LavriCables Grand Silver USB A-B Interconnect Cable – Dual Lines, One Music
LavriCables Grand Silver USB A-B Interconnect is a 415 Euro / $ 483 USD Cable for Data transfers, the current flagship from Lavri, and it comes with a Pure 5N Silver 20 Core construction, and it is a dual cable, so data line is separate from the power line. Today we will review the Lavri Grand Silver USB and see how it sounds like, as well as how it broadly compares to other high-end usb cables that we’ve reviewed including Audience Studio TWO (539 USD), Ricable Invictus USB (467 USD) and Acoustic Revive USB-2.0PL TripleC (840 USD).
Introduction
LAvri decided to make USB cables as well, and this is the first one that I know or heard of Lavri, but it makes for an interesting review, as it shares many similarities with the Grand 30 Core V3 Power Cable they make. USB cables are a dangerous territory for discussion as some music lovers strongly believe that they bring a change to the sound while other music lovers feel like investing in those cables isn’t worth the effort. To be fair, all data, power and all cables in general will scale more with a better system, so I can give right to both camps, they do make a difference and at the same time, it will show far more with a better system.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Audiophile-Heaven has no Ads and our Youtube Channel has no midroll ads, and our work is supported by Affiliate Links and Donations. Huge thanks to Lavricables for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Official Link – https://www.lavricables.com/product/grand-silver-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/
Build Quality – Design
While we did review most of the Lavricables cables, the new Grand Silver USB is a unique product, it is a higher quality, higher end cable than most of the other digital cables available on the market, and it comes with 20 cores and a pure 5N Silver construction. When ordering it, you can configure the length to be anywhere between 50cm and 4 meters, which is double what the USB standards allow, but this is all owed to the fact that the construction quality and RFI / EMI rejection allows this cable to get this long.
You can mainly select to get one that has double cores, but a single head, A to B, or a double headed one, which has two A heads and one B head. There are two sleeving options, and Lavricables offers a burn-in service if you wish to hear the final sound it will have from the first moment of receiving it. The exact code for the one we’re reviewing is 24GRD03USB.
To be a bit more technical, this is a handmade cable with 20 Cores of AWG26+ solid silver 5N purity wires. There are two separate lines in each cable, one for data and one for power, each consisting of 10 cores of silver. Both A and B plugs are gold plated, and there is separate double shielding via aluminium foil and copper. Soldering is done using Mundorf Supreme silver 9.5% audio solder. Lavri uses Woven Teflon Litz construction, which is ideal for RFI and EMI rejection and provides a low capacitance.
Silver has been used as 5N Silver transmits electrical signals faster and with less distortion than ordinary OFC wires, and high grade Teflon Insulation produces a predominant air dielectric that is regarded as the best insulator for bare wire.
Sound Quality
Pairings – You can only basically test a USB Cable with a DAC or DAC AMP and a computer, so the list of what you can use is more limited than it is with a power cable, or speaker cables, but yet, I did use as a source both my PC computer, but also Khadas Mind 1 Mini PC and Acer Ai18 laptop, situation in which the thickness of the cable was just right, and I used those to power a series of DAC AMPs, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonary Listening M1, HIFIMAN EF600, and EverSolo DAC-Z6.
Overall Signature – LAvri Grand Silver is a bright, open and sharp sounding cable with a tone that improves technical abilities of a system, reveals micro details really well and opens up the soundstage of a system. It sounds vivid and dynamic, it is engaging, but has a tight bass that sounds quite neutral and precise, and it has a musical, despite bright and open midrange.
Tonality – Grand Silver has a pretty clear tonal shift towards brightness, openness and sounding more technically capable than most cables. The difference is more audible with certain DACs that are sensitive to the cable quality, like Dethonray Listening M1, and your DAC needs to be able to reveal those smaller differences for them to be audible. DACs with less transparency will not render this difference audibly, so certain DACs might show the differences more than others.
Dynamics And Textures – As it is a full silver cable, Grand silver has the characteristic silver texture, with a rich, brilliant texturization, a wide dynamic range, and a direct, somewhat forward presentation. This gives music more life and more power, it is perfect for enjoying rock and metal, but it can be a bit too aggro for jazz and smoother / slower music. It does reveal details with precision and makes music super energetic.
Soundstage – Grand Silver USB tends to emphasize the width and space in music, creating a holographic and audibly wide image, it does not emphasize depth as much, but it does sound rounded and generally balanced. Grand Silver tends to exaggerate the distance between the foreground and the background a bit, emphasizing how much forward is in your face and how much background is in the back.
Comparisons
LavriCables Grand Silver USB A-B Interconnect vs Ricable Invictus USB (483 USD vs 467 USD) – Invictus USB is quite a bit thicker and looks far less flexible which for a USB cable is a bit of an issue because it does place quite a bit of strain on both USB ports, on the motherboard and on the DAC as well. From this perspective, Grand Silver is far more flexible, has dual cables to separate power from data, while Invictus is just one cable, but does a good job as it is. Sonically, both are strong performers, both are detailed and both have a high dynamic range. Invictus USB is warmer, smoother and more musical, while Grand Silver is sharper, more edgy, has a brighter treble and reveals more details in the midrange and top end, with a tighter and faster bass. While both are good, they each combine differently in a system, Ricable Invictus tames a system while Grand Silver uplifts and brightens a system.
LavriCables Grand Silver USB A-B Interconnect vs Acoustic Revive USB-2.0 PL Triple C (483 USD vs 840 USD) – Acoustic Revive Triple Copper is a great way to add a bit of warmth to a system, and it is also a Dual USB Cable, it has two separate lines for power and data, and the version I have is quite a bit longer, so the comparison is not fully fair. To be honest, all other cables are quite a bit longer, so the comparison is not that direct and not that fair. They are equally flexible, and equally easy to use in a system. Sonically, both are detailed, vivid and engaging, although Acoustic revive is not necessarily a copper sounding cable, it is more dry than Grand Silver, but also warmer in the bass, smoother in the treble, but in its quest for resolution, it ends up sounding quite a bit faster and more peppy. In comparison, Grand Silver is brighter, more open sounding, has more treble bite, bass is tighter, but midrange is smoother, more musical, more bouncy and more rounded.
LavriCables Grand Silver USB A-B Interconnect vs Audience Studio TWO (483 USD vs 539 USD) – Studio TWO is a flexible, thin USB cable, but it still places more strain on the USB connectors of both the motherboard and the DAC than Grand Silver. While Studio Two has no separation between the lines of power and data, it does a good job at isolating the DAC from the noise it could inherit from the line. Sonically, both are vivid and technically capable, but Studio Two is a bit more engaging and focuses on dynamic, with a smoother treble and more rounded overall sound, while Grand Silver is more decidedly sharp, bright and crisp, with less focus on the bass and a tighter sound.
Value and Conclusion
Lavri Grand Silver A-B is not crazy expensive and compared to most interconnect digital cables that I reviewed, it is one of the most affordable ones, but it is still darn pricey to be considered affordable. In light of this, the value, as with other cables, will become much higher when the value and cost of the whole system is higher. Not because pricey systems are more sensitive to cable quality, but they usually have the higher resolution, better revealing ability that would show an improvement in the cable department. To be fair, those are all very specific upgrades that fine tune and refine a system, but once you get to that point, an upgrade for a digital cable can be a worthwhile investment and a fun way to improve your system.
For someone who said that they do not believe in digital cables and would not review a lot of them, I surely did cover quite a lot of those, and at the end of the day, once you have a good system, it would be sad for the digital cable to be holding you back, so I believe that Lavri Grand Silver USB A-B interconnect is a very good purchase if you want to make your system more quiet, more revealing and to increase the quality of your audio without breaking the bank or adding something too crazy to it.
PROs
- Flexible and ergonomic
- Revealing and crisp sounding
- Very nice connectors and good construction quality
- Bright, sharp and airy sound
- Excellent dynamic range and technical performance
- Does very similar things compared to the Lavri Mains Power Cable from the same series
- Improves the resolution of a system
- Great add-on for a good DAC
- Better noise control and lower distortion if it was caused by EMI or RFI
Cons
- Performance and value will only show in a system that is already pretty good
- It comes with no official package, so it can feel a bit underwhelming in the presentation
Product Link
Official Link – https://www.lavricables.com/product/grand-silver-usb-a-b-interconnect-cable/
--- Please remember to stay safe, and always have fun while listening to music!---
- If you have a dime to spare, please donate, and help us! It would make the day brighter for me and my wife-
Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
--- Contact Us ---
