Gabriel Gold IC's are they really this good?


Hi-
Any one else out there using these Gabriel Gold IC's?
I need to know if it is me or if anyone else finds them as good as me.
I bought a pair on auction a while back and compared them to my Stealth cables.
After about a week of going back and forth I found the Gabriel Golds to have bettered my Stealths and bought more.
Is it me?
Just wondering what some other folks who bought them think of them.
Thanks for the input.
bobf

Showing 4 responses by osgorth

I bought a GG Revelation IC for my headphone rig (CD->headphone amp, RCA) and I've been very pleased with the results. Steve was very helpful both before and after the sale, I felt completely safe all the way!

I haven't had too expensive cabling in this rig before, so it's hard to compare with the top stuff out there at this point. It clearly beats anything I've thrown at it so far, but mind you those are all cheaper cables. The sound I'm getting is best described as natural, open, very detailed and somewhat warm and seducive. Don't think it's murky and muddy, quite the opposite.. Very crisp and clear, but still a bit of warmth to it! Listening fatigue doesn't exist at all, I can listen to this rig all days long without tiring.

I ran into a weird situation when briefly testing the IC on a very high end rig that I've so far been unable to explain. Put simply, it was awful. It could just be that it needed to settle for a couple of hours, or it could be something else (hardware failure, severe mismatch with something else - I don't know). I'll be getting my long-awaited big rig in the few coming weeks and I intend to further explore the GGs then. :)

Nobody mentioned they look great by the way, hehe.. Get them in the black jacket with gold stripes on, that looks great! They're also very easy to handle: flexible and extremely light. They weigh practically nothing! I was quite surprised by that to be honest.

As for burn-in, I noticed marked improvements after a few days of continous play, so I'd say 75-100 hours before you do any critical listening. Still now, after 500+ hours, I think it sounds better than it did in the first week, so it continues to improve.

Did anybody compare to Virtual Dynamics or Synergistic Research cables..?
Bobf, yeah, I will certainly check this once I get my new rig delivered.. I told Steve too, I can't believe what I was hearing, it was nothing like what I experience with my headphones. I'll report back once the stuff gets here!

Did anybody try the GG speaker cables by the way? Power cables?
John, many thanks for your opinions, I hear you completely. Seems we share the same philosophy when it comes to live ambience. :)

Art, aha! Now that makes sense to me, I've heard some people have had issues with the Eichmanns but the thought never did occur to me. It was pretty crowded in the shop, I didn't get a good look at the back of the preamp, might not have fit snugly enough. I'll make sure to pay attention to this when I receive my own gear. Thanks!
Bobf, it's good to hear your opinions! :)

I for one would be very interested to hear about the GG power chords, particularly since I'm looking for new chords..