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Author Topic: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!  (Read 6663 times)

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Offline datbrad

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Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« on: October 08, 2013, 03:01:20 PM »
I just received approval to offer discount pricing to taperssection members during the promotional period prior to making the Monarch-I available to the general public in the Luminous Audio retail web store and through our dealer network.

Just shoot me a PM if you want to get an order placed at the promotional pricing, or if you have any questions....


Please go here for the full post in the retail section:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=164808.0
AKG C460B w/CK61/CK63>Luminous Monarch XLRs>SD MP-1(x2)>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD661(Oade WMOD)

Beyer M201>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD561 (Oade CMOD)

Offline DigiGal

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2013, 04:03:26 PM »
Luminous - So they glow in the dark?   ;)
Mics: AKG CK91/CK94/CK98/SE300 D-330BT | DPA 4060 4061 4266 | Neumann TLM 103 | Senn ME66/K6/K6RD MKE2 MD421 MD431 | Shure VP88 SM7B SM63L SM58 Anniversary Cables: Gotham GAC-4/1 Quad w/Neutrik EMC | Gotham GAC-2pair w/AKG MK90/3 connectors | DigiGal AES>S/PDIF cable Preamp: SD MixPre-D Recorders: SD MixPre 6 | Marantz PMD 661 Edit: 2011 27" 3.4GHz Quad i7 iMac High Sierra | 2020 13" MBA Quad i7 Catalina | Wave Editor | xACT | Transmission | FCP X 

Offline datbrad

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2013, 08:59:26 PM »
Luminous - So they glow in the dark?   ;)

Haha....After reading an endless stack of testimonials on the products, I almost expected to see halos :laugh:

If you get a chance, you might want to do a Google search on Tim Stinson, and check out the Luminous Audio Technology website. You will find more than enough written to draw you own conclusions.

I have cut and pasted one of the testimonials from the LAT website regarding Tim's designs by Albert Von Schweikert (I suggest a Google search on him, I was stunned to discover this came from one of the top loudspeaker designers in the world).

His remarks below say it all:

Tim, here's my testimonial for you:
"Over the past fifteen years, I've had the pleasure of using various Luminous Audio cable products, in my factory and home systems. I've tried almost all of the cable brands on the market, and they seem to fall into two groups: those with a natural and sweet musical sound, and those with a heavy personality and "sound" of their own, often shifting the timbral balance. Although I presently use several different brands of cables in my various systems, I prefer the "natural" type of sound that Luminous Audio cables offer : sweet and open, and always highly musical."
Albert Von Schweikert


Tim's approach to cable design is cost-no-object when it comes to material selection, and he told me that when he decided to look into a new shielded high resolution mic cable design, he saw three leaps in component materials since retiring the old Monarch that would make a new Monarch even better. The availability in 2013 of reasonably priced 20 AWG 99.997% OFC clad in 99.997% silver plate, the Ryton Flexo- PPS looming, and the new right angle connectors from Neutrik made the timing right to go ahead and design a new reference quality recording microphone cable.

« Last Edit: October 09, 2013, 09:02:53 PM by DATBRAD »
AKG C460B w/CK61/CK63>Luminous Monarch XLRs>SD MP-1(x2)>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD661(Oade WMOD)

Beyer M201>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD561 (Oade CMOD)

Offline F.O.Bean

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2013, 02:36:29 AM »
Sweet! Id LOVE to hear some recordings and/or comps done with these cables ;)
Schoeps MK 4V & MK 41V ->
Schoeps 250|0 KCY's (x2) ->
Naiant +60v|Low Noise PFA's (x2) ->
DarkTrain Right Angle Stubby XLR's (x3) ->
Sound Devices MixPre-6 & MixPre-3

http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/diskobean
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/Bean420
http://bt.etree.org/mytorrents.php
http://www.mediafire.com/folder/j9eu80jpuaubz/Recordings

Offline datbrad

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2013, 11:20:43 AM »
I put a link to this article in the playback forum also.

http://www.stereophile.com/content/funk-audio-and-friends

For anyone unfamiliar with Luminous Audio Technology products, the system featured in this article was shown at the 2013 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest last weekend, October 11-13.

I feel very fortunate that I was able to talk Tim into diverting his attention from audiophile playback to make a new Monarch microphone cable, and I am positive that anyone taping with a new set of Monarch-I cables will feel the same after they hear the results compared to whatever they are currently using.

I did a comp of a recording of a local band where I used my normal ProCo Ameriquad cables first set, then swapped them out with the Monarch-I test pair I built for the second. I was not expecting what I heard later when I listened back.

The difference was so striking to me, I had to make sure it was not just my mind wanting to hear it, so I had a couple of neighbors come over next day for an informal blind test. I asked them to pick the version they thought sounded better, unaware that I changed mic cables between sets. They picked the Monarch-I as best sounding within the first minutes of listening, and did so repeatedly as I jumped around to different tracks.


AKG C460B w/CK61/CK63>Luminous Monarch XLRs>SD MP-1(x2)>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD661(Oade WMOD)

Beyer M201>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD561 (Oade CMOD)

Offline noahbickart

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2013, 07:48:45 PM »
Great!

Send me a loaner pair, and I'll post a comp for everyone here to do ABX comparisons!
Recording:
Capsules: Schoeps mk41v (x2), mk22 (x2), mk3 (x2), mk21 & mk8
Cables: 2x nbob KCY, 1 pair nbob actives, GAKables 10' & 20' 6-channel snakes, Darktrain 2 & 4 channel KCY and mini xlr extensions:
Preamps:    Schoeps VMS 02iub, Naiant IPA, Sound Devices Mixpre6 I
Recorders: Sound Devices Mixpre6 I, Sony PCM m10

Home Playback: Mac Mini> Mytek Brooklyn+> McIntosh MC162> Eminent Tech LFT-16; Musical Fidelity xCan v2> Hifiman HE-4XX / Beyerdynamic DT880

Office Playback: iMac> Grace m903> AKG k701 / Hifiman HE-400

Offline datbrad

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« Last Edit: October 18, 2013, 01:51:49 AM by DATBRAD »
AKG C460B w/CK61/CK63>Luminous Monarch XLRs>SD MP-1(x2)>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD661(Oade WMOD)

Beyer M201>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD561 (Oade CMOD)

Offline DigiGal

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2013, 03:13:02 AM »
Will Luminous Audio Technology be at the AES 135 convention?

I always make my own cables but that would be an ideal place for them to demonstrate how this product could be better than the ProCo cables you were using. A cable shoot out there would be something to consider.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2013, 10:01:47 AM by DigiGal »
Mics: AKG CK91/CK94/CK98/SE300 D-330BT | DPA 4060 4061 4266 | Neumann TLM 103 | Senn ME66/K6/K6RD MKE2 MD421 MD431 | Shure VP88 SM7B SM63L SM58 Anniversary Cables: Gotham GAC-4/1 Quad w/Neutrik EMC | Gotham GAC-2pair w/AKG MK90/3 connectors | DigiGal AES>S/PDIF cable Preamp: SD MixPre-D Recorders: SD MixPre 6 | Marantz PMD 661 Edit: 2011 27" 3.4GHz Quad i7 iMac High Sierra | 2020 13" MBA Quad i7 Catalina | Wave Editor | xACT | Transmission | FCP X 

Offline noahbickart

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2013, 08:08:19 AM »
It doesn't seem to me that any of these links show a test which employs anything close to the scientific method.

I have no doubt that these folks "hear" a difference between cables.

I am simply skeptical that this "difference" is a direct causal result of the physics of the cable design and not some form of expectation bias. Brains are much more complicated than cable design.

So tell me, how do the designers of these cables decide on what materials to use and how to use them? What tests do they perform on their prototypes? Can you share this data?


Well, you're in luck, listening comparisons of our products have already been published numerous times.

I could never say it better than these folks did:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue10/latmonarch.htm

http://www.hifizine.com/2012/09/luminous-audio-technology-axiom-ii/

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/luminous2/synchestra.html

http://www.stereotimes.com/cables112102.shtml

http://www.monoandstereo.com/2013/04/luminous-audio-technology-axiom-ii.html

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/amplification/preamplifiers/luminous-audio-technology/axiom/prd_118308_1591crx.aspx

http://www.audiophilia.com/wp/?p=9424

This last one is just so cool I had to share it just for the gear porn.

http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/p546.html

I can give a ton more links just like these, but they are redundant.
Recording:
Capsules: Schoeps mk41v (x2), mk22 (x2), mk3 (x2), mk21 & mk8
Cables: 2x nbob KCY, 1 pair nbob actives, GAKables 10' & 20' 6-channel snakes, Darktrain 2 & 4 channel KCY and mini xlr extensions:
Preamps:    Schoeps VMS 02iub, Naiant IPA, Sound Devices Mixpre6 I
Recorders: Sound Devices Mixpre6 I, Sony PCM m10

Home Playback: Mac Mini> Mytek Brooklyn+> McIntosh MC162> Eminent Tech LFT-16; Musical Fidelity xCan v2> Hifiman HE-4XX / Beyerdynamic DT880

Office Playback: iMac> Grace m903> AKG k701 / Hifiman HE-400

Offline dlh

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2013, 08:15:09 AM »
Leonard, "Here we go."
480b, 460b, Line Audio CM3, SP LSD2, AT BP4025, SP C4,
MiniMe, MiniMP, AND ANNOUNCING the recent adoption of a Mini-Dac. The little bro's are SO excited  :yahoo:

DR-680, DR-100 MKII, PMD671, fr2LE, MTII

De gustibus non est disputandum.
"It's just this little chromium switch here.  You people are soo superstitious."

Offline it-goes-to-eleven

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2013, 11:06:19 AM »
Why not just hook the things to an audio analyzer?  If you think you are a better instrument than an Audio Precision . . . well . . .

Yeah, well.  I know there is a whole bunch of awful sounding gear that looks good when measured on a test bench.  They don't call it benchmarketing for nothing.

And in regard to cables, there are some surprisingly common practices that can be fairly easily quantified on a test bench as being poor choices for good audio quality.

Offline datbrad

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Re: Luminous Monarch mic cables are back!!!!!
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2013, 02:07:28 PM »
Why not just hook the things to an audio analyzer?  If you think you are a better instrument than an Audio Precision . . . well . . .

Yeah, well.  I know there is a whole bunch of awful sounding gear that looks good when measured on a test bench.  They don't call it benchmarketing for nothing.

You have to know what to test.  There are a lot of things you can test for that don't show up in standard specifications.  There is also plenty of good sounding gear that has nonlinearities that show up easily in testing.  People seem to like the tinybox transformers; they are highly nonlinear devices.  But I can show that pretty easily on the test gear.

When I reduce that to a specification, it will say something like 0.3% THD at 1kHz at 0dBV.  That's all the standard specification calls for.  But I try to go beyond that and list the 100Hz spec as well (3%), and if somebody asks the amount of each harmonic (mostly third, some fifth, in case you are wondering).

By comparison, you could clip an ADC exactly to the same THD spec and it would sound terrible because of the high-order distortion content.

Again, all easily visible on an audio analyzer.  You have to know what to test for.

Anyway, we are talking about cables, not amplifiers.  The job of a cable is pretty simple to quantify; send the same signal (a couple of high-quality square waves maybe) to a two-channel amp, one terminated with a specified load directly at the amp (no cable), the other terminated at the end of the cable.  Compare on a dual-trace scope.  Repeat with channels swapped if you are fastidious.

I am not saying these cables are good, bad, or ugly; I will never have enough money to know.  But I do know if I had a strand I could test it.

Quote
And in regard to cables, there are some surprisingly common practices that can be fairly easily quantified on a test bench as being poor choices for good audio quality.

Unbalanced signal transmission would be a good example.  I don't care how much your RCA cables cost, if you are in a bad EMI environment a $0.20/ft shielded Cat 5 cable will mop the floor with the RCA.  Of course if you are spending $60K on an audio system I expect you can afford to build your listening room in a Faraday cage.

I can't afford the Faraday cage or the expensive cables, so my entire system is balanced.  Which is why the builder's remark that his balanced cables don't sound as good as his unbalanced cables was puzzling to me.

I can send you a piece of the conductor wire and you can test it if you want, no problem. PM me a mailing addy and I'll get it out to you. You can take any two wires and measure SNR, THD, wire resistance, etc. and conclude if they have identical performance using those metrics. What can't be measured easily, if at all, is the efffect capacitive reactance can have on each frequency that results in sound exiting the cable that is diffferent than what entered at the source end, known as "timbral shifting". Some call this "color" or "flavor". Dialectric absorption can shift timbral balance audibly, and some cable companies actually manipulate this phenomenon to give their brand of cables a signature sound. A good audio cable should disapear completely, IMO.

Here is the real kicker, since we are talking about low impedance microphone cable, the impact of a wire's resistance and the dielectric properties of it's insulators on tonal balance far exceeds it's impact on speaker wire, for example. If someone ever invents a device that can measure the effects of capacitive reactance on tone with otherwise equally performing conductor wire, companies like Monster could be exposed for manipulating this fact to fleece consumers, but since there is no such device, it's impossible to prove.

What we do know is that as wire guage increases, resistance decreases, and dielectric properties affect capacitive reactance. Using PTFE instead of PVC, and 20AWG wire instead of the more common 22 AWG(with 25% greater resistance than 22AWG) and even smaller, were specific choices made to address these concerns.  Ultimately, it's up to the user to decide, one reason we have a 30 day money back guarantee, so the risk to a consumer for trying LAT products is low.
AKG C460B w/CK61/CK63>Luminous Monarch XLRs>SD MP-1(x2)>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD661(Oade WMOD)

Beyer M201>Luminous Monarch XLRs>PMD561 (Oade CMOD)

 

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