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Anticables Review

Category: Cables

I need to preface this by saying I don't have what y'all would probably consider an "Audiophile" amp: An Onkyo 805 receiver. But it drives my Vandersteen 2ce sigs wonderfully (and in Pure Audio mode has no video circuitry on. I use Pure Audio (no time processing, no sub) for this comparison.

Ok so I got two pairs of Anticables from Paul. He shotgunned them to bananas on the amp end and put vintage spades on the other (biwired to the Vandys). My other cable is a set of Canare 4S11 star quad: hard-wired on the amp end with BJC spades on the speaker. My conclusion: I can only hope that others in this forum are correct in saying that AntiCables need 400 hours to break in. Right now, they sound thin, tinny, and very lacking in bass and overall stage depth. Putting the Canare back on, Jacqueline Dupre's cello once again sounds like a Strad (instead of a high school instrument), and the bass section sounds full and present (instead of weak and distant).

This comparison duplicates results across genres. For example Alison Kraus' Live SACD, the guitar strum sounds precise with the anticables, but very thin. With the Canare you can hear the string depth through the pick.

My next step is to clip off the spades and hard wire the AntiCables, as some have suggested. Will post an update if anyone's interested :) But for now I just wanted to voice my dissatisfaction thus far, and hope that this magnet wire I paid $200 for might somehow 'burn in' to match my $30 Canare 4S11.
kontrabass
mingles
796 posts
 
It seems to me that there is no magic here. They sound how they sound from the first moment you install them.

Maybe you're right. I don't know. I haven't heard them. But I'd give them more than a few days to cast judgment. I wouldn't give them 400 hrs, but at least a week or two to settle in. They might open up. If not, Paul has a 30 day return policy.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,306 posts
 
not worth clipping the spades off. do not ruin the cables for a tiny upgrade IMO.
mrjstark
1,112 posts
 
Sound won't change after 400/600/ or 1000 hours.
However, your acceptance will. (Matrix at its best)
Enjoy
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,920 posts
 
Don't they offer a return policy? Return them if you can even if it will cost you shipping and restocking fee, consider it a lesson learned and move on. Get yourself a nice speaker cable.
Within the same budget I would tell you to get a set of Audience Conductor speaker cables. Or add a few bucks and get Acoustic Zen Satori. I would not expect miracles from this magnet wire. At the best it will sound like your $30 Canare.
It was hyped up at some point here because of its price and few people that were fooled into thinking they had a deal of a century, replacing their Nordost Valhalla with the $200 magnet wire.....I don't think so. You get what you pay for. There are no miracles, especially in this hobby. Trust your ears.
somec59
245 posts
 
I bought a used pair of AntiCables whose prior owner didn't like them so they were burned in when I got them. I found them to be fast and detailed by emphaisizing the upper frequencies but they also tended to be harsh with little stereo separation and less bass. Went with Kimber
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