Dave's Cables D4 Reference Interconnect Cables

[DaveC]

The new D4R interconnect cable is done in both single ended and balanced configurations.

This cable is a little bit different in character than my other cables in that my intention was to make the most perfect, accurate cable possible with no thought about cost or value whatsoever... a reference level cable that is very neutral and extremely resolving.

To achieve this I have advanced both design and materials over the D3....

Signal Wires: 4 x 28 gauge Neotech UPOCC silver/gold alloy wire. This wire was custom made for me by Neotech and is an advancement over the silver/gold wire available in bulk from DIY retailers for ~$7.75/ft and is used in my D3 IC cables.

XLR version is 8 x 28 guage wires

Ground Wires: 6 x 26 gauge Neotech UPOCC silver/teflon. The multi-strand braided silver ground wires used in this cable offer increased performance... more neutral tone, greater clarity and detail vs the UPOCC copper in my other cables.

Connectors: RCAs are Mundorf silver/gold alloy, WBT Nexgen design. XLRs are 600 Series Furutech with gold plated female and rhodium plated male plugs.

My D3s may be a better choice for casual listening, but the D4 is much more resolving. It's performance greatly exceeded my expectations, which is great because I had to buy about 1/2 mile of the signal wire.    The 28g wire Neotech offers was already the best wire in the world and this tops it. The WBT/Mundorf RCA plugs are also phenomenal and happen to be made of the same 99% silver/1% gold the Neotech wire is made with... but cost me nearly 3x the price of the Furutech plugs in the D3. The upocc silver grounds tie it all together with a ground connection that is as neutral and perfect as possible.

Pricing (introductory) is $975 single ended and $1200 balanced. Something like 1/3 to 1/5 the price of other cables that makes these kind of claims and I'd bet the D4 will top anything, period. The design is the equal of anything and the materials are better than anything else, and not just by a little bit.

[DaveC]

Single Ended Pics:











Balanced Pics (w/ upgraded housings, +$200)

[DaveC]

Update: The first D4 cables have gone out to customers and I have gotten some feedback.

I have also blown through the entire North American supply of Mundorf silver/gold RCA plugs and will need to wait 3 weeks for more. Not that there were many available to begin with...  I think I have one set left unspoken for.


From a customer in Malaysia:

Hi Dave,

I have listened to D4 sometimes and extremely happy with its performance.

Pardon the cliché but it is really "day and night" difference compare to my existing cables like Wywire gold rca and lessloss rca.

I agree with what you said the sound is very accurate, but I wanna add it can give more details yet not sounding analytical or excessive airy.

Background is supper quiet and for the first time my McIntosh 275 tube amp can play so musical with good decays and quietness.

Also the phase and timing are spot on, and sound stage is rock solid and not wobbly, so it can handle all kinds of music very well.

Beside audiophile cd, I also listen to latest Justin Timberlake and Brianna albums which D4 is performing with flying colors.

Dire Straits' "Money for nothing" guitar opening is very mesmerizing and realistic, full of kick and not distorted.

I think the greatest asset of D4 is it can portray the nuances of music very well which makes you draw into them naturally and continue the whole album until it finishes.

So I think D4 still got a lot of potentials and it is other weakest links in my playback system needs further to improve. It gives me the feeling that I don't need to chase another 'superstar' cable anymore, this is the strongest endorsement that I felt.

An AC member:

Ok, now last week I got the trial pair of D4's.  Put the in place of the D3's between DAC and preamp (I have always found this position to be more sensitive to cable changes than from preamp to amp).  Holy shit!!!! ...

I haven't had them out of the system since I put them in.  I had intended to AB and play around with various combinations.  Sorry guys, these things are absolute winners.  I don't care that they cost a fortune.  I can only characterize what I'm hearing as a significant qualitative change.  What I mean by that is to distinguish it from a quantitative change.  A quantitative change is more of this or that.  More imaging, spatial cues, whatever.  More high frequencies.  Better bass or PRAT.  Better, more, less, of whatever audiophile characteristic you want to mention.

In those senses, I don't find the D4 to be revolutionary, more evolutionary from the D3.  There IS better instrument separation, to a degree, but just a good solid step forward.  Pretty much the same tone.  Dave had been suggesting it would be ruthless, and I was worried about it being brighter than the D3.  I have notice no such thing in my system.

But there's something completely new that I am hearing - the "qualitative" change.  I have never heard this kind of realism before in my system, and I really can't remember having heard it in any other system either.  It's definitely still within the realm of what cable changes can provide, so keep that in mind.  It's not going to fundamentally transform any system.  However, there are "layers" gone between system and listener that truly change the listening experience itself.  Like TOTALLY connecting with the musician/artist.  There's a humanity to vocals that transcends the performance.  Not just additional details, but details in the right context to have exceptional PRAT and so forth.

Ok, all that sounds totally jumbled and incoherent to me as I write it and as I try to conjure words for the emotional/aesthetic experience of the change.  Suffice it to say that things amped up a LOT in terms of my emotional engagement with the music.  This is much more than the previous differences between D2 to DD to D3.  In an engineering sense, I'm sure it's easily explanable as a lower noise floor or something, but all I'm saying is that at this level of my system performance, taking this kind of an emotional leap of greater connection to the music was totally unexpected.  I honestly thought I was further down the line of diminishing returns than that.

I have ordered two pairs.  No hesitation.  I sent the DD's back after the tour visit last fall.  It took me several weeks to finally give in and order two pair of those.  I'm not making that mistake again.  The D4's are the real deal, and if you can afford them, and if your system is clean and high end enough, I can't recommend them enough.

But make sure your system is up to the task.  I don't think these D4's would have been the right ticket at all with the Tranquility SE still in the chain.  I think the DD's were just right for that DAC in my system with my speakers and their characteristics.  So, the usual caveats apply, YMMV, etc...

Rock on, Dave!!!

Customer from Hawaii:

"...I think you have every right to be enthusiastic about your D4's.  They are still burning it, but I will say that they are definitely staying.  I really don't have any urge to search more - these are it.

The D4s and the speaker cables - the best combination I have used.  Will probably be selling off all my Kimber, Auditorium, Loyalty, and Clear Day cables.  I'm thinking of replacing my other cables in my other smaller system with your more affordable ICs.  It's definitely good stuff.

Keep up the great work."

[sleepyguy24]

Man those D4 cables look pretty and must sound wonderful in any system. I'm assuming the D4 cables are pretty stiff.

Best of luck with these.

[DaveC]

Man those D4 cables look pretty and must sound wonderful in any system. I'm assuming the D4 cables are pretty stiff.

Best of luck with these.

Thanks!

I hope they will sound wonderful in any system, if I am right about a more neutral component and synergy than that will be the case... the D4 is the most neutral cable in the lineup. But it is also kind of ruthless, you would not want to try these in a system that isn't already pretty dialed-in.

As far as stiffness, these are actually very flexible... they are made with 26 and 28 gauge wire, so it looks like a lot of wire and it is... but they are very flexible wires.

The single ended version is actually very lightweight and flexible as the Mundorf RCA plugs are VERY light weight! The XLRs are the opposite and are BIG chunks of metal. But that's needed more for an XLR type plug... both connectors are very high quality and sound amazing despite the designs being very different. I think implementation is most important with most things than design philosophy, so it's always good to keep an open mind...

[DaveC]

I have updated the look of the D3 and D4, plus added some mechanical damping. The cover is made of natural, unbleached cotton harvested by naked virgins on the full moon.  

Here's a recent review of the D4 XLR too (the Siltech Forbes Lake ICs are $4600)

"If you'd have told me a few weeks ago that I'd be writing a review for Dave's Cables I'd have said 'who's cables?'. So here's the story: I was thinking about building a couple of diy  power cords, and a search for Neotech wire led me to Dave's website. I am very happy with my ICs, but was really curious about Dave's custom Neotech silver-gold alloy wire ICs, as silver-gold alloy is used in my Siltech G6 Forbes Lake cables. I've had the Siltechs for six years. In my system they bettered Shunyata Auroras, JENA Labs Pathfinders and Stealth Indras.  All of these cost multiples of Dave's D4 cables. There must be something special about silver-gold alloy with proper twisted construction and  termination because I've heard it many times when comparing cables. The D4s use UPOCC wire, an advance (AFAIK) over even Siltech's G6 metallurgy, so I decided to give the D4s a try. But, as I wrote, I am very happy with my Siltechs. I received the D4s last week and have done, for me, a very thorough comparison. Suffice to say that I am selling the Siltechs, something I never thought I'd do. Both cables impart an  uncanny, lifelike quality to instruments and voice that I describe as 'organic'. It's neither a hifi nor a forgiving quality, just satisfyingly realistic. Where the D4s better the Siltechs is in image focus and density/depth. I think this is what some reviewers call a sense of 'space'. The D4s also render bass (acoustic, electric, bass drums, etc) with greater clarity. And these differences are not subtle. Somebody's going to get a world class pair of used Siltech ICs, and that's a good thing. Just so happens that my new D4s are better. Thanks, Dave!"

[Werd]

How bout sending a pair to moi. I would like to hear the balanced. I'm trust worthy.

[DaveC]

How bout sending a pair to moi. I would like to hear the balanced. I'm trust worthy.

Ok, I will take your werd for it. will send you a PM.