Morrow Audio PH5 Reference phono cable

[Johnny Vinyl]

I just ordered a 1-metre pair (RCA/RCA -standard connectors - no ground wire). I already have 2 silver Litz ground wires, so this saved me some coin.

http://morrowaudio.com/audiophile-an...r/phono-cables

They are having huge sale, so instead of $400 USD, it only cost me $240 USD + shipping. I couldn't resist and have been pining for a new pair anyway.

I've heard good things about them through the years, so I'm looking forward to trying them out on my Oracle.

[mep]

Let us know how it sounds Johnny.

[Johnny Vinyl]

For sure I will. Could be awhile though. I'm figuring between 4-6 weeks.

[mep]

For sure I will. Could be awhile though. I'm figuring between 4-6 weeks.

It will go by in the blink of an eye.

[Beaur]

They are always having a sale, at least according to the weekly emails I still receive. 😉

[Johnny Vinyl]

And here I thought I just lucked out! LOL!

[JCOConnell]

seems like you still got a deal, I made my own Silver phono IC DIN-RCA and spent over $125 in parts, then there was labor

[Johnny Vinyl]

The cables have shipped. Nice surprise as the site indicated 4-6 weeks when I ordered. They're coming USPS/CP First Class, so it could still be another 2 weeks, but hey...they're shipped.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I received the Morrow PH5 phono cable last night and connected it this morning. Been playing some albums I'm thoroughly familiar with and will do so for the next day or so before opining.

[JCOConnell]

Was it burned in at the factory and are you satisfied with the construction of the cables?

[Johnny Vinyl]

Yes, but only for 2 days. I'm not concerned though as I play enough vinyl to get them to sounding to their full potential within a few weeks. I'm happy with the construction although I'm a bit surprised there was no jacket between the connectors and cable. That would be have been a nice touch.

[tom_hankins]

Look forward to hearing what you think. I've wondered about these cables for awhile.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I'd be happy to provide some initial impressions/thoughts in a few days. I want to play some albums I'm thoroughly familiar with, plus I'd like to cover various genres. I'll keep you posted!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Morrow Audio PH5 Phono Cable review


All of my previous turntables had the phono cables hardwired into them, so when I purchased my Oracle Paris Mk.V two years ago I was now able to experiment with several different cables I had, although none of them were dedicated phono ones. Since the Oracle included a separate ground wire and I also had another that a friend made for me, I just played around with various interconnects to test the waters. In the back of my mind I knew that I’d want a pair a properly branded phono cables eventually, but the funds weren’t there at the time. What funds I did have went to a proper cartridge instead. A wiser choice.

Between then (2 years ago) and now I changed IC’s four times and much to my surprise the least expensive of the lot were the ones I preferred. None of them were really expensive to begin with, and neither are the Morrow PH5’s, but it solidified my thinking that sometimes an extra expense doesn’t always yield a better or more preferable result. So why then the extra expense of getting the PH5’s? Several reasons actually and, as mentioned, one was my desire to get a properly branded set of phono cables. The second reason was the reputation and positive feedback I read about with regard to Morrow Audio, their products, price points and service. And thirdly, while my cheapie cables were fine, I wasn’t going to kid myself into believing there wasn’t anything better out there. Would the Morrow PH5’s give me more? There was no way of knowing for sure, but I took a chance and here I am.

I ordered them with standard connectors and a 96-hour burn-in period. They were packaged in a nice black velvet drawstring bag and arrived at my door secure and well-packaged. It included a 5-page information guide on Cable break-in, Signal Direction, Hook-up & Patience. Since Mike says his cables take 400-500 hours to fully break-in, I understand the need for touching on patience. The cables look to be well constructed and are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. However, not having a heat-shrink jacket covering the cable & connector is a bit of a miss for me. It’s moot point though.

My music selections for this initial review consisted of both standard and audiophile pressings with a heavy emphasis on rock (studio, live, acoustic, electric), since that is my favourite genre of music. It also included albums in other genres that I’m thoroughly familiar with. The music therefore consisted of my listening preferences, which I felt was the proper way to approach this review.

Now to the difficult part…how do I describe what I hear? I might be a flower-child of the sixties, but flowery prose and using sentence structure that could make me sound like I know what I’m doing is not my strong-suit, nor is it of interest to me…but I digress. In the past you’ve heard me mention when comparing different pressings of an album that a veil has been lifted on certain recordings. The PH5’s did exactly that, which made the overall sound a little more grandiose and musically clearer and involving. It did so while not adding a brightness that is sometimes confused when hearing, what I think at times, is exaggerated detail. A better way (perhaps) to explain it is that it was more faithful to the recording quality itself. Am I making sense here? Obviously I don’t truly know how faithful it was, but I don’t know how else to put that into words. Tonal quality perhaps? Due to their more open presentation, soundstage width was quite significantly improved as was the fullness in sound delivery or meat on the bone, so to speak. I could not (yet) pick up completely on finer details, such as instrument separation, 3-D presentation (especially depth), but I’m happy to let the cables break in as I’m confident those attributes will also bear fruit. At least I hope so as I’m impressed so far.

One more thing. I’m fairly meticulous with my record cleaning, but I’ve discovered I need a few more passes through the RCM on some records as the PH5’s are telling me I have more work to do. Probably a good thing, but damn…cleaning records isn’t my idea of a good time. Haha!

You’ve probably surmised by now that I’m pleased with the purchase of the Morrow Audio PH5 Phono cables and that I’m looking forward to the day when they are fully broken in. I am! I think they offer excellent value and they enhance music without adding unwanted artifacts. They let music flow…they let music speak for itself….they are a wonderful bridge between what the artist intended, the record labels presented and what your ears absorb.

I probably could have gone on, but this is all I’ve got for now….I like brevity.

[tom_hankins]

Thanks! Look forward to hearing future changes. Glad your liking it so far.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I've had the cables for about 5 months now and I'm really pleased with their sound. So much so that I'm thinking of using their Trade-up program to get to next level or maybe even one after that. So either the PH6 Grand Reference ($599) or PH7 Grand Reference ($995). I would return my PH5 cables and get 50% off on either the PH6 or PH7.

[jonathanb]

I've been using the PH-6 cables for about a year and am quite satisfied with them.