GThirteen and Zargon, I'm happy AQ works for you. My comments come from results in testing approximately 3 dozen different ICs in my system from many different manufacturers. So, when I said Anaconda was low resolution and grainy, in was in comparison to others of similar pricing. This is the sort of thing where you don't notice the problem until you hear something a lot better. If you want to hear what grainless sounds like try Kimber Select KS1030 or KS1130, Luminous Audio Synchestra Signature, Purist Venustas, Audience AU24, AZ Silver Ref II, Shunyata Aries, or Nirvana S-X. To me, grain sounds like a very low level distortion. Good resolution allows you to hear low level details and produces a deep soundstage. Note that grain and resolution is independent of tonality. An IC with good tonality, but not the best resolution, may actually sound better in a system than a brighter, but higher resolution IC. It's all about system synergy.
My point about AQ is, at a given price point, is it pretty easy to find a cable from another manufacturer that outperforms the AQ, often quite substantially.
For reference, my system is Meridian G08>KS1130>Rowland Synergy IIi>Cardas Neutral Ref>Rowland Model 10>Kimber Bifocal XL>Soliloquy 6.5.
