Anybody knows about NBS cables?

What model of NBS power cords did you repair Mar 00? I think the wire increases in diameter as you go up the cable line.

Worldcup86: the Nordost cables are very subtractive and not worth the price. The Cardas interconnects are forgiving, and good for CD sources. The NBS speaker cable should work very well with Classe electronics and especially with the JMLab speakers. I have actually heard this set-up and I liked it. Regarding the difference between Monitor 3 and 4: depends on the cable type. There is absolutely no audible difference in the digital interconnects, but a noticeable difference in the RCA and XLR interconnects and speaker cables: better midrange coloration and bass contours, smoother highs in Monitor 3. The differences between the Monitor 3 and the Monitor 2 are less. If you have the money, go for the Monitor 3. The Monitor 4 series can be beaten out for a lot less money by the Coincident cables on many (not all) parameters, and will satisfy more if you enjoy a directer, more uncolored sound (a neutral, monitor-like sound). But after comparison of Monitor Series with the old Classic series, I have decided to stick with the Classic series: first, I have too much money invested in these cables to start over; second, the newer cables seem thinner and lighter than the older ones. This observation applies even for the difference between the original classic series and the "mark II" classic series. I have said similar things on a different string here at Audiogon. Also, (it seems) there are at least three different power cable manufacturers who make better sounding power cables than NBS at this time. I say this, knowing that I will have to stay with NBS power cables until these manufacturers start to produce for the European market, with the EU plugs. The European power cable market is not as advanced as what you have in North America. You lucky overseas audiophiles.

Mar00 Thank you for the technical information. It correlates with my experience: I tested a Dragonfly XLR cable once and I did not like it: it could not spatially resolve instruments, had a very narrow soundstage, and worst of all had the loudest, boomiest bass response I have ever heard from a cable (Monster close runners up). In short, the Dragonfly (the cheapest cable in the series, I think) had none of the features that attracted me to the more expensive cables in the NBS line. It seemed to me that the NBS virtues only became audible from KingSerpent upwards (with the analog cables). I am a little shocked at what your dissection of the Dragonfly revealed, and wish cable manufacturers used better quality cable for their purposes. As it is, the production costs for some cables are probably about 5 or 6% of their retail costs, the rest going into marketing and the high profit margins of the cable company and retailer, I suppose. Nevertheless, I still use NBS, and I still like them.