Today we are going to check out a new cable from Linum – their DualBaX in striking Zebra version. It sells for roughly €200 Euro.
Disclaimer: Linum supplied the DualBax cable for this review.
Linum
Linum cables have been around for a long time in our hobby already, but somehow they mainly fly under the radar. Their cables often come bundled with specific IEMs or brands. During the last years, many companies have adopted Linum cables at one point or another. Brands like 64 Audio, Cosmic Ears and many others have used their cables for their extreme comfort and resistance to sweat and wear.
The origin of the Danish Linum however comes from a field, where most of the IEM world sprung out of – the hearing aid sector. Their simple and super thin cables are perfect for this specific purpose. The parent company – Estron – is one of the main suppliers of cables for hearing aids.
Today we can find a broad assortment of products in Linum’s range. However, none of them exceed into astronomic prices, which nowadays is rare in our hobby.
The portfolio of Linum consists of four individual cables. The BaX, SuperBaX, UltraBaX and the DualBaX. You can find our Linum cable reviews here.
DualBaX
The DualBaX is Linum’s latest addition to their cables. Just like Linum’s other cables it is a Silver-plated Copper cable and sports super low weight. The 3.5mm version weighs only 8g (yes, eight), while the 4.4mm cable comes in at 13 Grams. This incredibly low weight can absolutely be noticed when wearing as it fully disappears.
Linum’s DualBaX has a rated impedance of only .6 Ohms and consists of a total of four conductors. These four Litz wires come twisted into two pairs and a total of 224 strands.
According to Linum’s product page on their website, the DualBaX is the perfect solution for audiophiles, musicians, head-fiers (where’s the difference to audiophiles?), sound engineers, high resolution sources, multi-BA and dynamics and low impedance IEMs.
“In sound performance, the DualBaX is very similar to the UltraBaX, though with reduced cross talk. Comfort and low-profile appearance have always been the aim for Linum cables in addition, of course, to the best sound experience. Perfectly engineered, the DualBaX Zebra on the other hand stands out, is eye catching and has a more ruggedized appearance.”
When you buy a DualBaX from one of Linum’s retailers (there are no direct sales through Linum’s website), you don’t really get much other than the cable and a cable binder in a small plastic bag. You’re only buying a cable after all.
Build Quality
When I unpacked my DualBaX cable I was a bit surprised, because it was the first time that I saw a Linum cable come with ear-hooks. My sample came with a black ear-hook on the right and a transparent one on the left, but I have been told, that this changed in the production version, where both sides will be transparent. On the full retail version of the DualBaX left and right side will be indicated by a blue and red dot on the 2-pin connector.
A word about the 2-pin connector. Unlike other brands, Linum went for a very simplistic and small connector that sometimes is a bit harder to grab due to its size. However, I haven’t had issues with it coming out at any times, all you need is a firmer grip between thumb and index finger and you should be good.
Between the ear-hooks and the 2-pin connectors there’s a small gap, which again is unusual and unlike any other cable manufacturer’s choice I have seen so far. Linum claims that this is to make the 2-pin connectors last longer. They also say, that they have thouroughly tested this. Due to the size of the connector I assume, that there is just not enough space to cover the ear-hooks with it or vice versa.
Other than that I think the DualBaX is a solid build.
The review continues with Sound on page two!
