Dynamic Design cables

I just finished wiring my system after trying a variety of different brands over the period of around 8 weeks. In my system I found that the Dynamic Design speaker cables and Spirit Digital Power Cord were the top performers and the best of what they have to offer in the Lotus Series II line. Dynamic Design does have a new, more expensive, line of cables which I did not try as part of my system makeover. As to comparisons: For speaker cable the DD outperformed my previous Empirical Design ED-213 and the new Soundstring cables. I also tried JPS Labs which were very, very good. The JPS Labs were a bit more detailed and spacious but the DD were slightly warmer and more organic sounding. Had the JPS cables been thinner and easier to work with I may have bought them but they are thick, stiff and bulky while the DD wire is fairly supple and of small diameter. For IC's I preferred the Empirical Design ED-422 Unshielded. However, they were clearly bested by the JPS Labs Superconductor 3 which I did not purchase due to cost and the fact that they are very stiff and difficult to route behind my rack. I tried the DD IC's as well and these were quite good, but not the equal of the JPS Labs. I also tried Fusion Audio Romance series which were very good sounding--perhaps the best of the bunch--but very thick and bulky. The ED IC's are very solid cables that are thin, supple and sound very, very good. For Power Cables I tried the DD, Bolder, JPS Digital and Kryptonic (or whatever they call them) and ED-416. I thought the JPS Digital PC was great--a no brainer---very good sounding, inexpensive (not sure why since all the other JPS cables are very pricey) and supple. The DD Spirit Digital was at least as good as the JPS Labs. An excellent power cord for digital equipment. I bought it. On the other components I stayed with my ED-416 for the power amp and am still working out cords for my preamp and phonostage, not feeling as though any of the others that I tried were sanely priced, flexible, could be custom cut to my length and sounded good.

Sorry for the long response--bottom line, the DD Digital Spirit cable and the DD Lotus Series II speaker cable were the best I tried. The DD Lotus Series II IC's and DD high current power cords are good, but not the best value for money relative to performance compared with other stuff I tried.

Hope this helps.

How did you find the Soundstring?
thanks

I tried the latest generation Soundstring speaker cables and single-ended IC's. They were very well constructed and the IC's have superior connectors to any that I have tried. They are also very supple and easy to work with. However, in comparison with the Dynamic Design (All Types) and Empirical Design (IC's) cables they sounded slightly unnatural, with a very subtle glare that spotlighted the upper midrange and were also slightly unfocused in their presentation. I really wanted to like these cables but their performance was not up to the standard of the others that I tried. They were, however, very detailed and well constructed and Len was great to work with. I would suggest that people try them as Soundstring does have a generous return policy and your experience may differ from mine.

If I'm not mistaken the company has changed its' name to reflect new interests which include power conditioners and d/a converters in addition to their cable business.

I'm probably prejudice here as I am a dealer for DD, but when it comes to cables, what works best in one system, may not work well in others, so, if possible, autitioning in your own system, with your own equipment is the best way to determine if a cable will work properly for you. If not, getting recommendations from dealers, or manufacturers, that are trusted, is helpful.

Dodgelum uses speakers much like mine and the DD cables, which are the only ones I have heard here, other than the Empirical design cables, work beautifully with neutral systems. That being said, they are at a different price level than some of these and you get what you pay for.

Still, listening in your own system is the best way to know for sure.