XXHighEnd

---

As you can see I try to keep ahead of things. And as you can imagine, it gets more and more difficult to improve. But maybe I managed.

Now who is Lush. OK, here : Lush Cosmetics Ltd. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lush_(company))
:scratching:

When I myself think about "lush" as such, it is something which is soft. A breeze through something. No hard colours. But it is also about wealth in the sense of a wealth of things.

(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/breeze02b.png)
This is the Lush.
If you look closely you see how The Lush operates. It is palpable. It whispers to you. You listen to it. It gives you wealth. It is nature. It is the real thing.

---

Some say the Clairixa is the best USB Cable ever. Well, it actually is; It is well possible that nothing was made better to USB spec than the Clairixa. It would anyway be very hard to accomplish.
But who actually tells that the USB specification with its - mind you - wide margin can't be improved for Audio ?
So that is exactly what I did ...
:secret:

First it took two months or so of throughput before I found how specifications as such would influence the sound. Yes, you heard me right, I said sound (as in : let's drop the "quality" part). Then the direction was determined of which way specifications were allowed to go (think a simple plus x or minus x here). Then the margin was determined as in "too soft now" or "nice but too strange".
Lastly a topology had to be determined which would make it feasible to ever construct the cable. This includes the sleeve which actually is part of the topology again (it is a dielectric).
Oh, I almost forgot : the last trajectory has been the listening for 4 weeks.

And here it is :

(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/The Lush USB Audio Cable.jpg)
The Lush USB Audio Cable

---

Sound (1)

Allow me to compare with the Clairixa;
Clairixa is the best 1:1 translation from digital.
Err ... from what ?
Right.

Clairixa is a most pinpointed razor blade sharp machine.
Lush is a pile of musicality. If you hear it right out of the box there will be one thing jumping at you right away : the harmonisation of ... the harmonics. Ehm ...
Well, yes; Of course I am inclined to say that it is the harmonisation of the musicans etc., but while this would be completely the truth, it is about the technical thing underlying that. All "tones" swing.

Again it is so that all detail remains. Again it is so that the cable is as fresh as nowadays is required. But there's a "connecting droop" that turns digital into analog. And you know what ?

There hasn't been one single time in the 4 weeks I am listening to the Lush now, that I was disturbed by one or the other things which urged for improvement. And it is right here where the difference with Clairixa is : Clairixa shows the lesser parts (from the source) or it just is the lesser cable for some material or sounds. Actually, when listening to the Lush, what should come to mind is the analogy with analog :

Analog won't go wrong. It always works.
This is the Lush. But now with the advantage of the dynamics and "no noise" from digital. It really works, you know.

Sound (2)

(this is the description I already made on June 1 - the description above I just created again, objectively)

All is relative and for me the sound is relative to Clairixa;
Clairixa, as her name tells, is clarity, crystal and clear water. Combine all these and you have a most clear sounding cable but which also can be bitchy. It can bite. This is no problem, unless you hold something against it which has the properties of "lush".

We now must be careful because "lush" in my own language does not exist as far as I know; working with the sound of the word only, there is softness in it. A sweet softness. On the other hand, when I look at the explanation in English, one of them is "green meadow". Now combine this with a nice breeze through that meadow and you get close to the sound.

If you watch closely at the descriptions I tend to give to such a vehicle as an audio cable is, you may notice that they are always technical. So, maybe you had another idea than technical with "green meadow", but my idea about it is really technical. It is "a means to" (create a specific sound). However, for the very first time I now dare to give a very  normal audiophile description : this cable is musical.
If this cable is to be rated for its musicality, it will receive a 10 (out of 10).
All sings and dances together and you can hear the harmonics doing that. So actually the harmonics work togteher.

Comparing with Clairixa we can say (or at least I do myself) that this is a piece of machinery that adds nothing and passes on what it is given. If you listen to the Lush for a week and put back in Clairixa, you will say "oh my, what a d*mn good cable is that ! - how is it actually possible ?". However, for you as the yet unknowledged, I can tell you that it will be this what you hear from the Clairixa when you listened to the Lush for real :

When you again listen to the Clairixa, you start to notice that not every day everything sounds as good as you liked it to be. It doesn't really bother because you are used to that anyway and all you hear is the "goodness" of it all.
On a side note : During the path to the launch to the NOS1a/G3 upgrade (Clairixa in the chain) I have said this several times lately :  you can hear that things are not perfect but you are not bothered by it because it is as it is and you can not see possible improvement (and now it does not annoy either).
Not so with the Lush ...

For a 100 times I have thought "okayyyy NOW I achieved 100% pure analog". It just can't go wrong.
And that's how it is. It can't go wrong ...

Yesterday too, I explicitly watched for any wrongness or disturbance or annoyance etc., but in 4 hours of time I could not find anything. Instead I thought "OMG what have I done this time".

Sound (3)

Under "Sound (2)" you read that the original description was made on June 1, and I can tell that "Sound (1)" was made on June 13. Today it is June 21 and I have this addition :

This cable will change audio (or something of that order);
Because I obviously was able to play more in three weeks than in two weeks, it becomes clear more and more how something like this cable is able to dig out super profound say "melodies" which weren't there at all before. Think like being used to e.g. Talking Heads - "Once in a lifetime" for the major part of your life, and suddenly there is a synthesizer in there playing the main melody for a larger part. This really makes you think like "huh ?!?".

What's also new is that the Lush is able to let MQA sound more or less right, which the recognition that the properties of the sound heard, seem to spring from Hires in general. Say that there's a "hardness" in metal with a little sauce of roughness, which is almost the opposite of what you normally experience from Hires (at least I think it can sound too silky up to dull). So this realism in metal is almost the main characteristic and if you watch (listen) closely, you can see that it is this property which makes things infinitely more real.

Assumed that one day you will own this cable, you should start out with playing Tanita Tikaram - "Twist in my Sobriety" and drop dead from what you perceive from the larger hits on a larger drum while explicitly trying to think that she and the band is not with you in the room. Well, I perceived it as the most realistical representation of music in the room, that somehow still coming from a pair of loudspeakers. Btw, this counts for the whole of the Ancient Heart album.

The last revelation only springs from last night, but for this I must first go back so something else I recently found : the famous toilet test fails - at least when being outside of the house, door open, you being around the corner somewhere.
Toilet test : When being in the toilet, a couple of doors closed between you and the listening room, all frequencies should sound still even for level. No boom-boom, no hissing, just even and only lower in level. "Should" ... ?
Today this test for its "being outside" version fails because it seems that insufficient highs are available. No boom boom, but a kind of stuffed ears feeling when you try to listen to nice music, thus being in the garden etc., you speakers around a few corners.
And now this revelation :
Yesterday, for the very first time I was able to play music while eating outside in the garden, without being distracted by music. So, I am quite sure both just described phenomena go together : a bit of less pronounced highs which allow the music to be better background music.
The fun is too that when you go inside, you are overwhelmed with the exact opposite : spades of highs but which somehow don't like to travel around corners. It can also be that it works out like this for me personally, because I am relieved that it works so well, while being outside makes me doubt whether all is as good as I wanted it to be. Well, it just is and in double-fashion.

---

Price

The time required to make one of 100cm (~3ft) is a little bit longer than for Clairixa. Still I like to keep the price the same at 200 euros.
Otherwise we now work with standard lengths which is more economical with production so the price can be kept "low" :

070cm : 200 euros.
100cm : 200 euros.
150cm : 225 euros.
200cm : 275 euros.
300cm : 400 euros.

Edit : This is without shipping and is also without VAT; for those liable to VAT 21% must be added.
You can order your Lush here (https://stordiau.com/products/lush-usb-audio-cable-70cm).

You can see that the price progressively rises with the longer cable, which is because of the difficulty of the topology and the sleeve which becomes harder and harder to slide on (think like cm for cm to push through and at 300cm it taking an hour).
Clairixa was sold at up to 7m (700cm) and we think this will be impossible to realistically make. Of course, nothing is impossible, but ... Well, but at least we must try once before we really know.

70cm is the shortest length which is mainly because of the somewhat odd bending capabilities of the cable;
At the "A" side of the cable (this is the PC side) the cable is made so that it can bend up and down - not sideways. At the "B" side (DAC side) it only bends side ways.
Both combined implies that you need a bit of length to go from the one device to the other.

Availability

We are right in the middle of NOS1a/G3 upgrades, but because we face a small break, at the moment of this writing no NOS1a's are in-house so right now we produce Lushes until we drop. But this is only for a couple of days and we can't tell yet how many we will have by the end of the day tomorrow (the last moment of shipping this first batch). Also, somewhere next week we will have one extra day for production (still no NOS1a in-house).

Anyway the message is clear : first come, first serve.
Nothing unusual really, but this time the fun is that after this first batch, production will be rare and only when nothing else can be done coincidentally (say because of poor logistics planning :)). As how we see it today, this situation will last until September / October, when the G3 upgrades run to an end.

Please announce yourselves in this topic and not by email, so it will be clear to everybody who was first.
You can subscribe for longer lengths than 300cm but we won't producing such lengths at this time.

Peter

Hey Peter,


Great :ok:

100 cm is good for me  :)

Thanx

Yes please.  Will let you know the length.

Gerard, goood to see you can still manage to be the first !
haha

:rofl: :rofl:

Good morning Peter, well afternoon for you of course :bye:

I would like a 100cm Lush!

And one for me Peter  :smile:

Will let you know the length


Tore

150 cm here, please. Thanks!

Hi Peter,

One for me too. Will let you know the length a bit later.

Best regards,

Arvind

150cm for me please...

Forgetting for a moment that to be "on the lush" means to be "heavily intoxicated"(perhaps that is what you were going for in a musical sense), you can put me down for a 100 cm. cable.

Esau

Hey Esau,

Hmm ... No, I did not know that expression. Well, I know it in Dutch of course, and say that I like that state of being. Haha.
So no, not intended, but why not. :party:

Thank you !
Peter

Hi Peter,

A 70cm please   :veryhappy:

Regards,
Stanley

Yes, I need lush!
Not at home this week, so will tell the length later.

Regards, Arjan

Just called home, my wife measured existing clarixa.
The Lush should be 100 cm for me.
Regards, Arjan

150cm please Peter.

Peter,

200 cm for me please

Ramesh

Hi Peter,

1.50m for me pls.

Best regards,

Arvind

Dear people,

All of you who applied so far just were sent the invoice. We try to finish your Lush before somewhere (our) mid day tomorrow, and if you can take care it has been paid for (visibly !) we will take care it's shipped tomorrow at last.

Thank you all !
Peter

Yesterday I was crossing the country and people in The Netherlands will recognise that it is a bit hot-ish these days (like 36C this afternoon which is not really what we anticipate (most have no airconditioning)). So ... yesterday it was my bad luck that 10Km before my last exit on te highway I ran into a queue which held me for over an hour. And this in this bloody hot sun.

The effect was that I was too late back in the office to order a new pile of USB connectors, needed for the Lush. And, with the orders as of now, this means that even next week, when we have this small window of 1 day to finish the last Lush'es as of then, we can only make 8 more compared to the current orders.
Side note : fact of life is that I can't order anything today either, because we won't be there to receive them.

:sorry:
Peter

Hi Peter,

150cm for me please.

Cheers,
Jayce

Hi Jayce,

Please see your email (you're special as of now :))

Thanks !
Peter

(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/Lush USB Cable.JPG)
First small batch ready for shipping. :evil:

Hi Peter,

100cm for me please.

Thanks,

Johan

Living close to Peter's house does have its merits ... :P ... and so does the Lush!

First seconds already ... WoW!

:goodjob:

Thanks Peter!

:drinks:

Ha !

Hi Peter
  I'll take 150cm Lush.  How much is shipping across the world?

Matt

Hi Matt,


Why does this sound inappropriate to me ? :hips:

But for 37 euros you're the man (in the US of A). OK, for the shipping, I meant.
Invoice coming up later (shipment will be in a week anyway).

Thank you and regards,
Peter

(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/Lush No Power a.jpg)
What you see here is something I totally forgot to tell.

For the Lush to sound best, the USB power (5V) must be cut and you can do it at the A connector as you see above. However, this has not been tested "in general" - only with the NOS1a/G3. So ...

So what you really see above is the A connector of the short "loop through" cable which you will see stick out of the NOS1a/G3's left leg. Watch out : this can only be at that (short cable) position for the NOS1a/G3 because else the Phisolator (which is internal) is not powered and USB will not work at all.

Almost everybody who received the Clairixa also received such a small piece of tape. But it is easy to make yourself anyway. The most important part of it, is the part which folds to the bottom of the connector (not visible here) which allows for removal of the tape easily.

No matter how confusing it might be, try to keep in mind that the Lush cable itself has been explicitly made to deal with the 5V USB, which also is how NOS1a/G3 owners will use it. And I said explicitly (as in : don't use that and the cable will be out of "balance"). However, this does not mean that the NOS1a/G3 is at its best when that - behind the (Ph)isolator is fed with 5V, in this case.
Of course you can try it with the 5V, because nothing breaks. But if all is right, the sound will become very "tight" because of it, which is sort of the opposite of musical.

Peter

Peter, 1m for me please. As I have to ship you the NOS1 for the Bass upgrade in two or three weeks you can ship back all together. I have the USB input in the back face of the dac leg, so maybe would be easier to make the Lush and the short one with the isolation you mentioned with my NOS1 there. Perhaps I'm a little confused about the short "loop through" cable and the other Lush one. That's why I'd rather that you make all together there. Of course I can pay for the cable now.

Regards,
Juan

WOW indeed...
 :soundsgood: :soundsgood:

Hi Peter -  070cm for me please

Cheers

Scroobius

I'm in
100cm for me too

fred

Peter, are your thoughts on the sound of the Lush dependent on it being connected to a Phisolator (or 3!), or is it still effective if connected directly to the NOS1's USB input C? If you are using a Phisolator, are you using the 'standard' short USB link between USB B and C on the NOS1? Have you tried a short Lush between B and C?

I'm in a position where I simply don't need a 'lusher' sound than I'm already getting (assuming I understood your initial description). I'm not using either of the Phisolators in my respective NOS1s (preferring instead to use Intonas) and I'm concerned that the Lush will take the sound in a direction I don't like. The Phisolator hasn't worked out for me, and I'm concerned that the Lush might not either.

Any advice on what I should do?

Mani.

Hi Mani,

In your case it is the best not to try it at all.
What one doesn't know, can't harm.

Really ?? Hahahaha

Now test yourself.
But really, just don't get it.
More really, just don't get it.
Or get it just in case but don't try it.

Bzzzz
:-)

Maybe you could offer to do the hard yards and burn-in Pauls cable for him.

I'm growing a real hatred for all things USB. It's like we're all being held hostage by its whims. And unfortunately, it has us by the balls...

And our knight in shining armour, instead of defeating it and putting it in its place, is courting it! Appeasing it. Complementing it. But its fickle nature remains lurking beneath the surface.


Whatever Paul touches turns to gold. I wouldn't want to break the spell.

Mani.

For those who already have the Lush:
Can you add to the expressions of wonder some other more descriptive detail? e.g. How you compare it to the Clairixa? Thanks

Peter, what really pushed you to create the Lush? Do you see it as a way to solve some lack of the Bass upgrade impossible to solve otherwise? If this is so, should it be understood as part of the Bass upgrade?
I'm not questioning anything here, just want to understand it better.

Regards,
Juan

Hi,
I am using Lush now for 1 day. Very first impression, I am missing something. But within some tracks I started to appreciate the sound. Really smooth and warmer but with same details AND better bass again.
Maybe because I am used to tube amps the first impression was different from others, Clairixa is sharper.

Mani, I also tested with Clairixa some days ago with PE and without Phisolator. I did not liked that. To me Lush does something similar to the SQ BUT the right way!
Regards, Arjan

Thanks Arjan. If you are using tube amps and don't find the sound too warm then probably the Lush is working well in your system. When you say that the bass is better would you say that it also has a better definition?

Regards,
Juan

Hi,
About the bass I would say, although it was never booming, it is now more bass feeling and less booming. A bit difficult to explain.
But for me it is singing now.

Regards, Arjan

The main reason that I purchased a NOS1 way back when was that it was supposed to be immune to USB cables and I had just spent a boat load on a fancy USB cable after trialing many and thought there were better ways to spend my time (and money).  The NOS1 was more or less immune...inconsequential differences between USB cables and I was perfectly happy with the $2 cable that Peter had supplied with the dac.

Upgrades to NOS1a and now the G3 and no USB cable immunity has been set aside but the sound now is definitely better these days.  It is a little troubling that the dac that was once immune is no longer and that I have purchased both the Clairixa and The Lush expensive USB cables from Peter, but it is what it is. 

Curious Cables are made just down the hill from me so I will see if I can get one sent up for a demo...in for a penny in for a pound!

I think Ethernet needs to be looked at. It maybe the best solution to the USB inconsistencies. However Peter knows best.

Best regards,

Arvind

Perhaps it is because I am still in the honeymoon period (my The Lush arrived this morning) but this cable is "the business".  Harmonics anyone?  The albums that I have listened to so far have been very enjoyable. 

Yes the sound is more lush, or perhaps even warmer, than the Clarixia.  It kind of reminds me of why people choose triodes and 4 or 5 way acoustic systems...that depth of presentation with a harmonic richness to soothe the soul.

Mani, would I use this cable in a triode/horn acoustic system?  Well it depends a little I guess.  If your sound is "rounded" rather than "clean" and already has lots and lots of H2 then perhaps this cable will bring too much, I am not sure.  Think a 300B pushed hard with a half decent OPT that struggles with both HF and LF (but has a midrange to die for)...I don't think The Lush will work there.  A well designed SET with a very capable output transformer matched to the loudspeakers and operated well within its limits, or optimally a multi-amp SET system, and this USB cable and the G3 will work very well.

I've not played with the Intona/Phisolator combo in and out of my system since the G3 upgrade, but I have no reason to want to do so with the solid state amplification that I am using at the moment.  That you have, and prefer the 'less rounded' sound of the Intona may be an indication that The Lush is not for you.  Or not, because I do not really know what you are hearing.

Peter, well done!  I'll leave The Lush in for a week or so and then try the Clarixia again.

Mani, I hope this helps a little with your decision.

Anthony, that's really, really useful and very timely (I'll go into more detail in a short while). Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Mani.

This afternoon I've reconnected the Clarixa again and damn, what a nasty experience. Everything was getting cold and thin with the feeling as if all was more dynamic and tight....

Fake dynamics if you ask me because I could not stand the added pressure feeling on my ears for much longer and eager to turn the volume down after a few minutes..

Back to the Lush again and all is just clean, dynamic and powerful without a trace of harsness... very enjoyable again!

Edit: Do not look at my signature settings... needs changes for some time already!

 :offtopic:

Hey Bert, I decided to try my BD30-SPR amps with the Anima horns, and...

:soundsgood:

Mani.

What can I say...  :thanks:

Next step the Lush... you'll like it and brings back some goodies from the tube amp.  :veryhappy:

Hi Peter,
150cm  :) thank you!

Hi Juan,

Actually the Lush is nothing more or less then the next step at the hardware level after all the B'ASS/G3 upgrade has been accomplished and is in production. So notice that only such a stage allows me to proceed with anything next. And for me, USB is the obvious thing to grab at the horns at this moment.

Maybe in the original post it wasn't make clear all that much (I wrote the post as a whole two times before I thought it was honest all over :yes:) but it was my explicit attempt to make a USB cable for audio specs (but notice that it would be my own specs as such) instead of Clairixa which is a USB cable make to USB specs (as good as I could). And both are completely different.

In the end it was nothing else as an attempt to again improve on the USB cable, knowing that the could not be "it" for audio. But mind you please, back at the time (over two years ago I think) I couldn't do anything else than create the cable to USB specs, which appeared might difficult already. The step I could take now is based upon more experience, mostly with the isolation and its behavior and sound. Thus there too, we already learned that isolation and isolation are two completely different things, were it for audio sound. From there I worked on the cable.
... And in my view it is beyond belief what it can achieve (laying many various albums by now) ...

Best regards,
Peter

Because I see that the post I quote this from can be confusing, I like to summarize again what this was about :

a. The Lush must be used with 5V just live or otherwise it does not perform as intended;
b. For the combination with the NOS1a/G3 which has a USB Isolator inside (the Phisolator) the small USB cable which loops through from the Phisolator output to the USB input of the G3, best be cut for the 5V, because the NOS1a/G3 does not like the 5V the best in this situation (for the normal NOS1a it probably does not matter a thing).

So the confusing part of it, is that it is the Lush cable and the cable alone which likes the 5V to be live.
Let's keep in mind that this USB power also influences the impedance in certain ways, and that we can only make one impedance for the cable. This now *has* to be including the power, just because we must assume that most devices require the 5V over USB, which as a matter of fact now is the NOS1a/G3 also (NOS1a does not need the 5V). And this in itself is because otherwise the Phisolator is not powered and then it does not work.

On a side note, I "know" (between quotes) that for the Clairixa cutting the 5V also does not work for the better for the same reason : it is made to best match the USB Impedance and this implies usage of the power as well - so nothing different !

The only thing to take into account - and this is for G3 owners only - is that the small piece of USB cable which goes out and into the left leg, better not carry USB power. And I only say this because I think it sounds worse with power (and quite noticable).

To make the confusion complete :
You might also try the "Short Clairixa for the Intona" instead of the small piece of (stock) USB cable; you will see that that too does not sound well.

I hope it is clear better now !
Peter

Ok

1 question. What. Does not sound well The little.stock.or the little Clarixa?

Hi Mani,

The more serious reply (relative to my other response to the post I just quoted from) is that if you don't "need" the Lush, IMO/IME first something else is "wrong".
So yes, you probably were right initially, but you may not be when other issues are solved first (of course by now I/we have some off line information :) IOW, easy for me to say now, but still ...).

In an attempt to summarize this :
Suppose we filter out highs by analogue means, possibly because we want to make the sound more lush, then any improvement on a digital connection making the sound more lush, now won't go along with each other much, up to not doing anything really. Well, that is what I expect. Or, compare with a deadening preamplifier; now any "better" USB cable may not show itself. Point of course is : we must take for a base the very best situation - then (try to) see that a best digital could be too much of digital (which you only know when you go back - also see Bert's last post in this topic) - and lastly improve on that digital itself.
Suppose we put this the other way around : we are not going to solve a poor digital path by putting filters in our speakers, right ? Well, maybe some do, but it is not the way to solve matters (and matters really won't be solved).

As I said, all easy to say in aftermath, but we got where you landed for a reason of course. :yes:

Best regards,
Peter

Gerard,

The little Clairixa in this very position. Just try it for yourself ...
(and tell when you don't agree please !)

Peter

Peter thanks, I understand perfectly your explanation, all but "Thus there too, we already learned that isolation and isolation are two completely different things"  :scratching:

The evolutionary process of the NOS1a, with the Bass upgrade followed by the Lush, now appears as a logical sequence.

The only doubt I have is that you have created the Lush based on your system, including the two components that connects the USB cable, your Stealth LPS PC and the NOS1A (with the Phisolator and the Bass upgrade). What will be the behavior of the Lush with another Audio Pc? I guess the only way to find out is to try it.
I keep my 1m order  ;)

Regards,
Juan

Today I have played around with various arrangements of USB devices.

In all cases I used the Lush 1.5m USB from my Stealth PC.  These were the iterations I tried:

• 1. Lush >> Phisolator >> Short generic USB with 5V blocked >> G3
• 2. Lush >> G3
• 3. Lush >> Intona >> Short Clarixa >> G3
• 4. Lush >> Intona >> Short Clarixa >> Phisolator >> Short generic USB with 5V blocked >> G3
• 5. Lush >> Intona >> G3

I had absolutely no issues changing the Intona in and out of the system even in series with the Phisolator.

Best is #1.  Clearly.  Gives that growl in the female vocals that all men love.

Adding the Intona seemed to take the entire presentation up in pitch sometimes adding a slight shrillness whether or not the Phisolator was in series with it or not. 

So, I am selling my Intona, and probably my Clarixa's as well, and staying with the current de facto Phasure setup:  Lush >> Phisolator >> Short USB with 5V blocked >> G3.

Happy days!

Hi Anthony, great test! I guess the short generic USB was anyone you found around because the origininal one from Peter wasn't short. If so, it seems to me that the choice of that standard short cable depends on luck since all the cables in the chain have importance. Have you tried more than one generic short USB cable?

Juan

Hi Juan,

From this post :

Re: B'ASS First Review HERE AT LAST!!! (http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=3829.msg40930#msg40930)

the picture is I added here again :

(http://www.stordiau.nl/Phasure NOS1/Phisolator Short USB Cable.JPG)

That short cable is part of the Phisolator Upgrade (or in general : the G3 upgrade).
Is is not a random cable as such, because it is the same cable as the good old $1 stock cable. And in case we forgot : this is this cable which I was lucky to buy for the very first NOS1/USB and which worked out so well, and when we ran out of it, the supplier ran out of it too. It took me two months to find it back again on some part of the globe.
This one is now shortened and provided with a new A connector.

So now you can see which short USB cable Anthony could replace which his short Clairixa and that this indeed does not work out for SQ. Also, what I have expressed more often, if the same Clairixa is used to provide the internal pieces of USB wiring, it again does not sound well.

Kind regards,
Peter

Anthony, man, what a great share this is.
And yes, good description of what the Intona does to the sound. But let's keep in mind, only for 14393.0 that works out so (to be "over"). 10586.0 is fine with it.

Personally I would always stick to such devices and cables. This is for the reason of things being able to drastically change for all the reasons you may run into in the future (which we can not predict).

Regards and super thanks,
Peter

Ah ok Peter, I did not realize you were using the old USB cable as the short. Thus everything is under control. I remember writing some post about the qualities of the original USB when people were looking for usb cables out there, even ultra expensive. If possible I would also like to have 1m of this original cable. I already asked for a spare once, but when I moved to a new house I lost it again

Regards
Juan

That's right, the older W10 is less picky about the Intona, I had forgotten.  Are you done with the W10 'versions' Peter, or are you planning to try one of the more current versions with RAM-OS and XXHE?

I have another reason to want to ditch the Intona that I will share at some stage in the near future when I get enough time to finalise that particular project.  Suffice to say that it will not fit anywhere in my rack at the moment and there are guys that are actively looking to buy them, so it is a good time to sell the Intona.  

Haha Juan. Can you tell me what I charged for it the last time ? I recall something like 2$. Or maybe it was 5. Or 10.
Anyway  put it next to your name.

Regards,
Peter

I think it was 10€ including shipping but charge whatever you think is right. That cable is worth much more than it costs.

Juan

Peter, are you finally going to send me the Lush (and the original) at the same time as the Bass upgrade? I ask you because you did not confirm it.

Juan

Haha, if I had to confirm all, each topic would have triple the post count, because you'd also all say "thank you".
So yes, of course I will, faults prohibited.

And yes, I just saw that it was 10 euros including shipping, not insured. :)
Technically that would make it 1.30 euros.
Prices went up drastically, and now it is 2.00. :) :)

Best regards,
Peter

This really is so, you know. And while such an expression (thank you Bert) is not only analogous to my own expression of how super Analog the Lush is (see first post), it is also the most consistent which what
a. Mani predicted from his setup with the tube amp active, combined with my description;
b. my own description from what I heard in Mani's system (:yes:), me right away saying that 50% of Lush already was present;
c. thus Bert's idea about it, who after long consideration stepped back from tube amplification (by now long ago) and which he still longs for if you ask me.

In the end it is about this I said in the first post :


So this is really about this perception we may all have from analog in general and how a turntable may exhibit ticks and everything we know of it for negatives, but it is the most hard to let go wrong. So this is how I resemble "analog" with "not being able to go wrong" and suddenly the Lush implies this. So of course I was working on an again better USB cable, but that it would exhibit this specific property, no, I could not have guessed that.

Peter

Anthony, no, not done at all. Although I don't give it much chance, for a month or so I have the Creators Update on my network somewhere. But I have been working on the Lush since, and somehow I am short of time. :swoon:
Anyway, this is not tested "in a minute" because I can only make it a RAM version to compare apples with apples.

If it works out (I assume it will - against all odds :)) it will be an upgrade to the RAM OS Disk.

Peter

Yeah, I figured you were busy there! (understatement).

That's fine Peter, I accept the new price  :)

Best regards
Juan

I suppose this could do with some explanation...

I got an email from Peter on Saturday, the complete content of which was literally, "are you home tomorrow?". I replied "yes" and at around 5:30pm on Sunday, Peter, Ciska and Paul arrived at our doorstep. Most of the following two days were spent on chatting, sightseeing, eating and drinking (me less than Peter!). But we did get a chance to take a listen to my main system (but not my office system).

Peter, Ciska and Paul have 'great ears'. They could hear issues with my system immediately - issues that I was aware of too, but that I'd grown used to and/or wasn't bothered by. But playing around with a few things, it became increasingly apparent to Peter that my beautiful tube amps were doing something strange in the mids and tops. This 'strangeness' was being masked by the low end. The advice from Peter: "Mani, stick to how you had things before, because you were happy with the sound". Very, very good advice... but not satisfactory for me. At around 2am on Tuesday morning (only Peter and me still awake) I suggested that we try the BD30-SPR amps, which were already unboxed and sitting at the back of the listening room, because I'd been meaning to try them with the G3 upgrade for some time anyway.

As soon as the BD30-SPR amps were in, the whole sound just 'clicked into place'. What was/is wrong with the tube amps? I suspect nothing. But it really is a tall ask expecting their 5W or so per channel to drive full range speakers (albeit high-efficiency horns) with passive crossovers and no powered LF drivers. I suspect this is simply too much for them. I could be wrong of course. In any event, I have zero intention of selling these tube amps - if I ever go for a multi-amp setup in the future, these amps will be my number one choice for the mids.

It was an absolute pleasure entertaining Peter, Ciska and Paul for a couple of days. If you ever get an opportunity to have them around, I'd jump on it!

As for me, I'm very happy with the sound I now have (even happier than I was before - it just sounds 'more right' in every way). But I'm very much looking forward to receiving my Lush...

Mani.

Mani, you're a lucky guy having Peter's whole family as guests. It is impossible to imagine a better way to fine tune the sound system. Congratulations on the  fantastic sound I can imagine you have now and waiting to see the effect of the Lush on your system.

Juan

All that effort for selling a Lush  :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

No no no, we had to go and smell the real thing (which is in the south of the UK) anyway.

(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/Lush03.jpg)
At first I stayed outside; The smell from the inside was terrible. The body guard was also not much attractive to me.


(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/Lush02.jpg)
This is actually how you definitely won't get in.


(http://www.stordiau.nl/images/Lush01.jpg)
But *if* you do, you get this.

:bye:

 :( :( :( :( - so Lush is the latest greatest thing from the house of Phasure  -  So tell me what salesman would turn up without a Lush in his hand - Soon after Mani's visit Peter, Ciska and Paul turned up at my place with similarly short notice and did not have a Lush with him for either me or Mani.


Paul

Yesterday evening, I tried: Clarixa -> Phisolator -> short USB link (with 5V blocked) -> NOS1 G3 -> BD30-SPR monos, and...

This works very, very nicely! My initial thoughts of a 'smooth, rounded' sound with the Phisolator remain, but this now complements the overall presentation, rather than detracting from it. Also, when I tried the Phisolator earlier, I did not have the 5V blocked going into the NOS1.

Switching back to the Intona, there seems to be some HF 'hash' added to the sound. It seems to make the sound more lively, and as Anthony said, raise the overall pitch of the sound. As a result, the LF seems to recede quite a bit. With the settings I had my speakers on, and with the tube amps in place, this seemed to actually benefit the sound.

[For Peter: With the Phisolator now in place, in order to maintain the overall balance in the sound, I have the mid/high settings on the speakers at about the position they were when the weirdness in the mids/highs with the tube amp became apparent. I now wonder if this weirdness may have actually have been down to the Intona, and not the amps. Will investigate further at some point, but right now, really enjoying the sound with the BD amps.]

Mani.

Hi Peter,

Can I have a 150cm Lush. Thanks.

And when you have time I would like to have a Stealth Mach II with linear power supply too. But right now enjoy your trip. Thanks.

Leung

This is my Saturday morning post after waking up and not something heavy. Keep this in mind ...


Dear People,

It takes just a tad too much of effort to understand the intentions of Paul's post here. I noticed it myself, but I was also pointed to it from (private) messages from others.
It is all about the humor we (all) put into it and how to understand it. So for those who think something is inappropriate here, this is the explanation :

First there is Gerard who jokes about that it is really a lot of effort to travel some 1500Km to sell a Lush cable (he did not know we did not bring along any). But Gerard is Dutch and knows exactly how that comes across. Of course we must envision the intonation how he says it, which does not work well in writing.

Next there's me myself who really should have brought a cable for both, *if* I had known in advance I would cross the roads Mani's and Paul's house were positioned. And although I may have thought about it, it was no fixed plan. It was even a "secret" for the other travellers, of which one only knew when entering the town, and the other only when we stopped at the front gate. The gate was Mani's and it was me who thought to be a fool to not bring a cable, BUT with good feelings, because Mani did not order a Lush anyway.
With Paul it went exactly the same (also a surpise for everybody), up to him not ordering a Lush (when we started our little trip). This felt even worse because we left off with one 70cm left behind for someone who had not payed yet, and Paul wanted a 70cm (as it appeared). How hard would it have been to (gently) throw that in the trunk. If I only would have had some more senses as a salesman ...

Lastly, Paul makes his remark about this latter. "Nice salesman you are !"
Paul is, of course, a bit sore because a. he ordered too late, b. he could have listened to it in his all new situation. Ehm, so yes, there too a few things changed because we passed by.
And aren't we audiophiles completely obsessed ?
Anyway, Paul expressed his grief about someone mentioning me as a salesman who messed up all over. Now we have the nice forcefield between Gerard's post and Paul's. And indeed; not everybody understands the burried message in at least Paul's : what salesman; if that would be the case he would have bring a 100.
And remember, Paul only ordered one after we left ... he knows that.

---

The nice thing of such a trip is that it may help those we visited. So let's say that it helped Mani to re-focus on something a neutral instance (us, but with 3 of us !) have a fresh look at matters. That something more drastical like replacing an amplifier is the solution, well, if it is a solution, why not. Btw Mani, it was my gentle suggestion to try the BD amp after contemplating that the tube amp may not have sufficient control (the throughout a track diminishing bass). Now, I don't want to emphasize this, but life is apparently so complicated that if Paul would have mentioned what happened in his room while we were there, nobody would have doubted the gag of Paul's post. Next up is that it may be a bit difficult to mention what happened because now someone else will be or feel blamed for something. So Paul better did not and now the jokes come through only halfly.

Let me finish with this :
It is such a great honour that people like you almost explicitly want me to check out their system and try to change it for the better. You know (and you both noticed) I actually don't even want to do that because I (like to) respect what any of you achieved. I don't want to be the better one (or how to express it). That it works out so, well, massively, is something I can live on for months. I call it luck though. I mean, to hear something wrong is not so difficult as this is just experience (with say a good reference). But that it can be solved within the time available is ... luck.
OK, I can be booked. :swoon:

Peter

PS: Both of you know that I explicitly stayed out of initial judgement. So the joy for me is that Ciska and Paul can do it too, by now.

Thank you Leung. I take it that it is your suggestion to send out the Lush the soonest and separately from the Stealth, because the Stealth will take some longer time to produce - think in terms of a few weeks (may be 3-4).

Regards,
Peter

Hi Mani,

For some reason I thought you had 211's in your amps which would equate to 15w to 20w single ended...not sure where I got that idea from, but they are certainly not 5w tubes.  Judging by the descriptions of what was going on I think that what you were hearing might have been the effect of back emf from the voice coils of the woofer/s finding its way to the tweeter.  As you have already mentioned a good solution may be to offload the lower channels to another amplifier and use your valve amps for the mids and highs (the channels with little moving mass).

I'm glad you have managed to improve things further.

Cheers,

Anthony

The written word and cultural differences are not always the most conducive to accurate communication

I just laughed at Paul and Gerard's posts...funny...but thanks for the explanation anyway Peter.  Sounds like your English holiday did not have much of an itinerary which usually makes for a relaxing get-away.

Anthony,


5W or 15W, I don't think it matters (because 15W already may not be enough). Point here is that you may suffer from the same without knowing = noticing. This is the fun of audio ...

This post originally was much longer, but although with some sense, too much deviating from any subject. :)

Peter

!!!! Oh Dear !!!!! I had not meant to create confusion.  Just to say that it was great to see Ciska, Peter and Paul and we had a great afternoon. I am looking forward to receiving a Lush which is somewhere between here and Holland just now.

Cheers

Paul

Yep, I was using 211 amps before my 300B amps arrived a couple of months ago. I still have both pairs of power amps - will decide what to do with them at some point.


I'm starting to come around to believing that DSETs may be the only really satisfactory way of using SET amps.


I'm reminded of VJ's post in another thread a while ago:



Shame. I quite like your long, 'deviating' posts  ;)

Mani.

Maybe start a thread to discuss this stuff Mani.  Peter and Bert already use many of the theoretical advantages of matched amplifier/driver channels in the Orelo speakers.  DSET is not just for problematic topologies such a as SET, but for less problematic SS devices as well.

I think my The Lush is settling in a little more now that I have had it for a week or so.  Very, very nice...

Hey Juan, yes, I think the sound is pretty good... but still not quite 'there'. If I adjust the speakers so that voices sound palpable and real, the LF (below 60Hz, say) seems slightly lacking. If I adjust them so that this LF is more pronounced, the mid-lows/upper-bass seem too prominent - vocals become unrealistically husky. I'll probably revert back to the first scenario when the Lush arrives and see (hear) how I go.

This issue seemed less pronounced with my tube amps - they seemed to flesh the LF out somewhat. [I might take up Anthony's suggestion and start a new thread about the sound of different amps.]

Mani.

Thank you Leung. I take it that it is your suggestion to send out the Lush the soonest and separately from the Stealth, because the Stealth will take some longer time to produce - think in terms of a few weeks (may be 3-4).

Regards,
Peter
[/quote]
Hi Peter,
It's good if you can send out the Lush first. It is also ok if you would like to combine it with the Mach II. Thanks.

Leung

Lush has arrived here and all I have to say is:

WOW !!!!

It is like all digital "stuff" has been removed from my system and replaced with analogue.

Cheers

Paul

Same over here!

My first impression was that the sound became "richer", without getting too warm and maintaining or even expanding detail.

This is with a non-G3 NOS1a (waiting for my turn) and no Intona.

Going back to the Clairixa made the sound "thin" and less involving.

Peter:  :thankyou:

Regards,
Stanley

Same experience here I was explaining this to a friend last normally when the sound is a bit edgy (as clarixa now sounds) then removing that edge tends to make the sound less detailed. That does not happen with Lush you hear even more detail but really smooth and natural. Better termination / matching?

Also my system has sounded a bit lacking in low bass since Peter visited and got to work fixing a fundamental problem I was unaware I had (not something I need to be embarrassed about I quickly add). Now the bass is definitely improved as well.

Cheers

Paul

Peter hi,

Can you add me to the list for a 1m Lush.

Thanks,

Nick

Received the Lush cable and listened yesterday for a while.  First impressions are: detailed, dynamic, and "full-bodied" with no hint of bloat or roll-off.  I still have the NOS1a (no 75B or G3 upgrade yet).  I find that both with Clarixa and the Lush cable, SQ is considerably better (depth and realism particularly) with the Intona, which for me seems to only work with the short cable on the DAC end.

Of course, all of this is while also getting used to the Orelos, which are "breaking-in" and truly fantastic.

The system is sounding so insanely good.  The test for me always is getting lost in the music.

Hi Peter!

100cm for me please.

Kind regards
Arnt

I have the same configuration. I'm completely agreed with your desciption. Depth and more realitic sound. I prefer the intona in the chain.

Great job Peter!

Best regards
Johan

Probably not the best illustration, but an idea of the difference between the Clarixa and the Lush...

Mani.

Hahaha. I understand the intentions but it doesn't work out really. This is probably because the Lush miss is mangled with while only the colour of light should have changed. And then the exact other way around.
So miss Lush is looking cold now.

But really funny !

Cheers,
Peter

Really? To my eyes, Miss Lush looks warmer and more natural... and yet shows more detail (wisps of hair, skin blemishes, etc).

I'd take 'warm' Miss Lush over 'ball-breaker' Miss Clarixa any day (though Mrs Sandher comes first... obviously ;))

Just a bit of fun...

Mani.

This is what my ears tell me...

Yeah, nice.

Mani.

Nice attempt, Bert. :)

Really funny how the both of you are able to use normal sharpening means (of various kinds and undoubtedly 10 times more than the one attempt shown of each) to express your perception of what you hear. Something fresh and new. The great thing seems to be that it allows communication over the subject, which is audio.

What's presented tells :
a. That you can not be right both at the same time;
b. (or) That there's subjectiveness in order;
c. That I don't agree with both of you (am I also subjective ? :swoon:).

I think the main problem with expressing like this and with the Lush as the subject, is that it is mainly about a shift in balance. This is not really about something gets worse but another thing gets better ... it is merely about a better balance and how to express that (by this visual and in the and manipulative means).
A too young girl for us comes to mind. Make her older and she gets better in balance with our desires.
(yeah yeah, I know ...)
Now find some morphing software. :)

Anyway, very very interesting.
Peter

But we are - we've both chosen exactly the same image for Miss Lush! Bert's Miss Clarixa would be my Miss Clarixa-Intona. (Perhaps we'd have the same Miss Clarixa if our mid/high horns were made of the same material?)

Mani.

I know not many of you post on the CA forum, but here's a thread I've started there about the Lush, just in case you're interested:

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/34683-usb-audio-cracked-finally/

Mani.

Mani, An excellent write-up on CA.  I've been meaning to write for sometime that I am in awe of the genius, and I don't use that word lightly, of Peter.  Just on the software side of things very few engineers could write the code at some many different levels (from kernel drivers up to the UI).  On top of that, add in the the skills needed to be build a world class DAC, USB cable, PC music server, etc.  Peter  without a doubt in my mind has more knowledge of digital playback than anyone else in the world.  I believe his contributions to the audio space has been game changing.  Thank you Peter for allowing me to enjoy digital playback at a level I never thought possible.  And I know there is more to come...

Hi Peter,

I trust yours and Mani ears !

Want a 100cms Lush.

I guess you ship to the Rainforest  :)

Thanks,

Roch

Yep, I think we all share this sentiment.

Mani.

Wow Dave, you are too kind !
Anyway, such posts drive me.

So there's more to come eh. Well, I hope you refer to your pending G3 upgrade because otherwise I must quickly make up something. Haha.
Oh wait, 2.08 is almost ready. :yes:

Thanks,
Peter

Hey Roch, what are you doing in here man ?!
Anyway, great first post !

Expect an email from me, asking for the exact tree etc. :)

Kind regards,
Peter

I'm keen for that!

Yes, I am referring to my G3 upgrade, but I have no doubt you have other things in the pipeline.  I don't know if it is coincidence, but you usually announce something at the end of April.

Dave, that would be coincidence. But often it is related to an April Fool's joke and *that* failed this year. I had one in mind, but Mani destroyed it (he does not even know he did).

Regards,
Peter

Great post Mani, there are always skeptic-pessimists who choose the negative side before trying the real thing. Nevertheless, the most interesting part of the post is the one related to the strange brain of Peter. I always suspected that in that head there was something rare, maybe Lush connections instead of the usual neurons  :)

Kind regards,
Juan

Interested in a Lush of 70 cm

Thank you tubeman.

For others, please know that nothing goes unnoticed and that we maintain a list of subscribers in the sequence of applying. You will be receiving an email within 24 hours.

Thanks !
Peter

And probably an angle of vision that comes from the other side of our galaxy or even further ;-)

Hi!

Can you add me to the list for a 1m Lush.

Thanks,
Abbe

Hi,

please put me on the list for a 1m Lush as well please.
Thanks! :)

me: can you hear a change in SQ?
My wife: yes, more sexy, it's "more" to listen to.
me: installed the cable you received the other day.
My wife: and why didn't you do this before???
****
I'm on vacation and had only a couple of hours with the "Lush" and wow!

Hahaha
Nice story as always, Kjell Narve !

Enjoy the vacation !
Peter

Hello Peter,

After reading the lush topic on ca I can not resist;
please put me on the list for a 1m Lush!

I recently traded my T+A DAC8 DSD for a Pink Faun dac2.32. The Pink Faun does not (yet) have USB in but using the Wavelink USB --> spdif converter does give a very nice result, almost as good as i2s. USB chain consists of Jcat femto + hdplex lps, Intona industrial, Regen + Sonore lps. I wonder if the Lush can replace the Intona and Regen?

Tia

Kobus

Hello Peter,

Can you put me on the list for a 100cm?

Thank you!

Gary

Hi Kobus,

Let me say that generally that won't work out. This is because each has its own objective/target. But, this is the general answer. Many other more specific answers are possible. Let me try a few :

The cable changes the sound so much for less digital, that the JCat card doesn't help any more.

The cable changes the sound so much for less digital, that the Regen could make it worse. I said could (and this is based upon about all of us in here that it does, as long as you can hear sufficiently deep into the music).

The Intona got out of most systems with Phasure users, just because of the latest Operating System (Windows, W10 Build 14393.0). Is this related to the USB Cable ? well, actually Yes because if the cable is sufficiently transparent, you can hear better how the Intona "processes". Btw, same for the Regen.

I'm afraid you just need to try. And in addition to that I would never sell any of those components if you're settled without all of them. You never know what the future brings. Same advice I have for everyone in here with the Clairixa cable, which is the technical better one. What does it do ? it lets you hear "digital" better. Hmm. But what if a next OS is inherently better on USB and the digital is not so much there at all ? well, once you'd observe that, you will always like to try the Clairixa again.

Hope this helps you a little !
Peter

Hi Peter,

please put me on your list for a 1m Lush cable.

Thanks a lot and keep it rolling,
Henning

Thank you Henning.

We'll glue the ends together so it will roll nicely.
Plus it is something else for a change.

:)
Peter

Thank you Peter,

I will just have to try and hear for myself. Will share my conclusion for the benefit of others that have similar USB chains. And indeed the Jcat femto could also be a victim.

Hi Peter,

is there a certain length for the Lush where it sounds best?
Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt,

Not that I know of. Everybody sofar has 70cm, 100cm or 150cm.

Kind regards,
Peter

Hi,

It was just pointed out to me that the chapter with the prices in the first post do not mention that this is excluding VAT. And indeed I always mention it but here it was forgotten.
The line is there now.

Peter

Hi,

I registered on this forum out of interest for the Lush USB cable. I am currently using the Curious USB.

Can I expect the Lush to sound better (more natural/musical) than the Curious? Are there any SQ differences between different lengths of the Lush cable?

Many thanks.

Hi there,


Maybe you saw on CA that a first who also owns a Curious (BigalMc) received his Lush a couple of hours ago. I'd wait for his judgment ?

I don't think there will be a real difference between the various lengths. What is out sofar is 70, 100 and 150 cm. I myself use 100cm (3ft).

If you want to go ahead with it anyway then please send me an email (sales phasure com) with your address details. OK ?

Best regards,
Peter

Hi,
read hols comment from CA:

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-the-sms-200-and-microrendu/?page=123#comment-697231

Matt

Well well ...
:)

Thank you Matt.
Regards,
Peter

Thanks everyone, I saw the comment by hols on CA. I would appreciate a more thorough comparison though. I am especially interested in how the Lush behaves in the bass department.

Anyone who feels he has a good idea about the bass, please go ahead.
I say this because AmusedToD (and also all of you) may think that I am going to answer this. But I am b(i)ased, so I stay quiet.

Peter

AFAIK, on CA most prefer the USPCB to the Curious.
And there seems to be a tendency to prefer the Lush to the USPCB.
So some sort of indirect comparison:-)

Matt

Well I am sure I mentioned this in a previous post but anyway here goes. I don't think that the previous posts do justice to just how good "lush" is particularly in the bass. I also mentioned that recently Peter made a significant change (or rather correction) to my system during his visit. The result of that correction was that to caused an "apparent" reduction in the impact of the bass. But as what I was hearing was wrong anyway that was no problem. So imagine my surprise when installing "Lush" seemed to bring all that bass back again. But even that is misleading because it is the quality of the bass that is really the most notable thing. I could go on about the tone and timbre of instruments now sounding much better and more natural but I won't cos that wasn't the question ( :) )

So simple answer is yes here bass is very much improved but so much more than that.

Cheers

Paul

Bass is excellent with the Lush.  More than excellent really.  Not soft, gooey, one-note bass but luscious, fleshed out, clean, soft bass with a wonderful harmonic tail.

Only 30 hours of burn in with the Lush before some critical listening yesterday evening. The sound with Lush USB in my non-Phasure system is truly staggering. Not only has the SQ increased in the normal “better cable” manner, the whole presentation is actually quite fundamental different, more naturally and true (sorry, but no other way of describe it). The micro details, transparency, dynamic, bass punch etc, etc is first class as well and is much superior to my JCAT USB.   

(Btw, the sound after only 6 hour was a bit over sharped and lean, so some burn in is needed IME)

Thank you for your feedback Abbe !

Peter

After receiving the Lush on Thursday this week I have appr. 6 hours of listening behind me. My audio pc is running Daphile and I'm using a heavily modded Silverstone USB card with Dexa Neutron Star clock. The Lush is directly going into the USB receiver of my artistic fidelity Afi USB DDC which is then feeding a TotalDAC D1 Dual DAC via AES/EBU.

Before the Lush I was using a short DIY USB A->B Adapter with Neotech upocc silver leads inside. That adapter was giving a slightly better sound than the Tellurium Q Black Diamond USB cable I was using before that, the difference was however only in nuances.

The Lush now is more of a night-and-day sort of thing to me. It is really stunning how transformative this cable is to my whole system. Music sounds like real now, something I was looking for a very long time when tuning around my DIY power supplies and all that stuff. Now I'm so much closer to the sound I'm dreaming of - thank you very much Peter!

My system is already sounding relatively warm and "dark", but the Lush has not changed the balance further, which is a good thing for me.

Biggest improvement with the Lush is pinpoint imaging, width and depth(!) of the soundstage and the 'oh so' natural timbre of both instruments and voices. Pure beauty!

All the best,
Henning

Would like to be on the list for 1 meter Lush cable.

Thanks,

Mark.

Thank you Mark.

And thank you Henning !

Regards,
Peter

Peter it sounds like someone must have swiped out my Marantz amp and instead put in VAC Signature 200  :smile:

Hi Peter,

a russian friend, who does not speak english, asked my whether there is a right to return the Lush in the case not being satisfied.

Thanks

Matt

Ah Matt, but you don't know Russian as well !
haha
You must see my conversations with people from there via (real time) Google Translate. Works wonderful ! Especially the real time translation which you see happening (via Teamviewer) is the most helpful. This is really without any issues that I ever noticed.
Now try email; that does not work at all ! (still using Google Translate)

Anyway to answer the question you will have for yourself (haha) :
I have been thinking of this as a standard offer (one of the texts introducing the Lush incorporated that), but it is very difficult for me to make this consistent and "right". This is about the shipping costs (or the too low price of the Lush, perhaps). So envision :
The cable (which won't even transfer directly to Russia just because your friend will not like that, so other routes are used) will cost 44 euros for any "far" country. However, this can only work in "high transfer times" which means many packages per week because that gives a discount. Otherwise for such a low weight / low volume package it will be ~55 euros (but say 10 more).

Side note : outside of UPS nothing works, or at least I won't allow it because too much trouble. So shipping itself may be less expensive all right, but the extra time it takes for us should make it more expensive only. And add to that the lousy tracking of normal means and the always unpredictable costs to begin with, and that does not work out.

So, generally we must assume 55 euros, and this will be lost.
Then the package has to be send back and while this also costs a little, there is no guarantee anywhere that it will arrive, will be in customs for months without knowing and that people start to be very nervous. And really, it can take a month while after two weeks you will be sure it is lost. So you don't have a cable but also no money back.
Of course we can use UPS again, so there goes another 55 euros down the drain.

Then there's the stupidness of needing to import the thing again. This is the same stuipdness we talked about with the NOS1a to G3 upgrade, because all upgrades cost 55 euros only because of that. This will be maybe 25 or so for the cable (15 is just administration fees) and this too I don't like to pay, so the Russian friend etc. needs to pay for that. I think I am at 135 euros now for shipping stupidness for a cable which costs 200 only.
And thus : NOT a good idea at all, no matter I would like to offer it very much.

I realize that for people from Russia (and many more countries) 200 euros is very much (can easily be 2000 for some people because in the country of concern one earns 10 times less money) but so is the 135 equivalent to 1350.

It just has to work out !!

In the very end I won't say no, but people need to understand that shipping costs can not be refunded just as well that import duties on this side are for the one who likes to send back.

Best regards,
Peter

Hahaha, great !
Maybe you can sell your Lush for $7000 and promise 50% discount on that amp for the buyer ?

No wait, I will higher the price of the Lush. Others come away with such prices too. So ?

:no:

Peter

Hi Peter,
the shipping of the Lush would go to a german address and in the case of dissatisfaction he would pay the shipping back from Germany to you, so the refund would be related to the price of cable only.

Matt

Matt, and you will send it through unopened, right ?
hahaha
Not that I'd care. Or maybe a little because I like all to arrive as how it was shipped to avoid *any* strangeness. So if it does not work, we need to be sure we did something wrong (but we test them all) or that the intended recepient did something to it. Not that anyone will be blamed (but we ourselves) but now it is about *you* do should not be blamed.

And might the person read this who had to return his Clairixa because it stopped working ... this was caused by a poorly designed computer port which simply destroyed the connector. It is a one occasion out of 100s, but it could still happen to you.

Anyway, all fine; please go ahead with it.
Regards and thanks,
Peter

Peter,

I know him very well. He is a passionate audiophile and would never manipulate something or open the Lush.
It is simple that he tried some USB cables in the past and was not satisfied.

Matt

Matt, I wasn't even remotely suggesting something like that. But maybe I manged to transfer my thinking to you, because the one DAC that was returned, was returned from China and a very strange way. So I sure was thinking about such a thing in general when I wrote about that DAC.

Anyway, thank you very much !
Peter

Greetings Peter,

Newbie here from CA.
I've heard enough and want to hear The Lush in my system.
Here's my request for a .7m edition.

Uncertain as to how the transaction proceeds, so I'll just hang tight.
Best Regards,
Doak

Hi Peter,

And yet another newbie from CA.  :)
I'd also like to hear The Lush in my system.
Can I request a .7m please

Many thanks

Jeff

Hi Peter,

I have followed you here from CA also. I would like to try the LUSH, can you please provide me with ordering details for 1m? Thanks so much.

Krit.

Hello, Peter

Add one more person discovering you from CA... Please send me info for ordering a Lush USB cable as well. I understand you're overwhelmed so I'd like to get in line asap for my copy!

Please send me a 0.7m cable, thank you.

feelingears

Thank you all again guys.

I like to notice that people should be observing the email  address they used to sign up for this forum because that is where I send my emails to. I had the idea that a few people might be waiting on "something" and think that nothing happens.

Thanks and best regards,
Peter

I am a Phasure NOS1a and G3 music computer owner who does not post on the forum very often.

I would like to offer to anyone who is just now discovering Peter and XXhighend through the Lush USB cable my totally unsolicited yet extremely biased opinion.

If you are looking for SOTA sound quality, extraordinary support and service with cutting edge digital technology. You have come to the right place. Welcome

Well said!

Mani.

Hi, please add me for a 70cm cable.

Thanks

Phil

Hi Phil,

Email coming up. Thank you !
Peter

Hi,
Please can you send me a Lush USB cable: 1,5m?

Kind regards

I too am coming from CA and would like the .7 length please ;)


Robin

Peter, I am interested in a 1 meter Lush USB cable. Could you please let me know what I need to do.

Thank you, Al.

Hi Peter,

I would like to place an order for one 0.7m cable. Could you also advise as to how much is the 1m cable? Thanks




Alan

Hi there Alan,

The 70cm as well as the 100cm are 200 euros (ex shipping and VAT if you'd be liable to that).
150cm is 225 euros.
You can also look in the first post if you want.

I will send you an email soon.
Thank you !
Peter

Hi Peter,
I'm interested in a 0.7m Lush cable; could you let me know the full price (everything included) and where you are shipping from ?
Many thanks
Stefano

Hi Stefano,

Shipping is from the Netherlands.

I will send you an email too. :)

Best regards,
Peter

Hi Peter We'll see ... after Clairixa I would like the new Lush by 1m. Thanks.

Hi Peter, would also like to order Lush 100cm. Thankyou

Hi Peter, I would also like to order a 100cm Lush.  Not sure how the ordering process works.

And another order for the 1m Lush please.

One meter for me please.

I'm lushed now and it's beautiful to listen more and more and more and more

I've just received my second Lush, for my office system. All I can say is that it has transformed the sound in here too - now totally natural and analogue-sounding.

It's crazy that a USB cable is capable of this :yahoo:

Mani.

Hi Peter,
I would like to order a 150 cm Lush USB cable.

Thank you very much!
Oscar

Hi Peter,

I would like to join the Lush queue with a 1.0m version please.

All the best,

Peter C

Hi Peter

Pls add me to the list with a 1m Lush USB cable

Rgs
Moussa

Hi Peter,

I want to see what all the fuss is about.

Sign me up for a 2m cable!
Norman

Hey Norman, good to see you here. Which DAC will you be using the Lush with?

Mani.

Lampi Golden Gate, so I suppose with Amanero, I should get the UNpowered version, if there is such an option?

Mani, do you use any other USB gadgets with the LUSH?

Don't worry about whether your DAC needs a 5V connection or not. Just get a regular Lush (there is only one version anyway) and compare it to any other USB cable you care to try. I'm confident you'll be very happy with its sound in comparison to that of the others.


Well, there is a 'Phisolator' integrated into the NOS1 G3 DAC, so I suppose technically the answer is "yes". From what others have reported with other gadgets, I think it's a matter of just trying and seeing. But I'd go for a straight Lush connection to begin with.

Mani.

Thanks Mani...very clear.

I guess Peter will contact me via email to complete the transaction?

He will.  :)
(via the address you use for the forum)

Hey Wisnon, nice seeing you here.
Will be the last time maybe, because this year I'll exchange Jamaica for Cuba. Maybe I won't find my way back.
But we'll try to make your Lush in advance.

Best regards,
Peter

Thank you !!

I would like a Lush 100cm.

Haha

Cuba is VERY lovely too. My Grandfather and Granduncle both lived there in the long ago past and my cousin is married to a Cuban. Many in the Santiago region have Jamaican roots.

Hello. I want to order a 70 cm Lush. Thank you.

Hi all,

I hope that everybody can wait a bit for I respond, because I am currently setting up a kind of automatic ordering system. So please continue with your requests (in here or by email) which is good for the "first come first serve" sequence. But at some stage I hope to direct you to a kind of webshop.
And if that fails, we proceed as usual.

If all is right, everybody else in advance of Trond is already in the old procedure automatically.

Thank you !
Peter

Hi,

Very interested in the Lush USB  1.5m cable.

Regards,

Hi Peter,

Barrows from Sonore here.  I am currently looking to test a bunch of USB cables here with our Ethernet-USB device.  This thing has a very good USB signal, but of course the cable still matters some.
I would like to order a single 100 cm LUSH from ya... 

Thanks!

Hi all,

I think I have the webshop running, but I need to check and test thoroughly which will happen tomorrow. Right now it starts to be late over here (like 9pm and dinner yet to make) ...

Thank you for your patience. Your Lushes won't arrive a minute later because of this.
Peter

PS: Remember, keep on announcing yourself until the webshop runs, because it will determine the supply sequence (in which batch you will be).

Well, I created the smallest shop ever :

Phasure Web Shop (http://www.stordiau.com)

In the end it wasn't easy at all to make some "decisions", mainly in the shipping department;
I spent the whole day on that alone, to decide I better make something for that myself (later).

All should be OK, but of course it is brand new. Nobody should worry that things will go really wrong, and in the end I am always here to refund if needed.

If you have problems somewhere, just let me know and we will see what to do about it.

Regards,
Peter

Hey Barrows, great to see you here.


Hahaha, wasn't it so that EVERYTHING matters ?

Especially for you I added the Clairixa to the shop as well.
And if I were you I'd order each of the evailable lengths of everything, because, well ...
OK OK ...

Thanks !
Peter

Trond, you are famous now for the first Phasure webshop order. And I an see the money, that makes it even better.  :) :)

Thank you for being the dare devil of The First.

Best regards,
Peter

That Lush looks nice against the blue sky  :veryhappy:

Juan

:)

My pleasure, Peter. Can't wait to hear the Lush cable!

Really disappointed not to see the 'fridge magnet pair of clogs' for sale :(

Mani.

Mani, believe it or not, but day before yesterday the very last pair went into a box labeled "NOS1a/G3". They are off to an obscure country.
haha

Peter

:scratching:

Gerard, weren't you the very first NOS1 owner ?
Clogs weren't invented yet, back then.

:wacko2:

Yes....

Uhm ok.....  :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:

Peter, I am new to this forum so I hope I am not boring the other members here as a newbie.  I just heard about the Lush usb cable and I am very interested in it.  I have been searching for a usb cable that really takes my computer audio to another level.  I have tried several other usb cables that were loaned through the Cable Company here in the U.S.  I still have not found what I am looking for. I have always been primarily an analogue guy but because of personal circumstances has delved into computer audio.

My equipment: Primaluna Dialogue Premium tube integrated amp, Lampizator Amber II DAC, Mac Book Pro pc with JRiver.  I just ordered but have not received the ISO Regen from Uptone Audio.  I am excited about the Lush based on what I am reading online, although there isn't a lot out there currently.  Is the Lush usb available and do you think it would work well with the ISO Regen.  I am looking for realism and currently I am not satisfied with my current sound.  Any guidance from you or your members will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Hi there thankful,

(I hope you have a normal name to addres, please ?)

First things first :


It is, but only because I would grant it to you, as officially at this moment we stopped producing them for a while because of the upcoming vacation. But look here please :
Shop for Lush (https://www.stordiau.com/)  :)
(see the banner in the top in there, which today does not count for you).

Yes, so far what I hear from customers is that it goes along with the ISO Regen very well, and best is when you place the ISO Regen in front of the Lush (so Lush directly in the DAC).
I don't have an ISO Regen but everybody with one is saying the same (more than normal raving about the Lush).


The Lush will help you with the "analogue", by my personal guarantee (and again because everybody is saying the same about this element). However, this will not mean that you will be over and done with everything, as digital audio is very far from easy to have it right. Point of help thoug is - that with the Lush in the chain, things seem to behave analogue-like already because suddenly things go "as easy" as with analogue. I mean, how easy is it to let e.g. LP be really wrong ? (I say not much so). And how easy is that with digital (I claim 100% easy). And some-how the Lush makes it an analogue thing to exactly that respect.

Anyway, I feel it can really help you. And you more than anyone else, taking your explicit complaints into account.

Kind regards,
Peter

PS: But be so kind to order one today because else we won't be able to make it for you before we leave.
OR
think it over for the next month. :yes:

Peter,

My name is Kevin and I live in Louisville, Kentucky (United States).

I am ordering a 1M LUSH USB TODAY.

THANKS VERY MUCH.

Peter,
I just ordered a 1M.  Very excited about trying the Lush!

Thanks very much.

Kevin Meeks

Nah Kevin ... thank YOU !

And please don't hesitate to report for the better or for the worse. Your Lush should ship tomorrow and be at your place on onday.

I sincerely hope this is going to help you even more than we both hope for.

Best regards,
Peter

Peter, I noticed you use two names to identify your products.

So please help me here.

Am I correct to say that when talking about your Software it is XXHighEnd

AND when talking about the NOS1 DAC and USB Cables (Lush) it is Phasure?

I aske because when I talk about your products I want to make sure I tell people the right name to the right product.

TIA, Al.

Hi there Al,

In all cases it is Phasure as this is the company registered with the audio company here. So maybe superfluously :

Whether it is software or derived products like disks with operating systems installed (AO like) or hardware like PCs, DACs, any form of cables, amplifiers and complete active loudspeakers, it is all Phasure as such and nothing private.
That the Phasure name is the "trading under the name of" my own company's name, should not be too confusing (but it could be).

One thing : XXHighEnd was the very first product, and advertised (forum) on www.Phasure.com. This too could be confusing beacause XXHighEnd.nl and even XXHighEnd.com lead to the same.

Don't hesitate to ask more as nothing is a secret. It is only that I see no reason to distribute my name. I am "famous" as it is elsewhere. :swoon:

I like to keep it modest and far from any $ thing. I have my income elsewhere. BUT, some have an income from it. This I regard also important. And the most important ? well ... You.

Peter

Thanks Peter and no worries I had no plans of a HUGE advertising campaign, lol.
I just wanted to let audio buddies in the few Audio Clubs I belong to know about your Lush cable (assuming I concur with the recent evaluations of it) once I have the Lush in my system, hopefully by Saturday. 
Also if I post about it on some forums I want to identify it properly.

So Phasure Lush USB Cable it is. 

Thank you Al !

Just pulled the trigged on the Lush. Cant wait to try it between my incoming Iso Regen and Chord Hugo 2.

Thank you Ciukas. I'm afraid I can't see who you are, so no advice to wait until beginning next week or to wait until beginning next month. :swoon:

Anyway thank you !
Peter

Just received my Lush cable... what a wonderfully utterly strange and unconventional cable geometry. USB B favors lateral motion whereas the USB A side likes to move vertically. It is quite clearly an experimental cable, it's too bad I wont be able to test it for the next two weeks till my Iso Regen + USB B adapter arrive.

Thanks Peter for the excellent service and amazingly quick delivery!

(http://i.imgur.com/1OyebOtl.jpg)

Hi Peter,

Ordered the Lush today and happy to wait until you return from vacation.

All the best,

Ajax
(Bellevue Hill, Sydney, Australia)

Hi Peter,

The exchange rate into $A plus shipping etc has made the cost of the Lush prohibitive for me. Is it possible to cancel order and provide credit?

Please advise on your return from leave and please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Ajax

Hey Ajax - Of course this is no problem. But allow me to do this when back. Meanwhile pls send me your credentials by email - which matches the PayPal data.

Thank you for your honesty and best regards,
Peter

Hi Ajax,

I`m willing to offer my assistance. Not using my main system atm.
Was planning to order a Lush in near future which would not be getting any use for a little while yet. Happy enough to order from Peter sooner though..... as soon as he is finished tanning himself. He would of course have my permission to send straight to you so you could evaluate Lush in your system. Determine its worth risk free.
Once you are finished you could send on to Adelaide.... hopefully with more burn in than Peter.  Interested?

Pete

Ajax, that would work indeed. We all know each other.

P4A - Thanks.
P1

Very little can I add to what others have already said about the qualities of the Lush. However, I want to leave my opinion here to encourage others to consider this cable as an important upgrade, I'd even dare say as an essential upgrade.
After more than one week of burning the cable and playing around with some XXHE parameters I've finally found a sound that please me as never before. What I can say is that the sound is much richer than with Clarissa. The bass now has a body that was not present before and it gives a perception of the sound that approaches to what we could imagine as that same sound in a live event.
As others have said, at the beginning, it may seem that the presentation is darker but soon it is perceived as it has not only the same details, perhaps even more, but also that those details are part of a whole body much better integrated.
Maybe two words could define for me this cable, two words that goes together: Body and musicality.
Go ahead, get this cable as soon as possible. It's cheap for what it offers.

Regards,
Juan

Hi,
I would like to order a 70 cm Lush cable.
Ship to Luxembourg, unfortunately transport cost is not available in the web site. Will drop an email to finalize.
Thanks
Marc

Hi Marc,

I must have forgotten Luxembourgh, despite I have been there many times. Apologies !

I sent you an email.

Kind regards,
Peter

I can't wait to get my hands on the lush Order #NL110317  :drool: ;)

Yeah, apologies for the waiting !

Hi PeterST

Should I order the lush on this thread or order on the Phasure shopping website?

Hi Emerald,

Easiest is the shopping website (link is at the top of the forum pages).
Maybe it is a bit confusing because this shop did not exist at first. So you see people a.o. also ordering through this forum topic. But this is not necessary any more.

Thank you !
Peter

I tried to order 1 m Lush from the webshop but it didn't able to log in to Paypal to complete the payment. For wire transfer it needs additional details like person's name, email address and passport id.

How could I buy the cable?

I will try it at bank's counter to do wire transfer instead of online.

Hi lateboomer,


That is something I never heard of. Can't it be just on your side ?


All these details are shown on the page where you can select the wire transfer. However, when you are one step further, that data is not showing any more and you will be at a loss of what to do.


Nah, that would be non-sensical. Besides you will still need the data you think you don't have. :)

I will send you and email (to the address you registered with the forum) and you can pay to PayPal from there. OK ?

Kind regards and thanks,
Peter

Ok. I got your email. I will try to do it tonight. Thank you.

Hey, Peter - I just found your new recommendation for configuration on the audiolifestyle forum. I like it. For me, it is a more exciting sound than the consensus config, with greater definition across the whole frequency range. However, some solidity is lost and the increased detail in the upper mids sounds a little 'etched'. For me, it is a little like changing from a tube amp to solid state, to keep with your amplifier analogy. I like tubes :-)

Try this: the consensus, but B:YR instead of B:WBR.

Just as solid, but a different type of midrange (more transparent/cleaner?)

It's what I'm using for now, though I don't think it sounds better than the consensus, which is richer in the low mids.

Hi Badger,

Two questions:
- Is the new configuration from Audiolifestyle that you refer to: A: B-W & Y-R; B: B-W;

- Is the suggested configuration B:Y-R with Y on pin 1?

Thanks,

Ramesh

Hi there,

Yes, that's the config I meant from Audiolifestyle: A: B-W & Y-R; B: B-W;

And also yes, I set my config up with Y on pin 1 on B. I haven't tried reversing Y/R, but I would be amazed if it made a difference. Still, I have been amazed many times in the past :)

One other config I like in a dark-sounding system is A: B-W-Y-R, B: nothing connected! Everything jumps out, though there is not much refinement. Fun, though.

After a lot of testing last night, however, I went back to the consensus and toed in my speakers a bit more to reduce the low-mid bloom and I +think+ I prefer that overall.

Hey Badger,

By pure coincidence yesterday I got fed-up with that setting I proposed on A/S - for quite exactly the reasons you now mention. However :

After trying some other XXHighEnd settings for worse or even better (which is of course what "we" do as well :) ), nothing satisfied me at all any more (but I did not go back to the "Consensus"). In the end - and now for those with the Mach III Audio PC, I found that the way more "sharp" (as in pinpointed) 24 core setting instead of an also quite consensus 20 core setting (for the 28 core processor), ... that this did all the bad tricks. Thus, while the 24 core setting shows way better attack on everything, this may just be the thing that the "consensus" setting can bear. But the setting proposed on A/S is ... well ... too edgy;
My wife complained within minutes, but I held on for a month or so (she had to hold on too ;-).

I am now thus trying yet an other setting I ever back found and liked and just like I never could tell about the "A/S" setting in here yet because I was not sure, I will take as much time as needed to express my ideas if for the better at all.
Meanwhile I could also try your and Ramesh' setting.

Thank you very much for your feedback !
Peter