It has been almost exactly a year and two months ago that Frederik sent me a pair of the then newly released Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA interconnects with Duelund plastic-free RCAs to listen to (HERE).
The time has gone by so fast it is almost frightening!
Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA with Duelund plastic-free RCA connectors.
With more than a year of listening to them under my belt, I thought it would be a good time to offer my long-term listening impressions about them.
Duelund plastic-free RCA
As is my custom, whenever I switch components, I try out a few different sets of interconnects (and power cables) to hear what will give me the best overall performance in that context, so that I know I am evaluating performance at its best.
What works best usually boils down to three very different sets of interconnects: the Acoustic Revive RCA Absolute FM interconnects, the Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA interconnects with plastic-free Duelund RCAs, or the Belden 8402 microphone cable interconnects.
In spite of the order of magnitude differences in what these three sets of interconnects cost (Acoustic Revive $11,950 USD for a 1-meter pair, the Duelund about $480 USD for a 1-meter pair, and the Belden about $30 USD for a 1-meter pair depending on the RCAs chosen), or what what they are made out of (Duelund and Belden conductors are 16GA and 20GA tinned-copper, respectively, and the Acoustic Revive a forged 5N purity grade silver tubing with a 5N purity grade copper conductor running through its center), or the level of advanced technology employed, one set of these three interconnects tends to shine in a particular application.
First Watt SIT-3 stereo amplifier with Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier.
I had been extensively listening to the First Watt SIT-3 stereo amplifier with Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier combination during the period of writing my article about the XP-12 for Positive Feedback, and in that context the exotic Acoustic Revive RCA Absolute FM interconnects sounded the best with the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player.
Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player (left) with Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier (right).
Now I am gearing up to write an article for Positive Feedback about the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, so I installed the superb Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature EL84 integrated amplifier back into the system with it for the article.
After the swap I noticed that I was getting some slight harshness on massed strings in classical music, and with poorer recordings, with the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player, so I decided it was time to try swapping interconnects.
I removed the Acoustic Revive interconnects, and put the Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA interconnects with plastic-free RCAs in their place.
It turns out in the context of the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player with the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature EL84 integrated amplifier, that the Duelund interconnects were a better match for the CD 2.1x, with massed strings becoming natural sounding again, and poorer recordings becoming more musical once again.
It never ceases to amaze me how a simple change of interconnects can make such a sizable difference to overall performance.
Long-Term Listening Impressions of the Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA Interconnects with Duelund Plastic-Free RCAs
To set the context, I'll mention my experiences with the pre-Dual Duelund DCA16GA interconnects with standard Duelund RCAs.
In my DCA tinned-copper cable summary article for Positive Feedback I had the described the original DCA16GA thusly:
"In the Duelund DCA line of tinned-copper cables, the DCA16GA is at the apogee of the tinned-copper characteristics of intensity of tone color, dynamic prowess, timbral realism, vivid presence, and a compelling portrayal of beat and tempos. The DCA16GA has the most tone color intensity, macro dynamic prowess, vibrant timbral textures, and vivid presence, of all the DCA tinned-copper cables."
In some contexts with the original Duelund DCA16GA and regular Duelund RCAs, the DCA16GA could sound a little too vivid as interconnects, and in those cases I preferred the Duelund DCA20GA with Duelund RCAs (the Duelund DCA16GA is still my favorite as speaker cables with my Altec loudspeakers).
When I received the Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA interconnects with Duelund plastic-free RCAs, I said upon first listen:
"... typically tinned-copper interconnects initially can sound a little "rough" and "edgy" until they run-in adequately, and that was what I was expecting for the new pre-assembled Duelund Coherent Audio DCA16GA tinned-copper interconnects as well.
"To my surprise, even at the "zero hour" point, the new pre-assembled Duelund Coherent Audio DCA16GA tinned-copper interconnects didn't exhibit that initial edginess that every pair of Sn-Cu interconnects in my experience did until they run-in, and rather they sounded like my well run-in DCA16GA interconnects."
Now with another year and two months of run-in and listening time on the Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA interconnects with Duelund plastic-free RCAs, they have improved over that time, becoming even more natural and liquid sounding, while still having that desirable tone color intensity, dynamic prowess, vibrant timbral textures, and vivid presence, that makes the DCA16GA tinned-copper cable so desirable.
Duelund DCA16GA interconnects with Duelund plastic-free RCA's.
At $480 USD the Duelund "Dual" DCA16GA interconnects with plastic-free Duelund RCAs are an easy recommendation on a performance per dollar basis, and combined with the Duelund DCA16GA I use as speaker cables, I really get impressive performance out of my Altec loudspeakers and the Audio Note (UK) electronics I have in the system right now.
Ok, time to go fix a little dinner and listen to some music!
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
