Are Synergistic Research Alphas ok for my passive


I have a Monarchy SM70 pro amp with 100k ohm input impedance and I just received my Luminous Audio Axiom passive pre. Im running them with a Music Hall MMFCD25 cd player with 2 volts output. The pre was customized for a 2 volt source, my amp and my 89db speakers.

Heres my situation: CDP>SR Alpha Sterling 1M>Luminous Passive Pre>Audio Research cheapo 1M>AMP. I prematurely sold 1 pair of my SR Alpha Sterling ICs so Im stuck with the AR cable for now. The sound is nice; bass is tight and defined, midrange is strong and clear with good detail and highs are sweet with a little grain. The overall tempo is slow though as if something is holding it back and the instruments are not as well defined as they could be.

My question is would that second pair of Synergistic Research ICs give me what I need to perfect the sound or am I hurting my system and the sound by using IC's with unknown capacitance? Can anyone lend their expert advice, especially JR? Thanks in advance.
bundee1
Thanks for the answer Bob. I would like a cable with the detail bass and smoothness of the SR Alpha but with low capacitance so as not to hurt the sound.
Here's an idea for experimentation: try connecting that single pair of Alpha cables in mono mode driving one channel only, then use the pair of AR's for the other channel. In other words: left ch. CDP to Pre via Alpha cable, then left channel Pre to PA via Alpha cable. Same connection scheme for right channel using the two AR cables. Swing the balance control (if you have one) from side to side for some comparison listening. Or perhaps connect/disconnect cables at the source, if you have no balance control. In stereo mode it'll probably sound off-balance with the two different cable pairs, but although this isn't the greatest testing method it may provide you some insight.