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LENEHAN AUDIO FOIL FLEX INTERCONNECTS


075Congo

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42 minutes ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

Now that this thread seems to be active again, I’ll ask my question again :) 

I used them on some Tekton speakers that are 4 Ohm and have an efficiency of 98.82 dB 2.83V@1m with no problems. Sounded great.

Used a Class D amp and Goldmund clone amp.

 

You could also shoot Mike an email explaining the system you have to see if he thinks they will be ok. Maybe even a trial of them ... :)

 

 

Edited by rocky500
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  • 2 weeks later...

I was so pleased with the SQ improvement on inclusion of the Foilflex RCA - RCA interconnect between the phono stage and amplifier- to complement the Foilflex speaker cable- that I took the plunge and asked Mike to construct a 1.5mt Din to RCA  interconnect for my Naim CDS3 to Amplifier. 

 

Just superb! 

Hard to find the words to describe the presentation, but the sheer musicality, subtlety of detail, transparency and precise imaging was astounding. The emotionally and soul of the music was really engaging. 
The words “joy” and “beautiful” kept coming into my head!!

 

I know the SQ that comes is a result of the whole system and its interaction with the room acoustics, but the impact of the combined Foilflex “loom” was significant! So much so that I spoke to Mike about the possibility of constructing a tonearm to phonostage to complete the Foilflex  loom for my vinyl playback. I use an Linn Ekos 1 tonearm on a Linn Sondek lp12.  I have just got it installed! 

 

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On 05/06/2019 at 5:54 PM, Lenehan Audio said:


Hi Deafenears
None of the cables are shielded ! We found shielding ruined the sound of the cables . Shielded sounds misty I believe compared to a correctly designed unshielded .
XLR’s are Nuetrik
Cheers Mike Lenehan

I didn’t realise that the your ICs were not shielded. Did not even think to ask as I’ve always had shielded and that was the norm! 

I have been using the internet search today  to get a better understanding of shielded vs unshielded. Wow, found out this was another cable related debate with many audiophiles having polar opposite views on many forums Eg:

 

“There is no (sane) reason to choose unshielded interconnect cables.”

 

 “In ALL cases, unshielded interconnects should NOT be used for audio systems.”
 

“Never, EVER try to use unshielded interconnects with phono cables. The result will always be tears.”

 

I don’t want to start another cable war here, but I have inadvertently done a  completely blind test!?

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Now into my third month of using the Foil Flex XLR's and 3 metre Foil Flex Speaker cables. No problems whatsoever with any anomalies caused by the "unshielded" factor. Close proximity to Cardas and Shunyata Delta power cords not a problem although both are shielded I think. Once fully burnt-in these cables are real works of art and cost wise represent very high value for money.

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Thanks vivianbl  and 075Congo 

although cables seem expensive for what you are physically getting there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that SOUND per dollar ! Cables are an inexpensive upgrade.

Cheers. Mike Lenehan 

 

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On 15/06/2019 at 12:25 PM, vivianbl said:

......

I know the SQ that comes is a result of the whole system and its interaction with the room acoustics, but the impact of the combined Foilflex “loom” was significant! So much so that I spoke to Mike about the possibility of constructing a tonearm to phonostage to complete the Foilflex  loom for my vinyl playback. I use an Linn Ekos 1 tonearm on a Linn Sondek lp12.  I have just got it installed! 

 

Well the Tonearm cable has been in use for about 40hrs now and very pleased with the outcome! ?

 

I don’t have the details of the construction, but as I recall,  it has the same Foilflex copper wire, but uses a spiral ground wire technique to reduce potential noise. I think he calls it Spiroground. 

 

My one has a SME Din connection for the Linn Ekos1 tonearm on the Lp 12 and KLEI copper harmony RCA to the VTL Ultimate phono stage. (And earth lead.)

 

Listening now.... Earl Klugh has never sounded better!!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On ‎15‎/‎06‎/‎2019 at 12:25 PM, vivianbl said:

I was so pleased with the SQ improvement on inclusion of the Foilflex RCA - RCA interconnect between the phono stage and amplifier- to complement the Foilflex speaker cable- that I took the plunge and asked Mike to construct a 1.5mt Din to RCA  interconnect for my Naim CDS3 to Amplifier. 

 

Just superb! 

Hard to find the words to describe the presentation, but the sheer musicality, subtlety of detail, transparency and precise imaging was astounding. The emotionally and soul of the music was really engaging. 
The words “joy” and “beautiful” kept coming into my head!!

 

I know the SQ that comes is a result of the whole system and its interaction with the room acoustics, but the impact of the combined Foilflex “loom” was significant! So much so that I spoke to Mike about the possibility of constructing a tonearm to phonostage to complete the Foilflex  loom for my vinyl playback. I use an Linn Ekos 1 tonearm on a Linn Sondek lp12.  I have just got it installed! 

 

Hi, as new Foilflex RCA owner, I agree wholeheartedly with these comments.

 

I compared them with Osborne Silverlink and Aurealis R1 Dragon Silver /Copper RCA's (both of which I also own) and found that the Foilflex  just made the music make sense; they have very strong dynamic ability which means that when there is a solo (guitar / sax / etc) you can hear the notes the instrument is playing as it starts the solo and also the notes at the end of the solo after it finishes - these are the notes that are normally buried under other instruments. It makes the music sound very real and is not a hi fi style of delivery.

They have a very natural delivery of detail - it is all there but is delivered in a way that just sounds right - just the way a real instrument sounds. 

I now have two pairs and I am sure that more will follow. they make it very difficult to use anything else.

 

Vivianbl, I am keen to hear how you get on with the Foilflex as a tonearm cable, as I am now figuring if I can do the same with my Origin Live Conqueror Mk2. I saw your initial thoughts, how is the tonearm cable settling in?

 

One thing that is very important with the Foilflex is running in - the difference between a stone cold Foilflex new out of the box (which sound very good) and a run in cable with 60plus hours on it (which sound amazing) is considerable in my experience. The increase in resolution through the mid and top is significant.

 

These cables just make you want to listen to music - which is what this is all about - a strong a recommendation as you can get.

 

cheers

Cammyboy

 

 

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4 hours ago, Cammyboy0_0 said:

Hi, as new Foilflex RCA owner, I agree wholeheartedly with these comments.

 

I compared them with Osborne Silverlink and Aurealis R1 Dragon Silver /Copper RCA's (both of which I also own) and found that the Foilflex  just made the music make sense; they have very strong dynamic ability which means that when there is a solo (guitar / sax / etc) you can hear the notes the instrument is playing as it starts the solo and also the notes at the end of the solo after it finishes - these are the notes that are normally buried under other instruments. It makes the music sound very real and is not a hi fi style of delivery.

They have a very natural delivery of detail - it is all there but is delivered in a way that just sounds right - just the way a real instrument sounds. 

I now have two pairs and I am sure that more will follow. they make it very difficult to use anything else.

 

Vivianbl, I am keen to hear how you get on with the Foilflex as a tonearm cable, as I am now figuring if I can do the same with my Origin Live Conqueror Mk2. I saw your initial thoughts, how is the tonearm cable settling in?

 

One thing that is very important with the Foilflex is running in - the difference between a stone cold Foilflex new out of the box (which sound very good) and a run in cable with 60plus hours on it (which sound amazing) is considerable in my experience. The increase in resolution through the mid and top is significant.

 

These cables just make you want to listen to music - which is what this is all about - a strong a recommendation as you can get.

 

cheers

Cammyboy

 

 

Cammyboy, I’ve now used the Foilflex/ Spiroground Tonearm cable for about 60hrs. I was advised that the cable would take about 80hrs to reach its best. Unfortunately, I installed the Kiseki Purple Heart (100hrs for optimal) and the tonearm cable at the same time.

 

I had previously installed the speaker cable, then an RCA interconnect and after that a Din to RCA interconnect. So by the time I got to the doing the cartridge and Tonearm cable I had burn in fatigue and decided to put both in at the same time.? Hence, its hard to attribute specific changes to the cable itself. 

 

My previous tonearm cable was a WSS Kabel Platin line ( silver conductors) with Eichmann RCA connectors and good quality SME right angle Din connect at Tonearm. The Cartridge was a Dynavector XX Mk2. I was quite happy with both of those.

 

The combined result of the new set up has been significant lowering of noise floor and very noticeable improvement in transparency. The other significant improvement was in the detail/ musical detail across the frequency spectrum, but particularly the upper end which I attribute to the cartridge. It’s great to hear the triangles and other “tinkles “ in orchestral works. 

 

Vocal stuff is just amazing!

 

What is also superb is that the high frequencies are presented with such clarity and without any hint of harshness which is similar to the impact of the speaker and IC cables. So I attribute that feature  to the cable.

 

its often hard to describe the changes, but I concur fully with your description of the impact of the cables that you provided in your post. That has been my experience too. ?

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 05/06/2019 at 7:26 PM, rocky500 said:

I used them on some Tekton speakers that are 4 Ohm and have an efficiency of 98.82 dB 2.83V@1m with no problems. Sounded great.

Used a Class D amp and Goldmund clone amp.

 

You could also shoot Mike an email explaining the system you have to see if he thinks they will be ok. Maybe even a trial of them ... :)

 

 

What Tekton speakers are you running? Double impacts? 

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On 05/06/2019 at 6:47 PM, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

Now that this thread seems to be active again, I’ll ask my question again :) 

I can't specifically comment on the Foilflex but my speaker cables of a different brand (which shall remain nameless in this thread.... :fear:) which apart from being silver rather than copper share a similar construction with the foilflex being unshielded ribbon cables and can say that they work extremely well with high sensitivity speakers.

Going off the construction I'd be pretty confident that Mike's Foilflex would match  very well with your speakers.

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  • 1 month later...

I completely concur with everything that has been said about the Fiolflex cables and interconnects. They are spectacular. The improvement that they have made to my system is amazing. The clarity and the detail that they have added, often leaves me just shaking my head in disbelief, when listening to albums that I have heard a zillion times before, on what I thought were good systems, cables etc. I can not recommend these cables and interconnects more highly. In fact, the same goes for anything that Mike Lenehan makes. He is an absolute hifi genius.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Lads           

                OK the FoilFlex website is up check it out   www.foilflexcables.com   

We will be adding a couple more pages like a Testimonials page and also a Magazine review page 

Let me know if anyone has some sugestions.              Cheers  Mike Lenehan

                                                                                                                  FoilFlex Cables and LenehanAudio

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  • 7 months later...

Anyone have experience with these driving planar speakers? I’m particularly interested in how they might match with the Maggie ribbon tweeter.
 

The Comments on dynamics, transparency, tonal nuance and soundstaging make them sound like a good match. The (very brief) listen I had to a system (Albeit quite different to mine) with these cables left a great Initial impression. 
 

I’m also assuming given previous posts that current delivery isn’t an issue? Thanks in advance. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I don't know why current would be a problem. I've accidentally driven my ML5s hard enough through these cables that I hit max excursion on one of the woofers... everything still sounded amazing except for the almighty crack as the voice coil struck the rear of the driver. 

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Suspect that The_conductor may have been wondering about delivery of product in the current CV-19 times?

If it was as kdoot thought,  I certainly can't advise about that.

ML the best person to contact about whichever one it is.

 

Holy crap kdoot - what a great system you have to listen to!  Wow!

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Thanks @parrasaw you might be right about the "current delivery"... I always take things too literally. Also you prompted me to look at my sig and notice that I needed to update re the pre/power interconnects. Balanced all the way now. It is a system I enjoy immensely and Mike has played a huge part in it over quite a few years of its evolution.

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  • 10 months later...


  • 1 year later...

Well, I’ve ordered 2 pair 1m RCA and 2.5m speaker cables. Based on what I’ve read these should be a nice improvement over my existing Aurealis R1 Dragon RCA’s and Litz 202 speaker cables. Looking forward to trying.

 

Felt a bit bad not ordering a pair of mikes new speakers (just felt the high efficiency Lii Song PT-10 would be a better fit with my amp) though at least I can enjoy Mikes cables in my system.  :)

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8 hours ago, MattyW said:

Based on what I’ve read these should be a nice improvement over my existing Aurealis R1 Dragon RCA’s and Litz 202 speaker cables. Looking forward to trying.

Great to know you have ordered new cables, looking forward for your feedback when possible mate.

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10 hours ago, Digital said:

Great to know you have ordered new cables, looking forward for your feedback when possible mate.


Looking forward to it though not sure how useful my feedback will be s as I’ve new speaker cabinets being built for my new Lii Song Platinum-10 drivers so multiple changes at once

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This is what I texted to Mike:

 

Mmmm, just a few hours and these cables give more fine detail and texture than I was getting yet in a completely natural manner. Richer and fuller bodied…. Sibilance still there but exposed as natural sibilance within the recording…. Interestingly a better sense of flow with the music and nuance that was missing prior. I’m really impressed with these so far

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