Placette Audio Cables!
Ern Dog
Posts: 2,237
I didn't even know Placette Audio makes their own IC's until I asked Guy Hammel what IC's he recommended to go with his Placette preamps. This product is not listed in his website and there isn't a whole lot of info/reviews available about it. He indicated that the Placette cables are "transparent" and that I could connect them to my existing cables using an adapter and I wouldn't hear a difference. That's the same sales pitch he uses for his preamps too. Hmmm.......
For $200 shipped for 1 meter pair, I thought it would be a great experiment to hear what a transparent cable would sound like in my rig. It arrived 2 days after I paypal'd him the coin- that's quick. They are very unassuming looking, kinda plain and thin looking. A little thicker than a pencil and they are non-directional. No locking rca's or any other features, other than the promise of transparency.
I put them in between my Modwright Opp 83 and Placette active preamp. In my rig, this cable is more responsive than the preamp to amp cable.
My very first response was a little disappointing because something was missing. I lost some bass and warmth that I was getting from my PNF Iconn IC's. The new cables sounded thin and bright in comparison. After more listening, I realized that my brain and ears were so accustomed to hearing my colored cables and that I needed more time to adjust to this new sound.
Ok, after I got my initial reactions out of the way, I started to notice that the extra bass and warmth from my old cables had been masking some micro details that were now audible. :cool: It was also very evident that the Placette cables were totally linear; the whole sound frequency was evenly balanced from top to bottom. Totally neutral. The bass sounded less bloomy and got tighter. The top end had more sparkle. Overall the music sounds more live and less muted. It was like a pillow of bloomy warmth was taken off.
The PNF's clouded the whole musical presentation with a smooth warmth- which is hard not to love. The Placette cables don't offer any place for weakness in the chain to hide out. This cable is not for everyone.
For $200 shipped for 1 meter pair, I thought it would be a great experiment to hear what a transparent cable would sound like in my rig. It arrived 2 days after I paypal'd him the coin- that's quick. They are very unassuming looking, kinda plain and thin looking. A little thicker than a pencil and they are non-directional. No locking rca's or any other features, other than the promise of transparency.
I put them in between my Modwright Opp 83 and Placette active preamp. In my rig, this cable is more responsive than the preamp to amp cable.
My very first response was a little disappointing because something was missing. I lost some bass and warmth that I was getting from my PNF Iconn IC's. The new cables sounded thin and bright in comparison. After more listening, I realized that my brain and ears were so accustomed to hearing my colored cables and that I needed more time to adjust to this new sound.
Ok, after I got my initial reactions out of the way, I started to notice that the extra bass and warmth from my old cables had been masking some micro details that were now audible. :cool: It was also very evident that the Placette cables were totally linear; the whole sound frequency was evenly balanced from top to bottom. Totally neutral. The bass sounded less bloomy and got tighter. The top end had more sparkle. Overall the music sounds more live and less muted. It was like a pillow of bloomy warmth was taken off.
The PNF's clouded the whole musical presentation with a smooth warmth- which is hard not to love. The Placette cables don't offer any place for weakness in the chain to hide out. This cable is not for everyone.