I've never heard this cable - and have no plans to - but I was struck by something about ST's article and the way it was promoted: As I recall, there was a teaser blurb on the issue cover implying there was a positive review inside of a great bargain cable, but Sam's actual words amounted to nothing more than a brief mention, with no actual description of his impressions of the cable's sound included. Most of his three or so paragraphs were devoted, I believe, to chatter about his sources on this 'find', how cheap it was (BTW, quite of few of the cable makers offer some kind of very-low-priced model or models, all of which seem never to be reviewed in the mags), how the manufacturer says it's constructed, blah blah blah...not a word to the best of my knowledge about how it in fact *sounded*, other than to state something to the effect of how it was of course not going to compete with the best of the best. Now, I'm sure Sam has nothing to do with what gets put on the cover, but really, what a pathetic excuse for both a 'review' and especially for a cover teaser. Yet another unfortunate indicator of the direction things have taken at Sterophile, and it could have easily been otherwise - normally, I would applaud any attempts to legitimately review bottom-of-the-line gear every once in a while (and frankly, when it comes to bottom-budget IC's, the primary comparision should be to the giveaway wire that's included with mass-market and mid-fi CDP's).
Any takers on ST cable rave AR HT 130
I have just purchased several of the HT 130 and am interested in feedback any of you have had. I am using two pairs currently one from my SACD 1000 Phillips into a Rowland Concentra II and one from a VPI Aries JMW10. My initial impressions are that this is a very good cable, but not as good as top-flight Cardas Neutral Reference, Nordost, etc. I would describe this cable as very warm, full, but lacking in top frequency air and extension. This is just initial listening feedback however. Unfortunately, this cable is now discontinued and will be replaced. You will be searching for remnants if you try to find them as I did. Accessories4less.com had about 300 pairs when I staarted the order, and I got the last 3 pairs 1 day later, and they were demo/return pairs. Thanks, Jeff
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- 3 posts total
- 3 posts total