Simone M.
Source: HP Windows PC
Amplifier: HiFiMAN EF400 (with DAC upgrade)
Acoustic Speakers: HiFiMAN Edition XS
Other: Nothing
The following review of the Magnus USB cable is the result of the "Ricable Review" initiative. Ricable Review is the program designed by Ricable, created to collect feedback from audiophiles, in order to lead to continuous improvement of the products in the catalog. Last but not least, those who join the program receive a certificate at home, with the purpose of certifying how the customer has become to all intents and purposes part of the " Ricable" family.
The following Feedback was created on the basis of a predefined questionnaire to which the user returned their impressions, in a completely free. We thank Simone for his time.
The brand's good reputation, the money-back option and the build quality of its products, the reviews read on the internet, the company's proximity to my home, the lifetime warranty and service, the staff's willingness to communicate via email and even WhatsApp, and the very well-organized and clear website with prices displayed.
and aesthetics of the product?
The construction is definitely good. The cable is very thick, so care must be taken with its placement in the system because it is difficult to bend it. The aesthetics of the cable (as far as it counts) give the idea of a professional product, and the connectors are very good (which is crucial). The box in which the product arrives is very good.
I use the cable in my system consisting of a Windows PC with properly configured foobar2000 software, HiFiMAN EF400 headphone DAC/amplifier, HiFiMAN Edition XS headphones; of course the cable is used to connect the DAC to the PC... I compared the Magnus to the cable I used to use usually, a good USB 3.0 cable for computer use. I listen to all genres of music, so I did a very thorough comparison starting with classical music and moving on to jazz and then to rock, electronic or light music, continuing to replace the two cables.
listening impressions?
I will preface this by saying that I was very skeptical about the usefulness of such a cable compared to a normal good quality but computer-use USB cable, and so I spent hours and hours testing also because it is fine tuning anyway and the differences are never striking or immediately obvious... The question then is, "Did I notice differences?" the answer is "YES."
How much difference? Does it change from day to night? Definitely not, but the difference when listening to well-recorded music in a good system (an inescapable premise) is perceptible, everything can be heard a little better, especially, in my case, the low frequencies are sharper and less muddy in addition to an overall improvement in all parameters that is noticeable especially when you put the previous cable back in and you hear a slight deterioration in the sound in terms of sharpness and separation between the various instruments above all. I repeat that the differences are slight and it is fine tuning,
Is this cable therefore worth the expense? For me who is an audiophile yes, for a "normal" person who listens in a disengaged way maybe pop/commercial music with compressed and poorly made recordings definitely not, I emphasize this because I see other reviews where someone says "I hear Lady Gaga albums better" and similar things... with that kind of music it is impossible to perceive differences even if then everyone hears in his own way and definitive judgments do not exist.
Your conclusions.
In conclusion for me the purchase was a positive one and the expense (moderate for the amounts going around in the audiophile world) is definitely repaid by the slightly improved listening. I believe that this is a definitive cable for any type of system and USB cables Ricable of higher category I do not know if they can give more quality than this one, one day maybe I will try them on a system of higher category, equal to the cable.
What did you enjoy?
- Slight improvement in low frequencies and instrument separation
- Quality construction
- Money back guarantee formula
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What would you improve?
- Perhaps better cable flexibility
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