Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit


Has anyone tried this "minimalist" cable kit? After receiving a recommendation from someone with similar musical values to myself, and whose ears I trust, I could not resist ordering one. I will report on how they sound in a few weeks, but am interested in others' opinions too.

For those that have not heard about them look at www.sakurasystems.com for an interesting read. The cable sounds as if it is very close to the specification of the conductors in Belden Cat5. So I may have spent around 100 times what the kit is worth. We shall see.

If you have not heard this cable, please don't bother posting your opinions of how it MUST sound here. Nor am I that interested in hearing how stupid I must be to order this kit - it's my money and you are free to make different decisions with yours. Sorry for this condition, but I am bored with those that have nothing positive to offer on this site, and post their opinions based on deductive logic rather than actual experience.
redkiwi
"I tried ferrite magnets a year or so ago with various cables (not the OTA) and found them to supress the HF's (less noise, but also less music)."

Same here... I was trying various ferrites for years and never have gained results I was hoping for. I have them now attached to various appliances all over the place but none in my setup. YMMV.
Crap: I rewired the TT again today and am getting a low level hum in "both" channels (it was very silent before). I will completely redo it in a couple of weeks if I cannot trace it to a bad joint (hope that I did not screw up the tone arm cables, though it would be an excuse to replace them with something newer). Everything was the same this time (or so I thought) except that I shortened the length of both sets of analog IC's. I cannot hear the hum from a seated position @ normal listening volume, but the system was so quiet before that it should be again if things are done right.
I have completed the ferrite experiments this weekend. My conclusion? Used in moderation, these ferrite rings can reduce interference and have beneficial sonic effects in the following situations:
1.) on DC leads, esp. when on base and collector leads of transistors in preamps, amps, and digital circuitry. Using the smallest size MECs were sufficient for this.
2.) on OTA digital cables, the smallest size MEC (MSFC4EX 4-5 mmm dia.) positioned close to the plugs of the output end. This will hinder sliding of + and - cable against one another, and change the impedance of OTA protective tubing. The sonic improvement is noticeable esp. in the rise and fall of signals, and there are also noticeable improvements in clarity. I detected no negative losses in this application.
3.) another possible route of entry for ferrite rings is at the output end of the speaker cables. Speaker leads may happen to resonate at interfering frequencies and thereby interfereence potential. An 8-ft length of OTA speaker lead is resonant at approximately 30 MHz. Using one MFSC4EX ferrite ring each on + and - leads to speaker cabinets had about the same effect as an ENACOM loudspeaker device. But I imagine that this trick works best with properly stabilized amplifiers.
4.) The larger sizes of ferrite rings (up to MSFC10KEX and 13KEX) were used on OTA power cables with positive results. This was the only time I used the larger magnets. I had best results positioning them near the IEC or inside the chassis of the component when possible.
Of course, the optimum values of ferrite rings should be determined experimentally for each system. It took me a long time to find the right values for my system. Having many ferrite rings at hand, it was easy for me to play with different combinations. Using them on analog interconnects between components, there was a very noticeable loss in stage response, and I would not recommend the use of ferrite on Stratos analog interconnects at all. The ferrite rings act like a resistor, and excessive values of resistance can easily impair high-frequency and transient response. That is why I recommend moderation in ferrite use, and the smaller sizes to begin with.
Dekay, I do not know any MEC website: I ordered them from a German electronics supplier. Sorry to hear about your turntable accident. Shortening the length of your phono lead with OTA will bring some more urgency to your set-up, and probably differentiate your LP sound even further from your CD sound. However, as I well know, this arrangement can certainly expose certain problems with your existing set-up that were previously inaudible. In my own case, I had to resort to grounded Mu-Metal (high permeable Nickel Iron) shields and a completely reworked ground and power scheme. Good luck.
Hi Slawney:

The OTA phono cables worked fine before, I just messed up a connection and/or an internal tonearm cable. The tonearm cable should really be replaced anyway (it is pushing 25+ years old). We are talking a $100 TT here (Thorens TD165) so no big whoop. A local phile can also bail me out if I get in over my head, but I just want to learn to do the basics myself (sort of a new hobby whithin a hobby:-). I no longer use digtial IC's though may play with some ferrites on the speaker cable (have to dig them up first).
Dekay, sounds as if you accidentally "bridged" your tonearm with the minus signal from your cartridge. Thus nothing much to do except to repair the tone arm cable or isolate the tone arm from the ground signal.