HiDiamond Digital IC


Seems to be a popular theme these days.

I received the aes/ebu version of the HD Digital Carbon cable today in the mail. I was enticed by the glowing remarks posted elsewhere and have been bored while awaiting a Varidig Sextet to show up. With a few hundred bucks burning a hole in my pocket I figured I'd take the plunge.

First let me dispell concerns posted elsewhere regarding dealing with the north American distributor, Robert of worldwide wholesales. From my first communication with him he's been responsive, pleasant, professional. My standards for these qualities is unusually exacting and my tolerance for any bs below nil. Our interaction resulted in an order, which he made easy, and the cables were shipped virtually instantaneously and arrived quickly.

On to the soundy bits....

Straight from my mailbox cold into my system went the cable. Fit and finish, fine, no issues.

Some comparisons to my Marigo Apparition 5.8, a cable that has bested all comers to date and served me well for years.....

Realism and presence. Edge to the HD. Small margin.
Air around instruments. Edge to HD. Medium margin.
Instrument placement. Edge to HD. Small margin.
Resolution. Edge to HD. Medium margin.
Soundstage depth. Edge to HD. Small margin.
Soundstage width. Even.
PRAT. Edge to HD. Small margin.
Frequency extension - highs. Even.
Frequency extension - lows. Even.
Bass control. Edge to HD. Very small margin.
Black background. Even.

Overall these cables are more similar than different. But there are noticeable improvements with the HD. This is cold, no break-in, both on the cables and on the aes/ebu connections on transport and dac.

Also, keep in mind the Marigo is an $1100 cable, the HD is half that.

The $100,000 question: which is more musical, which will I keep?

I'm going to reserve judgement and see how this breaks in a bit, get more listening time under its belt. Go back and forth some.

Initial impression though is extremely favorable. If they keep trending in the direction shown, I'll try the interconnects sooner than later.

(for the cynics: I am in now way related in business or otherwise to HD or Worldwide wholesales. I live in Florida and work as a technology executive.)
joncourage
Good on the distributor to try and make you happy Ozzy even if it means refunding you which may suck for him but is ultimately the right thing to do. We have no way of checking these out unless we take a leap of faith or trust what others have been posting. In the end, if there are no stores one can deal with, we must get some sort of agreement with the distributor. Glad to see you won't get stuck with a cable that doesn't do it for you.
Well, I thought now would be the right time to complete my journey with the HiDiamond Digital interconnects and share with others my opinion.

The original HiDiamond Digital cable (in my system) had a boost in the upper mid/lower treble region that to me was not right. But, depending upon on the system I could see where that could add additional clarity.

The Distributor (Worldwide wholesalers) Robert Neill listened to my concerns and suggested I try a new "reference" version Digital cable that HiDiamond just came out with.

Once I received it instead of going straight to my Cable Cooker for break in, I tried it out in my system first for a few hours.

Well, this cable did not have the boost in the upper mid/lower treble region like the first cable did.
In fact, this cable had a much deeper soundstage and one of the things that stood out was the amount of echo depth it possessed including before and after the actual sound emerges.

I knew right away that this cable is a keeper. I then put it on my Cable Cooker for about 3-4 days. Today, for the first time I am listening to the broken in cable version.

As I would describe it, this cable has a very nice natural calm sound with a large deep soundstage. The best sounding digital interconnect I have ever tried.
Glad to hear it worked out Ozzy. Robert is indeed Class A.

With the HD digital and interconnects in my system I am *finally* content and I've never enjoyed music more.

The difference to previous cables is remarkable. More than I would have ever imagined.

The people that are willing to take a chance on these I think learn this is a very special piece of gear.