EQUIPMENT USED TO TEST:
As you can see from my photos I have the KEF LS50W speakers sitting on the new deluxe version ISO ACCOUSTIC 150 stands. I have both the iFi iGalvanic and iUSB3.0 sitting on iFi stand (using spikes without the couplers). I have 2 ifi Mercury USB3.0 cables, one between the PC and iGalvanic and 1 between iGalvanic and iUSB3.0. What more I calibrate the system flat using Dirac Live software utilizing Earthworks M30 Mic mounted on a Tri-Orbit heavy duty Mic stand. I connect the Mic to the RME Babyface Pro recorder using the best balanced special edition hand terminated Mogami Mic cable. The speakers were aligned using Bosch laser tools.
CALIBRATION FOR A TRUE TEST:
Many will disagree on what cable works in their system. Unfortunately, those that do not have a well calibrated system really do not know what a given cable does in regards to a flat response. Since the Calibration is the single biggest difference in sound quality and clarity most are hearing the distorted reflections of their speakers as much as the speakers themselves. Hence most speakers and reflections sound mid bass heavy and bloated as reflected sound creates many frequencies at different phase sort of like an unfocused camera Lens smears the picture. Once you calibrate you can actually hear the true effect of the cable.
COMPARISON IMPRESSIONS:
I have tried at least a dozen USB3.0 cables including Wireworld USB3.0 and all the way down to generic like Amazon Basics.
Believe it or not in USB3.0 the 3 foot Amazon basic outperformed other cables. It had the quietest background. The Wireworld is bright and has a lot of high frequency hash noise that may sound good in an uncalibrated bloated system. In a calibrated system for me it was really noisy.
When I first installed the new ifi Mercury USB3.0 cables I listened in awe as I never heard such dead silence removal of hash coming from the audio signal. Suddenly piano had body and texture. Everything came alive. Putting other cables back in its place took seconds before you ripped them out of the system. Every other cable sounded noisy compared to these new Mercury. I let a non-Audiophile friend listen and compare. He was amazed how the other cables sounded like they had “static” compared to the new Mercury cable. You could see that with the Mercury he listened patiently and could not have enough. With the others he lost interest and was ready to go home.
CONCLUSION:
There is no doubt that iFi have come up with a winner. This is certainly the best USB3.0 cable I have heard on the planet!!!!
