Layoyo Audiophile cables

I have justed noticed Layoyo are now selling audiophile cables at some remarkable prices:-

http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncomm...menbr=152&CGRY_NUM=861919&LANGUAGE=1&curr=GBP

I was wandering if anyone has any thoughts as to the quality and pricing offered. I'm looking to get some properly terminated speaker cable and wondered which would be suitable with my set up. Delivery works out at around £20 but it'd be worth it if the cable is up to scratch

any thoughts

 

I posted about this as well. Their s-video cables look pretty good.

 

I'm very tempted to bite the bullet and order a pair of 2.5m speaker cables, but, I'm not too sure how they will sound compare to my Van Den Hul teatrack I'm currently using. I wonder if they're going to have some cheaper power lead upgrades too?

 

I think I sense a guinea pig volunteering

 

Their silver-plated s-video cable is pure copper inside: I'm assuming that's very good? They certainly look high quality, but obviously that's just from a screen cap of them. What's the best s-video cable there?

 

I have become a guinea pig and order some speaker cable I went for a pair of 2.5m terminated OFC cable . more details:-

http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncomm...&prmenbr=152&CGRY_NUM=251&LANGUAGE=1&curr=GBP

Hopefully it'll be up to scratch but with shipping is still <£45 so not too much of an extravagance imo. I'll probably get hit by customs too, but, I've never been hit while ordering dvd's from layoyo >£18 yet so here's hoping.

Bit of a gamble, but, hey I'm hopefull

 

Did you receive the cables Hawklord? If so, were you suitably impressed?

 

They've not yet been despatched they are made to order so they should be despatced in the next few days. I let you all know what I think when I receive them though

 

Just to let you all know I have now just received my cables from layoyo without being clobbered for tax etc
I had to upgrade my order as the original one was described incorrectly but Layoyo were very quick to let me know and amend my order accordingly.
I opted for two pairs of this cable (yf 220b):-

http://www.layoyo.com/cgi-bin/ncomm...&prmenbr=152&CGRY_NUM=251&LANGUAGE=1&curr=GBP

With shipping Via UPS the total order for 10meters of cable (4*2.5m) was HK$1353= £92 or £9.2 per meter.

The cable came beautifully packaged in it's own box (much like the one in the picture) and the quality on visual inspection is fabulous

I'll be replacing my Van den hul teatrack cable this weekend so will post my initial thoughts soon.

So far I'm over the moon with regard to customer service, delivery and quality of the product. Lets hope that it gives me an improvement over my existing cable but even if it's similar it'll be nice to have properly terminated cable

Any ideas how long it'll take for the cable to "burn" in?

I'll keep you posted

 

Hi Hawklord,
Usually about 100-200hrs before you can make any real comparisons. Hope it's good!

 

My silver plated s-video has just been shipped so I'm really excited to see how it'll turn out.

 

I've had my new cable fitted for a couple of days now and thought I'd post my observations.
My initial thoughts are that the cable is definately an improvement over my Van Den Hul Teatrak cable fitted with gold plated banana plugs. The bass response seems to go lower and appears to be fuller. The mid range (especially vocals) are a lot more well defined and seem to hold more character/emotion confused: ). The highs appear to be much the same and I don't appear to notice any discernable difference to the vdh.
Overal given the cables build quality, level of service from layoyo and the inital improvements (I'm hoping it may get even better over time whilst the cable "beds in") I have noticed to familiar cd recordings I'm very happy with my purchase from Layoyo and would recomend their Audiofile speaker cable to anyone

 

Sorry to throw a spanner in your works, but you are wasting your money. If I were to blindfold you, and ask you to pick out your expensive speaker cable compared to ordinary 5A twin flex, you would not be able to. Your cable "sounds better" because you think it should. Years ago, my uncle bought this "gizmo" from a guy at a market, which you installed in the TV aerial cable to make the picture better. My uncle spend quite a lot on this thing, and he swore that it made a big difference. One day I was fiddling with it, and tugged on the cable, and the output end got shorter ! The gizmo was simply a piece of aluminium tube with a piece of co-ax going through it, with some pitch sealing up the tube.

Your expensive cable sounds better because your brain is telling you that it should. Do a blindfold test.

 

And so the never ending cable saga goes on . . .

 

That's fine your entitled to your opinion. I bought the cable mainly to have properly terminated cable rather than using banana plugs. I take on board what your saying about blind testing which I didn't do but I have been listening to my system with the other cable (which was more expensive btw) for quite some time and I'm very familiar with the way it sounds on material I play on a regular basis. To me it sounds better with that material and as far as I'm conserned that's all that matters to me. The cable I bought from layoyo is beautifully made too with quality parts and would cost a lot more If I had bought it in this country. £9 per meter for terminated cable is a very good buy imo and wouldn't hesitate in recomending anyone wanting to buy similar cable from them.
I can see the logic with regards to the laws of diminishing returns on this kind of product and wouldn't spend thousands as some people do on cabling, but, for the 10 meters of cable I bought for £90 I'm more than comfortable with that kinda outlay.

How was your silver plated s-video cable A.S. are you happy with your purchase?

 

Don't you own a soldering iron? The fact that it sounds better is called the placebo effect.

 

Hi Nick,
I think you should be careful in suggesting all cable is no better than twin and earth. I wish it were true. Mostly it is but there are quite a few exceptions and of course a lot depends on your equipment. I myself use cat5 cable and would put it up against almost anything up to £50-£60 a metre. But go beyond that price range into the several hundred pounds a metre realm and if your equipment is good enough you can tell the difference.
If you have the money and you want the absolute best. Cat 5 and twin and earth won't deliver. But for us mear mortals with mortgages and families Cat 5 and Twin and earth are brilliant.

 

I don't think I quite said that. I just said that the majority of people could not tell the difference in a blindfold test. When you refer to Cat5, is this the ordinary Cat5 cable used for PC networking or a beefed-up version ? Because ordinary Cat5 does not have very high current carrying capacity.

 

Hi Nick,
Ordinary (good quality) cat 5. 3 strands of CAT 5 woven together to make a single speaker cable. How much current do you send through your speaker cable??? You certainly won't be getting anywhere close to CAT5's limits.

 

No I don't and I'm all thumbs

The cable I bought will do me fine thankyou

 

As this has been covered many times before I guess it would be interesting to pull the spanner back out of the works.
I have two distinct opinions on this subject:
On blind testing cables I have found they all sound different (not necescerily better) and better detail etc does seem to roughly come with more money (in most cases). Never tried mains flex or Cat5 because we don't sell it! I understand their is a question over the value of "branded" cables but I have found that if you allow for branded cable A being worth a certain amount branded cable B is normally worth a little less than the difference!
As far as the "placebo effect" I have always stated that even if you do hear a better sound because you want to, I would still rather have better sound and live in the land of pixies, than have a belief that all cables are the same.

 

Interestingly some of them look very similar to these. They're dirt cheap too.

 

I think it's a lot to do with the equipment you are using too. You'd never be justified in purchasing higher end more expensive cabling for a £150 midi system. The components in such systems are usually not up to scratch compared to their more expensive counter parts ( other wise we'd all have them wouldn't we) and your less likely to get a return on your investment.
Over the years as I've moved up the hifi ladder I have usually replaced the older and cheaper cable for a more expensive variety and have notice a difference in the sound each makes every time for the better offering improved lows, highs and overall detail. Until such time as I'm in the position to climb higher up the audiophile chain I'm unlikely to benefit from a cable upgrade as the equipment I have is not of suitable quality to justify the outlay and I'd be more likely to put that money toward buying another piece of equipment.
I created this thred to draw peoples attention to the availbility of what seemed to be good quality, well made cables at a very competative price. I went further and purchased some to see if the cable was of suitable quality and a worth whlie investment. I have come to my own conclusion that these cable are worthy of peoples hard earned in my eye's but it's down to them to make their own mind

 

Well, I'm trying to keep this discussion friendly, which is hard when people insist on putting words into my mouth that I did not say. I did not say that all cables were the same. I did say that most people would not be able to tell the difference in a blindfold test between 5A mains flex and £5 a metre (or more) speaker cables. I have been making this challenge for many years, and nobody yet has taken me up on it and proved me wrong. With video interconnects it is a slightly different story, but I would not expect to pay more than about £14 for a decent SCART cable.

What I do find most remarkable in these days when people will spend hours on the 'net finding the cheapest supplier of a hi-fi or video component, that they will then spend a fortune on cables that they just don't need. However, I do acknowledge that it is a free country, and it's your money that you are lining someone else's pockets with

 

I'm a friendly chap and respect your thoughts and agree with you on some points but I beg to differ on others due to my own observations.

Nothing wrong with having your own opinion on things

 

I'm thinking of getting some audio interconnects. Do they offer lengths other than 1.5m?

 

I've only seen lengths of 1.5 m but I'd email them and ask. They make to order iirc any how so I'd assume they'd quote you a price for any length

 

Thanks, I've just done that, I'll tell you what their answer is.

In the meantime, I've ordered a pair of Choseal Q-822 interconnects.



Why? They're in-stock, they look nice and they cost only HK$160 (under £11) plus shipping whereas some retailers in the US sell them for as much as US$140. Call me sadistic.

 

All right, I received the cable, and it's very impressive. Thicker than my little finger. Really could have done without the fancy box. I guess it's there so that high-end audio shops can display and sell it better... and get away with their 700 per cent margins.

I'll test it this evening, but I can't see why it shouldn't perform as well as my Xindak interconnects (also bought direct from Hong Kong).

 

God, you couldn't make this stuff up