Yes, I also had heard great things about the Alpha-Core MI2, but there is some concern about impedance of the cable being a problem for certain amps. I don't know if this would likely be any problem for a standard receiver.
D_edwards,
This is for an extra A/V system in the back room of the house. I am using it for some stereo music listening, and it currently has some old Monster speaker cables with what appear to be hundreds of strands, which I believe to be "smearing" the sound.
As to the Nak receiver, first, I am not in a position to replace it, and, second, it previously was used in the front system with the Legacy Signature IIs, connected with Tara Labs RSC speaker cables, and sounded quite nice. That is my rational for thinking I can improve my sound significantly with some better cables. |
Sean, you are about to convince me on the Alpha Core MI-2 Veracity!
Also, I would be very interested in your modifications of the Legacy 1s. Did this have to do with the capacitors?
If you are willing, I'd like to e-mail you regarding this.
Thanks,
Marc |
OK, thanks for all the replies.
At this point, the two choices I am debating are the Straley Reality cables vs. the Alpha Core Goertz MI2. Both are getting great reviews in their price range.
Decisions, decisions... |
Thanks, let me know how the sc5s work out. I am currently using a set of Audio Art IC-1 ics on the system for which I am looking for speaker cables. |
Well, I have not yet purchased any cables for the Legacys, but I just yesterday received a single run of Alpha Core Goertz MI-2 speaker cable for my center channel speaker in the front system. The MI-2 replaces a run of Speltz anti-cables which have done pretty well.
I have only so far listened to one movie, but I do believe the Goertz are going to knock off the anti-cables. The highs are definitely cleaner and better. It actually seems like there is MORE high frequency information there, if that is possible. This is not to say excessive HF response, and I do not detect any added sibilance.
So, as a result of this improvement in the center channel speaker, I am leaning towards the MI-2 for the Legacys in the back system. The only fly in the ointment is that the center channel speaker only goes down to about 55hz, so I can't tell anything about the MI-2's deep bass prowess.
My main contenders are now the Goertz MI-2, Straley Reality cable, Audio Art SC-5, Audio Horizons, LAT International SS-800.
Any thoughts? |
Well, I picked up a set of Goertz MI-2, and briefly evaluated them over the weekend. They replaced a set of stranded Esoteric cables that I have had for many years.
The MI-2 is definitely clearer and more coherent. I think the timbral accuracy of instruments is better. I don't notice any more or deeper bass.
But the improvement is not as much as I had hoped. The soundstage and imaging is not very good.
It seems I have some other problems in that system. I need to get some acoustical treatments, and I need to figure out if the Nak receiver has gone bad(it used to sound pretty good in the other room). I also need to see if there is a problem with the Legacy Classics. I had been assuming, if I used better cables, they should perform similarly to my Legacy Signature IIs in the other room, but maybe that is not the case. The Sig IIs throw an expansive soundstage, with much greater imaging.
Perhaps I was overestimating the contribution of speaker cables to the overall sound result. If these Legacy Classics cannot sound significantly better than this, I am going to want to try something different. |
D_dewards,
I really do appreciate your efforts to assist my hapless self! The cables under consideration in this thread are for another system in the back room, which has Legacy Classics for the L/R, along with a Legacy "Satellite" for the center speaker. The Nak receiver is about 5-6 years old, and seemed to sound pretty good in the other system with the Legacy Sig IIs.
I am now considering several possible culprits as to why the sound is not so good(poor soundstage and imaging) in the back system:
Room reflections/bad room dimensions.
52"RPTV between speakers.
Panny RP91 DVD/DVD Audio player(one of the first DVDAudio players) player as source.
Nak receiver problems.
Legacy Classics not nearly as good as the Signature IIs.
As I said, the Goertz cables do seem to improve the sound noticably over the stranded cables. But nothing like what I am getting in the other room system.
As far as the Nak receiver's volume control, what kind of shop can address the issues you mention? |
Unsound,
No, not yet. I have a bi-wire set of Tara Labs RSC Prime(at least 10 years old) in there, which have always sounded pretty good to me. I have been thinking about trying the MI-2s, bi-wired, in there to see if they can make a significant improvement over the Taras. But I would have to shell out another $200, which is a lot of bread to me, in order to find out. I guess I could try them as a single run, just to hear the basic sound differences. |
Angel,
Thanks for the tip on the jps supcondutor fx.
What kind of design are they? |
What about these Morrow speaker cables? I have seen some positive user reviews. How do they compare to say, Reality, Alpha Core MI-2, Audio Art SC-5, Anti-cables?
I sold the Legacy Classics a while back, but I still am using the old Tara Labs RSC Prime bi-wires in the family room with my Legacy Signature IIs. Will any of these offer me an upgrade in clarity over the RSC Prime? |
OK, I went with a set of Morrow Audio SP2 Reference Speaker Cable. They say it needs 200 hours to fully break in; I'm not sure about this whole break in thing with cables.
The first thing that I noticed about these cables is how light they are. I mean they don't seem to weigh anything. I don't see how they can carry enough current for big bass sound.
So, what I did was to run the Morrow cables to the high frequency posts of the speakers, and then I ran a set of Goertz Alpha Core MI-2 to the low frequency posts. This way, I know I am getting enough juice to the low frequency posts. I guess this is what they call a shotgun bi-wire hookup. Also, I plan to later switch the cables at the speaker posts, and see if I prefer the Morrow or the Goertz sound on the high frequencies.
At this point, I have maybe 20 hours on the Morrow cables. Again the current setup is replacing my 10 year old bi-wire set of Tara Labs RSC Prime cables.
So far, it does seem the mids and highs are very clear with the Morrows on the high frequency posts. I listened a bit to a SACD and am pretty impressed. I will have to do a bunch more listening and continue to break in the cables for a while before making any firmer conclusions. |
Yep, I must now have maybe a couple hundred hours on the Morrows, and there is definitely a greater sense of palpability of instruments such as drums and guitar than with the Tara Labs. The high frequencies seem to come through better, but not with any apparent increase in stridency or harshness. Strings and orchestra sound very good, and I don't seem to notice any of this "silver glare" that people talk about.
I think I really like this setup. I do still want to reverse the cables, that is, run the Goertz MI2 to the HF terminals of the speakers, with the Morrows then going to the LF terminals. Then, I will mainly compare the highs and mids. |
As a follow up, I tried switching the Morrows to the LF speaker inputs, and the Goertz MI2 to the HF inputs. That didn't last long. There was an obvious loss of HF detail and clarity. Everything seems more natural and clearer with the Morrows on the HF inputs.
The only caveat is that the Morrows are bare wire(as recommended by Morrow), while the MI2 have banana connectors, which may or not be affecting the signal.
Based on this, I think I am going to order a short run of the Morrow for my center channel. |
Well, I did pick up a run of Morrow SP2(bare wire ends as Morrow suggests) for my center channel. I must say, this is the best and clearest my center speaker has been so far.
Actually, I bi-amped the center speaker by running the Morrow to the HF posts, and some old Esoteric heavy gauge to the LF posts. I had previously been using a set of Alpha Core MI2. The Morrow is immediately noticeably clearer, and without any added harshness or sibilance that I can detect. Again, the MI2 may be at a disadvantage due to being terminated with bananas vs bare wire on the Morrow. I might like to try some MI2 with bare terminations. |
