Anticables speaker cables and jumpers are phenomenal and remain in my system. For interconnects I demo’d a set of Transparent G5 Plus Balanced cables. Finally found a match between my Krell and Yamaha CDP...absolutely stunning! Clear, fully fleshed out, warm and dynamic as heck. Tone is best I’ve experienced in system as well. That’s a wrap 😉
Anticables and the Jumper Effect: Or how I learnedto stop worrying and love my system!
Over the last 2 years I’ve changed my system up a bit and played around with various speakers and cables. Finally, the speaker that won my heart was the JBL 4429. Dynamic, neutral and low distortion at any SPL’s. They can fill my listening space from side to side and floor to ceiling with that “In the Club” sound which I crave. But how I would coax the best results from them would remain to be heard. I absolutely love my Krell Vanguard and my Yamaha S-2100 SACD Player, so tweeking would be relegated to the cabling and speaker placement. FYI, I use Deer Creek Audio custom stands for the 4429’s. Trial and error plus frustration led me to try Anticables products...one at a time. First was the level 3 power cord which finally unleashed the amazing potential of my Krell. Next was the Interconnects, for which I chose the level 3.1 XLR’s, again moving my system closer to unbridled performance. Lastly was the speaker cables and jumpers ( I have expensive single run speaker cables which I was hoping would do the job well so I tried the jumper/single run Anticables Level 3.1’s). Here is where it became a bit shocking. The Anticables jumpers with the MIT speaker cables sounded great, but not quite involving enough. Then I put the Anticables speaker cables in and realized I was on the right tack. I could hear deeper into the mix and the extension and detail was phenomenal, but...something in the upper midrange just didn’t sound right. There was a peakiness in the upper mid band and a lack of warmth in the overall presentation that bothered me. What to do? I decided to swap out the Anticables jumpers with my MIT Magnum jumpers which I had used previously. Holy Mother of God, what a huge leap in SQ and presence!! The midrange and bass took on a scary realistic weight and warmth without sacrificing detail. The results were flabbergasting...I could hardly believe how much better the sound had become, as if a new amp had been inserted! Almost tube like roundedness and texture. So what’s the take away from this experience? Audio is still the great unknown frontier where only through experimentation can we uncover the hidden realities that lurk just below the sonic horizon:)
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Year later and Anticables power cord on my Krell is a keeper. Anticables speaker cables and jumpers are phenomenal! Interconnects were a bit off...dug out an old pair of Monster top tier studio grade interconnects I had laying around since the early 2000’s. Damn if the chemistry between the various components and cables didn’t snap into focus. Everything sounds alive and brimming with dynamics but also fully fleshed out and tonally more truthful:(). Schweet sounds for the Age of The Pandemic! |
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Re-visited my MIT HD38 speaker cables and was shocked at how much distortion was coming through compared to the Anticables! Bass was overly bloated and voices were more pinched dynamically versus the Anticables. Of course, inner detail and atmospherics were so much better with Anticables as well....they really convey the excitement of a live performance:)) |
Update! Playing the Anticables jumpers since this morning, and although they sounded initially better than before, it’s still not sounding good...actually quite irritating. Soundstage is completely confused and smeared together with upper harmonics thinned out and void of accurate tone. The MIT’s went back in and Bingo Bango Bongo...we are back in business!! Worlds better now...will continue break in of IC’s And speaker cables. |
I have the level 3.1 XLR’s, Speaker cables and jumpers. Anything above that seems to be a diminishing returns scenario plus they have more Silver. I would start with level 1 IC’s just to see results...all copper! 60 day option to try higher level. I think the level 3.1 speaker cables are the sweet spot and as good as Anticables technology gets for the money. |
Funny you mention the silver content. With the little experience that I have with silver, I have found that I like the copper sound better. Warmer and richer. By top tier, are you referring to the 6.1 interconnects? As for speaker cables, I can't or won't afford the 5.1's but will opt for two pair of 3.?'s for Bi amping. I am using RCA connectors. Which cables do You recommend? Thanks, Michael |
@captaindidactic I had the AQ Waters. Nice Interconnects and one of the best I’ve used. My Anticables IC’s are top tier but without the Shadow XLR’s...I don’t like the idea of silver contact pins 🙈. Same with the speaker cables, too heavy on the silver content. Copper and Gold have always sounded best to my ears, but I do seem to like the hybrid wire used on my cables. They are spooky sounding...completely open window on the recording. They are starting to settle down but need more time I think till I can say for sure, but they are addictive. |
I am so glad to hear the strong reports on Anticables. I really enjoyed talking to the owner and was impressed with his knowledge. Has anyone tried the upper level interconnects? I am re-wiring and re-capping my 6 way speakers and just put $600 worth of parts into my old NAD amps and pre amps. I'm looking to get the best sound I can out of all this old but good equipment. Currently running Audioquest Waters interconnects and BlueJean 10 gage speaker wire, in a Bi-amp configuration. Any suggestions? Anyone have any experience in my stuff versus Anticables??? Thanks! |
@geoffkait Calling all GKaits....unbelievable, that’s all I can say!! I went to wrap up the Anticables Jumpers and I discovered that I did indeed have 1 of them hooked up backwards 🤪 Put them back into the full Anticables loom and played the Arabesque recording again...it sounds extremely good, even considering the cables have only about 24 hours on them and the jumpers clock in at about 50 hours. Are you psychic GKait?? |
Put them back in ...listening to Jazz at the pawnshop and it sounds absolutely stunning:(). How long do these Anticables really take to break in, Jeez! Gonna give them 100 + till I make final judgement. Love the purity and see through quality. Bass is killer on everything else I’ve played. Sax sounds realistic and present. Maybe I’m trying to fatten up a lean recording that just isn’t that great? Process continues 🙏🏻 |
Thanks Jafant. Early morning troubles however. Played my Arabesque recording of Shostakovich 1rst Symphony which I’ve owned since the 90’s when I began doing this high end thing and everything was off!! Emotional content was missing, tone not right, foundational weight adsent...all sounded thin:((. Put an old Monster Z2 XLR in place of the L3.1 XLR’s from Anticables and everything was better. Damn this hobby...very frustrating. I had been playing mostly blues and jazz before, which sounded fine but now I’m baffled as to what the heck is going on. Will continue speaker cable break in at the very least and break IC in on another player before giving it another listen. |
Dave...
https://www.google.com/search?q=it%27s+all+fun+and+games+until+someone+ends+up+in+a+cone&tbm=isc... Scott... "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." (Philip K. Dick) |
No, very careful about following directions. I think I mentioned to you GKat that I’d experienced a similar situation with my previous speakers and my NBS jumpers, compared to my MIT’s. Weird how my amp reacts to different jumpers. Just amazed at the results and very happy I experimented around a bit. Completely blown away by the Anticables products...sans jumpers of course. |
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