I mean Audioquest Oak loudspeakercable. |
Just a matter of personal taste. The last thing I need is any sharper focus with Avalon Eidolons and I currently own two pairs.
They focus, they pinpoint, but they get lean with many cables so avalon recommends fuzzier sounding stuff like Cardas to soften things up. Not sure about them recommending MIT still as the MIT stuff was for Ascent and Radian 2C3D systems.
Make no mistake I like audioquest stuff. |
The latest Audioquest cables are from a new level what I never heard from any cable brand. I tested hundreds of cables in 15 years of time. Blacks are by far the best ever from a cable. It is the most intimate sound what I heard in my life. First time that I had the same feeling as the classical concerts at my friends house. Here I learned how direct and small instruments and voices sound in real. Believe me Avalon has not an exteme sharp individual focus. People who own Avalon understand and agree wenn they listend to my set that the touchable 3d image is superior to there Avalon speakers. The Redwood 2013 version which I use is pure silver and copper. The low's are full copper and mid/hig freq is pure silver. All my interconnects are full silver. Pure silver is so much more open and live like than any copper cable. The best silver cables have no harshness in the mid and hig freq. This Redwood is also superior in timing and speed to the Valhalla of Nordost which I used and owned for over 12 years. |
Bo1972 can you remind me what your speakers are?
I believe certain cables match with certain speakers.
My experience tells me high efficiency speakers are not as picky about cables vs current hogs.
I do have all-silver speaker cables in my collection, they work well with my Focals. Not so with the Eidolons.
El Cheapo Canare 411s for some wicked reason works best with my Quad 989s which have since been sold. Beats Cardas Golden Cross and Tara Reference and Master Gen2.
I wouldn't dismiss the benefits of speaker cables with those mystery boxes which I believe is just a choke in series plus a small shunting cap which kills off HF noise and makes the sound more tame. All depends on the setup and the listener's taste. |
I use Monitor Audio PL-200. Which use also full silver internal. Monitor Audio Always want to use better materials in there speakers than other brands use. Why you think Avalon closses there speakers? I met a person who owned the Diamonds. He opened the speakers ( which was not easy to do) and he was amazed about the simple filters and cheap internal wire they use. Simple copper. The Pl-200 also uses the best WBT terminals. ( platinum version) Copper often works better wenn there is copperwire internal. But.......the difference between silver and copper is stunning. Wenn copper works better you probably have copper internal. Believe me you loose speed, resolution and focus. Realism in sound is often better with silver. Because Avalon uses simple copper inside ( more cheap for them) you cannot use silver. So thanks to Avalon you get a lower end result. At the show in April were I was with my set, other sets had less resolution. I was amazed about how less information there was. This were very expensive sets like the Magico S1 with Zanden and Kubala Sosna Elation cabels. For example Bruce Springsteen ; Brothers under the Bridge. The ss and ttt and th of his words were almost not there. My image was even superior in depth, speed and in 3d touchable image of instruments and voices. |
I see Focal utopia uses silver wiring internally (or was it just tinted?) but uses Solen PPE and even bipolar lytics for the midrange. Quad uses lytics for the input filter and non-audio grade wiring. I had B&W silver sig 30s before, silver everywhere but didnt sound good to me, very "phasey" or lack thereof shall I say.
I definitely can imagine how your 90dB efficient Monitor Audio matches silver cables. |
It is the speed what makes the Pl-200 special. In speed, focus, depth and in sound it is a lot better than the PL-300. I owned this before the Pl-200. I was never convinced about this speaker. It uses a different filter what makes it a lot different than the Pl-200. The Pl-200 can make a veru wide and deep stage just like Avalon does. But within this stage the focus of instruments and voices is a lot more touchable. It is a 3d image many people never heard in audio before. I also use the 2013 Redwood loudspeakercable, Purist Audio Limited 2013 powercable, Acapella xlr pure silver interconnect and a KE Powersource+ netfilter ( which is superior to the best filters PS Audio makes, I compared them) I played over 8 years with Nautilus 802 and 800 S. B&W weakness are there crossover filters. They are very poor in depth. Wenn you have a wide and deep stage music is superior in realism and it is a lot more addictive to listen. This weekend I bought many new cd's and music bluray's. At the end it is about music!! |
Indeed, it's all about music. With the euphonic Audionote stuff I notice that cables and tweaks arent that important. Just less stuff to worry about but dont we all suffer from tweakers itch? |
@ Johnsonwu, Hi, Have you tried the Taralabs zero gold interconnects, omega gold speaker cables, cobalt a/c power cables???, LOL!, whats funny is that these cables are copper, and I can tell you that they have as much or more focus than the best silver cables in the world!, and the state of the art body of sound to boot!, I bought these cables over nordost odins, which was a little faster, but it ends there!, the Taras sounded a little warmer and more musical!, not so analitical sounding as the odins!, now thats on my system, I have seen where the odins sounded better on a diferent kind of system than what I have, I use solid state componets and tube componets,with JBL speakers, To me, the Taralabs cables mentioned above had the most realistic sound I know of!, they, As Bo would put it, sounded like the real event of music!,, Happy listening! |
Maybe this should have been a yes or no thread then the results could have been tallied up and a winner declared. |
Audio is not my work, nor it is my hobby but a part of who I am. This is what I do for a living these days. It never has been work for me. Because it does not cost a lot of energy. It is like 1 and 1 is two. I am addicted to music sinch I was 6. So yessss music is my favorite hobby. A system is only a way to play the music you love. But it can make you enjoy your personal music more. I am gifted to have a photographic memory in sound. It makes listening a lot more easy. Wenn I change a cable of source I know exactly what the difference is between the first and the second option. Wenn I listend to classical music at my friends house I was stunned about the intimate sound of voices and instruments. I wanted a system what could give me the same feeling. I am a perfectionist in everyhing I do. I love to compare and Always looking for the best. Why? Because I want the best, like I want my clients to get the best for there money. I would love to give every person in the world a system like I have. Because I want people to enjoy music. I Always say: I sell emotion. The world of audio is not a nice world. Why? because many many people really don't care what there customers get, they just want to earn as much money as they can. I really don't f..care. I want every person to get the best sound as possible for there money. These days in the Netherlands cause of the economic situation the world of audio has a very difficult time. The thing what happens and what I dislike most. Is that shopkeepers are only focussed on how much money the earn for the set. People in shops are told which products will give more money. I call this coloured selling. This I really hate. Because it is the opposite of how I work and think. I never will change the way how I work. I love audio so much that I never could lie to people. |
@Audiolabyrinth; I sold Taralabs for over 2 years of time. I loved the brand. But Holland was not important enough for them. The company who did Taralabs in Holland had many problems for receiving the cables we sold. At the end they stopped. They have still a little in stock, sometimes I still sell Taralabs loudspeaker cable |
Odin is a Nordost cable, so it has Nordost properties. As you know I owned the Valhalla for over 12 years and I sold many Valhalla and other Nordost cables for a long period of time. I know exactly what it does and what are there weaknesses. I have done a lot of Nordost tests. Odin had a lot more authority over Valhalla and a better sound. But......still the same properties. This means.....less depth, not an extreme sharp individual focus and the overwhole sound is stil not as in real. This year I was a t a show were they used Odin. So Bobby thought mmmmmmm articulation test. Bruce Springsteen's Brothers under the Bridge gave the answer. You could hear some sss and tt and th. But it was by far not of the same openness as the Redwood does with this part. |
@ Bo1972, Hi, I know everyone at Taralabs, I believe if you wanted to sell their cables there in the neitherlands, I can make that happen!, regardless of what happened to the distributor there!, you can be the new distributor!, As we both know, there is no such cable as the best because of system synergies are different, I believe adding Taralabs to your list of available products will also be part of some of your shows where customers can experience real sound like some of the other brands of cables you sell do!,adding more variety never hurts your sales, and the cable brand will up hold your reputation as best sound at the shows!, I recommend selling the 0.8ex on up the cable food chain to the top model!, and you could be part of premiering Taralabs new top cables coming out at the years end, They have not had to make a new top cable for 14 years!, so, you can imagine the rest of the industry would take another 8 to 14 years to rival their new top cable again, they will have in addition to the new top cable, a new line as well made just fow wide band amplifiers and componets!, I have been friends with Taralabs since 1996!, As a matter of fact they have offered me to be a dealer!, would be nice!, thou I can sell their cables, I do not have the capital to go for it, maybe one day soon, but not today!,,, cheers! |
These days Audioquest is my favorite brand in cables. Because it has all properties what should be there in a balanced audio set. They only thing what they cannot do; making exeptional good powercables like Purist Audio makes. I tested them, but Purist Audio is superior in every aspect. In 2 weeks I will meet Bill of Audioquest. I will tell him they have to get back tot the drawing table. |
@ Bo1972, Audioquest must have came a very long way since I last listened to one of their cables!,I suppose a cable brand could get better over 10 years, thats the last time I gave all their models a spinn!,, cheers! |
Audioquest made an exeptional progress in the last 5-6 years. They were fine cables but not exeptional. But these days they deliver stunning cables. With the best blacks and the best 3d touchable image.Wenn I compare them with Kimber, it looks if those people were sleeping. |
@ bo1972, Hi, you confirmed that the progress happened in the last few years, just as I suspected!, Thats great!, I would like to go and hear some of the new audioquest cables, just to see how far they came along!, However, I just bought the top of the line Taralabs cobalt a/c power cord today!, retail $5,000.00 for 6ft!, Its said this power cord out performs most power cords at eany price point!, well see!, I just want it to sound good for me!, Thanks Bo1972, cheers my friend! |
I prefer and use Purist Audio Design powercables. The powercables of Audioquest are not good enough. As you know I am only interested in the best. BECAUSE GOOD NEVER WIL BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rcabl&1362580561
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$5000 for 6 feet of power cable?! My entire rig cost that! Just dump the wall outlets and run the NM10 to a home made distribution box using hospital grade outlets and hook your gear into that. Or hard wire everything doing away with sockets and cables! |
06-24-13: Noromance
$5000 for 6 feet of power cable?! My entire rig cost that! I have seen audio rigs that cost more than my home! I have seen watches that cost more than my car! We live in an age of excess. |
It is not about the price, it is about the level in sound quality you get for a certain amount you want to spend to the whole package. That is why I Always use blind auditions. I did many a-b blind tests whith cheeep cables and a expensive amp or source with a much less expensive amp or source witht an expensive cable. Then I aks what do you like more. These days the quality is so good of a few cables thay all people Always choose for the more expensive cable with less expensive amp or source. Thta is an honnest way. This is how I sell cables. Why? Because I want every person to get the best quality for the money they spend. Nothing more, nothing less. My Pass Labs X250.5 with a Purist Audio LE 2013 wins with ease of my older XA100.5 set with less expensive cables. Superior blacks, much better focus, more resolution, more control and even more 3d touchable image. I love audio so much, because I love to test. And Always looking for the best. This testing will never stop untill I die. |
Indeed we do live in an age of excess. And irrationality. And psycho-OCD. I remember seeing a Peter Belt demo of the little foil triangles. I heard an improvement! The thing is, there is no way putting tiny foil triangles on the windows could have changed the sound so utterly. Something else was at play. Ever read a few pages in a book and then re-read them a minute later - whole different world, isn't it?
Bo1972, you said: "Always choose for the more expensive cable with less expensive amp or source. Thta is an honnest way. This is how I sell cables."
QED.
I'd rather spend money where it matters, better tubes, caps, amps, equipment than blow it on cables. It's not so much that I'm skeptical, it's more that it is a ludicrous expense and I couldn't justify it. |
Not Always, but often it is more easy to get a higher level with exeptional good cables. Ofcourse you have to find them first. Because I still say: far above 90% of everything in audio it not that good for the money. Wenn you know those exeptional good things it is easilly to get a much higher level. I never say to my clients you have to buy this. I only say; just take a listen. Compare and make up your mind. My technical support is a person who is very talented. He modyfied many amps and sources. And yes it make big improvements for small prices. But the same about cables. The level in black what I have now I never heard this with the most expensive poweramps and sources. Wenn I do not use My Redwood and LE cables it is gone. At the end you listen to all the parts in your system including the acoustics. But wenn you use all the differentn tools well you can get a stunning level in sound. Wenn cables did not mater that much I would not use them. First I test and what to know what it can do and how good it is compared to there competitors. That is why you Always need to test many different options. |
Bo1972,
"I love audio so much, because I love to test. And Always looking for the best. This testing will never stop untill I die."
Yes, but be careful. When Audiolabyrinth catches you saying Audioquest is the best, even better than Tara, the day may come too soon. When he finds out that I use my Tara cables in my #2 system, and my AQ cables in my #1 system, maybe he'll get me too. LOL! |
At this moment I prefer Audioquest, but wenn I find something better I will choose that one. I do not care about the brand or name. I just want the best. Audio is just like a formula one team. You cannot be the best every year. Time and technique Always will go on. The only thing that counts is to get the best for my clients and myself for the money we spend. That is why you need to test a lot for new products. The thing I hate most in this business is that there is a lot of shit for too much money. Far over 90%. In the installermarket you find it a lot. Sometimes I would like to beat this people up. They make often very worse products for even a high price. |
Go A head Bo1972, Do not let everyone think I am crazy for getting a $5,000.00 a/c power cord!, tell them what your Purist Audio Design Limited edition power cord cost!!!, I believe it cost more than mine!!!, give them the u.s.d. price, or they can find out on their own!!LOL!, I my self am not about what something cost!, Its about Quality as you said!, This power cable has it in spades!,, cheers! |
The Tara Labs Cobalt AC cord listed here last week for $1,900 w/upgraded plugs was quite a steal imo. Been eyeing that too for my brother's use, but gone now. |
Very well said Noromance. $5000 can buy one a very competent sounding system for a whole 'nother "flavor". |
@ Johnsonwu, Hi, I hate the high prices of top performing cables!, I believe they, like most top componets are marked up atleast 500%!!!, Do not let Bo1972 fool all of you here!, He bought the p.a.d. 25th anniversary limited edition power cable that cost as much as my power cable, If I am not mistaken,I believe it retails for even more!, I wanted to go thru the wow factor with this a/c power cord, in the past, I did not have good luck with power cords, that was back in the 90s!, I only rented alot of them from the cable company back then, I am litteraly going from a stock power cord on an ayon 2s to the Taralabs cobalt power cord!, I have never owned a after market power cord in my life!, so, I hope you guys wish me the best on being satiesfied with this addition to my system!,,, @ Bvdiman, Hi, I enjoy saving money as well as the next person!, The Taralabs cobalt power cord list for $5,450.00 for the up-graded oyaide terminations!, you seen the cobalt classified!, Guess what!, I bought from the very same seller!, But the blessing of it all is that I did get the up-graded terminations, but I bought a 1-meter Taralabs cobalt for a $1,000.00 free shipping, no pay-pal fees!!!!, Now, I do not know about you, but to have the $5,450.00 sound on my digital player, The audiophile disease got the best of me!, I have waited a very, very long time to get this a/c power cable, the buy was a deal in of life time!!!, now do all of you think I am crazy?, LOL!, maybe like a fox!!!, cheers! |
Hi, I am building a so called super system, for what my family makes for money a year, It will be for us, now to clear my name even further of being crazy!, I also own the matching interconnect to the cobalt power cord, the Taralabs Zero Gold that retails for a whoping $14,950.00 before taxes a meter!, I bought my Taralabs zero gold for $5,665.00 free shipping-no pay-pal fees for that as well!, As you can see here on the audiogon, this interconnect is selling right now on the gon for $8,000.00 and $8,200.00,, LOL!, this should do it!, This should clear my name of being crazy!, I have been blessed by God himself of these deals of a life time!, and I am very thankful to God!, you should hear this system!, It is off the chain real sounding!,, cheers, and Happy listening! |
Nooo, I have the LE 2013 version. It is about 4000 dollar. I have it connected with the best Oyaide F1 plugs. The Wattgates are not in the same league. |
Bo1972, The Taralabs cobalt power cord that I just bought has the same Oyaide plugs!, I have the up-graded version, not the standard version wattgate plugs. cheers! |
Audiolabyrinth,
Yeah that same ad., congrats on what I think is a good buy for a superb cord! Bet it will sound great on your cdp, but on amps too, I've always found good PCs to have equally profound an effect! Enjoy.. :)
*Btw you bought the 1m/$1000 one? Meaning the 6ft/$1900 Cobalt piece still available? And the upgraded plugs, are they retrofitted by factory or seller? Thanks. |
@ Bvdiman,, Hi, The sellers user name is rebel721, I do not see eany more cobalts for sale, If I were you, I would send him an audiogon message to his user name, He is a really nice guy, his real name is Robert, I know his last name as well, to be polite, I will not post his last name here,when I talked to him by phone last saturday and made a deal, and I paid for the cable the same day, He told me that he had 1 cobalt left!, He said another buyer a few days earlier bought 3 of the cobalts at the same time!, and yes, the up-graded oyaide plugs were done at the factory!, you may tell him audiolabyrinth sent you,or my name keith, the guy who bought one of his cobalts saturday, the cobalt should be here friday!, yipee!, thankyou for the congrats!, However, My krell 700cx is at krell getting totally renewed, it is only 8 years old, but I had a bias problem that another company failed to fix!, so, since shipping is so high on a 180 pound amp, I asked Krell for the works!, that way i will not have to worry no more!, new caps, software, etc... you get the picture!, It is going to be exspensive!, But I love the sound of this amp, so there you go, Its worth it to me!, please post back with what happens with a cobalt for you, good luck!, cheers! |
$14950 a meter. Wonder how many Chinese knock off artists are reading this. Time to stop the line of Aodiqwests :) |
06-26-13: Johnsonwu
$14950 a meter. Wonder how many Chinese knock off artists are reading this. Tara Labs is not immune to fraudulent cables. They have the same problem with fake cables on the market as Cardas, Audioquest, XLO, MIT and many of the other big manufacturers. Buyer beware. |
Hi,john is correct!, Taralabs had to put serial numbers on their cables, dateing back a few years ago, my zero gold I/c, and my the one has serial numbers on them, before I took delivery of the zero gold, I authenticated the cable with Taralabs before final payment!, All of my cables are real!, Taralabs are coppied with fake cables out there big time!, as john said, buyers beware, look for the serial numbers on the i/cs and speaker cables!, the a/c power cables, I do not believe they have serial numbers, but their is a way to authenticate the cable, when my cobalt comes tomorrow, Taralabs will tell me on the phone if its genuine!, I have not made them aware of me buying a cobalt yet!, of course they get up-set because they did not make money!,they do not say nothing bad, but you can get the vibe!, LOL! cheers |
Bo1972.....I use (and sell) the PAD LE 2013 AC cord and it is one of the best UNTIL you listen to the Pranawire Satori AC cord and it makes the PAD cord sound muted! And the Satori is near the bottom of the Pranawire line, have not even wanted to try their top of the line ($15,000) AC cord. And yes the Satori costs more than the LE cord.
(Dealer disclaimer) |
I'm not sure I understand how serial numbers can really stop fakes. If the company making the fakes knows that the serial number on a legitimate interconnect is 27543 and they put that number on their fake, when a customer calls up and says "I have 27543 is it legit?", the answer will be yes right?
I suppose if the numbers are all associated with a registered owner and the subsequent owners all re-register, you could then start to catch fakes or alternatively if you started to see a pattern of the same serial numbers starting to appear on the same models of IC's or Speaker Cables, you'd know you had a problem.
Being active in the watch collecting community, I've seen this occur with watches...over time repeating serial numbers revealed batches of fakes, but it took awhile before it was discovered and I've seen watch manufacturers label a watch as legitimate that was later found out to be fake after it was openened up and more carefully inspected.
Bottom line, it takes more than the printing of a serial number on a product to stop a fake. |
Next thing you know the fake ones sound better than the real thing :) |
@ Seikosha, I believe your theory!, Its a gamble!, I can tell you In my case, I have been listening to Taralabs since their company started back in 1985!, I hope being this familar with their sound can help me determine a fake or not!, I have talked to people that got took on a fake, they did not like the sound what so ever!, when they went a listened to the real mccoy, then they knew for sure!, the serial numbers help, but as you explained they are not full proof!, The best way to get a real cable is to buy from the factory like I do most of the time!, the i/c that I have was originally sold at Hanson audio, their in kettering, OH , Thats were I bought it to, Taralabs with the serial nuber told me that was the original place it was shipped from their factory, the original buyer traded in the zero gold 1-meter for a long 3-meter Tara onyx, that does sound better useing very long runs!, 2-meters and down, of course the zero gold sounds better!,,cheers! |
@ seikosha, Hi, my Taralabs cobalt a/c power cord come in today!, To my supprise, It had serial numbers on it!, I called Taralabs a.s.a.p., they told me the original owners full name, and that it was made in january,2013!, and it has the top of the line oyaide plugs!,, mmm, maybe their system is full proof!, I will call Taralabs back next week and add my name on their system for this cobalt power cord and the zero gold i/c that I have as the second owner of both!,BTW, this power cord is huge!, the biggest girth I have ever seen!,, Happy listening, I am pumped! |
@ Audiolabyrinth:
maybe you will pull so much electricity out of the net that your neigbours will not have any electricity any more!!!!
Bobby |
@ Bo1972, Forgive me Bobby, This Is my first a/c power cord, and for it to be one of the state of the art power cords out there,is quite exciting for me! you know how it is to be an audiophile with a new profound up-grade in sound!, Like a kid at christmas time!, yipeee! |
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It can be an addictive hobby. A few times I needed to let people know that it is only material. Nothing more. Sometimes people are almost obsessed like they need to have it. At those moments I try to get them on there feet again. Then I put the mirror right up in there faces. |
sometimes music is all that can make someone Happy!, to some, It may be a sad life, to others, Its all they have! |
Music is my biggest hobby. Wenn people say: audio is my hobby. Many times I have my doubts. I did visit people with audio sets over 70.000 euro and they had about 30-40 cd's. I saw it as my job to let them know that at the end it should be about music, never about audio. Because audio is only a system what can let you hear your personal favorite music. Many people who say my hobby is audio often are not even happy with it. This says a lot. So be aware!!! |
