2. member-reviews
  3. 1206735011

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
vernneal's avatar
vernneal
438 posts
 
I suggest not to twist the ANTICABLES. This keeps both +/- appart and I feel sounds better. Also it is easier to keep ANTICABLES from power cords etc,,,,,,,,,,,,,
sonicbeauty
324 posts
 
The Canare 4S11 star quad is an over-achieving and surprising $ 1.25 per foot speaker cable. I agree that it might be better than the Anti-Cables in some applications (I tried both on my second system). I think this says more about the drawbackss of the Anti's (an its subjectively high price) than it says about the Canare. Do the math...
arnettpartners
312 posts
 
I feel like a broken record, but Paul told me that he didn't think I would like biwire and recommended parallel wiring instead. Turned out I didn't like biwire. He sent a pair of jumpers with the biwired cable and about three weeks in, I used them. Then all was well. Besides adaquate break-in, I would try strapping the Vandys before I gave up. The best cable I've used is Red Dawn Revlll, but the anticables are better than that.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
FWIW, I bought a set of the Anti-Cables jumpers (w/spades), since I needed some jumpers and the new price is too reasonable to get worked up about. I must say I never gave them 200+ hours to 'break-in'. About 10 hours during comparisons against a comparably priced (and just as unfancy) stranded, twisted-pair design is all I probably logged. (The need was temporary, until I procured a second set of my regular cables and moved to a biamping setup.)

Still -- and my apologies for not going into descriptive detail here of either system (revealing) or sound -- even with just a few inches involved instead of a whole run, while I thought the Anti-Cables did have some particular strengths, they also had rather too much distinctive character, which to me wasn't sufficiently well-balanced or natural sounding overall. (After auditioning a while, and handling them during changeovers, I couldn't help musing that, materials aside, they sure look and feel somewhat reminiscent of coathanger wire -- might they possibly sound a bit like it as well? I hasten to admit I never tested that theory!) In any case the other jumpers won.

The Anti-Cables jumpers do seem well-enough made as far as it goes, and the buying experience was fine and as I said no great loss monetarily, but I haven't used them in another system since. Obviously others have had better outcomes, but based on this result I can't say I'm tempted to try a set of the speaker cables in place of my reference.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
alonski
158 posts
 
As I write this, I'm listening to Wes Montgomery's Tequila LP on a system wired with Anti-Cables and Anti-ICs. Here's my advice: Given that no one brand of cable will be right for every system – if you're in the market for an upgrade, forget all you've read in this thread and just try them. This is a hobby after all, and what's a hobby without some risk and experimentation? That's where all the fun is. AND, when you find a low risk (inexpensive) product like the Anti-Cables that 100's of intelligent and critical folks rave about, jump in, and share your experience with us AFTER you've heard them in YOUR system. I think it is absurd when those who have never heard a product feel like their opinion about it is in any way useful or valid.

BTW, yes, they do benefit from break-in of about 200 hours... and it's worth the wait. In 30 years of audio experimentation, these cables simply blew me away – from their first moments in my system, all the way to right now, when they worked in harmony with the rest of my gear to bring Wes and his band into my living room.

Alon
More to discover