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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Julien Maculan JM75 digital Cable by Claude G

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REVIEW: Julien Maculan JM75 digital Cable

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Model: JM75 digital
Category: Cable
Suggested Retail Price: $100
Description: true 75 ohm high bandwidth digital cable
Manufacturer URL: Julien Maculan
Model Picture: View

Review by Claude G ( A ) on January 22, 2002 at 13:16:40
IP Address: 62.147.138.252
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for the JM75 digital


DIGITAL CABLE JM 75 (+4 over a good 75 Ohm cable)

Dear music lovers,

You might already know it from my previous posts: I recently tested several digital cables and finally bought one of them. Until yet, I was using the outstanding Nephtys, in 30 cm length, but Julien Maculan suggested kindly I might review his cable, the JM 75. That’s the kind of offer you can’t refuse.

Without getting into construction details, the JM 75 is very similar to the Nephtys I already described, having nice predispositions for excellent sound (constant 75 Ohm, very high frequency response, Teflon isolation, good connections and clever set up). In fact, the JM 75 is even slightly better then the Nephtys on the paper, making me curious on the sonic differences : would they sound similar? If you want more info on the JM 75, look under www.photojm.com/jm75/

The JM 75 comes with an explanation sheet, describing the direction of the cable (again!) but without much explanations on the way it was built : I guess that’s part of the secret. It is really superbly built, and looks as professional to me as Monster and Co. This is really the kind of “accessory” that is easy to use : just plug and play, break in was “factory” done. No particular problem to mention, the connections are very good, the cable is flexible enough. Just make sure you have at least 9 cm space available behind your units to allow some space for the unusual long and quite stiff connections.

I have spent several days comparing the standard JM 75 (1 m) with my own reference, the Nephtys, in 30 cm length. Just to refresh memories : the Nephtys came very close to the best digital cable I listened to, the Wire World Gold Starlight II. These cables sound to me outstandingly good : lots of details, very musical (but on the “fast” side), quite strong, perfect timing and very good fluidity. They have IMHO the right balance others manufacturers didn’t want, not an enormous step forward, just the right thing.

When I connected the JM 75, I first thought it would be one of these very comfortable and easy cables à la Monster, with a typical loundness effect that make you think “Whaoo” for 30 seconds, and “Hmm” the rest of the time. Honestly, I had the “Whaoo” effect, but, despite having looked after it, I am still waiting for the “Hmm”…

The JM 75 make me reconsider my conclusions over digital cables : this cable makes a big difference, this is not fine tuning. First thing you notice in A/B comparison, despite sounding absurd : this cable sounds really louder, and extremely dynamical, especially in the bass (hence the Monster trick). Yes, it IS on the warm side. It has an incredible authority over the range, far more then the Nephtys, but manages in the same way to have a far better musicality (Nephtys is on the very fast and sharp side). Everything flaws, it is never aggressive despite the dynamics, sound is on the big size, with a lot of aeration and nuances. Timing and coherence (all registers are melted together), and even more, the “swing”, are excellent, remembering a very good TT or a Class A tube output.

The soundstage increases in depth and height, but the location of the instruments and voices was as precise as the extremely accurate Nephtys, not more: the musicians had simply a bigger scale, more density and air around them, at first a somewhat disturbing but in fact very nice effect, especially on average records, where the sound always remain on the good side. The JM 75 seemed to have no apparent drawback, and, like a good musician, it always highlighted the performance.

With these findings, despite them being very convenient, I expected some side effects : the sound to have a clear roll off, to be less precise and a bit on the emphatic side, showing always the same very forgiving sugar effect. I was wrong, the records proved each time to be very differenciated, but the JM 75 got always the best out of them. It managed to be in fact clearly more precise in the sounds then the Nephtys, to show better the subtleties, and, at least, thanks to a wider range, to have the better balance and to play the notes at the “correct height”, with the right energy density. Quite better then the “lighter” Nephtys did.

Did I wrote wider range? So what about the high frequencies? I didn’t mention them because this cable sounds in one piece, and so good that it is difficult to concentrate on the different aspects. But the best was to come : where the music never sounds aggressive, despite the tremendous speed and authority, the highs were far more detailed and subtle, flying around, allowing me to listen easily to some notes I had barely noticed previously. They were now clear and integrated, part of the involving all.

In short : incredible, The JM 75 is a must! It is an outstanding digital cable making all the others sounding wrong. The sound might surprise you at first, but the best way to describe it would be a comparison with the Bedini Clarifier : it cleans everything up thanks to the jitter reduction, and, whereas it is difficult to explain how, it makes the digital sound really involving without “cheating” with music.

At last, we should mention the financial side. It is only fair to compare the JM 75 with finished products. Even if my DIY Nephtys was a bit cheaper, I have to mention that the regular Nephtys in 1 m length cost the same as the JM 75, that is around 100$.

Is it really worth? May I give you my point of view? I have been testing over a dozen digital cables recently, from standard to over 500$ ones. Really, if you want to buy a cable for under 60$, you should forget it. Either you have already a very good system, and then you won’t be really satisfied because the improvements are marginal and not satisfying over a normal 75 Ohm cable, or your system is not yet outstanding and you should spend your money somewhere else with better results. Digital cables begin to be interesting upgrades in the over 100$ class, but most of them aren’t simply worth the money spent over other potential upgrades. Even at 150$, you will have a good cable, but with a strong sonic signature, ie not a neutral one, so not exactly a top one. For top cables, that really are outstanding like the Wire World, you will have to look at far over 200$. In most cases, the money is better spent in a newer DAC. Does it make sense to buy a cable that is more expensive then the current sonic value of your unit?

In short, for average HIFI, I would use a normal and cheap 75 Ohm cable and forget any cable upgrade. For very good HIFI, I would only consider the reasonable 100$ class, and look for the very few exceptions that sound as good as the several hundred $ cables, and stick to them. The Nephtys is surely the best and cheapest DIY cable I know: for less then 60 $, but a bit hassle, you get extremly good results. However, it is unable to match the really outstanding and superb sounding JM 75… and, as no other digital cable I know really can in my system, regardless the budget, I would highly recommend you to try the JM 75 ASAP in your very own system (refund if you don’t like it within 30 days).

Should I mention the JM 75 has replaced the Nephtys in my own system, and I listen to it every day with great pleasure?

Enjoy music,

Claude G


Product Weakness: None
Product Strengths: Oustanding sound


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: DIY
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): DIY
Sources (CDP/Turntable): DIY
Speakers: Infinity Renaissance 90
Cables/Interconnects: Nephtys
Music Used (Genre/Selections): All
Room Size (LxWxH): 6m x 5m x 2,5m
Time Period/Length of Audition: 5 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): Line Filters
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Julien Maculan JM75 digital Cable - Claude G 13:16:40 01/22/02 ( 0)