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Post by MartinT on Aug 17, 2022 9:14:28 GMT
I never did review the Mad Scientist Black Magic USB that I'm using between my Sonore Signature Rendu SE streamer and Gustard U18 DDC. It has been the best of a few USB cables I've tried including AudioQuest Carbon, Wireworld Starlight 7 and others. Its sound characteristic is truly liquid midrange and a powerful presentation. However, now we have the new Ultra version and this review tells a compelling story. It will prove to be quite tempting! www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/cables-reviews/reviews-digital-cable/mad-scientist-black-magic-ultra-usb-cable/ |
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Post by petea on Aug 17, 2022 10:09:16 GMT
I have an AQVox Blaze you can try if you like, Martin. I'll do you a swap for some Townshend Fractal interconnects!  |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 17, 2022 10:16:25 GMT
Hah! I was going to bring them to Steve's music session. I would gladly try it if you can spare it for a few years weeks.
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Post by petea on Aug 17, 2022 13:12:33 GMT
Sadly I won't be able to make Steve's bake off as it is the only day some friends we haven't seen for 3 years can make it while Ina is here.  I'm in most days though. |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 17, 2022 13:38:19 GMT
Oh, ok then, I'll drop in at yours one evening after work. Let me know when would be good for you. Continue via PM?
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Post by brettj on Aug 18, 2022 4:02:09 GMT
I'm burning in a Mad Scientist Black Magic Ultra at present.
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Post by MartinT on Aug 18, 2022 4:54:18 GMT
I'm burning in a Mad Scientist Black Magic Ultra at present. Do let us know how it compares with the Black Magic, won't you? |
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Post by brettj on Aug 18, 2022 11:02:54 GMT
Have a few things I'm breaking in.
The Black Magic Ultra, SEG50 chip, re-clocked Cisco switch, and TWL Freedom ethernet cables.
Using the headphone out on the SEG via Project streamer with my Grado RS1 headphones.
About 70 hours in.
Enjoying Tarkus, which I haven't heard for more than 40 years (Qobuz free month).
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Post by MartinT on Aug 18, 2022 18:39:47 GMT
So I may have been chatting with Bob of Mad Scientist...
He may have offered me an upgrade discount...
I may have looked at the website and slavered at that newer thicker cable...
I may have accidentally opened the shop page...
...and added the discount code...
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Post by brettj on Aug 20, 2022 6:30:41 GMT
120 hours on the Black Magic Ultra USB cable and TWL Freedom ethernet cables.
Just put on Christine and the Queens 'Tilted,' which I know very well.
Haven't heard this far into the music before.
And that's just with the headphone out of the SEG.
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Post by MartinT on Aug 22, 2022 7:07:41 GMT
My Ultra is shipping today. Great service as usual from Mad Scientist.
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Post by MartinT on Aug 22, 2022 18:37:43 GMT
Just put on Christine and the Queens 'Tilted,' which I know very well. Good track, nicely recorded with some monster bass. |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 26, 2022 18:50:11 GMT
The Mad Scientist has landed! I have the Black Magic Ultra playing in my system after playing the Black Magic on a very familiar track: Yello's Tied Up.
Firstly, physically this is a very substantially built cable, thick and heavy. It can be shaped, but it is quite resistant to twisting in order to get the plugs into the correct alignment. I found that a bit of judicious pre-shaping helped it to get connected and not put a strain on any of connector interfaces. It stays put, hanging nicely in the air and not touching any surface.
The difference I hear most clearly and what puts this cable into a very classy category is percussion. The superb Yello track really helps to separate the men from the boys and the Ultra gives detail, shape and texture to all manner of percussive sounds. This extra detail really helps to mentally understand the instrument and how it is being struck (or synthesised). There is bite and attack which enhances the song but also separates it out from what else is going on.
Moving on to The Race, with other types of drum in use, as well as bells and chimes, takes the music further by adding excitement to the fast-paced proceedings.
You could say that the music is made for my system and so is the Black Magic Ultra. It's a fast, highly detailed cable that doesn't get in the way with any tonal aberrations. It separates out all the cues that tell you what is happening and makes you listen more intently. Unlike the non-Ultra, which does have a certain richness and liquidity to its presentation, the Ultra has no discernable character. It just presents music in startling clarity, enabling you to hear deep into the performance.
I like this cable a lot, or rather, I like what it's done to my system.
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Post by MartinT on Aug 26, 2022 19:09:38 GMT
I've just noticed that Heidi Happy's voice is at its lowest sibilance ever on Kiss in Blue, another superb Yello track. That says a lot about tight control. It also makes me Happy  |
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Post by MartinT on Aug 27, 2022 11:32:20 GMT
12 hours of burn-in later, playing internet radio overnight, and this cable still sounds superb. I am becoming aware of lots of tiny cues to leading edges of percussion and other transients in the music. Things sound at once busier and yet calmer. Certainly this is the lowest level of harshness I've yet achieved and really shows up those recordings that are harsh or unbalanced in their own right.
Examples: Carly Simon's You're So Vain (now in 24/192, no less) is bearably decent with the exception of the peaks where the mix is hitting the end stops. Feist's Undiscovered First is tolerable throughout, despite the ear-wax removal section with the backing singers. This is the best I've yet heard this testing recording.
On the other hand, Melissa Tallon's Tell Me So, despite being simple Red Book, shows what a modern good recording can achieve. Lots of lovely atmosphere, deep tuneful bass and gorgeous powerful voice up front. Likewise, an older but great recording of Knock Me Out by Linda Perry communicates its impassioned emotion so very well, even if it hits some roughness in her crescendos. Norah Jones on Come Away With Me (24/192) is simply sumptuous with cymbal brush strokes to die for.
This is a cable that communicates music and, in this regard, it has a family resemblance to the original non-Ultra. However, the Ultra pulls away by imparting much more detail and soundstage while improving timbre and virtually eliminating any tonal bias.
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