[Ike1985]

indeed, this is an ambitious move....

I would be ordering any Brise cables to be terminated in 3.5 for my Hugo2, hope that doesn't change the sound lol I like what I've heard from Brise so far. ( Ultimate 8wire)

 

[zajcev]

Hi everyone! Do you think it’s a good idea to try Shirogane since I already own Yatono 8w and waiting for FTS to arrive? Won’t the signature be similar to what I already posses and result in a waste of money?

 

[HiFiDJ]

Hi everyone! Do you think it’s a good idea to try Shirogane since I already own Yatono 8w and waiting for FTS to arrive? Won’t the signature be similar to what I already posses and result in a waste of money?

It's always a good idea to try before buying. Is it a waste of money? That will be up to you how far you want to go.

 

[MRT-Man]

Hi everyone! Do you think it’s a good idea to try Shirogane since I already own Yatono 8w and waiting for FTS to arrive? Won’t the signature be similar to what I already posses and result in a waste of money?

I own all three. They’re certainly different from each other, but I'm not sure it's worth owning all three (unless perhaps you plan to use them on three different IEMs and leave the cables permanently attached). For a three-cable set it might make more sense to go with a cable that's more radically different, like the Orphy or OTL.

The Yatono and Shirogane are clearly siblings, when you listen to them. Different flavors of a similar sound signature. Yatono has more forward mids, more warmth in mids, more sub-bass. Shirogane has slightly better soundstage and separation, and certainly better ergonomics, as the cable is more flexible. The treble is better on the Shirogane, somehow a touch more relaxed but with more air/extension (even though that sounds contradictory). I prefer the Shirogane overall, but I could see someone preferring the Yatono's mids for vocal-centric music.

FTS is probably the warmest of the three in the bass and mids. It's got a touch more of an "analog" feel in the bass/mids vs. the Brise cables. I think the treble is comparable to the Yatono(?), but it's been a while since I directly compared them.

 

[zajcev]

I own all three. They’re certainly different from each other, but I'm not sure it's worth owning all three (unless perhaps you plan to use them on three different IEMs and leave the cables permanently attached). For a three-cable set it might make more sense to go with a cable that's more radically different, like the Orphy or OTL.

The Yatono and Shirogane are clearly siblings, when you listen to them. Different flavors of a similar sound signature. Yatono has more forward mids, more warmth in mids, more sub-bass. Shirogane has slightly better soundstage and separation, and certainly better ergonomics, as the cable is more flexible. The treble is better on the Shirogane, somehow a touch more relaxed but with more air/extension (even though that sounds contradictory). I prefer the Shirogane overall, but I could see someone preferring the Yatono's mids for vocal-centric music.

FTS is probably the warmest of the three in the bass and mids. It's got a touch more of an "analog" feel in the bass/mids vs. the Brise cables. I think the treble is comparable to the Yatono(?), but it's been a while since I directly compared them.

Thank you for such a detailed explanation. I was thinking about Orphy for quite a long time but for it’s price I would prefer to buy another IEM like Fei Wan

 

[kajetanjazz]

Has anyone tried Tsuranagi with its unbalanced input? I’d be very interested to add it to hugo2, but that would be a 3.5mm. Though I saw people using 4.4mm interconnects with pw adapter, I still wonder how it’s a legit connection not breaking things, but I could do that too. Photo for attention

 

[KelFab]

This kind of stuff just connects the shared ground of the device’s unbalanced out to L- and R- of its own balanced out, so if it’s well done there‘s no risk.
I connected my Hugo 2 to a Tsuranagi with the 4.4 Yatono mini IC and an Affinity Adapter 6.35 to 4.4 and it worked nicely.
It’s probably more future proof than buying an unbalanced IC, but it remains to be seen (heard ) if the combo of IC + adapter has a negative effect on the render vs an unbalanced IC without adapter.

 

[Valrhona]

This kind of stuff just connects the shared ground of the device’s unbalanced out to L- and R- of its own balanced out, so if it’s well done there‘s no risk.
I connected my Hugo 2 to a Tsuranagi with the 4.4 Yatono mini IC and an Affinity Adapter 6.35 to 4.4 and it worked nicely.

A man is curious on how having both in the chain would sound. Would you care to share some impressions?

 

[kajetanjazz]

A man is curious on how having both in the chain would sound. Would you care to share some impressions?

Nah that’s actually great to know, thanks @KelFab! Couldn’t find a definitive answer anywhere else. And there’s no limitation in terms of input voltage with such adaptation? With cayin C9 I used 3.5mm input cause I didn’t want to mess with 4.4 out of the Hugo

 

[kajetanjazz]

In terms of sound, traillii is probably the biggest and airiest sounding IEM I’ve heard out of the Hugo. Supposedly tsuranagi takes the stage up to 11, so I don’t expect anything but amazing results. Just the unbalanced dac to balanced amp is a thing

 

[KelFab]

A man is curious on how having both in the chain would sound. Would you care to share some impressions?

When I was lent the Tsu, I tested it with RS8, N7 and Hugo 2 and the pairing with Hugo 2 was my favorite, despite being the only pairing double amped (you can’t bypass Hugo 2’s internal amp).
Too bad I don’t have it anymore to compare this chain with the N30 which is my current fav, but by memory (and by nature, knowing Hugo 2’s rather analytical render) it‘s a really different approach so they may tend to be more complementary than rivals. Btw I found that pairing the Tsu with the Hugo 2 chastened a bit its analytical and sometimes sharp render while improving some other aspects. It was a really immersive and intense experience .

 

[IgeNeLL]

When I was lent the Tsu, I tested it with RS8, N7 and Hugo 2 and the pairing with Hugo 2 was my favorite, despite being the only pairing double amped (you can’t bypass Hugo 2’s internal amp).
Too bad I don’t have it anymore to compare this chain with the N30 which is my current fav, but by memory (and by nature, knowing Hugo 2’s rather analytical render) it‘s a really different approach so they may tend to be more complementary than rivals. Btw I found that pairing the Tsu with the Hugo 2 chastened a bit its analytical and sometimes sharp render while improving some other aspects. It was a really immersive and intense experience .

The RCA output is better than phone output when paring with amp.

 

[KelFab]

The question is : does the « RCA output is better than phone output » perception comes from the cable, the adapter or the output itself ?
I remember having seen explanations from Rob Watts on Hugo 2’s thread than all analog outputs do come from the same internal output, the main difference being the RCA out having an extra track length than the phone out, resulting in a few milliohms added resistance, that could « produce a tiny SQ change with the RCA phono sounding a tiny bit less precise, a bit softer and warmer in the bass » (cf. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...fficial-thread.831345/page-1268#post-15888847).
So maybe the external cable / adapter used could play a more important role in the « better sound perception » here than the output itself ?

 

[IgeNeLL]

The question is : does the « RCA output is better than phone output » perception comes from the cable, the adapter or the output itself ?
I remember having seen explanations from Rob Watts on Hugo 2’s thread than all analog outputs do come from the same internal output, the main difference being the RCA out having an extra track length than the phone out, resulting in a few milliohms added resistance, that could « produce a tiny SQ change with the RCA phono sounding a tiny bit less precise, a bit softer and warmer in the bass » (cf. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cho...fficial-thread.831345/page-1268#post-15888847).
So maybe the external cable / adapter used could play a more important role in the « better sound perception » here than the output itself ?

If you have chances you can try it.
The standard RCA cable is easier to find with proper shielding, it can be positive point.
The the PO is actually need low impedance, because the IEM or portable headphone impedance is low.
The input impedance of circuit of portable amplifier is often missing, but for a desktop amplifier it should be around 40k-100k Ohm. And the requirement is different.
With RCA connector, the connection quality IMO is better because large contact area so it can reduce the resistance of the connection.
Some of my friend use RCA-.4.4 female adaptor to plug inear and claim it is better=> I'm against that.

 

[dkar]

Has anyone tried the NPAudio mod for the Tsuranagi?