Audio envy - dang!


I usually post on AG when I have an issue or concern, so I’m happy for once it’s to praise a new product, in this case Audio Envy’s IC. 

I use an ARC Classic 60 amp with a Herron 1A preamp. The AE cable went between these two.

I run an ARC Phono pre PH3se from my VPI prime as source.
My speakers are Thiel CS2.4’s

Out of the box a bit bright, But after a few hours that just went to strait up transparent - I mean freaking crystal clear. No tonal aberrations. Smooth, with no etched highs. Voices sound right, Natural. Soundstage opened up, as you might expect when things get clearer.

The best part was how inexpensive they were. They made my Cardas Clear Light interconnects I was using sound clouded by contrast. The Cardas was about x3 the cost of the AE’s.
BTW, this wasn’t “I think I hear differences”, this was “I’ll never use those Cardas in this system again, and where is my IPad, I need to order my next set!”

And that’s just what I did.
last_lemming

Showing 3 responses by gakerty

I just wanted to add how pleased I am with the O’nestian 4:3 XLR in lieu of the Morrow MA6 between my Pass Xp15 and pre amp.  This is not a knock on the Morrow.  It sounds smooth, full, inoffensive, but just lacks that treble extension and air that the AE has, and the Morrow is something like 3x the price.  I'm a sucker for accurate ride cymbal decay (being a drummer) and the AE O’nestians just decay naturally.  Keepers for sure.  Anyone interested in a pair of Morrow MA6s?  LOL.
I'm currently trying out AE O’nestian 4:3 XLR between my Pass XP15 phono and my preamp.  It is replacing a Morrow MA6 XLR, which I've enjoyed for a couple years and is quite a bit more expensive.  Compared to the Morrow, the AE have notably more "air" and more extended decay to the cymbals, and TBH overall seem less "warm" and overall neutral compared to the Morrow.   Will see how my ears react over the next couple weeks, sounds very good so far.  Already have AN O’nestian GL between my preamp and amp, those are there to stay.
I received a bi wire set of the SP11 yesterday. I had orginally ordered the SP9, and Captain offered to upgrade me to the SP11s. Cap is a good guy to work with BTW. The SP11 sound great out of the box, ostensibly neutral overall, excellent freq extension on both ends. I did have an odd bi wire setup previously, using Morrow SP6 for the bass and silver Cleardays for the highs, so perhaps it was easy to improve on that, but with the SP11 there is an immediate coherence to the sound. I swear it sounds like I’m closer to the front of the stage, comparatively speaking. Weird, and quite enjoyable. Compared to my bi wire setup before, there is SLIGHTLY less treble extension, but a "fuller" sound overall. There is zero harshness at all, so I’m not waiting for some magical break in to smooth things out, so if anything changes from here it’s gravy.