April 20, 2013

• Mapleshade Vivilink Plus HDMI Cable

  This is the first installment on the Mapleshade Vivilink Plus HDMI cable. 

  The Vivilink replaced a 2M Wireworld Chroma 6 cable connecting my Oppo BDP-95 universal player to my Samsung LN46D550 46” LCD TV.  The Samsung is a competent, although not outstanding performer.  The Chroma 6 HDMI cable, on the other hand, has been well reviewed by such sources as What HiFi, where it has received a five star rating and is considered a short list cable within its price category.  A 2M length of the Chroma 6 currently retails for $69.

  The Vivilink Plus comes well, if simply, packed and arrived on my doorstep within two days of its order via UPS.  Mapleshade has obviously not spent anything extra on the packaging and, as a matter of fact, the shipping carton was a recycled Amazon box.

  A full description of the Vivilink may be found via the above link.  In brief, Mapleshade feels that the problem with most HDMI cables is that the insulation and wire gauge used in other cables are too thick and that there is a resulting deleterious effect on video quality.  As an aside, they also feel that audio quality is best served when an HDMI cable is used only to convey the video portion of the signal and the audio is fed to your system via separate RCA connections.  This happens to be the way my system is configured.  The Plus version of the Vivilink cable receives additional treatment over the standard $125 version which is said to further improve performance.

  The Vivilink is rather delicate, some might say flimsy, but that is the result of their inherent design.  Therefore, care should be taken when installing the cable.  Additionally, the Vivilink (and the Chroma 6), is directional and the red banded connector should be hooked up to your TV (or receiver) and the unmarked end connects to the source.  Mapleshade also warns that the cable should not be draped over anything made of plastic and if it’s necessary to cross interconnects or power cords, the cables should meet at least a 45 degree angle to minimize interference.  Finally, they recommend 100 to 200 hours of break-in before the cable is at peak performance.

                                     Mapleshade Vivilink Carton                                                                    Simple Packaging
       
  

                                         Unwrapped                                                                                        Target Connector
       
  

                                     Source Connector                                                                                 Ribbon Close-Up
       
  

                                         Instructions
  
  

   

  Still to come, initial impressions.

   

  NB:  Just a reminder, if you mouse over any of the photos and single click, it will open a new window with the same photograph.  If you then single click the photo in the newly opened window, it will present you with a larger and therefore more detailed photo.
  

   

   

  • 5:12 am
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