I had adjusted my Von Schweikert VR9 SE Mk2 upgraded speakers to my equipment and cabling for nearly a year (7 control features). One problem I thought I had was too much bass with the 1000w powered 15" Rel subs in the rear despite minimal gain at +2 clicks. I just purchased a pair of Westminster Labs Ultra power cables for both the speakers and the WL Rei amps. The clarity, dynamic range and even/neutral frequency response was significantly better than my 15X lower cost cabling which was very good but I had to set my bass phase to -90 degrees. So, installing those four power cables sounded a little lean, lacking in body/richness as you would say. Then I readjusted the phase back to 0 degrees, aiming the bass between instead of outside of the speakers and voila! Great rich ffull bodied sound like I've never heard but with all the clarity. I was rather surprised but the distributor informed me that the higher end WL and Masterbuilt cabling brought more richness/body to the sound. Now my speakers are not sounding overloaded with in phase bass. I did not try other high end power cables as for 25 years, GroverHuffman builds great power cables at very reasonable prices. 15X the GH price and one has to be careful. There is no question as to the SOTA quality of those WL and Masterbuilt (I've heard over the last decade) power cables (as well as ICs).
A cable too perfect?
I recently acquired an Audionet AMP 1 v2 that only accepts RCA single ended connections. Since all my cabling was balanced, I had to start looking for replacements for my Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference II's. Of course I could just get an RCA pair of those, as I like the sound, but I thought I would take the opportunity to check out some other options. I also thought I would start on the lower end cost-wise. I had some old Audioquest RCA's laying around and used those to start. And I bought some low cost Acoustic Zen WOW's to tide me over. And then on to Stager Silver Solids, I like these, but I don't think I love them. I also bought some Neotech cable and connectors and I am working on building a set.
But then, my dream cables showed up at a significant bargain, Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper! I was quite excited to add these to my system, and they replaced the Stager silver cables. Well, to say the difference was striking is not sufficient. The level of clarity and detail is amazing, and the soundstage is excellent. At first I thought they were kind of bright, but that is not the case, I think it is just the extreme clarity. A friend came over and he did not think they were bright either.
So, the problem, I don't find them engaging. It is possible the sound is a bit on the lean side. Everything is there, but there does not be a sum to the parts that is the music, yet I think they are absolutely accurate. It is slightly better if I turn it up, but I don't tolerate higher volumes for long, and value a system that sounds good at lower volumes. I prefer a bit of warmth, although I like to term it as a "richer" sound.
They have only been in place for a few days, so I will give them a bit more time. I know the answer, "try something else", but curious if others have run into such stark contrasts and is this what I can expect at the higher end of the cable world?
Suggestions for alternatives that might suit my needs are welcome, if you have actually tried them, and you believe that cables make a difference.