Best Cable Match for: Creek 4330SE + Rega Apollo + Vandersteen 2C

Hi All,

I did a speaker cable comparison and I would like to share my thoughts with you guys...

How does DH Labs favor vs. Audioquest? I just picked up a pair of DH Labs Q-10 speaker cable (older version) from a local audio friend of mine for $45. I had to re-terminate them, so I used my Cardas banana on the speaker side, and bare wire (for now) on the amp side.

Like I said, I’m currently using Mogami W3082 speaker cable and Mogami interconnects. I played a couple tracks to get a reference. I then swapped out the Mogami speaker cable and installed the Q-10. The first thing I noticed was that they were brighter than the Mogami’s. Not in a bad way, but in a more revealing way? Is that what PRESENCE is described as? Bass was tighter and perhaps deeper and more defined, but definitely tighter. Highs (i.e. cymbals) at first seems a little shrill, but the more and went back and forth between the mogami’s and Q-10’s, the more the shrillness went away. These Q-10’s are used cables and have been sitting for a while. Perhaps they just needed some "juice" to get them going again?

As I went back and forth between the two cables (Mogami W3082 vs Q-10’s), the Q-10’s seemed to sound better and better. Total listening time was about an hour or so. By the end of my testing, the best word to describe the difference between the two is that the Mogami’s now appear to sound "veiled" compared to the Q-10’s. Soundstage appeared to sound a little wider. Imaging was pretty much the same (didn’t really notice a difference). Another thing I noticed is how the music seemed closer to me and/or more "out of the speaker" if that makes any sense?

Time will tell if this is something that will last or not. I've been down that road before when you introduce a new piece into the stereo mix (and think it's great) then later your ears begin to tell you is not as great as you though. I’ve read that silver coated copper wires have a tendency to make the music sound brighter, so one will need darker equipment to compensate? The Vandersteen's are the more neutral speaker I have ever owned, so I wouldn't think they would be an issue. Same with the Creek integrated. Some have said (even Stereophile's article) that the Apollo cd player can have a slight brightness in the upper mids, but I haven't noticed anything. I will have to compare it to my Micromega Stage 3 to be sure.  

As for interconnects, I wonder how the matching DH Labs Air Matrix would sound with the rest of my gear?

Another recommendation (based on my gear) from Hawthorne Stereo in Seattle is Chord Company Cobra VEE 3 interconnects with Chord Clearway speaker cables. Anyone have any experience with these? I'm wondering how they compare with the Mogamis? 

The Mogamis I'm currently using are great cables and are very neutral. I once had a pair of Discovery Essential speaker cables and were very similar to the Mogamis, with the exception of the Essentials being a touch more defined in the bass. Otherwise, they were on par with the Mogamis. I sold the Essentials because there was no sense in keep them as they were that close in sound quality.

The Q-10's by comparison just open up the sound more and seem to peel away a layer of "cloudy glass" so to speak. I don't know how else to describe it. The Creek, Rega and Vandys are all on the... well, let's just say not bright sounding by any means, so perhaps the clarity factor of the Q-10's evens everything out? 

Hi folks, 

Thanks for all the info, comments and recommendations...

I have the Vandys positioned according to the mathematics in the owner's manual. Mine are 5ft apart (measured from inside edge to inside edge).

A local audio buddy has a pair of AQ Rocket 33's in bi-wire. I might ask if I can arrange an audition vs. the Q-10's and Mogami's.

As for bi-wire, I have read all the info in the manual. However, when I listened to both single and bi-wire configs, I preferred the single. To my ears, it felt like something was missing, but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Again, to my ears, the single method seems more coherent or complete sounding. Perhaps it was gear at time or the cabling I had (MIT Terminator 3). I had single wire since... were talking at least 7-10 years.

mechans, you make an interesting point. The Q-10's is my first cable that has any kind of silver in it--coated copper or full wire. I think if I was using brighter gear, I would've been shrieked right out of the room. Comparing the AQ (solid copper) and the Mogami (stranded copper) will be interesting.

Just for grins & giggles, some other speaker cables I have owned over the years...

Discovery Essential w/ Mogami interconnects: Sounded like Mogami with slightly better bass and slighly cleaner. Overall, not enough of a difference to keep them vs. cheap cost of mogamis. 

Morrow Audio SP6 w/ MA6 interconnects: Very open, full and smooth sounding. I think they would've been too soft on my current gear, but I think my previous Mirage M3si's would've benefited from these cables. 

MIT Terminator 3 w/ Term 3 interconnects: These sounded cold and hard on my Mirage M3Si speakers at the time. They were a little dark too (as were the mirage's) so probably not the greatest match at the time. I've had other MIT models but never really got into them. 

I folks...

I like my sound on the romantic side but I think it was a little too romantic with the mogami's, considering the Creek, Rega and Vandy's are on the same side of that musical spectrum. The single biggest thing I noticed from changing the speaker cables to the DH Labs Q-10's was presence. That, along with a much wider soundstage, much better imaging, or airy and separation. On the smoothness scale, I would say they are pretty much equal. Shortly after my last post on 1-12-17, I picked up a pair of DH Labs Air Matrix interconnects to match the Q-10's. They have been on my HRT iStreamer for 2 weeks now and have done wonders for the sound of Apple Music via my iPhone. I haven't put them on the Apollo yet. I'm gonna check out all suggestions, so keep them coming and thank you!   More to come...  

I used "romantic" from chrisr's post above. To me, it's a pure marketing term to describe a sound that is soft & fuzzy, warm with slight bloat in the bass. Not as detailed, but still has a neutral treble response.   

Hey jafant, 

Still have the DH Labs Q-10's and Air Matrix. Sold the Apollo a little while ago, and have a Naim cdp on the way. It comes with a DIN to RCA made by Chord Company, so I'm interested to see how it sounds. It will be hard to get a reference as I have no other DIN to RCA cables to compare. Probably won't do much more with cables until I settle on a cpd. 

The Naim CD3.5 has arrived. I've been listening for a couple days now and my initial impressions can be summed up in three words: MUSICAL and RHYTHMIC. The third word, DETAILED, I noticed later as I was listening to more complex material. I have a test disc that contains everything from Smashing Pumpkins to Mozart's Requiem, and the 3.5 played both very well. Even my harsher sounding CD's sound great on this machine.  

As for cables, the 3.5 came with a Chord Company Cobra (Original Series) DIN to RCA. Since there is DIN on the Naim side, I have no way to test cables to see what my DH Labs Air Matrix interconnects would sound like with the Naim. When I first started listening, I thought I started to notice the slightly "veiled" sound I remember when I had the Mogami interconnects & speaker cable (prior to DH Labs). As mentioned, my current speaker cables are the DH Labs Q-10's and I like them a lot. They really opened up the Vandersteens. I seem to sense too the Naim has made the midrange fuller on the vandys as well. Now for I did contract DH Labs to inquire about sending my Air Matrix back to them and having the output side re-termed to Naim-style DIN. The cost would be $77 shipped.

However, I have be certain of two things:
1) Make certain I'm totally happy with the Naim.  
2) The Air Matrix are going to mate well with the Naim.