The Wireworld Starlight 8 USB is staying. The AQ Carbon USB is an excellent cable, too, but the WW edges it in lower noise floor, more subtle detail and that huge impression of space on the right recording. Dynamics are whiplash sharp, but the most important aspect is musical flow and it does that in spades. Lovely cable for not a lot of money.

I've been experimenting with the freebies supplied with my Mad Scientist orders. The most interesting of these are the Magic Tubes, hermetically sealed small 50mm glass tubes filled with some powder. Bob of MS claims that they enhance SQ when attached to cables, but says he doesn't hear any benefit when attached to digital cables.

I've been moving them around and, like the small discs, they have a tiny, barely perceptible effect in some positions. However, on a whim I tried them on my ethernet and USB digital cables. Hello! That's more like it, they make the music sound nicer. What they do exactly is hard to pin down, how they do it may as well be magic.

Based on this, and the fact that having only two is limiting, I've ordered another 12 of them. I'll be able to experiment along the whole digital chain. More when I receive them.

Let us know what happens

I think you will anyway

Well, that was so successful that I'm going to do the rest of them and move the Black Discus (with my extra two samples) to the incoming power connectors of the components.

I'm taking a break and will then listen afresh and try and describe what I'm hearing.

I'll do a proper review soon as these devices deserve one. Summary impressions:

Overall darker presentation. I'm surprised at the change in feel of the sound. It's the kind of sound that brings out detail and definition while making you want to turn the volume up. Music appears to come from a great void.

Liquid beauty in great female voices like Allie Moss and Juliette Commagere, allowing them to soar without making you wince. Great clarity, less harshness or the feeling that you've hit the end stops.

Bass that growls with menace. Deeper, more extended but with a balance that doesn't excite room modes as much. When it's there, you feel it more.

That these crazy little tubes have any effect at all is something to get your head around. My first two samplers told me they were a bit special, but the cumulative effect is still remarkable.

No, I don't know what they do or how they work.

As a coda to the Magic Tubes installation, I had a good listen tonight and am well pleased with the system's sound. It's not analogue or vinyl-like, far from it and not the sound I'm looking for anyway. It's digital done well, far away from digital done poorly and close, I think, to the original recording with a decent, but not sky-high, budget. It's as fast as a Naim system, with immense dynamic swings, but with proper soundstaging and imaging, far greater body and depth and fantastic subtle details and note decay.

You'll be pleased to know that I'm running out of tweaks - and long past wanting to change any major components - with just these ones targeted for completion soon.

1. A second Coherent QP-1 supercap power supply to feed the master clock and EtherREGEN. This will bring all four DC powered digital components in line with the best quality feed, with the exception of my router that enjoys a vastly over-specced Paul Hynes PR3iEHD all to itself.

2. A Mad Scientist Black Magic USB cable to try against the Wireworld Starlight 8 USB from streamer to DAC.

3. Four Vishay I/V resistors and two tantalum Vcom capacitors to upgrade the LKS DAC digital to analogue circuit.

Shows how far tweaks can take a system.

Tweakers rule !

I liked ChrisB questions to Jerry, so I thought I'd have a think about my answers.


1a) Surprisingly (as asked), the Burson buffer. The difference in sound between it in circuit and out is large. The LKS DAC is known (as with some others) for a weak XLR balanced output and the Burson takes it and controls my power amp with an iron grip. A wonderful, and rare, find.

1b) Helius Aureus arm. Dreadfully poorly made with bearings that stuck, making a complete traverse of an LP down to pure luck.

2) The Usher speakers. They have been with me the longest of all components, and there is good reason. Every time my system has taken a step up, they keep responding. I don't think I've reached their (high) ceiling of performance yet.

Just a very quick note to say that this cable surprised me with its vibrancy and bass power. I've left it running internet radio all day to put some hours on it. I'll comment when I've formed some more opinions over the next few days.