I have reviewed enough Danacable Lazuli cables to know that they offer good value for the money, even though that money may often be equal to if not more than the headphone itself, so it was with great anticipation that I greeted the opportunity to review the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable, which is another of their headphone specific cables, in this case the Audeze LCD-5 Planar Magnetic Headphone.

Despite having only ever reviewed the Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphone previously, I actually have a fairly long history with Audeze and have auditioned most of their headphones at some point. Truth is my first headphone of the new millennia was the Audeze LCD-3. It was clear at the time that they significantly outperformed their dynamic headphone competition, though the LCD-3 was not without its limitations, they were dark sounding, very demanding of the amplifier (which actually was a good thing as I was working with a headphone amplifier manufacturer at the time), and extremely heavy. The LCD-3 was also my first experience with aftermarket headphone cables, working with Kimber Kables and Wire World options. When they came out the Audeze LCD-CX with the Wire World cable was my favorite headphone for quite a while, and my favorite Audeze headphone until the MM-500. There is no question that the LCD-5 is a world-class headphone, we gave it a Product of the Year Award for 2021 after all, overcoming all of the limitations of the previous models, the question in my mind is whether the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable will raise it from a $4,500 headphone to a $10,000 headphone.

Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable

Once again as to the design of the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable, I’ll quote Danacable themselves;

“Individually-handcrafted in the USA using copper and silver wires in a variety of attractive sheathing options, Danacable’s Lazuli™ headphone cables have long been known among headphone lovers as the go-to cables for many popular headphone models.

But just like speakers, Top-of-the-line (TOTL) headphones are designed with a certain sound signature that makes them especially suited to certain genres of music.  Danacable’s new line of custom Lazuli™ headphone cables is being designed and voiced to bring the most out of each TOTL headphone while retaining its sound signature.”

As for the appearance, the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable is made up of eight bundles of cable, similar in appearance to the Danacable Lazuli Voilà Headphone Cable I reviewed previously, except all eight are the translucent silver again braided together with a metal and carbon fiber collar where the wires are split into the two leads of four bundles each that connect to the headphone.

Living with the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable

The Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable was already broken in, so I just ran it for a few days to let it settle into my system. For my initial testing, I used the HIFIMAN EF600 R2R DAC & Headphone Amp and started with a basic listening session using the stock cable to get a reference. Beginning with Peter Gabriel’s “Scratch My Back And I’ll Scratch Yours (Limited Edition)” (24-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz) the soundstage was excellent and large, with a slightly dark presentation and a bloomy bottom end, what I think of as the Audeze sound profile. Switching to the Lazuli Rêve the change was not subtle, it was as if a veil was lifted, the soundstage massively expanded, clarity and musicality were greatly increased, and the bass suddenly had tone and complexity. The piano for Randy Newman’s cover of “Big Time” was so realistic due to the enhanced dynamics that it made me think of my own piano in tone and timbre. The percussion exhibited attack and decay with subtle changes in tonality.

I usually pick “Getting In Tune” (The Who – “Who’s Next” – DSD) for Nicky Hopkins’ wonderful piano performance, but the Lazuli Rêve highlighted the genius that was John Entwistle, converting the bass guitar which is normally thought of as a rhythm instrument into a lead instrument, bringing out the luscious harmonies and dulcet tones with richness and texture.

As a rule, I generally don’t believe in A/B tests, as they tell you more about the differences between the two devices than they do about quality of sound, but in this case, it became clear immediately that the only way to truly appreciate what I was hearing was to compare.

It was time to move on to my reference system, my LSA VT-70 Tube Integrated Amp, Audio-gd R2R-1 DAC, Black Dragon Cables, Core Power Technologies A/V Equi=Core 1000, Vera-Fi Audio VBH-1 (Vibration Black Hole) isolation feet, and  Vera-Fi Audio LLC Main Stream – Master Class Dynamic Parallel AC Line Conditioner. Pulling up David Gilmour’s new album “Luck and Strange” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) I again did a run-through with the stock cable followed by the Lazuli Rêve. Again the sense of reality was greatly enhanced, with expanded dynamic range and a significantly larger soundstage. The shimmer of the cymbals was more palpable, and everything was crisper yet more musical. Once more the definition of the bass was amplified as were the tonalities of the percussion.

For “Fantasia” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) by Magdalena Hoffmann I reversed the procedure beginning with the Lazuli Rêve and reverting to the stock cable afterwards. The study on Harp was intimate in a vast empty auditorium. With the stock cable, the sound was darker, less exciting, and less immediate.

Solo Harp was not exactly what I was looking for in Classical music so I cued up “In A Landscape” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) by Max Richter. With the stock cable, it was extremely difficult to separate out the piano from the organ pedal, but with the Lazuli Rêve, the identity of the piano bass was more defined.

To address the question posed above, is the LCD-5 with the Lazuli Rêve a $10,000 headphone, I realized I need to review the combo without consideration of the limitations of the OEM cable, so from here on I’ll only use the Lazuli Rêve.

Not having listed to George Strait in quite a while his new album “Cowboys And Dreamers” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) was my next choice. This eulogy to lost friends was well served by the LCD-5/ Lazuli Rêve combo, creating a warm inviting atmosphere of a Country music club.

Having finally stumbled upon an orchestral piece in the form of Paavo Järvi and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich’s performance of Anton Bruckner’s “Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Original Version)” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz), I selected that to get a real feel for the tonal balance, soundstage, imaging, and timbre of instruments. In keeping with my experience so far the soundstage was massive evoking images of the Hollywood Bowl, with the individual musicians easily pinpointed in space. The timbre of the instruments seemed spot on and the dynamics exceptional.

Listening to “Can-utility And The Coastliners” (“Foxtrot” – Genesis – DSD) the sub-bass was well defined, especially for an open-back headphone. Peter’s voice was intimate and persuasive, and the speed and detail of the guitars and percussion were exemplary.   

Conclusions on the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable

If you have a pair of Audeze LCD-5 Headphones the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable is a must-have, even if you love the current sound of your headphone, before you upgrade your DAC or Amplifier, listen to this cable, it will probably make a greater overall improvement in the sound than any other change in the system. It makes a greater improvement, not just change, but actual improvement in sound than it has any right to. Simply put, it converted a great reference headphone that I like into an epic headphone that I love.

We are not talking about a change in tonal balance, or the basic sonic characteristics of the LCD-5, but just more of everything, more detail, more dynamics, more tonality, more soundstage, and significantly tighter bass (not less bass, faster bass, more controlled).

On the other hand, if you are considering buying a pair of LCD-5s this does put the headphone into a different class, rather than looking at a $5,000 investment, you are looking at a $10,000 investment, but that being said the LCD-5 with the Lazuli Rêve will compete favorably with any headphone regardless of price.

Some will balk at the size and weight of this cable, which admittedly is not insignificant given the lightweight nature of the headphone, but it is a small price to pay for magnificent sound.

All in all, I consider the Danacable Lazuli Rêve Headphone Cable a sound investment and well worth consideration, two thumbs up.

Price: introductory price of $4495 (including free worldwide shipping) for a standard 2m length from October 1 to December 31, 2024, MSRP is $4995 for a 2m length beginning January 1, 2025

Manufacturer’s Website: https://danacables.com/