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Published LessLoss Reviews Now Number Over 698

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C-MARC RCA unbalanced signal cable, stereo pair; Firewall Module; Echo's End; Bindbreaker; C-MARC XLR balanced signal cable, stereo pair; C-MARC Classic Loudspeaker Cable, stereo pair; C-MARC Classic Power Cable; C-MARC bulk wire and cable

Date Added: 08/27/2019 by Arthur Ross, Westport, CT
TO MY MIND, USING THE ART WORLD AS AN EXAMPLE, LESSLOSS TO THE AUDIO CABLE BUSINESS IS AKIN TO COMPARING THE WORLD OF MONET, DA VINCI AND VAN GOGH TO COMIC BOOK ART.
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C-MARC Classic Power Cable; Bindbreaker; C-MARC RCA unbalanced signal cable, stereo pair; C-MARC Classic Loudspeaker Cable, stereo pair

Date Added: 08/20/2019 by Matthew
I’ve spent the last two decades building up a small-room, small-ensemble stereo system for listening to piano, guitar, folk, country, and chamber music. I had settled on the boxes that suited me at my price point: a Lumin S1 server and L1 hard drive, Coincident Technology monoblocks with Takatsuki 300b’s, two Placette volume controls — one for each amp, to serve as balance controls, and Taksim speakers. Power is supplied by a Wattgate wall outlet feeding a Torus transformer.

I wanted the best-sounding cables I could afford, and I wanted to stick with one manufacturer. I decided to try LessLoss’s C-Marc cables because they were priced sensibly, a US dealer had strongly recommended them, the online reviews were positive, and they were easy to handle (i.e., highly flexible). The actual technology is beyond me, but the LessLoss website is exhaustive, for those who want or need to know about those things.

I’ve been following a series of steps:

Step one: new signal cables.

This meant two 1-metre C-Marc interconnects (RCA) and a pair of 2-metre C-Marc speaker cables.The improvement I got from the C-Marc’s was what Louis, and the reviews, told me to expect — more relaxed, liquid, with less grain than I’d been hearing before and also less congestion between notes. Changes in a stereo system tend to show up most obviously in the bass, and regarding that, bass went lower and cleaner, which is what I wanted and hoped for. Overall, C-Marcs were an obvious though not huge improvement.

Step two: Two C-Marc power cords.

I plugged these into my monoblocks. What I heard, after break-in, was the same as what I heard from the signal cables, but much more of it. I mean MUCH more. My system had already been doing well at filling in between the speakers. Now, between the speakers, the blackness between the notes was even blacker. That erased almost all cloudiness and made for much improved separation between instruments and between instrumental lines. All the while, the sound stayed relaxed. When I played rock’n’roll, the system kept up with it — drums sounded explosive, bass went deeper and cleaner but also was rich in overtones. Treble was highly detailed but never shrill. Louis had told me to expect this — that good sound starts at the wall, which means that the power cables are the foundation of his product line.

Step three: LessLoss Bindbreakers.

I was impressed enough by the cables that I thought I would try his Bindbreaker isolation devices. The obvious place to start with them was under the Placette RVCs, which still rested on the sorbothane nubs that they had come with. They made an immediate and huge improvement. Basically, they added more of what the cables had added but also expanded the soundstage into the corners of the room behind the speakers. There was correspondingly more space between the notes and each note has more weight to it. Pace, rhythm, and timing all improved. The expansion of the soundstage behind the speakers was the biggest shock so far when using LessLoss products. Even my wife noticed — “Matthew, what did you just do!?!?!?” Around here, that’s the ultimate test.

Step four: More Bindbreakers.

This time I placed them under the amps and server. I got more of what step three got me, which is what I’d hoped. Again, the improvement was obvious, and along the lines of step three had done, but more of it, though really, the jaw-dropping moment had been when I first put them under the Placettes.

Step five: Still more Bindbreakers.

I wondered what they would do under my speakers, so, two more sets of Bindbreakers. This is where things got fraught for a while. With them under the speakers, the soundstage expanded well out toward the listening chair, which was wonderful. BUT ... the sound also grew more congested, as if all the notes had got wrapped in fog. The expanded soundstage was a definite plus, but unless I could eliminate the fog, I couldn’t leave these in the system.

So I tried two things: (1) Review the speaker placement. That helped, even moving them an inch did that, but not enough. Some of the cloudiness dissipated, but not enough, and bass still sounded muffled. So, (2) I adjusted the settings on my Lumin server. Specifically, after a few tries, I ended up turning off all upsampling/resampling, switching everything to Native, and then turned on DSD. Doing that basically solved the problems that the speakers had first encountered with the BB’s (cloudiness), without weakening the strengths (a much expanded soundstage, a very natural, liquid sound, a wonderful combination of weight and air).

Good cables make a difference, and C-Marc’s are emphatically good ones. In the same vein, the Bindbreakers are the best isolation devices I’ve ever had in my system (and previous to this, I’d been using a series of highly regarded ones).

LessLoss builds some amazing gear. And I haven’t even tried their Firewall technology yet. Will be saving for that.



Some general notes:

The cables take a long time to break in, and even once they’re broken in, they react more to the weather and to time-of-day issues than most cables. Live with it ... when they’re at their best, which is almost always, they’re amazing.

I demagnetize my system more than I used to with these cables. Specifically, I do it every four or five days instead of every three weeks. These cables seem to benefit from that.

Once you’ve installed these cables, don’t move them or even touch them. They’re sensitive to that. So are all cables, to a degree, but these more than most.

Good audio starts at the wall. Get a high-end receptacle, if you want to do justice to these cables. Even the very best ones don’t cost that much.

The Bindbreakers require break-in as well – a few days, at least. Strange but true. Perhaps because they are partly made of wood.

When you change your cables, you’re changing the signal the speakers are receiving, so adjust your speaker placement once the C-Marc cables have broken in. It always helps.
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C-MARC Classic Power Cable; Firewall Module; C-MARC RCA unbalanced signal cable, stereo pair; C-MARC XLR balanced signal cable, stereo pair; C-MARC Classic Loudspeaker Cable, stereo pair; C-MARC Digital Cable

Date Added: 08/20/2019 by H, New York
The Less Loss C-MARC range is the most appealing and effective cabling and power treatment I have ever found at its price point and at those 2x or 3x above. To get to the punchline, a complete set — interconnects, speaker cables, digital coax, power cords, and C-MARC Firewall 64x for each component — delivered in my system created (1) more focus and coherence around vocals and instrumentation along with a larger soundstage (2) less harshness around some highs; and (3) rich but controlled and tighter bass. The biggest improvement, however, is in the overall musicality and listening engagement which is MUCH higher with the C-MARC cable set for every genre of music I tried. The cabling allows the listener to shift focus from the cerebral aspects of critical listening in which each part of the musical performance is considered in a piecemeal manner to simply enjoying the music. For any one who values their system and is open to improvement, an audition of the full C-MARC kit is highly recommended and I would say should be nearly a requirement for anyone starting a system from scratch.

For those for whom some more detail might be of interest — I currently have three high end systems, each with a different character. Over the years, I have seriously listened to a dozen different brands of cabling and power conditioning at a range of price points commensurate with the level of investment in each overall system. Virtually all sets of cables were above the price of a full C-MARC set -- at times many multiples above. Each set of cables had pros and cons and some stayed in each system and when they did, it would be the full set of cables for coherence. Often moving from one set cables to another in each system usually changed one or two aspects of the presentation of the music. At times, while there was shift, the "net" result was not an improvement in my judgement. Other times, there was a "net" improvement but there remained a weakness in some aspect. The "best" cabling in my judgement lowers the noise floor of the system and "stays out" of the way as much as possible.

In many circumstances, the specific character of a set of cables can be used to compensate for the opposite characteristics the components possess. For example, "bright" cabling can compensate for a "dark" set of components. In my experience, this approach always leaves a sub-optimal net result but may be the most practical approach given the components in question. C-MARC’s character is neutral and I could not discern any particular emphasis the cables brought — they were not brighter or darker; they didn’t accentuate one part of the recording over the others; they did not appear to be faster or slower than other cables etc. Their main effect was to increase the effortlessness and fluidity of the music while improving the coherence and size of the soundstage. Imagine a sort of haze around the band or orchestra members that other cables impart or allow — C-MARC simply eliminated the haze (and occasional harness around some highs). In this sense, I believe C-MARC is likely eliminating various types of noise and interference present within and among the components of the system, letting each play its role in the music delivery with minimal negative artifacts introduced. The net result was a notable increase in musicality and engagement with the music.

For anyone considering C-MARC one step at a time, my suggestion would be to start with either speaker cables or power cords. If it is possible to audition the whole set, even if finances may preclude the purchase of a whole set at once, I would recommend doing so, so that the full potential of the system in question can be heard with comprehensive C-MARC cabling.

For any skeptics reading this, I had no interest in changing the cabling in any of my systems which were all performing well. Konstantin at Atelier 13 in Nashville offered to send me a C-MARC set at his expense just to see what I thought. In the end, the overall effect was so profound I purchased the full set — they were that good. At the C-MARC price level, and at many price levels above, I have not found a better set of cabling that works equally well with tubes and solid-state, high efficiency horns and low efficiency two-way etc. C-MARC lets the inherent quality of whatever you have shine through to its fullest.
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C-MARC RCA unbalanced signal cable, stereo pair

Date Added: 05/08/2019 
The custom LessLoss C-MARC 1m DIN-RCA phono cable they made me is far superior to my Transparent and Purist Phono cables.

The Transparent cable is $3,000 retail and horribly noisy. I found out after purchase the Transparent is not well shielded and prone to pickup hum, huge problem in my system which I could never alleviate.

The Purist cable is $10,000 retail and better shielded but very dark and slow sounding.

In comparison the LessLoss cable is very quiet, alive sounding and creates a 3D soundscape versus Transparent and Purist’s 2D soundscapes... Basically, the LessLoss cable is *intensely* better than both in all aspects.

Thank you!
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LessLoss History From the Very Beginnings

LessLoss started its business on Audiogon in late 2007. Within the first couple of month, word about LessLoss spread like wildfire among Audiogon members. Here is the feedback received from our clients during our first year of operation. This is from even before we had our own website.

Louis is one of the best in the business, truly professional and very fast production and delivery. I am very satisfied by your superb service. Many thanks.

Positive by Buyer Sebastian (135) on 07-29-2008

Excellent transaction with Lessloss on dynamic filtering power cord. Good communications & fast shipping. A+++++

Positive by Buyer Sennett (45) on 07-03-08

Bought 3 pc's from Liudas in Jan/08. Outstanding product as advertised. Performance is everything and more than I expected. Kudos to Lessloss cable for a great product. Very highly recommended...A+++

Positive by Buyer Phillykid (33) on 06-19-08

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