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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: DH Labs BL-1 series II Cable by GM

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REVIEW: DH Labs BL-1 series II Cable Review by GM at Audio Asylum

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I purchased a 1.5m pair of the BL-1 interconnect for $102 (from Signature Sound including delivery to my door) to replace a 1.5m pair of Kimber Kable PBJ. I based my purchase on recommendations from fellow audiophiles as well as reviews. Unfortunately I was not in a place where I could listen before the purchase. I was NOT disappointed.
The RCA connectors that ship with this cable were of excellent quality when compared directly to the relatively poor construction of the Kimber RCAs. However this cable is also available in bulk, so the potential owner may choose any alternative connector. The cable was nicely flexable and was aesthetically pleasing in general.
I gave this cable my standard pink noise 50-hour burn-in period. I performed many A-B comparisions with the BL-1 vs. the PBJ at various points before, during, and after the burn-in period.
There was simply no competition between these two cables. The BL-1 did not exhibit any of the treble siblance I had become accustomed to with the PBJ. Rather, the treble ranges were more smooth and open and with significantly less bite and siblance, particularly at higher volume levels. I did not hear any loss of detail or air in the treble. The midrange presented as more liquid and more well balanced with the rest of the frequencies. No nasality or chestiness was noted with some of my favorite vocal tracks. Again, no hard edge was discernable. It actually took me some time to decipher what exactly I was hearing in the bass range. My conclusion is that there were fewer superfluous harmonics which therefore resulted in a notably cleaner and clearer presentation. Low bass notes were more easily picked out, particularly in complex orchestral passages. Overall slam and punch was improved as well, which supported my impressions of a cleaner, clearer presentation.
In general terms, this cable offered a generally better integration, top to bottom, of my speaker's drivers. My focus was no longer drawn specifically to the tweeter or midrange/bass driver but was rather not drawn to anything in particular other than the music itself. The cable did not add any voice of it's own but rather simply let the music play. Now THIS is what it's all about!
Soundstaging was vastly improved. I immediately noted a more concentrated central image. The soundstage widened somewhat, but I could not hear any additional depth to the illusion. It was significantly easier for me to delineate locations of singers and musicians, particularly notable with recordings involving small groups of players. Reverberation information was clarified as well, which contributed to an increase in envelopment to the acoustic space of any given recording.
I did not hear any significant differences with dynamic range.
As you may have gathered, my impressions of this cable are excellent. I really have no true complaints about the cable as it is worlds above the PBJ. It has proven itself as a wonderfully musical cable at an extremelly affordable price. Of course there are better cables still, but it has been my experience that there are no other cables in the BL-1's price class that can honestly and truthfully compete. If you are in the market for a new cable and are looking to save a few pennies, be sure to place this cable on your "to listen to" list. You will not be disappointed. Highly recommended!

As an aside, I had been using the Musical Fidelity X-10D along with the PBJ in my system in an attempt to rid myself of the siblance I was previously hearing. This new cable however, revealed the X-10's true identity--something of a sonic hoax. The X-10 was robbing me of significant amounts of soundstage/image and treble information such that it WAS an improvement in what I was hearing. However I now see that I was falsely convinced that it was doing some good when, in retrospect, the unit was depriving me of significant critical musical information. The fault was not with my system overall but rather was with the PBJ. This is not to say that the X-10 will not work in all systems (or that the PBJ is a bad cable), just that in my system and my tastes it was not what I was looking for in the long run.
I would also like to add a thank you to Rick Brkich of Signature Sound. He was extremely helpful (and prompt) in providing information about the cable and gave me a great price to boot. If you are in need of new equipment of any kind, I would recommend you contact Signature Sound.


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Topic - REVIEW: DH Labs BL-1 series II Cable Review by GM at Audio Asylum - GM 09:26:35 10/9/99 ( 2)