Pachanko has started his journey in the HiFi playground few years ago by proposing vast range of cables including SATA which is a bit more confidential that other digital cables like SPDIF, AES/EBU and USB. Pachanko expanded its scope further to the servers (CAT – Computer Audio Transport) and the linear power supplies, proposing here also, large range of options.

I’m using since more than 2 or 3 years some SATA cables from PACHANKO known as “SATA Pure Reference” on my personal server (more information here). These cables, plugged on my 2 Samsung SSD drives used to make the difference with more “standard” SATA cables especially in terms of fluidity. For this reason i was more than happy to have the chance to test the new Serenity Silver.

The cable arrived directly from La Réunion island where the cables are handcraft assembled. The Serinity SATA line provides different option at the level of the connectors (straight, angle up and angle down) but also in terms of conducting line :

• the Serenity Line made of Solid Core “mono Brin” in Copper with Silver plating
• the Serenity Silver line made of “multi brins” Silver 5N

The cables are delivered in a nice box/bag and in a standard length of 40cm. You can ask for customized length if needed directly to Pachanko.

As i received for test one cable while i have 2 SSD, i decided to plug the Serenity Silver to the SSD where the High resolution files are located. The test was realized in 2 ways : first comparing the sames files between a Pure Reference and the Serenity Silver cables and in a second time the Serenity Silver (local music) to the streaming of Qobuz.

Starting by comparing the local sources with the different sources, i must say that the first hours of test were not demonstrating a big gap between the 2 cables. Pachanko is mentionning that the cable has no directivity but after burning you need to keep the same direction. From my side i decided to put the “O” of Pachanko close to the SSD. After few hours, let’s say around 50 hours, the Serenity Silver started to provide improvement compared to the Pure Reference. The major improvements lies in two major axes : more deep/impacting (you feel more material density) meaning more presence in the 100-200Hz frequencies range (Example : Interstellar / Day One) and more resolution and air around the instruments in the higher frequencies (Example : the Cymbal in Sophie Hunger / le Vent nous portera)

The second test lied in testing the streaming performance of Qobuz vs the local streaming with the Serenity Silver. In a nutshell, this test revealed that i have some gaps in the local vs qobuz streaming with the same files (resolution). The gap is much higher than comparing the Pure Reference and the Serenity Silver.

In conclusion, this test revealed that even in local streaming, managing the power supply is not enough and you can improve the result with this Sata Serenity Silver Cable. I know that some high skilled digital audiofans are also hearing some difference between M2 SSD, SATA SSD, M2 SSD on specific PCIe adaptors and i fully trust them. In a configuration of SATA drives, you can be sure that these Pachanko cable will improve your system. It has been difficult to send it back and i will focus from my side to also improve the Qobuz Streaming first.

Thanks a lot to Chan from Pachanko, for the time spent with me, his patience and kindness during this lonnnnnng test.

Let’s continue the discussion on the forum.