Opinion 1

Seemingly the time before Christmas, when we are doing all the cleaning work and shopping, is not the time to do any deeper analysis of what is going on around us, yet looking at the situation in the fragment of the market that interests us most, it cannot go unnoticed, that despite the instability of the currency and fuel markets, High-End audio does better than ever before. The prices are skyrocketing lately, something that does not surprise anyone anymore, this even fuels the race – you can quote any price, as high as you want, and still there will be buyers willing to pay it. In the end you do not know, how the much the money you own will be worth in a while, so instead of helplessly seeing them eaten by the inflation, or the ever growing, and better and better hidden, taxes, some of the more lucky amongst us are pushing the boundaries to complete and modify their systems, which seem to gain on their value each year, instead of losing it, as it was common some time ago. This happens because you can sell a device bought one, or two years ago, for the purchase price on the used market, as those devices new cost now 30-50% more. So currently the risk of losing your money is shrinking to an acceptable level, and the demand for audiophile luxury goods not only remains on a high level, but seems to be growing. So it should not come as a surprise, that even in Poland, products appear on the market, designed to fulfill the demands of the more and more demanding clientele. One of the Polish manufacturers being very much at home in the “high society” is the Wroclaw based manufacture David Laboga Custom Audio, where the name alone already indicates, that its products are as far from mass production as you can get – all is handmade and uses materials, that require special attention and proper care. The best example for this kind of approach was reviewed by us about a year ago, it was covered in red leather and had real rubies as decoration – the Ruby Ethernet. And the top of the line 3DR Connect XLR interconnects we are going to test today are equally exemplary.

As you probably noticed in the attached pictures, I recalled the Ruby Ethernet  in the introductory paragraph not by coincidence, as the cable tested today has many similarities with that older cable, in terms of exterior design. So we have here 1.5m long cables (there is a possibility to order those 50cm longer at extra cost) beautifully enclosed in black and red-crimson, calf leather, which, besides the obvious esthetics, brings also reduced microphonic effect, that would influence the capacitance of the conductors. Additionally, each one of the interconnects boasts handmade, and decorated with the company logo and the model markings, mahogany splitters. Each of those exquisite capsules houses an unique composition of natural stones, which should absorb the unwanted electromagnetic radiation. The presence of those stones can be easily detected by shaking those splitters, creating a kind of audiophile maracas out of them, or a representative of the Crotalinae family (a rattlesnake). You may see the used plugs as a certain surprise, as David used the rhodium plated Neotech NEX-OCC R, made from monocrystalline UP-OCC copper instead of the, often used in topline products, Furutech or Oyaide top shelf products. I think, this might have been done due to the serious diameter of his flagship cables. And one more thing – continuing the tradition, the 3DR Connect XLR are made from hand woven strands of high purity, oxygen free copper, using a proprietary geometry. Touching the cable you can also make out, that inside the leather sheaths there is some kind of spongy-fibrous filling, that keeps the conductors from touching the outer sheath. Fortunately, despite the significant diameter and mass, which comes mostly from the mahogany splitters, the 3DR Connect XLR are nicely flexible, what makes them easy to place behind the connected components.

While this is all what we know about the construction of the cables, as usual with DLCA (David Laboga Custom Audio) they release next to no information about that, we can just stop thinking about what and how can influence the sound and just move on to listening.
I started the playlist with some quiet and laid back albums, at least for me, the doom post-metal, with a pinch of gothic and cold-wave, from the 4AD label “Celestial Blues” by King Woman and the elegy-progressive “Ellengæst” by Crippled Black Phoenix. This means, that the rhythm is usually quite slow, or the vocals are, because at least in King Woman Joey Raygoza is behind the drum set, and he often ventures in some truly hardcore regions, where his musical sensitivity was shaped, but still the music is very heavy and depressively stuffy. Amassed sounds, resembling a cacophony, in less resolving systems can overwhelm like a mudslide, and you need to be alert to not fall into this brown molasse when striving towards uncompromised musicality. I am mentioning this on purpose, as the DLCA 3DR is first of all musical, according to its company DNA; secondly it sounds with a very dense and coherent sound, and thirdly – it has a nicely accented, abundant lower part of the spectrum. So when you look at this abbreviated characteristic, this is a recipe for an ideal disaster. Yet exactly this kind of repertoire allowed the top interconnect from Laboga not only fare well, but also really catch wind in its sails and shine clearly. The reason for that is the above average resolution of the Wroclaw cables, which, while operating on the more euphonic and sweeter side of the force, do not lose or retain any of the transmitted information. They can even extract nuances out of the dark, which other, seemingly more detailed and analytic cables, bragging with the amount of presented nuances, yet lose them somewhere amongst the fight. So how do the tested cables do it? All you need is to sit down and listen, so you can hear, even without any special attention, that in this case the key to success is the incredible ability of differentiating between parasitic noises, smudging or artefacts from the information recorded in the source, removing the first ones and focusing on providing the second. And while this seems quite easy and obvious at first glance, in practice it turns out to be much more difficult. Fortunately, the 3DR master this task perfectly.
But let us move to some, maybe not mainstream, but less dark climates, and tackle the very tasty, oriental disc from the ACT label, the “Ahlam” by NES, where two violas and a wealth of percussion instruments, together with the vocal of the leader – Nesrine Belmokh – create a truly magical, very intricate mosaic of delicate sounds. They carry a lot of freedom, spontaneity and refinement, where instead of ruthless attack only the touch of the string and enjoyment of the length of decay of the sound matters. Also in such repertoire the 3DR prove their worth, reproducing the aura surrounding the musicians with their inherent charm, building the stage not only in the horizontal plane, but also in the vertical one, what results in the height of our loudspeakers not being the “glass ceiling” anymore, allowing the sounds to reach the virtual ceiling, showing how they were originally recorded. Interestingly, the previously mentioned roundness of the lower frequencies does not move the accent from the strings to the body, it only underlines the “even harmonics” and the perceived analog aspects of the sound, where the reception of the whole image is key, where the individual elements of the puzzle are being clearly visible/audible, but remain just that, parts of the puzzle, without being pushed to the frontline like soloists. In the sound of the tested interconnects you can notice certain reversionary calmness, known from high models of Hijiri, or the Vermöuth tested recently. This creates a conviction, that all of the decisions made are being correct, and the lack of even slightest moments of hesitation does not mean, that we get some unsubstantiated subcutaneous nervousness. The sound remains coherent and communicative throughout all the melodic uncertainties and violent changes of tempo. Music, as presented by 3DR has the form of a dialog with the listener, and not a lecture, where emotions and feedback do not count. Am I exaggerating now? Absolutely not. Please reach out for any live recording and believe me, it will not matter if you decide to go for the romantically slow “Live in San Javier 2021” by Matthieu Saglio Quartet & Guests, or the exploding, gut-wrenching second disc from “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell” by Five Finger Death Punch, as each and every time you will become part of the crowd attending, and the dialog I mention, coming through a noble applause or wild howling, will become absolutely apparent. Is this a miracle? No, this is High-End, where intensity and realism of the perception reach such a level, that with some performers you should not only take care of your alcohol bar, but also you medicine locket. And the David Laboga Custom Audio 3DR Connect XLR are only an access card to that.

The David Laboga Custom Audio 3DR Connect XLR interconnects are not only a nicely looking boutique accessory dedicated to the more wealthy audiophiles, they have a much more important role besides being the eye candy. They make the electronics connected with them to reach the highest levels of its abilities, and everything does not only sound better, but using a very mundane description, it sounds also nicer. And more precisely – with a more refined sound, free from any deteriorative artefacts, cleaner and truer. Because with the 3DR all is not about making things sweeter, but about bringing the native harmony and coherence to the sound, something they do in a truly masterful fashion.

Marcin Olszewski

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature) + Finite Elemente Cerabase compact
– Network player: Lumin U2 Mini + Franc Audio Accessories Ceramic Disc TH + I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Dynavector DV-10X5
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³ + Graphite Audio IC-35 Isolation Cones
– Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 30 + Brass Spike Receptacle Acoustic Revive SPU-8 + Base Audio Quartz platforms
– IC RCA: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference; Acrolink 7N-A2070 Leggenda
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Fidata HFU2; Vermöuth Audio Reference
– Speaker cables: Signal Projects Hydra; Vermöuth Audio Reference Loudspeaker Cable + SHUBI Custom Acoustic Stands MMS-1
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power + Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: urutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel S28 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + Luna Cables Gris DC
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Anort Consequence + Artoc Ultra Reference + Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF
– Table: Solid Tech Radius Duo 3
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT

Opinion 2

Maybe you will be surprised by the opinion I will share in a moment, but I think, that we are going to encounter a brand again, that has a lineage of certain luxury. Why do I think that? First of all – it conquered the world with the majority of its products. Secondly – it uses natural leather for the finish of their products – cables, what gives them a taste of being extraordinary. And thirdly – all is packed in nicely looking trunks. Does this sound trivial to you? Maybe. But if this approach to the exterior looks goes hand in hand with extraordinary sound, like it did when we tested previous products, then it is not that the form triumphs over content, but is a testament of the company is paying attention to the highest standards, and stands in opposition to the common belief, that it does not matter how it looks, it only matters how it sounds. Well, about which company I was talking? About David Laboga Custom Audio, the Polish cable manufacture, which supplied us this time with an XLR interconnect 3DR Connect XLR.

Similar to a large part of the company catalog, and as it should for a luxury product, the exterior sheath of the cable is made from black and red, hand sewn, natural leather. Maybe for some of you this is just for shine, but I assure you, that besides the claims of the manufacturer, that it decreases the microphone effect, it really makes a splendid impression when you see it. Looking further at the supplied cables, you notice immediately, that leather is not the only characteristic of the cables coming from that company. I am of course talking about the rectangular, handmade boxes, with the company logo etched on them – in this case made from mahogany wood. Their main goal is to minimize vibrations, but in this model, those are also stuffed with a proprietary mix of natural stones, that are there to counteract electromagnetic radiation. Information about the internal setup of the cables is very sparse, but following the bits and pieces supplied by the manufacturer, we have here oxygen free copper, wound according to a proprietary geometry. The plugs – in the tested version – are provided by Neotech and are rhodium plate. For transport, the cables are packed into dedicated, elegant trunks. And that is it. I know, there is not much information to boot, but currently this is more or less a standard that we need to accept more often than we would like to.

Moving towards the listening section, the question “Does this much of esthetic and construction ado translate into the final effect of an interesting sound?” is more than adequate. A question trivial on one side, as it is quite standard, but when we talk about a top shelf product, that should extract all possible performance from the electronics it connects to, it becomes more relevant. Each cable will sound somehow, but on a certain level, this should be a show-off of the extreme capabilities of a brand. And did the 3DR Connect XLR fulfill that task?
Frankly speaking, in my opinion it did. The result of the fusion of my setup with the product from David Laboga turned out to be brilliantly coherent. But, as it often happens, in a certain esthetic. Interestingly, in one, that ideally fits my preferences. So how did it exactly fare? First of all – the sound was very smooth. Secondly – well founded in mass and offering a brilliant timbre. And thirdly – while having the showing of magic in sound written in its DNA, it also made all effort to present its breath, and unrestricted placement of sparkling sounds in the ether. Very nicely dense sound and yet very free. Like a fairytale. But did it work with all genres? In theory yes. But taking into account orthodox listeners of rock or electronics, there may be some nuances, that make the music a tad more noble, and become the bone of contention. But is this an unsolvable issue? Absolutely not. This is no more than a different look at the same thing, often expected, and here also presented in a brilliant way. And I will try to describe how, using a few examples.
Let us begin with the disc “Romaria” from the Dowland Project John Potter. This is a quiet material, that emphasizes the vocals of the leader. It can become so emotional, that even if you plan to play just a snippet of the CD, the system moves to such a level of essence, timbre and freedom, that you listen to the whole compilation at once, exactly as it happened during testing. And that not only due to the music being freed from restrictions and being able to detach me from the reality around. If I would need to describe my experience during the listening, it would be the three times repeated phrase – emotions, emotions, emotions.
Another interesting example for the able application of magic in the reproduced material was the formation of the Oles brothers with Christopher Dell in the material “Komeda ahead”. This is a nice, not tiring jazz project, with a very important instrument for me, the vibraphone. I do not know what it has inside, but when played back correctly, it results in creating a kind of extasy in my spirit. On one hand the beauty of rounding, on the other juiciness, and then the never ending decay put me in a kind of trance. This trance is so much subliminal, that when the system does not distort the instrument, and with the tested cable in the sound path, there was absolutely nothing like, I start to up the volume until I reach the borderline of pain. Looking from the side, you may think this is already a kind of masochism. Maybe. But when the vibraphone is rounded and full, resonant and vibrating, and yet light and not ending, I lose myself completely, and trying to increase the level of endorphins, I act upon instinct, and this time this was brutally aided by the XLR cable.
Finally a strong blow from the masters of current, the cult AC/DC “Power Up”. Why? To show, that working towards a commonsensical embellishment of the world of music carries consequences in terms of its expressiveness, but when the sound is appropriately free and has lots of swing, then the result is just a minimal rounding off of the edges of the sound, while giving it more plasticity and essence. Is this a bad thing? No, as we should not forget, that usually those recordings are not very good in terms of quality, and this helps in listening to them, and some instruments – vocals aside – profit from that a lot. Of course I am thinking about guitars here, the trademark of the band. After application of the Polish cable in the sound path, they gained mass, what made them more expressive. Yes, the consequence of that was the slight smoothing of their attack, but they did not lose much from their predatory treats, yet gained in terms of being the leaders of this kind of music. This was still good AC/DC, but with better mastering.

So where would I put the focal point for our encounter? Without issues everywhere in places, where the owner of the system did not cross the point of good taste in terms weight and speed of projection of the sound. The system can be colorful and well balanced emotionally, but what is important, it has to be very resolving, like in my case. Then the only decisionmaker will be the taste of the owner of the system, and not any issue of the cable not fitting the rest of the stereo. And if so, then the 3DR Connect XLR may even be the rescuer in more anorectic systems. And what kind of rescuer? It will show the maximum performance a given system can reach.

Jacek Pazio

System used in this test:
Source:
– transport: CEC TL 0 3.0
– streamer: Melco N1A/2EX + switch Silent Angel Bonn N8
– DAC: dCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0
– Master clock: Mutec REF 10 SE-120
– reclocker: Mutec MC-3+USB
– Shunyata Research Omega Clock
– Shunyata Sigma V2 NR
– Preamplifier: Gryphon Audio Pandora; Gryphon Audio Commander
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio Apex Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-11 Black Edition
– Speaker Cables: Synergistic Research Galileo SX SC
IC RCA: Hijiri Million „Kiwami”, Vermouth Audio Reference
IC XLR: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Hijiri Milion „Kiwami”, Siltech Classic Legend 880i
Digital IC: Hijiri HDG-X Milion
Power cables: Hijiri Takumi Maestro, Furutech Project-V1, Furutech NanoFlux NCF, Furutech DPS-4.1 + FI-E50 NCF(R)/ FI-50(R), Hijiri Nagomi, Vermouth Audio Reference Power Cord, Acrolink 8N-PC8100 Performante
– Table: BASE AUDIO 2
– Accessories: Harmonix TU 505EX MK II, Stillpoints ULTRA SS, Stillpoints ULTRA MINI, antivibration platform by SOLID TECH, Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V, Harmonix Room Tuning Mini Disk RFA-80i
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
Drive: Clearaudio Concept
Cartridge: Essence MC
Step-up: Thrax Trajan
Phonostage: Sensor 2 mk II

Manufacturer: David Laboga Custom Audio
Price: 5160 € Net. / 1,5m set