling. Also, In most cases an unshielded cable has a higher impedance than an equivalent sheilded version. This higher impedance allows for higher frequency transmission and longer wire length.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

Can we also see just how much better your new Gryphon DAC is too ?

Does it also do DSD ?

Yes of course and the Kalliope does do DSD 64 to 512 direct bitstream (or DoP).

 

Cheers

David

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

For those interested I asked Chan the difference in his SATA Reference cable compared to SATA MkII and got his permission to pass on his answer.

Sata reference use cryogenical cooper wire and each conductors are isolated independently.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

Hi Alex,

English is obviously not Chan's first language. He was also focusing on the difference between his standard cable.

He has updated his website now...

 

Pachanko Digital "Sata Reference" Features:

OFC multi stranded 26 AWG cryo copper wire isolated separately

- Teflon coated

- Triple shielded

-100% Handcrafted

-Can be bent

-Compatible with all OS

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

Hi David

SATA3 6GB/s cables can be purchased from an AU. ebay member in 25CM lengths, which is what I use.

Sata 3 III 3 0 Data HDD SSD Cable 25cm 10" UV Blue W Latch | eBay

 

Hi David

 

I would be surprised if the jCat 40cm has as much advantage over a 25cm long standard SATA 3 6GB/s cable which can be far more direct, and perhaps up against the metalwork.

 

David

Perhaps you will soon be in a position to be able to help answer the question as to whether there is any marked (not tiny) SQ advantage with an expensive aftermarket 40cm SATA cable over a shorter 25cm SATA 3 6GB/s cable ? .

It makes sense to me that an aftermarket SATA cable may perform better at longer lengths than a normal SATA cable of the same length, due to improved screening and perhaps lower resistance conductors.

 

 

Well Alex, you were on the money, so to speak. I got the cables you recommended in 15cm (6 inch) and 25cm lengths. Using the 15cm on both music and OS SSD made a noticeable difference in reducing grain and improving texture of the sound, sounding less 'digital' and more natural.It didnt sound, to my ear, hyper detailed or etched or any other odd adverse consequences.I have not yet tried the 25cm cables.

 

I would say, bang for the buck, it is a very cheap and most worthwhile tweak.

 

Peter has purchased the Pachanko SATA cables so when they arrive a showdown will be in order. I suspect, based on my experience with only one JCAT SATA cable that Peter acquired from Dennis, that the more expensive SATA cables might win. I remain genuinely open to either outcome so no real bias (as much as that is possible in these listening tests).It will be interesting to compare JCAT vs Pachanko vs very short standard SATA 3 cables.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

Watch out!

User Audiotruth did not buy anything from JCAT. He also registered to jplay forum just to post negative feedback on JCAT SATA cables. You've been warned

 

Regards,

Marcin

 

Watch Out Indeed.....for JCAT !!

 

I have mentioned on this forum before how poor I consider JCAT's after sales service and policy regarding replacing defective products. I have had direct dealings with Marcin over the original JCAT card which did not work properly only to get the same reply of buy the upgraded one, "we fixed it". There was a refusal to replace or repair the faulty design flaw in the original JCAT usb card.

 

Marcin did offer various tweaks to alter the BIOS settings to see if the card would work. It didnt. Still no satisfaction from Marcin! I am guesiing that this is because there were many such complaints on his own forum about the product and going on for over a year if I recall correctly.he would have had to replace a lots of JCAT usb cards!

 

In my case I didnt get in before the 2 weeks return policy as I didnt get around to building the server due to delays in the HDPLEX case being delivered. Marcin was unmoved in his position. As before, I continue to believe that such products should come with a twelve month warranty, even toasters do! If the product is flawed by design it should be recalled and replaced!

 

In my experience such a blanket refusal to fix or replace a faulty product is unprecedented in high-end audio.I did by a replacement usb card as marcin suggested. I upgraded to the PPA V3 card and havent looked back! I have since bought other PPA products and have received great service. BTW Larry at HDPlex also gives fantastic after sales service. Any problems and he instantly fixes or replaces the part.

 

I did not support the stance JimH took against JPlay but now I wonder was there more to it than meets the eye.

 

I would never buy JCAT or JPLAY products again. Caveat Emptor, buyer beware !

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

1 hour ago, Jukka said:

Sounds like I might really like Pachankos Iteration, of course these things come down to preferences and tastes and different setups too. Another interesting usb cable is Phasure Lush which seems to have good synergy with ISO Regen.

 

Your DIY braided cable looks beautiful, did you compare it to the stock cable to see if there is difference to how they sound ?

Audiopheeling cables looks promising too, little more expensive than Pachanko for us europeans though (shipping and customs)

 

Hi Jukka

just my 2 cents.....

I had a brief listen to the Iteration between Regen and DAC. It replaced my curious link cable at that time.

 

I found the Iteration excellent but a little cool and lean. More detail and definition but at the expense of timbre, warmth and rounded fleshed out, what I call 'organic', sound. Hence for me the age old trade-off.

 

For me it is about achieving neutrality and finding components that dont have a sonic signature whether warm and lush vs detailed and resolved. Whether the Iteration or the Curious got it right (in my terms more neutral ), I don't know.

 

I have moved on to the Uptone uspcb/Isoregen and this has made a large difference to my ears. I initially found the IR+*Curious* link a little cool sounding. Curiously (pun intended) not what I would have guessed. However, I did find the Regen a little dark and full sounding and would periodically pull it out to release more detail and transparency. So possibly hearing a difference between the R and the IR.

 

Now I know it is not possible to make judgements on the Iteration vs curious based on my current setup. I will say that with the uspcb/IR/LPS1 the change was large and towards transparency.Not warm,not cool, not bright, not dark etc....just the system getting more out of the road of the music without imparting its own sonic signature.

 

I will have a chance to hear the Iteration vs uspcb in the future so will report back on my impressions. *Theoretically* the uspcb adapter should be the winner if you believe no cable is the best cable. OTOH I cannot say for sure that the uspcb doesnt have some sonic signature.

 

All my comments have been centered around my quest for neutrality, to the extent that anyone knows what this is and *desires* it. As said, when the system starts to disappear sonically  , each track sounding differently, reflecting the recording, is a clue that I am heading in the right direction. Some want "lush" sounding or uber detailed or whatever all the time. For me this is "HiFi" not high fidelity. Sonic sunglasses but nothing wrong with that.

 

Ah, I think that is more like my $1.02 cents worth !

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

1 hour ago, Audiotruth said:

Hi Jukka,

 

Thanks for your $1.02 cents worth . I liked the comment "I found the Iteration excellent but a little cool and lean. More detail and definition but at the expense of.." Your comment aligns nicely with a friend's comments about the iteration. I do enjoy the iteration's definition and details but would also like the sound to be a little more fleshed out. As the buddhist say 'everything is perfectly imperfect'.

 

 

I'll also compare the iteration with Uptone's uspcb adapter. Declaring my bias from the get-go, I too feel the uspcb adapter should better the iteration. And at only US$35 the uspcb adapter might just be one of the cheapest upgrade I've ever made.

 

Look forward to reading your comments re iteration vs. uspcb adapter.

 

Regards

 

 

Hi Audiotruth,

 

[That was my post you responded to, not Jukka's (I quoted Jukka at the head of my post, as likewise quoted you at the beginning of this post).

 

All I can say is that I completely agree with the findings of your friend - sounds like your friend and I might get along !!

 

Cheers

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

On 9/29/2017 at 3:41 PM, thuandb said:

FAT doesn't work for me

Agreed, you should maintain a BMI < 25

 

FAT AFAIK doesnt work in more recent windows OS's ?? It is also, not true to its name, size challenged for file size and partition/volume size.

For music and OS drive I use NTFS on SSD's.