Acoustic Zen Matrix reference II IC

Nevermind -- I forgot I'd asked about this same topic last year! 

Aging Brain Syndrome strikes again!  

@stuartk I had all these cables. I prefer the Silver Ref II for the phono stage and Absolute Copper for DAC to pre and pre to amp. The Matrix Ref II is warmer than the Absolute Copper. In my system I don’t find the Absolute Copper dark sounding. They’re detailed with great mids and big textured bass. 
I also tried the Absolute Copper speaker cables and that’s when it became too dark sounding. 
It will ultimately depend on your system. 

@audphile1 

Very curious. You run tube monoblocs and a tube pre-amp yet do not find the A. Copper too warm yet with my SS Hegel H390, the A. Copper cast a deep gloom over the music. The rest of my system , while tipped to the warm side of neutral, is not overtly warm and my room has it's share of of glass and hard surfaces. 

I use a Schiit Lokius EQ between dac and amp and will try swapping out one run of the Silver R. IC's for the Matrix R. 

Thanks for your input. 

I have Pass preamp and amp. Where did you see that I run tube monos and preamp?

Oh-- I looked under your system and thought I saw Rogue monoblocs and pre-amp. Don't have an explanation! 

the pass gear I've heard has sounded great to me. 

I used to have Rogue ST100 and RP1 that I upgraded later to RP5. Rogue is good but it isn’t Pass. 
 

Matrix/Silver combo is nice. Not sure why you require schiit equalizer though. Less is more in the signal chain….just my $0.05. 

Ah-- so I wasn't hallucinating- - good to know!  

What I've found is that as resolution increases, differences in CD sound quality become more evident. The Lokius was acquired as a way to address this issue. 

What would you suggest? 

I run Matrix balanced IC cables in my system where ever I can- amp/pre; phono stage/pre; dac/pre. Electronics are Pass (XP20/X250.8). Speaker cables areAZ Hologram II. Very pleased with this set up.  

@zavato 

Good to know.

This post gave me the feeling of deja vu. I owned the Acoustic Zen Silver Ref II before and it’s close to 2 decades already and it’s still the same cable being sold now. It has been so long that I’ve actually forgotten if I’ve used this cable before (my memory is not that good anymore these days). There’s no Silver Ref III or IV after all these years. Interesting.

@ryder I too am using Silver Ref and Silver Ref ll interconnects for 20 years and no desire to change.  Good example of when you design something well from the start, don’t f*ck with it. 

I had silver ref also...i tried the absolute...ref's were the one.😉

I put in my order to The Cable Co. , so hopefully, I'll find out soon which I prefer. 

So far, I like the Matrix II with acoustic music but dislike with electric music. 

I will keep listening. 

Make sure you have at least 100 hours on them before making any firm conclusions.  I also had success using the Silver Ref between source and pre and Matrix Ref between pre and amp if you’re running separates. 

@soix 

OK

@stuartk keep listening. You need to get used to the new sound for few days, then put the old cables back in. The Matrix Ref II are very good cables that you can listen to for hours without fatigue. There’s going to be a compromise with every change though, cables, components or speakers. Something to keep in mind. 

You could call Robert Lee and ask him?