Are Homegrown Interconnects shielded??

No, no sheild. You may or may not need sheild. They have a 30 day trail on pre-made, but not on the kits.

As already noted, they are not shielded. However, the braided design used by Kimber and HomeGrownAudio tends to reduce problems from RFI, etc. I have the Silver Lace cable between my preamp and power amp, and Silver Solution interconnect on all of my components. The equipment is in a large entertainment center, next to a 32" direct view TV, and I have not noted any particular problems due to lack of shielding.

Hello Sdcampbell. How have you been? What are your impressions of the Silver Lace? I am using this cable between my CD player and my integrated amp currently. I originally installed it between my tuner and int amp. Just to give it a 10 day continuous break - in. Of course I wanted to hear what it sounded like right out of the box. Initial impressions - WHOOAAA!!! The cable sounded HUGE. Dynamic, powerful, menacing bass. I almost thought it overshadowed the rest of the spectrum, but I later saw that everything was there. I have never been this impressed by an interconnect before. I have now had it for over 3 months. I still find the sound big. But, there is also warmth, smoothness, liquidity, and detail. I have tried many cables in the past. This one will not be coming out of my system for a while.

I have both the silver lace and the Kimber KCAG in my system, and to be honest, I still prefer the Kimber. It may be that it has been broken in for longer - it has hundreds of hours on it, while the silver lace has perhaps only about 30 hours. I hooked up both cables between my Bryston BP20 Preamp and my Bryston 3bst (the KCAG is balanced, and the Silver lace is RCA). I switched between both by using a switch at the back of the amp that allows you to change inputs to the amp. Overall, I found the KCAG was more lievely and expressive IMHO.

outlier, if your bryston equipment lets ya run in true balanced configuration, what ya may be comparing, is the sound of balanced vs single-ended connections, not kcag vs homegrown... ya need to compare aples-to-apples, imho...

regards, doug

Doug - you're right, the balanced configuration may weight in the KCAG's favor. Hence, the silver lace may be better when compared apples-to-apples. Cheers,

Outlier: If the Lace is anything like the Super it will require a minimum of 125 hours run in - in a setup such as yours. There was a change for the better with my Silver at around 50, but 125 sounded much better as did 200+. I ran mine in almost continuously (had to let stuff cool down every now and then) for a couple of weeks and checked it out along the way.

Dekay- are you using the Homegrowns in your system with the CAL? I have been thinking about some changes since I feel like the overall sound I have now is a little too laid back (CL-10, BAT VK31, DNA 0.5 dlx, Vandersteen 2ci) I have a mix of cables including an old MIT (pre-box) Shotgun btwn pre and amp and DH Labs T-14 (dual biwire) speaker cables. I heard a pair of stand mounted B&Ws (C-J pre, McCormack 125 power) the other day and while I thought they were too bright, realized that i may be missing a lot in imaging and soundstage. Of course, my listening room leaves a lot to be desired since it doubles as a living room.

Swampwalker: Yes, I am using the Homegrown Super Silver anolog IC's in combination with the CAL and a Bel Canto DAC. The digital IC is a Mapleshade Double Helix which is also no slouch in detail, HF information and dynamics. I am very pleased with their synergy with the CAL as the Homegrown especialy is a bit forward however overall well balanced in its sound with no grain or edge to its detail (in my system and IMO). Trelja feels that the Super Lace is a nice step up because of other things its fullness, however as you know thinness is not a problem with the CAL's. They (HG's) can be purchased with a 30 day return policy or if you can get by with a 1/2 meter pair you are welcome to audition mine (which are well broken in) when Carl returns my 1.0 meter pair that he is almost through auditioning. I should have the other pair back in a week or two, so just let me know if you are interested. Also if the 1/2 meter pair does it for you we could just trade for something (CD's or whatever) or you could keep them for a song as I think that they only cost 50 or 60 dollars at the time that I purchased them. David. (Offer only good for Swampwalker at particiapting dealers.)