Comments on the Axis

The Axis upgrade (from my Polestar) promptly arrived and I’ve now spent about many hours of time, listening back and forth. The cable is connected between a Mac Mini running the new Fidelia player (from Audiophile Engineering) and a Wyrd-4-Sound DAC-2. I thought that I might provide some feedback in the context of prospective customers, who might be contemplating an upgrade, as I did, from a Polestar.

In the beginning I was using a standard, cheap usb cable. I read the reviews about the Polestar, and decided to give it a try, despite the logical ¾ of my brain saying this is a stupid waist of money… bits are bits. It took all of 5 seconds of listening to know that this was the most amazing, and most difficult to understand, audio component I had ever encountered. The increase in musical purity over a stock cord was simply breathtaking. With that victory secured, the emotional ¼ of my brain, that was responsible for that win, started to suggest that an Axis upgrade would be a good idea. The logical ¾ of my brain objected again. It held the position that it can’t really get any better than what the Polestar did… really. After all, we are no longer comparing to a no-name cable, but a Polestar! The full-trade in allowance program allowed the minority to prevail, again.

So, how does it compare? The emotional ¼ brain is once again celebrating its victory over the logical ¾! The differences I hear are once again improved in all the usual audiophile terms. But more importantly, the music is clearly served better by the Axis. Most notably, the music has taken very significant step toward a relaxed, at-ease, analog-like quality. The music feels emotionally real, purer, with significantly reduced sense of digitalness (not that it was bad before!). But the amazing thing, and the reason this cable is staying here, is that all the above happens while the resolution and fine detail are increased. Yes no kidding, the holy grail of high-end audio (IMHO)… achieving live-performance detail, without harshness and long-term listener fatigue. Live acoustical music is full of fine details, has a sense of purity, and is never, ever glaring. Live acoustical music never makes you gringe. This ever-so-difficult, often mutually exclusive combo is what the Axis brings to the table. The Polestar is amazing in its own right, but it doesn’t deliver this kind of resolution and it doesn’t sound as musically “right” as the Axis does. So should you upgrade or stick with a Polestar? I’d upgrade to the Axis again in a heartbeat. Lee’s upgrade program makes that easy. But if you can’t afford to do so, please know that you’re still in very goods hands with a Polestar. But that’s the trouble with us (you know who you are), we are always wondering what if…. as in what if a Nucleus? Help! Make it stop! D.B, USA