A seductive blend of transparency and smoothness

None

I upgraded to the D102III from the QED Qunex 2. The latter is an excellent cable for its modest price, but it is outshone by the Van den Hul in every department. There is a touch more bass weight here, and high frequencies sound more natural and smoother (NB: but not smoothed off) through the D102III – whereas the Qunex2 can sometimes sound splashy/tizzy with HFs. Midrange dynamics on the D102III are far superior too; it is easier for my ears to discern the complex interplay amongst the stringed instruments in an orchestra. Simply put, this D102III is an audiophile cable at a bargain price.

very good build quality, well shielded and can be used balanced

none yet known

I paid £20 uk per mono meter for this. I needed 11m total (£220) and I fitted neutrik XLR silver plated plugs(£3 each). I was impressed with the build quality as it had outer insulation, dense silver plated shield, carbon tape, shield as before, two thick conductors in a spiral paded out with some sort of fiber. the two main conductors are silver on copper with a layer of rubber carbon and foamed poly something or another insulation. Some people have had troble with termination (RCA). I think that termination is not done by VDH holland, but rather in the country where its purchased, some times with their choice of plugs, not VDH. This may explain why some have trouble where others dont. I am very pleased with the overal sound of my system.
Meridian 508 20 bit cd player.
Meridian 502 pre amp.
2x Meridian 557 power amps, bridged.
8x 0.9 meters VDH revolution speaker cable.
B&W 801 matrix series 3 speakers.

I am not convinced that it is nessasary to spend any more money on interconnects than these. If you can solder your self, then a half meter pair will cost just £20 + plugs. cant be beaten at the price. High end on a shoe string!!

Also, I believe this cable uses real science , not B/S voodoo as a friend of mine who is a physics boff says that carbon layer would have a beneficial effect on the signal. I dident understand a word he said, but thats what he said in essance!!

Similar Products Used:

cable talk, nordost

Dynamics, detail

for the price-nothing

I bought D102 Mk III unterminated with (although not original vdH) plugs for only about 40 dollars.So, I made myself two 0.75 m pairs.Factory terminated costs here about
$160.
My first impression was: WOW!, what a dynamic and open sound
(compared with QED Qnect 2, which-sorry about this word-SUCKS!).BUT, vocals are very grainy in the beggining.They
become clearer with time.
So, if you're DIY type, try to make them on your own for only 1/4 price.Just be sure that you connect screen only
on one side...

Similar Products Used:

QED Qnect 2, Tara Prism 22

Totally transparent, easily produces the most natural sound I've ever heard.

Errrrm, none.

'94, freebies, OK, better than a trannie.
'95, Tandy Gold Patch, oo 'er, that'll do nicely
'98, Cable Talk Monitor 2.1 from CD, can it get any better ?
'99, vdH102IIIHB from CD, Cable Talk relegated to Tuner and twin QED Qnect 2 added to processor, answer to previous question is found to be YES IT CAN, I reckon spending any more now would be a waste of cash they are that good.
Nice colour too.

Similar Products Used:

QED Qnect 2, Cable Talk Monitor 2.1

Was about to upgrade from my trusty Harmon Kardon HK 7600 CD player to the Arcam Alpha 8 which I had recently auditioned and liked (the dealer hooked up a pair of Mirage OM 10s which made the whole exercise a bit more useful since I own a pair myself). Before dishing out over $1100.00 for the Arcam (I live in Canada folks), good sense (my wife) dictated that perhaps I should consider smaller expenditures. Hmmm, maybe upgrading my CD interconnects. Well one thing led to another and I auditioned a pair of the VanDenHul D102III carbon hybrids. They are described as: High purity dense Silver coated high purity Matched Crystal OFC + Linear Structured Carbon ® saturated layer(s). Now there's a mouthful. I already use a pair of the CS-122 hybrids with my speakers. Like the speaker cables, I found the interconnects to significantly increase the quantity and quality of the bass compared to lesser cabling (also, the OM 10s are a bit weak in low end extension without lots of power driving them). My speakers are driven by a vintage HK tube amp which I love but is not the last word in resolution and slam. Don't get me wrong. There was no exaggeration of the low end. The balance was just right. The lows were not at all boomy but quite coherent. The highs were clean and revealing without any trace of grit or glare. Voices were very natural and 'present' without any sibilance. These interconnects seemed to create a great synergy within my system. Compared to the budget Monster Cables I was previously using, the improvment was almost staggering. Furthermore, the D102s are sold to retailers in bulk and can be custom terminated at any length one requires (the two retailers I had visited both insisted that VanDenHul does not make their own RCA connectors, but their website seems to suggest otherwise, see http://www.vandenhul.com/index.htm). I opted for a 1 meter pair with good quality knock-off WBT RCA connectors. Best 150.00 audio dollars I have ever spent. Sorry Arcam, you'll have to wait a little while longer.

I'm using this cable interconnecting a Rotel RHC-10 preamplifier with a Beard P35 power amplifier.With this cable,my system sounds clear and tight. Instruments like guitars or vocals sound more natural than ever. On the other side, it doesn't extent too much in lower frequencies, so I don't think it's a five star cable.

Great cables for the $$.
I was using JPS Superconductor 2's, a "4.5 Star" cable in my book. I tried these hybrid's out, and got a good 75-80% of the qualities of the JPS for about 1/5 the price !

In my system, the highs were extended but not quite as airy as the JPS; the mids were very detailed, a bit forward, but the soundstage was constricted a bit so it seemed. The bass was actually pretty good in my system.

Overall, these are great for the money. If you have another $100 to spend, check out the Harmonic Tech Truth Link. Or even try their Precision Link at $20 cheaper than the VdH. But these do a lot of things well.

purity of treble,solid, clean bass,

zero, for the money

I had a pair of these made up with vampire rca´s a few years back for about 50. dollars (us). Later, I tried it against my friend´s factory terminated pair in his system, and to me mine was marginally better. This cable really delivers the goods.

Similar Products Used:

audioquest ruby

Lush cable ! Neutral and informative.

Once the cables are fitted it's best to leave them. Frequently disconnecting/connecting will eventualy effect the plug/cable connection.

The ground 'end' of this cable is labelled with a white sticker and this end should go in the source and not in the amplifier. In that way interference picked up by the cable can not reach the amplifier and get audible.

Since this cable is fairly neutral it will not be the first choice if your goal is to spice up a closed system or temper a bright setup.

4 speakers for value (due to plug/cable connection)
5 speakers for being neutral and informative.