The Sound
Contents
It’s safe to say that we’re pretty familiar with the Grimm TPM as an interlink. It is without a doubt one of our favorites. The cable has almost no signature AND is affordable (at the time around 500 Euro for 1 meter XLR). Especially if you look at the competitors.
The Yeti NextGen resembles the Grimm TPM in many ways. However, there are some audible differences. Let’s start with imaging. Where the Grimm TPM plays slightly forward, the Yeti is a bit more laid back. The Yeti plays slightly wider than the TPM. This gives a sort of “widescreen” effect. We like it, though. Both cables just play nice and big and let the ambience be heard well. The Yeti, however, goes a little further in that area, making the set disappear a little more.
In terms of timbre, they are unprecedentedly close. The Tubulus with silver conductors is the most different. Although it seems a bit fresher and faster – which is not really true if you listen longer – there is sometimes something ‘off’ in the mids it seems. Bottom line, it is very hard to say exactly where the sound differences are. It’s more in the aftertone and insight (structures) than purely in sound balance. Perhaps the Yeti is slightly less crisp and we hear slightly more roundness in the midrange? It is subtle.
Going to detail, we find it easier to hear details and subtleties with the Yeti between the Sonnet and the Pass Labs pre-amp. This is because there is simply more calmness to be noticed. The more quiet the reproduction, the more you can hear. It’s as simple as that. And here we also come to the Yeti NextGen’s greatest strength. Those who sit down longer will hear that this “next gen” cable brings a degree of blackness and calmness that almost no “normal” cable can bring. Everything really does fall wonderfully into place.
