Pachanko SATA Cable

[mancubus]

Did anyone try the new Pachanko "Pure Reference" sata cable?

[highend-pcdoctor]

Did anyone try the new Pachanko "Pure Reference" sata cable?

I have two installed on my SSDs (O/S and Music drives)

Was using the Reference before upgrading to the Pure Reference.

The Pure Reference is more open and airy, also more details than the Reference model. The Reference is a great sounding cable, but the Pure Reference is definitely a step above all others. It is like comparing a 2017 BMW 530i to the 2017 BMW 540i, both are great, but the 540i is a really nice step above with more torque and bang.

Recommended!!!

[romaz]

Another plug from a happy Pachanko customer. I had been using a Pachanko SATA cable (the original Mk I) for the past year and I had been quite pleased with it compared against Paul Pang's Red SATA cable that it replaced and definitely much better than the cheap SATA cables that you can buy for a few dollars. Prior to moving to the Pachanko, I had contemplated moving up to Paul Pang's more expensive Black SATA cables but I wasn't that happy with the fact that Paul prefers only silver-plated copper SATA cables that I surmised was leading to some unwanted brightness and so I didn't figure his Black SATA cable would solve this problem since it was still made of silver-plated copper. While the Pachanko SATA gave up some detail to the Paul Pang Red, it had a much calmer presentation that sounded much more natural in my system.

 

I wasn't sure what the Pachanko Reference SATA would add for more than 2x the price but I am a big fan of single crystal (OCC) copper or silver for both signal and power and so I took a chance on it. After about 200 hours of use, I have to say that this is a wonderful cable. Physically, it is very well made and very heavily shielded which I suspect has plenty to do with its low noise characteristics. Very smooth and rich tonality with wonderful body and less apparent HF glare compared against his original SATA. This is a very well balanced cable and easily the best I have heard.

 

Of course, I am curious to know what his new Pure Reference sounds like but after learning it is made of silver-plated copper, I suspect it would be a step backward in my system.

[tboooe]

I like to consider myself an open minded audiophile and am willing to try anything in the pursuit of better sound. I recently changed th SATA cable in my Naa PC with a well made Asus one. It's nothing special other than being shielded. I was/am very surprised to hear more detail in the music. I am now willing to try one of these Pachanko cables to see if I can get further improvement, though it suspect like most things audio I am going to face rapidly diminishing returns from my $6 Asus cable.

 

Can anyone pls explain to my why a SATA cable can impact the sound if my music is not stored on the SSD? Only the os and music playing application is on the SSD.

[romaz]

Can anyone pls explain to my why a SATA cable can impact the sound if my music is not stored on the SSD? Only the os and music playing application is on the SSD.

 

Here is my speculative comment that is based on personal observation. I think that anything that has direct contact with the signal has the potential to imprint on that signal (for better or worse) and that this imprint can potentially be carried forward all the way to your speakers. For those that have done comparative testing between SSDs and compact flash cards know that there are notable SQ differences between these media despite the understanding that the signal is ultimately buffered by the OS into memory downstream.

 

With the better SATA cables, generally they employ better shielding and are more immune to noise as well as thicker gauge conductors of higher purity resulting in better transmission characteristics and so the bits that enter the OS buffer are cleaner and of higher integrity.

[greenleo]

Can anyone pls explain to my why a SATA cable can impact the sound if my music is not stored on the SSD? Only the os and music playing application is on the SSD.

 

This is my guess.

 

The OS drive is very busy. DLL will be loaded to the RAM upon program's request that means a read operation will be carried out and noise will be generated and then back to the mobo and then leak to the audio system. If virtual memory is involved, a write operation will be issued, usually a bigger noise will be generated. I guess that noises like these will be emitted and somehow picked up by the data drive. A good shield is a double shield which guards external noises from going into the cable and the noises in this cable from going out. Then the noises from the OS drive would become smaller and will generate smaller noise and the noises picked by the data drive will be smaller.

[tboooe]

thank you @romaz and @greenleo

 

I agree that it must be something to do with sound because the main difference between the Asus SATA III cable I just installed and the cheap one I removed is shielding. So now the question is if the Pachanko cable can really improve on Asus cable???? I guess only one way to find out!

[thuandb]

The answer is yes.

[Audiotruth]

I have to agree with thuandb's comment ie the answere is yes.

 

I comapred the standard SATA with a cheaper shielded SATA from eBay, with a JCat SATA and Pachanko SATA. In my system the Pachanko SATA resulted in a significant improvement in SQ.

 

Regards

[geekuix]

The sata contains 2 sets of balanced clock digital signal for data transmision and data reception, that is why it will impact the SQ.

[thuandb]

thank you @romaz and @greenleo

 

I agree that it must be something to do with sound because the main difference between the Asus SATA III cable I just installed and the cheap one I removed is shielding. So now the question is if the Pachanko cable can really improve on Asus cable???? I guess only one way to find out!

 

Yes on three counts: sonic performance, reliability, and customer service. Not to mention competitive pricing.

[Audiotruth]

Pachanko speaker cables?

 

I thought I'd offer some early impression of my experience with the Pachanko speaker cable. I installed Chan's speaker cable in my system a few weeks ago. I have approximately 150 hours on them. Chan says they need around 500 hours. So consider this an early impression.

 

Chan’s speaker cable provides a fitfully weighty and rock solid clarity with space between instruments. Music sounds less Hi Fi-ish. Instead, music is presented with a crisp, clean and an uncanny delicate clarity, pinpoint imaging, wide soundstage, grip on the base with great base control and best of all, outstanding tonal accuracy. Since the speaker cable was inserted in my system, I’ve noticed a child like grin plastered on my face when listening to music and often when playing music files catch myself unexpectedly repeating the word ‘wow’. The speaker cable’s ability to turn music reproduction into an engaging and thrilling experience is stunning. I've not notice a downside to the cable.

 

I declare myself to be a ‘Pachankophile’

[Yucca06]

I've just installed my new Sata Pachanko reference cable instead of my Red PPA for my OS SSD. Music seems to have more "air", space between instruments. Not night and day, but it's enough to notice really something. Does it improve more after "burning" ?

[Solid-State]

On 2017-03-18 at 2:28 AM, Audiotruth said:

Pachanko speaker cables?

 

I thought I'd offer some early impression of my experience with the Pachanko speaker cable. I installed Chan's speaker cable in my system a few weeks ago. I have approximately 150 hours on them. Chan says they need around 500 hours. So consider this an early impression.

 

Chan’s speaker cable provides a fitfully weighty and rock solid clarity with space between instruments. Music sounds less Hi Fi-ish. Instead, music is presented with a crisp, clean and an uncanny delicate clarity, pinpoint imaging, wide soundstage, grip on the base with great base control and best of all, outstanding tonal accuracy. Since the speaker cable was inserted in my system, I’ve noticed a child like grin plastered on my face when listening to music and often when playing music files catch myself unexpectedly repeating the word ‘wow’. The speaker cable’s ability to turn music reproduction into an engaging and thrilling experience is stunning. I've not notice a downside to the cable.

 

I declare myself to be a ‘Pachankophile’

what cable did you have before,

[Audiotruth]

19 minutes ago, TubeMan said:

what cable did you have before,

Audience AU24 SE, prior to that Accoustic Zen Satori, prior to that, Harmonic Technology Pro 9. I've even auditioned the Gryphon sliver speaker cable.

[kilroy]

Although I would never recommend anyone purchase anything from PPA, I do have his top end SATA cables on OS and music drives and they make for a tremendous improvement in sound quality.

[AudioPhil]

I had the red as well as the black PPA SATA cables. I was very happy with the black one for a long time.

 

a few weeks ago i switched to the pachanko pure referenece SATA cable and what happend after this was simply stunning, not to say mind blowing.

 

i've seen and tried quite a bit during the past years, but the Pachanko pure ref cable's effect on my systems sound quality was nothing short than amazing. I didn't expect it to have such a huge effect, but i was so wrong.

 

I can really highly recommend all Pachanko cables, after all this is the reason why we offer them in our shop. Its just really really good stuff!

 

Best,

AudioPhil

[highend-pcdoctor]

Did a comparison between the PPA Black and the Pachanko SATA Reference and everyone present agreed that the clear winner was the Pachanko SATA cable, I have since started using the Pure Reference and I can categorically say the Pure Reference has taken the sound quality in my system to a new high.

The Pachanko SATA Pure Reference is highly recommended!!

[Franatic]

Once upon a time, I had the stock SATA cable on my OS drive of my audio pc. Then I replaced it with a PPA red SATA cable and discovered that SATA cables can make a difference. Last year I replaced the PPA cable with a Pachanko Reference SATA cable and was surprised that the PPA could be surpassed so decisively by another audiophile cable.

Today I installed the Pachanko Pure Reference SATA cable and was amazed that the sound quality was boosted even further. More depth, bass and texture. The music just has more body and presence. I expect it will open up some more in the next few weeks and sound even better. Very impressed by this superior sounding cable. Well worth the investment. Great job, Chan!

[john925]

I'm very glad to have the chance to test one of the cables from Pachanko Studio.  The name actually suggests three audiophiles' pursuit of quality sound in that Pa and Ko refers to two other audiophiles, Pascal and Miko, while Chan is the passionate person, Chan Girad King, behind Pachanko replying emails and inquiries.  I think many of you may know Chan better than I because the Pachanko Reference Sata is just the first product through which I try to know what Pachanko sound is.  

 

Here are some detail of my testing environment.

 

I use Supermicro Server board and Xeon E5 2630L V3 CPU and HDPLEX H5 for its effective passive cooling system.  AudiophileOptimizer, Roon, HQPlayer, and Process Lasso are used during the tests.  Music are all upsampled to DSD via HQPlayer by poly-sinc-xtr and ASDM7.   DAC is EMM Labs DAC6e se, which is known for its Native DSD playback.  USB DDC is from exD, which sends DSD signal via ST Optical to EMM Labs DAC6e SE.  

 

First I plug the generic Sata cable supplied by Supermicro.  On computation perspective, it is a, well, normal functioning cable that will ensure the intactness of every digital bit between SSD, where Window Server 2016 resides, and my Supermicro motherboard.  From music playback perspective, this generic Sata cable does sound OK to me.  I would have nothing to complain, if I had never tried some other audio grade Sata cables.  With the generic Sata cable, I still heard the vividness, the soundstage and the body of instruments, though not in a very well-defined outline.  The pace and speed of the music phrases are OK, with soft decay of the notes.  However, across the frequencies from bottom to high, there is not in balance that the trebles were much more emphasized than Mid and Bass, resulting in less weight and a little harsh to my ears.

 

Then, I replace the generic Sata cable with a first version of JCAT Sata cable.  The first version of JCAT Sata has some breakage on one of the connectors.  I'm try to reduce the negative effect of unstable insertion by connecting the connector with breakage vertically to the moherboard, while the other connector goes to the SSD horizontally.  The sound difference between JCAT Sata and the one from Supermicro is very easy to notice, being that the noise floor is reduced, background getting darker, while at the expense of some excitingness.  With the JCAT, the trebles are not harsh anymore.  And the Mid and Bass began to blossom that you are not able to ignore.  So voices became more charming and orchestra full of weight.  The soundstage is also expanding and the depth added a little more.  I would definitely say the JCAT is a very effective cure for a CAT with a lot of internal noises, which might come from hard disc, fans or power consuming CPU.  JCAT Sata can neutralize the undesirable but inevitable interfere to music signal.  

 

At last came the Reference Sata from Pachancko.  The Reference Sata is built with well-selected internal wire, OCC multi stranded cooper.  Compared with JCAT Sata, the Pachanko seems to have a more durable connector and it can be locked onto the Sata ports on the motherboard firmly. The Pachanko Reference Sata is not so stiff that it relieved me of some pain trying to find a suitable angle to install the JCAT Sata. Thus, I think the Pachanko might fit various layouts of motherboards.  As for the sound of Reference Sata, well, I would say the difference between JCAT and Pachanko is not as big as between the JCAT and the generic one.  But I still sense the sound signature of the Reference Sata easily.  I would put it simply that the Reference Sata is definitely a more neutral one compared with the generic or the JCAT.   I couldn't sense any exaggeration on any part of the frequencies.  The treble is nicely rendered without harsh or too much sweetness, nor is it rendered too much gold-like sound, which might result in some kind of unfaithful and artificial delight in listening.  Its treble is just plain but not boring at all.  It faithfully retrieved the space cues underlying the high frequencies. So I found the body of instruments are more well-defined and the depth is even deeper.  The treble is full of delicacy, just like you are spreading a silk table cloth over the table and it falls so gently onto the table.  The Mid is also not too emphasized that the voices are not too close to you.  Sometimes, voices too close will cause some unrealistic sense of the soundstage in that the singer rendering the her or his voices is not standing with the other musicians. And it just gives me some awkward sense.  Pachanko will never do this negative listening expression to you. Bass is not slow so the transients are kept without being too weighty.  Soundstage might not be so wide as JCAT but Pachanko has better depth in my system.  I think Pachanko would be a very good addition if you have a well-built CAT that you want to explore its potential furthermore.  

 

I think JCAT still brings a darker background.  It reduces the noise floor of a CAT, thus making music just come out directly to you.  The soundstage is more palpable, while the Pachanko is more laid-back, which I prefer more subjectively.  JCAT emphasizes the existence of Mid and Bass, so it is more weighty and sometimes the melody is felt as if piling up musical blocks.  However, the Pachanko conveys the music ideas more completely not in chunks after chunks but with smoothness musical phrases and continuity.  I consider the Pachanko a smart insertion for my CAT system. 

[john925]

Chan is Chan King Girand, not 

Quote

Chan Girad King

 

Sorry for the misspelling.  

 

Is it a bug or something that I cannot edit my previous post. 

[Franatic]

Hey Chan, what kind of Malagasy voodoo did you put in the Pachanko iteration lan cable??? Wow!

 

I have your dual headed usb-excellent. I have the original i2s/lan cable you did - very good/better than the one PPA it replaced. I have the pure reference SATA - superb and the most impressive gain of these 3 cables.

 

You convinced me to try the new iteration lan cable. I was reluctant because I need 2 and it is kind of expensive. I have the original PPA ethernet switch on a linear supply reclocking the audio signal between my control and audio pcs . These cables replace your original lan cable and a PPA lan cable on this line.

 

The new iteration lan cables just blew my mind. No cable has done what these 2 cables have done. The improvement is beyond anything I thought cables could possibly do. Extended dynamics, rich textured mids, increased presence and kick-ass bass. The music is more THERE and there's more of it. What is it, the four pairs of conductors in the cables lets more music through and you hear quadrophonic music or something???

 

A complete system upgrade......from 2 cables. I don't get it. I'll never understand this computer audio thing.......2 cables....complete system sound quality upgrade.....ridiculous 

[AudioPhil]

The cables are simply insane, i don't know what else to say. I have a hard time myself believing and accepeting what those cables did with my system, totally amazing.

[Franatic]

23 minutes ago, AudioPhil said:

The cables are simply insane, i don't know what else to say. I have a hard time myself believing and accepeting what those cables did with my system, totally amazing.

I feel that Chan has achieved master cable maker status. His new line of digital cables (iteration lan and Pure SATA) are unsurpassed. He is sending me the new iteration usb cable next. 

[mancubus]

So I swaped my OS disk Reference Sata for Pure Reference Sata. 

Pure Reference Sata = pure bliss.

I tested it in 2 systems vs the Reference. Both systems showed the same more appealing sound signature. Better clarity, space, depth, details and air.  The Reference sata has darker presentation. 

Pachanko Pure Reference really is the  best sata cable in the world! No more no less...