HI-FIVE Audio
ZDL Auditions AEquilibrium, Delirium, Vibrato
Listening to a piece of equipment obviously depends on the sound system it’s part of, the recording of the music, the electrical system, the acoustics of the room, your ears, tastes and knowledge.
That’s why the most important thing is to listen. After we have read each audition, we invite you to come and listen and draw your own conclusions.
Lisbon, 30.Jun.2023 – José Costa
Taking advantage of the shipment of the entire series of ZDL cables to Hi-Duet, we had the opportunity to listen to and compare the similarities and differences of these cables in Hi-Duet’s main sound system.
Appreciation of Build Quality and Aesthetics
The box the cables come in is simple, sober, well-designed and made of cardboard, which is obviously recyclable.
In the construction, we can confirm the flexibility of the cables (common to the different series), which allows them to be placed in tight spaces. The ribbon, made of cotton, is pleasant to the touch.
In aesthetic terms,the different series, distinguished mainly by the color of the ribbon and logo, follow the same philosophy: sober, with a discreet, elegant design and a well-designed logo.
Some technical data (from the manufacturer)
Each series consists of digital cables, interconnect cables and speaker cables
Dielectric material made of cotton
Silver and copper alloys, in different percentages depending on the series.
Coating the conductors with cotton
The power cables have Furutech plugs
Sound System
The sound system where the audition took place consists of:
Sources: Streaming via Tidal, using BlueSound Node and Auralic
Amplification: Solution 330
Cables: ZDL (different series) throughout the system
Speakers: JBL Project K2 S9900
Current filter: ?
The system is powered by an independent electricity circuit and the room has no acoustic treatment.
Audition
With a panel of five participants, we began the audition with the entry-level series, Aequilibrium. We chose as our first tracks the songs Avec le Temps, from the album by Carlos do Carmo and Bernardo Sassetti and Sei de um Rio, by Camané (O melhor 1995-2013). We were able to confirm that already in this range the soundstage is generous, the instruments are well separated, there’s care in the detail of the piano, in transparency, timbrally they’re very balanced, with expressive and non-aggressive highs, clarity and shifts in the voice revealing the already very interesting mids and low mids, the controlled bass. We listened to a few more tracks, which confirmed the musicianship of the band.
At Delirium, we repeated the same songs and felt an evolution in continuity. The musicality is still there, there is an increase in the stage both in width and depth, more information. With the track Bass Drops from Nenad Vasilic’s album Bass Room, we were able to hear the various changes in the bass, confirming the richness of the mid-bass and bass control.
With the Vibrato series we enter another level, as we are immediately drawn to the notion of reality. I’m not going to go on, I’ll just say that all the features of the previous series have been improved, that we can see the coherence and consistency between all the ranges, which allows the various series to be combined into a single system if desired, and I report on my auditions with these cables (see below) in the HI-FIVE Audio “resident” system.
A final reference, which could be the first, to power cables: their placement, whether in the source or in the amplifier, creates an enveloping ambience, a firmness in the sound, more silence, greater detail, essential to any system.
Conclusion
AEquilibrium and Delirium cables achieve exceptional performance well beyond their segments. Vibrato, on the other hand, transforms your system, conveying a sense of reality. As you can see from the audition already mentioned, my “resident” system uses this series. But, as I’ve already pointed out, given their common characteristics, the three series can be combined in order to “fine-tune” the system to your liking, never forgetting the power cables.
Lisbon, Jan.2023 – José Costa
Having participated in the different testing phases of the ZDL cables, we have arrived at the final version of the Vibrato series.
Appreciation of Build Quality and Aesthetics
In terms of construction, we can confirm the flexibility of the apartment cables, which allows them to be placed in tight spaces. The ribbon, made of cotton, is pleasant to the touch.
In aesthetic terms, they are sober, with a discreet, elegant design and a well-designed logo.
Sound System
The sound system where the audition took place consists of:
Sources: Transport – Mark Levinson nº 28 ; Streamer and Server – Innuos Zen (Tidal HiFi Plus service); USB / coaxial digital converter – Topping D10s ; DAC – Mark Levinson 30.6; Turntable – Rui Borges (Primo, vinyl turntable version); Arm – VPI JMW Memorial tonearm ; Cell – Ortofon MC3 Turbo
Preamplifier: Nagra PL-L; Amplifiers – Karan monoblocks KA-M 1200; Phono preamplifier – Rotel Mishi RHQ-10
Cables: ZDL Vibrato throughout the system
Columns: Revel Salon I
Current filter; PS-Audio Premier (except for amplifiers).
The system is powered by an independent electricity circuit and the room has no acoustic treatment.
Audition
I started by listening to My Favorite Things. Vibrato brings out all the sonic changes, all the colors that an instrument as small as the Kalimba can have. The same behavior for the voice, making it possible to perceive small intonations and breathing. I switched to Midnight Sugar. Here, I heard the piano, its dynamics, the felt of the keys hitting the strings, the bass control of the double bass, the cymbals sounding “loose”. In Vado a Morir, the dynamics of the orchestra, the breadth of the stage, the depth and, always, the mezzo soprano voice. In Antienne, the size of the choir, the different voices, their spatial placement.
On vinyl, the traditional Tin Pan Alley track, to hear the immersion, spatiality and grandeur of the music, with the drum roll, the echo of the snare drum, the sound of the guitar and strings, the guttural sound of the voice. In Limehouse Blues, the recreation of the bar atmosphere, and the clarity of the clarinet and vibraphone.
In streaming, with Bad Guy and Bury a Friend, I confirmed the breadth and depth of the bass.
All these auditions revealed the excellent timbre balance of the cables: the highs are lively, but not shrill or aggressive; the mids and low mids are very present and balanced, and the lows are extensive, deep and controlled. But equally important, the detail of the information, the silence, the transparency, the musical tempo, the ambience and, finally, the musicality.
Conclusion
With the Vibrato series we enter another level because we are immediately drawn to the notion of reality. Whether it’s a passage in which the reverberation of the recording location gives us a feeling of envelopment and tranquillity, the recreation of the ambience of a bar, or the fact that the instruments begin to take on a three-dimensionality, everything invites us into a 3D immersion, not visually, but sonically. They’re my favorite cables, and they’ve become the system’s resident cables.
Chosen songs
My Favorite Things – Same Girl – Youn Sun Nah
Midnight Sugar – Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio
Vado a Morir – St. Petersburg – Cecilia Bartoli
Antienne (and following) – Vivaldi: Vêpres pour la Nativité de la Vierge – Jean-Claude Malgoire
Tin Pan Alley – Couldn’t Stand the Weather – Stevie Ray Vaughan
Limehouse Blues – Jazz at the Pawnshop
Bad Guy and Bury a Friend – When We all fall Asleep, Where do We Go? – Billie Eilish