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An Informal Assessment of Anti Cables

My experience with Anti Cable speaker cables surprised me and I though others may want to read about what I found to be a very good speaker cable.

I will do this somewhat briefly and forego the typical audiophile jargon. The Anti Cables are better than what I was using, which were custom shotgun runs of Kimber 4TC (four sets of 4TC cables per speaker; one double shotgun pair for the top and another double shotgun pair on for the bottom; each shotgun pair were twisted together – three twists per foot, and the two shotgun pairs were then twisted together – three twists per foot, to complete one set).

I always found the Kimber setup to be very pleasing, but here’s what I heard with the Anti Cables in place: a very noticeable increase in upper-mid-range and upper frequency resolution (“clarity” if you will). Here is a “tangible” example of what I heard: on the excellent Blue Coast Records’ live acoustic recording by Keith Greeniger (the song titled “Three Little Birds” – an old Bob Marley tune) the recording captures a conversation between Keith and another musician prior to the beginning of the song, in which that other musician yells to Cookie Marenco, the producer. “Are you ready Cookie?” Until I installed the Anti Cables, I was not aware that Cookie is a woman. With the Kimber in place, I could barely hear a response (and only when I really cranked the volume). What I could barely hear was completely inaudible (buried way in the background). With the Anti Cables in place, I could clearly hear Cookie’s response and by golly, Cookie is a woman!

If you have this recording and you can clearly hear (Ms) Marenco respond, then you already have a pretty revealing system (how’s that for science!). For me, this was really cool, because it was “clearly” measurable; it was instantly “tangible.” Now, I was somewhat excited, so I delved into a whole slew of my favorite recordings. The increased clarity and resolution in the mid-range and upper-frequencies made my music sound…well, clearer and more resolved (how else can I say it).

There is a noticeable decrease in what I would deem bass energy, which at first concerned me. Upon further listening, I feel that the bass is simply more refined (tighter if you will). I will experiment with the setup to determine whether, or not, I am utilizing the best termination solution.

Paul sent me what he considers to be his best method, which he calls a set of shotgun parallel bi-wired cables. If you read my other thread about parallel bi-wiring, you know that I was not only confused, but concerned that Paul had sent me the wrong setup. What I have now is two sets of Anti Cables per speaker, but they’re setup differently from what I consider a typical “bi-wired” run. Here, both sets of cables are twisted together (the single run, which comprises two cables, is twisted – three turns per foot; and then each of the twisted pairs are twisted together – three turns per foot – very similar to what I had arranged with the Kimber). This double shotgun run terminates at the speaker end in just one set of spades, which I have hooked to each speaker’s upper frequency binding posts; a set of Anti Cable jumpers are then used to “jump” the low frequency binding posts.

My experiment will be to go directly to the low frequency posts and then jump to the upper frequency posts. Anyway, the point is that I can really hear a significant improvement in clarity and resolution, which is exactly what my speakers needed. I was ready to get rid of my Resolution II’s in favor of the new Maggie 1.7s, but now I might just have to rethink that move.

Thought this might be helpful to those who have ever wondered about Anti cables…
2chnlben
2chnlben OP
595 posts
 
Eniac26,

I am glad you added your experience with these cables. I have not come to any definite conclusion yet. I too am willing to give them a thorough breaking-in before I make my final assessment. In my system, the Anti Cables have added more resolution (clarity) in the upper-midrange, which I originally found to be very appealing. I believe that this added clarity benefits my speakers, which are slightly rolled off in the midrange. This rolled off midrange has always allow for a very rich sound (“warm” if you will). This warmth always attributed to a very smooth sound. While the extended resolution, or clarity, in the upper-midrange is quite apparent with the Anti Cables in place, I am now beginning to wonder if this is necessarily better (it certainly is different).

I would have to say, that if the sound stage didn’t narrow, as it has with the Anti Cables; and if the lower bass extension wasn’t decreased, as it is with the Anti Cables; then the added midrange clarity that the Anti Cables impart on my system would lead me believe the change was/is for the definite better. It’s the tradeoff that I am not too keen on (isn’t that always the case).

I am going to experiment with how I interface at the speakers to see if I can retain the clarity but add to the bass extension (i.e.: by going directly to the low frequency posts and then jumping to the high frequency posts). Even if I can accomplish this, there’s still the case of the diminished soundstage (or, more specifically, the “changed” soundstage).

While I have definitely lost soundstage width, I have gained greater depth with the Anti Cables. For some, this may be a fair tradeoff. As I stated above, however, the depth actually tends to put the central image (most notably, the vocals) too far into the background for my liking; this does provide great three-dimensionality though. Time will tell if the proper burn-in can alleviate some of these issues.

I’d appreciate it if you could continue with your assessment of what happens in your system.

Thanks,

Ben
eniac26
97 posts
 
I wanted to update this post with my final conclusion on how the Anti-Cables faired after further break-in on my system.

As stated by "2chnlben", I can confirm that the soundstage has definitely deepened and the width has narrowed.
On familiar CD's that used to sound as if they would extend beyond the outer boundaries of the speaker cabinets (far left/right) using my old cables the sound now appears to be coming from each speaker cabinet with very little musical information extended beyond that point. The sense of the speaker disappearing in the room that I became accustomed to is no longer there.

In addition, the performance is no longer as intimate as it used to be since the performers seem to sound as if they
are further away and more centralized between the two speaker cabinets. For some this would not be considered a bad thing but for those of us who prefer a more "Reach out and Touch The Performer" feeling it is.

On dynamic recordings with quiet music that transitions into very loud passages at the drop of a hat I feel that the sense of energy at the musical peaks is not as dramatic as it used to be. The sound now seems more one dimensional and flat with little change in volume
during the transition. This was very noticeable on several tracks found on Jeff Beck's new CD titled "Emotion & Commotion".

In terms of bass energy the Anti-Cable seemed to mute the lower octaves by what seemed to be a few DB leaving me wanting more instead of leaving me speechless. Some CD's that I have used to always provide a nice sense of "Room Lock" during the low bass sections of a song using my old cables. With the Anti's I would need to turn up the volume by 5-8 clicks to achieve a similar result while still not really "Locking" the room with bass energy as before.

As an example, using another familiar CD of mine that I like to use to demo a wide range of sounds and system capabilities I played "Paul van Dyk's - In Between" Album. On this Album I would typically have the volume of my Bel Canto DAC3 (using a Pass Labs X250 Amp) set to 75 if I wanted to really get some air moving in my listening room. This CD has allot of dynamic swings in it that pan from floor to ceiling and left-right with great speed but when listening to it thru the Anti-Cables it seemed dull and very muted from what I had remembered.

IMO and based on my findings with my own audio system I think the Anti-Cables are a good match for those who feel their soundstage is too close or intimate to there listening chair and or who's speakers tend to be a bit boomy or overly bright. I feel they would do an
excellent job at toning down an aggressive more in your face system then my own

To wrap up this review I must confess that I have removed the Anti-Cables and reinstalled my old ones. This turned out to be the biggest eye opener of all for me. The difference here was not subtle and all the enjoyable qualities of each CD that I used to have returned
immediately.

If your in doubt of what your hearing with your new cables as being an upgrade or downgrade I urge you to take the time to switch back to your old ones one more time to confirm your findings. It's funny how the sound of a downgrade is not as dramatic while your listening to it as it is when you switch back to your original configuration. My wanting to change from my original speaker wire was

more of an experiment to see if I was missing anything that I would otherwise be unaware of. In this case it appears that I'm not missing anything compared to a well known and well reviewed brand.

Hopefully some folks find this helpful...Thanks
signhere's avatar
signhere
4 posts
 
These cables seem to slightly "mute" or "blanket" the sound on my system. They also seem to limit the sound stage somewhat. It is only fair to point out however, my ref point are cables that cost anywhere from 15 to 200 times more money!! From a cost/preformance perspective, these "anti-cables" are a great value and should be on everyones short list.
pep21
59 posts
 
I would have to agree with the cost/performance perspective.
I have a 6ft. pair (unterminated), and though I have better that I prefer, these are excellent cables for the money.
They really shine on loud hard rock music, a frat house dream cable!
What I don't care for, is how hard they are to work with.
Twisted pairs may fair better.
I think they sound pretty good considering price.

Nothing wrong with bang for buck!
podeschi
303 posts
 
I agree with eniac26's assessment. I've burned in both anti cable speaker wire and ICs. Transparency and treble and speed increased but I believe it is due to bass information lacking. My cardas neutral reference sound more musical and full range with much more dynamic presence and a wider sound stage. The anti cables had clear/pronounced top end and deep sound stage and micro placement but within a narrower sound stage. I may keep the anti cable ICs for my musical fidelity tube headphone amp powering my sennheiser hd600 where I need more sparkle and transparent sound.
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