ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver Upgrade Cable Review
ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver Upgrade Cable Review
Introduction:
ddHiFi (DD Electronics Technology Co.Ltd.) is a relative young company located in China that is specialized in the producing of Portable Audio Accessories like Protective/Storage Case’s for DAP’s, DAC/AMP Adaptors, Cables and more.
The Air Nyx Silver upgrade cable is ddHiFi’s latest flagship upgrade cable and a member of the companies Air Series. Nyx is the synonymous with “dark night”, describing how her dark light is reflected from the starry sky. She is one of the most powerful goddesses in the Greek mythology. In ancient art, Nyx was depicted as a winged goddess, sometimes wearing a halo formed by dark fog.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank ddHiFi for providing me the Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) upgrade cable for review purposes. I am not affiliated with ddHiFi beyond this review and these words reflect my true, unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The actual price of the ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) Upgrade Cable is 399.99 US$. The cable is available with MMCX and 2-Pin connector interface. You can also choose if you want it with a 4.4mm Balanced plug that has an L-profiled housing or the one with a straight profiled housing same like my review unit.
More information’s can be found under the link below;
Package and Accessories:
The ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) upgrade cable came inside a rectangular box made of recycled paper material and has some brandings in green color on the top.
Inside of the box are the following Items/Accessories:
- 1x ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) Upgrade Cable
- 1x ddHiFi Earphone Storage Case
- 1 x Manual/Warranty Card
The Air Nyx Silver upgrade cable comes with a fancy looking ddHiFi protective storage case. This storage case has a real microfiber lining that will protect both your cable and your earphones/IEM’s from scratches. The symmetrical flip cover is located on the side, which can be opened easily. The double-sided magnet design enables them to attract to each other regardless it’s placed above or bellow.
Design, Fit and Build Quality:
The ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) is a gorgeous looking Upgrade Cable with an excellent overall build quality that is made from “Hand-Crafted” 4 Core multi stranded core design that features a Litz structure.
The cable has a total length of 120cm, while the diameter of the “Cable Core” is 27.2AWG, and the one of the “Spiral Shielding” is 24.9AWG. The inner insulation is made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) martial of the Japanese Company Japan NCU Chemical, while the outer insulation is made from High Transparency “SoftFlex” PVC material (Made in USA).
The Air Nyx Silver upgrade cable has transparent outer isolation that offers a decent performance in terms of microphonic effect. This cable has a pretty sophisticated wire structure, which is a combination of Litz Type II High-Purity Pure Silver (core), Litz High-Purity OFC “Oxygen-Free Copper” (black) and Litz Silver Plated over long Crystal Copper (silver) materials.
The Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) upgrade cable is available in two different connector options, which are the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin version and the MMCX variant same like my review unit. The connectors of my review unit do have a premium looking metal housing with parts that do have a silver and gold finish.
The connectors are compatible with a wide range of IEM’s that do have slightly different MMCX connector interfaces, including the ones seen on products such like the Sennheiser IE900 and FiiO FD7 or FH9.
The inner surfaces of the connectors do come with L (Left) and R (Right) markings.
The ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC13A) upgrade cable has a very stylish y-splitter and chin slider design. The y-splitter has a silver polishes finish, while the chin slider seems made from messing material, which is in cold color.
The Air Nyx Silver upgrade cable comes with a gold plated 4.4mm Balanced plug that has a solid looking straight profiled metal housing. The main housing has a silver fisnish with a ddHiFi branding, while the strain relief is in gold color.
Technical Specifications:
| Model | : Air Nyx Silver Upgrade Cable (BC130A) |
| Strands | : 4 Strands |
| Conductor Diameter | : 27.2AWG (core) + 24.9AWG (spiral shielding). |
| Conductor Materials | : Litz Type Il High-Purity Pure Silver (core) |
| : Litz High-Purity OFC “Oxygen-Free Copper” (black) | |
| : Litz Silver Plated over long Crystal Copper (silver) | |
| Cable Structure | : Ø0.05mm x 7×7 strands x 4 strands (core) |
| Ø0.05mm x 7×14 strands x 4 strands (shielding) | |
| Inner Insulation | : Japan NUC chemical foam HDPE (Made in Japan) |
| Outer Insulation | : High transparency SoftFlex PVC (Made in USA). |
| Plug | : 4.4 mm balanced, 24K Gold-Plated Copper material |
| Connector Type | : 2-pin 0.78mm, 24K gold-plated copper-silver alloy* material |
| *93.91% copper and 5.62% silver | |
| Length | : 120cm |
Equipment’s used for this review:
- IEM’s : ddHiFi Janus 2 (E2020B), FiiO FD7
- DAP/DAC/AMP: ddHiFi TC44A, FiiO M11 Plus, iFi Audio Gryphon
Albums & tracks used for this review:
- Adele – My Little Love (Spotify)
- Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
- Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Sonya Yoncheva – (Giuseppe Verdi) II Trovatore, ActI (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- B.B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
- Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Really Slow Motion – Deadwood (Deezer HiFi)
- Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
- Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
- Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
- Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
- Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)s
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
- Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
The Sound:
The ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver is a gorgeous looking upgrade cable that immediately impressed me with its stylish look and excellent build quality. But the most important part is the improvement in terms of the overall sound performance, which I will now compare for you with the earphones like the ddHiFi Janus 2 (E2020B) and the FiiO FD7.
This review has been written after a burn-in period of about 100 hours. I have paired the cable with the ddHiFi Janus 2 and FiiO FD7 In-Ear Monitors.
FiiO FD7 + ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC130A):
The FiiO FD7 + ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver combination shows a solid synergy that has a very positive effect to the already great sounding FD7, from the lows up to the highs.
The depth and intensity of the subbass region hasn’t changed much, while this combination offers a better level of extension and clarity in this area compared to the stock cable that came with the FD7. The midbass region is produced with a slightly better sense of authority along with a improved grade of transparency and resolution that was pretty audible in songs like Charly Antolini’s “Duwadjuwandadu” and Gogo Penguin’s “Raven”. Instruments from contrabass to drums, from def to bongo’s have been reproduced in a more natural and realistic manner.
The midrange tonality retrains its fluid and organic character, while the sense of transparency, airiness and resolution increases in a pretty audible manner. The lower midrange gains a bit more clarity without to lose its characteristic depth and body. The upper midrange on the other hand sounds with the Air Nyx Silver combination, more lively and detailed compared to the stock cable that came with the FiiO FD7.
The treble range of the FD7 sounds slightly more controlled with the ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver upgrade cable compared to its stock cable and shows also a better sense of extension and resolution, especially in the upper treble register.
The soundstage of the FD7 + Air Nyx Silver cable sounds a bit more spacious and airy compared to the stock cable.
ddHiFi Janus 2 (E2020B) + ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver (BC130A):
The Janus 2 (E2020B) is the successor of the original Janus with the model number E2020A. This is a very interesting IEM since it comes with both 0.78 dia. 2-Pin and with an MMCX connector interface that are integrated in to one special designed monitor shell.
The Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) upgrade cable combination offers a pretty audible improvement of the general sound performance, such like resolution, clarity and authority. One of the first noticeable improvements that were clearly audible in the lower frequency area was the increase of the subbass depth and sense of decay that was slightly missing with the stock BC110A cable, which is a Silver Plated OFC cable. The midbass region gains slightly more depth and intensity, while the level of control remains pretty similar in this area.
The midrange shows an increase of transparency and airiness that was already good with the stock cable. The lower midrange has a tad more body and depth compared to the BC110A combination that was especially audible while listen to instruments such like an acoustic guitar or piano. When it comes the upper midrange of the Janus 2 I can say that the Air Nyx Silver upgrade cable offers audible improvements in terms of clarity and resolution.
The ddHiFi Janus 2 has a quite pronounced treble tuning, which sounds slightly sharp in certain tracks. The Air Nyx Silver (BC130A) upgrade cable is a great solution to gain a better level of authority in this area without to lose the decent sense of clarity and airiness that the Janus 2 offers.
The depth of the soundstage doesn’t change that much, while the improvement of the wideness and the separation of instruments is pretty audible.
Conclusion:
The ddHiFi Air Nyx Silver is a gorgeous looking upgrade cable that immediately impressed me with its eye catching design and excellent build quality. But the most important part of the Air Nyx Silver was the audible improvement in terms of overall sound performance, which was dramatically noticeable, whatever when it comes to the lows or to the highs.
Pros and Cons:
- + Audible improvements in terms of Sound Performance (Clarity, Resolution, Layering)
- + Gorgeous Design and Excellent Built Quality
- + Compatible with almost any MMCX connectors (Sennheiser IE900, FiiO FD7, ect.)
- + C-Series Storage Case is a Nice Addition
- – A bit Pricy
Thank you for the Read!
