thuandb Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Prior to using Aphelion cables, I've been happily using PPA red and black SATA, PPA red Ethernet, PACHANKO Refefence back SATA, and most recently THE LINEAR SOLUTIONS (TLS) Ethernet cables. Out of curiosity, I wanted to check out Chan's latest Aphelion offerings in SATA and Ethernet. A SATA Aphelion is installed between OS SSD in AudioPC, and an Ethernet Aphelion between AudioPC and controlPC. After a few months of listening, I'd like to share my impressions on those Aphelion cables. First, let me show the playlist of songs/tracks used for evaluation. It's a mixture of classical large scale symphonies and concertos in individual movements, classical instrument solos, jazz, pop ballads, Gregorian chants, world music, and anything in between. Namely, they are: - Ivan Fisher, Mahler symphony no. 3, DSD 64, movements 1 and 2 - Jazz at the Pawnshop, Late Night, DSD 256 - Anna Fedorova, Rachmaninov, piano concerto no. 2, 2nd movement - Various songs from Best Audiophile Voices 1 thru 7, XRCD24 - (To be continued) WS2019 Core Datacenter, dualPC, JPLAY Femto, AO3, Fidelizer Pro 8.8, MC2XY, IOS app. Link to comment
thuandb Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 - the Wondeful Sounds of Female Vocals, DSD 64 - Norah Jones' Come Away with Me - Alex Lofoco Beyond - the Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices - Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation With the Aphelion cables installed and run in, the SQ is natural yet detailed. Well recorded vocals soar in front of and over accompaniments. There's heightened sense of quieter background helping the spot light beamed to the main performers on stage or in the mix leading to immersive listening experience. Same can be said about large scale classical works, only in a large proportion. It's easier to "see" and hear the musical personality and play style of the individual performers whether they're vocalists or instrumentalists. Due to constraints of my room which tends to flavor width over depth, the setup with Aphelion cables manages to render an extraordinary width AND pretty satisfying depth. Playing high energy, fast, dynamic music such as Alex Lofoco Beyond pleasantly shows off the Aphelion's chameleon nature. Gone is the relaxed breathy mood, in is the "fast and furious" relentless manner, plus a baddest bass. Yet the playback still lacks digital edginess, the chalkiness that would otherwise shorten listening sessions. In other words, the Aphelion cables seem to disappear sonically, not adding or subtract much if any from the music data flow. Once I swapped Aphelion Ethernet cable for the same lenght of TLS, which isn't slouch. It didn't take me over 2 minutes to listen and decide to put the Aphelion right back. There is just fluid, juicy musicality with the latter that the TLS, however impressive it has been between Sonore oM and controlPC (a different topic), just doesn't match. Similarly, the Aphelion cables outperform other prior listed cables in my setup. I'm well aware of other wonderful cables in the market: SOtM, JCAT, Sablon, Wireworld, just to name a few. Each of them has its own set of merits and pricing. Even PPA is offering a Platinum version of his Ethernet cable. But for me and for now, PACHANKO Aphelion SATA and Ethernet cables look good, perform reliably, and offer a SQ that satisfyingly natural with decent details to boost. WS2019 Core Datacenter, dualPC, JPLAY Femto, AO3, Fidelizer Pro 8.8, MC2XY, IOS app. Link to comment
Oliver H Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 I can vouch for the quality of the Pachanko Aphelion SATA cable. I first used an audiophile SATA cable when I put a Pachanko Pure Reference SATA cable into my SSD-only (not streaming) computer audio transport. It made a big difference, so much so that I could not believe that the Aphelion would be much better. But I am on a quest to get the best sound using a computer (and not spending silly money on it). I am using a Streacom FC9, with a cheapish motherboard (which might be a weak link: it is a cheapish Biostar one), Audiophile Optimizer and Windows 10 Pro, with an HDPlex LPSU and 400w DCATX and Ghent Audio DC cables (all UPOCC), going to a Matrix USB SPDIF converter via a JCAT XE USB card, powered by a JCAT Optimo Duo. The USB cable between the XE card and the Matrix USB SPDIF converter is a Tellurium Q Black Diamond, and the signal goes from the Matrix converter via a Nordost Heimdall AES/EBU cable to a Chord DAC64 (which on the second filter setting, with a 4 second delay, sounded better than a borrowed DAVE earlier this year). The Matrix converter is powered by a Wyred4Sound PS-1 via a Ghent Audio DC cable. I got the Aphelion SATA cable yesterday. I first kept the system as it was with the Pure Reference in place and played Donald Fagen's The Nightfly (96K) via the computer and on my Nottingham Analogue Ace Spacedeck with an Origin Live Illustrious Mark 2 arm and an AT OC9/iii cartridge (via an Origin Live phono stage), comparing the sound of the two. The digital sound was good: comparable overall, in one sense, but with a more forward, digital sound, than the rounded sound of the LP, which seemed to have treble a bit recessed in comparison. I preferred the sound of the vinyl overall. Then I put the Aphelion in, and played the same track. The digital was now much more like the vinyl: the treble had become more like the vinyl, and the digital sound had more "ease" than before. I then tried a track from Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, in the Qobuz 96k version, comparing it with a clean mid-2000's vinyl version of the record. The latter was still better, as the former was more trebly than (I am thinking) it should be. So, I guessed that the better the digital remaster was, the more analogue-like the digital sound would be. Then, I played an old favourite via the digital system only: Love Work Out by Crosby and Nash, from a CD rip via iTunes. Wow! It sounded truly analogue-like (although I did not compare it to the vinyl, of which I have a good original-issue copy). Treble not too forward; soundstage excellent, and tone wonderfully natural. Anyway, I can confirm that the Pachanko Aphelion SATA cable is well worth the money as far as I am concerned. thuandb 1 Link to comment
audioking87 Posted April 23, 2021 Share Posted April 23, 2021 I am selling Aphelion cables at a discount if interested. Link to comment
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