Soundstage!
Marc Mickelson


[AUDIO MAX]
Authorized JPS Labs Dealer
California Area

April 1997

[CAPSULE REVIEW]
JPS Labs AES/EBU Digital Cable: All in the Family

Just call me the cable guy: JPS Labs, Marigo, DH Labs, Marigo again, and now JPS Labs again (and with even more wire from other manufacturers still to come). The good thing about auditioning all of these interconnects, speaker cables, power cords and digital cables in a row is that I have ample context--lots of fodder for comparison and ultimate appraisal. At least that's what I tell myself as I connect and disconnect the many cables I have in boxes in my listening room.

[PICTURE OF JPS AES/EBU CABLE]My admiration for Joe Skubinski's JPS Labs wire is absolute. I love what it does in my system, a big fat nothing, even with all of the gear-swapping going on. I'm especially pleased with the JPS Labs coaxial digital cable, which embodies many of the characteristics I attribute to the different cable formats themselves: the neutral tonal balance of coax, the smoothness of AES/EBU, the speed and precision of AT&T. It's a digital cable for all seasons--one I liked immediately and have only grown to enjoy more as I've used it. Joe's AES/EBU cable has the same aluminum-coated-with-copper conductor as his coaxial cable, but in contrast it uses two runs to facilitate the proper transfer of the balanced signal. All JPS cables are rather stiff, but the AES/EBU is even more so--by my scientific estimate, roughly double that of the coax.

Before I talk about the sound of the cable, a word of warning. If you endeavor to audition the JPS Labs AES/EBU cable, make sure the sample you get is broken in--at least 100 hours of use I'd say. Otherwise, be ready to scratch your head and cover your ears. This cable, more than any other I've used, sounds awful when it has little time on it--lifeless, and especially lacking in rhythm and pace. Even though Joe burns his cables in, be sure your dealer has put some heavy hours on the AES/EBU cable before you decide to evaluate it--and then give it some play in your system just to be sure.

Once the JPS AES/EBU cable is run in, however, it puts on a one-cable show that's as entertaining as that of its coaxial brother. The sound is clean and nimble, and the images have body, which means they're not thin, etched facsimiles of musicians and singers. In contrast, my Purist Colossus AES/EBU cable sounds softer and has a more distant perspective. The two cables cost exactly the same amount of money, $390 per meter, but their sonic differences will undoubtedly drive you from the arms of one into the clutches of the other. You've got it good in either case.

JPS Labs is a buzz company: there's lots of talk about their cables on the Internet and among dealers and manufacturers, almost all of it universally positive. The JPS Labs cables are superb--my long-term reference--and the AES/EBU digital cable keeps the family character of exceptional performance intact. Recommended.

...Marc Mickelson
marc@mailbag.com

[Audio Odyssey]
Authorized JPS Labs Dealer
New Jersey Area

 

JPS Labs AES/EBU Digital Cable
Price: $390 USD, 1 meter ($90 each additional 1/2 meter)

JPS Labs
6 Hampton Court
Lancaster, NY 14086
Phone & Fax: (716) 685-5227

Web-Site: www.jpslabs.com


JPS Labs responds:

Many thanks once again to Marc Mickelson for his time spent in auditioning our AES/EBU cable, and for his kind words.

This particular cable will no doubt be a slight wrestling match to install at first due to its solid core design, but once in place, it stays there. In comparison to all the efforts most of us put into tweaking our systems, this is nothing, which as Marc states, is exactly what JPS cables do in a system.

We hope to continue to be on the tips of audiophiles' tongues for years to come, as word of mouth from satisfied customers continues to grow, thanks to SoundStage! and many others who were willing to give JPS a try.

...Joe Skubinski
JPS Labs