Audioquest Water vs Kimber KCAG


Until a couple of weeks ago I was using a mixture of AQ and Kimber interconnects. In this configuration.

Music Hall mmf 9.1 (Lyra Delos) to Audio Research PH8 - Kimber KCAG .5m RCA.
ARC PH8 to ARC LS27 - AQ Niagara RCA.
ARC LS27 to Musical Fidelity M6prx amp - Kimber KCAG XLR

This combo was well broken in and sounded great. Neutral, wide open stable soundstage, micro-dynamics, everything good. I just added an OPPO Sonica DAC and wanted to buy another IC XLR from my trusted dealer. While I was there the dealer offered me a good deal to trade in my two Kimber KCAGs on a pair of AQ Waters. I get great advice and support from this dealer and I trust them very much as they have never steered me wrong and they generally do not try to sell me anything that they don't believe is a clear upgrade.

I replaced the KCAGs with Waters in my system and after only 5 or 6 hours I am disappointed. Lost detail, not as smooth, loss of warm mids, and a muddled unstable soundstage.

Opinions wanted please.

How long should I expect burn in to take?
General opinions on the AQ waters?
Did I make a mistake?
Any advice?
I really like the AQ Niagaras. They are silver like the KCAGs, am I missing the silver?

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

















pilrem
Can you describe the difference in sound between the Water, Earth and Niagara cables? Warm/cold, analytical/laidback, smooth/ forward
The Earth, at least to me, seems to have more natural sounding detail and a bit larger (deeper) sound stage. The Earth/Niagara comparison was much closer. The biggest difference to me was the Earth had a tad more powerful sound in the bass. It wasn't a huge difference but It is what ultimately swayed me toward the Earth interconnects. Remember this is in "my" system. YMMV.
Cheers,
Tim
Post removed 
If you will used water on the system that is less revealing, I will bet you keep it, It’s a very very good cable and musical if match properly.