Review: Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold Digital IC Interconnect


Category: Cables


Jade Audio is working on a totally new design of cable. I won't bore you with any details yet, but it's going to be pretty awesome I can tell you that much.

I put the PURE SOLID GOLD digital interconnect up for sale here on Audiogon. Here's your chance to own one of the very best -- if not -- THE best!

The funds will be used towards the development of the new cable. So, let me tell you the story of the Pure Solid Gold.

A few months ago, I ordered a Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold digital cable with Furutech Rhodium XLR connectors. Just enough cable -- 0,5m -- for a snug fit between my CD-transport and d/a converter. The gold cable is quite expensive, so it must be good, right? No, it isn't. It's plain awesome!

My tube amplifier was all powered up and ready to go. No need for a pre-amplifier. I stick with a passive attenuator; the purest signal.

The Jade Audio with chunky Furutech connectors oozes quality. It's quite stiff, so I had to carefully knead it in the right shape. I advise anyone who uses these cables to take extra care and treat these - as Jade Audio states in their brochure - with respect! I let the digital cable settle in for a few hours.

UPDATE: The Pure Solid Gold came back with the same glorious sound, but sturdier than ever!

Then with everything ready to go, and my pile of reference CDs in front of me, the listening session could begin!

I started with Jennifer Warnes' 20th Anniversary release of "Famous Blue Raincoat". Familiar tracks suddenly took on a new dimension. "Ballad of the runaway horse" sounded different. It was as if I had added a new component. The bass was tight, clear and deep without becoming muddy. There was plenty of space around the instruments and Jennifer's voice cut like lightening through a dark cloud. The midrange sounded magical and those highs portrayed in a way I had never heard before, not even with the most expensive equipment! The duet "Joan Of Arc" with Leonard Cohen is always a must-hear for audiophiles. Those bells. I wanted to hear those bells. But wait a minute! What had happened to those bells? I restarted the track and then realised that that is the way the bells should sound! I was very impressed.

The listening continued with Marianne Faithfull's newest "Easy Come, Easy Go". The title track is just amazing and what was clearly heard was the way Marianne pronounces her words. That special accent of hers was clearly revealed. Extraordinary!

Mary Couglan's "The House Of Ill Repute" faired extremely well too. The track "Pornography" just drew me into the music, no sharp edges, I could pinpoint the position of the musicians. Unbelievable! On the "Some Cats Know" track, I just got that live feeling, and that's pretty cool!

As if that wasn't enough, I decided to grab some classical CDs. Saint-Saƫns's "Organ Symphony" sounded just like the vinyl record (pops and cracks not included). Lots of space around the instruments and the organ going very deep. You can guess by now I was very stunned by this cable's capability of portraying music the way it was intended to sound. Confirmation was "Gounod's Faust and Bizet's Carmen". Simply magnificent. There just aren't enough words to describe the potential of this digital cable.

The more CDs I put on, the hotter the equipment became and the better the music sounded. All these differences were possible just by adding the Jade Audio Pure Solid Gold digital cable. That's quite an achievement!

My compliments to J.D., the designer and owner of Jade Audio. He's a real genius!

After the listening:

While everything was still warmed up, I hooked up my other CD-player again. What I had always encountered as pretty good sound from my system, now sounded thin and disembodied in comparison. It took me a few days to get used to it again.

Verdict:

You owe it to yourself to at least audition the Jade Audio cables. You can pick the Vermeil, the Hybrid, but the Pure Solid Gold is my favourite!

Happy Listening!

Associated gear

Quicksilver Audio tube amplifier with NOS GE 6L6 tubes, Audio Synthesis Passion passive attenuator, Audio Synthesis Transcend Decade CD-transport and DAX-2 d/a converter, TDL Chiltern loudspeakers.

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