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Van Damme interconect

I find the Van Dammes to be excellent in my system. My system is not lifeless and dull and the VDs take nothing away really. Extremely good value compared to those cables that colour the sound or prioritise one or two elements to make an immediate listening impact. Like Sony TVs where the store turns up the colour and contrast to make it stand out.
 
Fourlegs said:
My interest was pricked at your mention of the Belden 8402 as this is one of the cables that I have lined up as a candidate to go between my Chord Dave DAC and my ATC active speakers. I am just waiting for the last pair of cables to arrive from BlueJeans and then will sit down and try to decide which cable to install. A brief listen to each to get an initial impression seems to have revealed fairly easily distinguished flavours of sound but I will ask a friend to come and help just to make sure I am not sucked into the sort of sound which is difficult to live with long term.
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Remember to give each of the cables around 40-50 hours of use before listening critically. It really does make a difference and they do change over that time.
 
RossB said:
Remember to give each of the cables around 40-50 hours of use before listening critically. It really does make a difference and they do change over that time.
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That is no problem to arrange. I will set each of them to enjoy back to back Radio Paradise!

The last set of cables awaited from BlueJeans are the Belden spin off Iconoclast cables so it should be interesting.
 
.. and then there’s which XLRs to use, black Neutriks or silver Neutriks, or perhaps not Neutriks at all but some boutique audiophile XLR, gold plated contacts or nickel plated, not to mention the directionality of the cable itself, which requires knowing how it was drawn. And then there’s the colour of the sheath. Van Damme alone comes in 12 colours. And the brown definitely sounds better than the black. Easy to hear if you are credulous enough. And solder. Don’t even think about that.
 
RossB said:
I have a bunch of Van Damme cables, along with Mogami, Canare, Gotham and others. Every few years I try them out again to remind myself why they are sitting in a box in the garage. I agree with Mr Pig, the Van Dammes are rather dull and grey sounding cables. That does not mean they are neutral; they are not. They remove some colour and dynamics, leaving a rather flat sound. The Mogamis I don't find much better. The Canares are definitely a step above VD and in an entry to mid level system would be quite acceptable. The Belden 8402 however is a very good cable, and does compete with much more expensive cables.

And, yes, I do know that studios use Mogami, Van Damme etc; and, no, I don't have any intention of doing a blind test.
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You would say belden is on the warm or bright side?

Thanks
 
Bourneendboy said:
The two Mogami cables you mentioned.
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I have two mogamis 2549. One with amphenol conectores from world best cables. looks like there's an effect on the sound. I found It a tad warm. Even gun shots in movies look a little overly smooth.

The one with neutrik conectors looks a way more neutral. Unfortunately, it's quite short to use from the amp to pre amp. I'm going to buy a longer version plus one more cable for testing.
 
Mr Pig said:
I have tried two different types of Van Damme mic cable made up into three interconnects with a variety of different plugs. Still have them somewhere.

It was usable, even handed and no nasties, but quite flat and dull. I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to get it if you're looking for an upgrade. It'll be better than freebee cables but it's not the best you can get by a long way.
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A good summing up..better than freebie cables..I think cabling can make a huge difference..but you have to spend some money...
 
Van Damme starquad is clear, decent enough, if tending towards a shade bright, I've found Klotz MC5000 is very good and their new Titanium starquad black/gold plated neutriks is even better so long as you give it 5 minutes to burn in..
 
Also The Van Damme Blue and Hifi series speaker cables are worth mentioning and again are great VFM. :)
 
I e-mailed stereocraft about belden and Mogami, here's the answer:

They are in totally different league. The Belden 8402 deliver a better sound than Mogami 2549 in almost every aspect.
For RCA interconnects the only Mogami cable that is much better than Belden 8402 is the Mogami 2803.

Generally:
Belden tinned copper wires (like 8402, 8428, 9497, 8471 etc) are famous for their vivid musical tone, warm and smooth sonic beauty, natural and live-like sound.

Mogami cables are unmatched for accuracy, extremely smooth & clean sound and their excellent stage & resolution.
They are not as warm as the Belden tinned copper cables.

From low mass RCA plugs I would suggest the KLE Innovations Harmony series.
The entry level is the Classic Harmony RCA plugs and the best are the Perfect 22 Harmony RCA plugs.
The low mass RCA plugs are more expensive than the traditional RCA plugs but they sound much better.

From the traditional RCA plugs I suggest the Canare F-09 RCA plugs which perform better than the Switchcraft and the Neutrik Rean ones
 
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