ACOUSTIC SYSTEM INTERNATIONAL - LIVELINE POWERCABLE
Changing the standard Yarbo connectors to IeGO 24k Gold cryo connectors
A friend came along with these cables. He had bought two pairs after he heard the immense openness they provided in his system. He was a bit wary of the connectors though, but the salesman assured him that if they had made a difference, surely the manufacturer would have supplied the cable with better ones. Well, let's say that the friend was glad that he brought them to me because the difference was not at all subtle!
This is the ASI Liveline cable as it comes from the shop. You can't see it very well on this picture, but the connectors are extremely affordable Yarbo "red copper" types. This may sound exciting but red copper is just plain ordinary copper. And because it's not plated, it also corrodes quickly. At least, that is how it looks upon inspection. The pins are not shiny but appear smudgy. The connectors feel very light and do not install a great deal of trust. But, as the salesperson said: why pay extra for fancy connectors if they don't add to the sound. In audio you never know and they may just have been selected for their particular properties. Still I wanted to know if IeGO's would help cure the cable's inherent very dry and lean character so I proceeded with the IeGO's.
Here you see the cable used. It is solid core copper for both phases and pure silver for earth. The phase is indicated wrongly but that shouldn't hurt the sound. After all, the conductors for phase and neutral are identical and the indicator is merely a guide for the person connecting the wires.
A closeup of the Yarbo connectors. Very lightweight casings and strange screws that have a very coarse tapping. Be careful with these because you can easily turn them too fast and ruin the thread in the plastic.
In comes the IeGO schuko. I connect the conductors exactly as they were. Including the originally misfit Phase indicator.
Here is the finished ASI-IeGo cable. Now doesn't that look A LOT prettier? Now it looks as if it may actually be worth its asking price.
However, the proof of the cake is in the eating they say so I quickly connected the cable to the same CD player that I tested the stock ASI cabler on before, a Mark Levinson No.390S cd processor. Well blimey! There is a difference and it isn't subtle! The original cable was very dynamic, open and detailed but it was also very dry, lean and lacked air in the treble. With the new IeGO's, even still brand new, it already played in an altogether different league! Now the treble was airy and fluid, no coarseness at all anymore. The cable retained its base character but with a lot of added flair and refinement.
I couldn't resist comparing the newly improved ASI to the CP-audio Ultimate Clarity. During an earlier comparison the Ultimate Clarity had clearly won from the ASI, even though it isn't even half as expensive. With the original Yarbo connectors the ASI weas just too lean, too coarse and altogether too chilled emotionally. But during the second comparison, with new IeGO connectors, it was an entirely different matter. Now I couldn't pick a clear winner anymore but it just came down to taste. Both cables were now in the same league but offered different perspectives. You want the tightest bass with the sharpest transients? ASI is your cable. You want more refinement and smoothness? The Ultimate Clarity may be better for you.
This concludes the modification of the ASI cable. But now I had become curious. How much exactly had it improved now? To measure this I re-compared it to one of the other cables that I had previously compared it with.
Christiaan Punter
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