I want to clarify my statement about the Gabriel being a hair closed in and bass a bit fuzzy.
1. This was my impression of the cable right out of the box.
2. The qualities I was describing were extremely slight.
3. This was my impression compared to the well broken-in VD Revelation.
4. In retrospect it was such a worthless statement that perhaps I shouldn't have made it. My apologies.
On a more postiteve note,the Gabriel Revelations have been in my system for two days now and are opening quite nicely and the bass has gained definition. |
i would like to know more re;gabriel. iwas told to look for MIT 750 music hose circa 1980-85--to get the fuzzy, bass heavy out of the old martin logan cls speakers i'm using. can't find them---so looking for a substitute that is affordable. Any advice out there? cheers,mb* |
I bought GG Revelation interconnects 1 month ago to replace my AZ Silver Reference 2 as i always found the AZ a little bright in my system (and i have used the cables with 3 different cdp with the same result each time). I didn't regret my decision! IMO, the GG is clearly better than the Silver Reference 2. The brightness is now gone and the sound is more natural, the details are better integrated in the music. A great product!!! |
Mahler259,
I agree that the GG Revelations are a great product. Everything is presented with a natural balanced ease. Bass is quite spectacular and the treble sings without being overly aggressive or harsh. IMO: the price to performance ratio is off the charts.
Did I mention that I really like these cables? Hats off to Mr. Brunelle for designing and producing a marvelous product!!! |
I should probably chime in here. I've tried a pair of GG Extreme ic's (thanks Art), and I bought a pair of GG Revelation speaker cables, that I've owned for a month. I really do love the GG tonality, it is really spot on. As good as or better than anything else I've heard, and I've heard a lot. I do have issues with the soundstaging of the GG cables though. The Extreme ic was a tad shallow in soundstage depth, and the Revelation, was a bit short on stage height. Small complaints to be sure, as these are very, very good cables. However, I have found that Jade Audio Hybrid and Vermeil interconnects and speaker cables are more to my tastes.
Tonally the Jade Audio and the GG are about equal, the GG are slightly more transparent and quicker, the Jade's slightly more richer and sweeter. I do note that I have enhanced these desriptions for the sake of clarity. Both cables are gold based, and as such have a great tonality.
The Jade wins (for me) in soundstaging. It has much greater depth and height than the GG cables. It actually has greater depth than my PAD Dominus reference, and almost as much height. Soundstage width is about the same.
That is just IMO, IMS, YMMV!
Cheers,
John |
jmcgrogan2-I was wondering what version of the Extremes you were listening to?(Eichmann connectors?) From what I've gathered from this thread the member you refer borrowing cables from(Art who I have also conversed with) had his interconnects modified with different connectors (Bocchinos)for some reason.
As far as the speaker wire goes - What length/configuration
of Revelation speaker wire are you running.I use an 8ft pair of Revelations and my soundstage is climbing the ceiling with more layers of depth that I can count to.I know from conversations with Steve that he really frowns on anything less than 6ft runs as most manufacturers do.
Although it sounds like you really appreciate the sound of the GG's ,your sonic impression of the Gabriel Golds don't sound like what I hear nor other postings.
It is your opinion and all opinions are to be respected. |
I just received my GG Revelation ICs a couple of days ago and they are still burning in. I do agree with most comments here (and John's for the most part) as to the sonic quality of the GG cables based on my experience with the Extreme. I can also respect John's opinion. I have not heard the Jade Hybrid, but have heard the Vermeil (I'm probably one of the few who returned them).
I think the Jade Vermeil is a great cable and I believe John describes the sonic qualities accurately. However, in my system and based on my tastes the Vermeil did not beat out the Oritek X-2, and in fact in comparison lacked that little extra sparkle on the top end. When I got the Extremes and they were properly burned in they beat out the X-2.
I did notice a slightly wider and taller soundstage with the Extreme cables. However, my room size and dimensions have always caused soundstage issues. So could the soundstage be much wider and taller as some report? Possibly, I'll never know until I move and have a more appropriate listening room. I do know that the GG cables agree with my tastes and I'm anxiously awaiting the burn in of the Revelations so that I can better evaluate how they sound in my system. So far initial impressions are favorable. |
Hi Bob,
Yes, I appreciate that all opinions are to be respected. I also have the utmost respect for all of Steve's cables, they really do sound fantastic compared to all of the very expensive cables I've heard prior.
For your questions, I heard the Eichmann edition of the Extreme interconnect. I also had Steve custom make me a 1 meter length of his Revelation speaker cable. Yes, he did recommend that I go at least 6 feet in length, as did many other cable manufacturers.
I compared the 1 meter length of the GG Revelation to my current reference, a 3 ft run of PAD Dominus (yes, I have monoblock amps). I really enjoy the tonality of the GG cables, they really are amongst the best I've ever heard.
However, the soundstage was very truncated, especially height wise with the Revelation speaker cables. It was the first time that I've ever felt as though I was ever 'listening down onto a performance'.
Shockingly, the soundstage was beneath me.
Yes, this could be a result of a shorter length (1 meter). Steve did say that he had'nt heard a 1 meter length before. I also want to re-iterate that it did sound very, very good...tonally.
I will know for sure in a couple months, after I've received a 4 foot pair of the Jade Audio Vermeil speaker cables. I have experimented with the Vermeil and the Hybrid interconnects, as well as the Vermeil speaker cables. I've also become very fond of the Stealth Dream power cords.
IMO, IMS, these combo (Jade and Stealth) have combined for the most incredible, natural, realistic sound I have heard in my system in my 30 years of listening.
Cheers,
John :) |
Jmcgrogan2 - I have not heard the GG cables, and hope to one of these days, but I have much experience with the Jade Hybrid, Stealth Indra and Dominus ICs. You are spot on about the Jade Hybrid doing depth like no IC before. It is not that the others are lacking here but that the Hybrid takes this to a whole new level. This alone makes the Jade IC the keeper. And once we hear this, it is really tough to go back to the others no matter what strengths the other cables might have. I find that the IC into the amp is where this difference really comes to play. The GG Revelation remains that last IC that I want to hear to find out for myself. |
I have the Gabriel Gold Revelations so I may be a bit partial(as many others here are who own them) as they are certainly the best IC that I have ever heard.I find them to have incredible depth and layering with instuments and voices presented in accurate fashion.
Along with great bass and staging.
My point is
Let us not be mistaken between DEPTH and RECESSED.
Recessed,meaning that it does go back deep but does not have the capability to differentiate.
Or as Mr. Webster believes " a withdrawing from usual activity" ("a recessed cable sure makes me withdraw from the activity of listening to tunes and usually promotes the activity of watching TV)
Regarding depth
"distance from front to back"
The GG'S have depth, solidity,tonallity and with natural musical flavors coming out of a beautiful quiet black background .(wow that made me hungry)
I've listened to some cables and I won't mention names that I thought had great depth upon initial listening.
After just a short period of time it's like "where's the music ? "
"Please reach me baby" / "It sounds good in the room behind the wall I bet"
I have not heard the Jade cable but hear they are a very good with nice sparkle and slam.However,I have heard from a member that has listened to both cables and believes that the Jade is more recessed and that the Gabriel Gold were much truer to the music and just let's things flow naturally.
I have owned other cables that are VERY! recessed and I feel like I have to put my chair in front of the speakers
to get a sense of a live performance.
I don't like sitting in the last row at a show or the first row for that matter.I want the perfect seat!
I want to be able to have a sense of how the performance was recorded live or studio mix and have everything hit my ears as it should be.
Man,I know I am asking for a lot,however,I think I am right there with the GG Revelations
Just my opinion |
Not to get into semantics here, but I am curious if recessed sound could come from room factors just as easily as it could come from a cable. |
Nice semantic to point out. Just to add, I can manipulate the central image or depth in several ways. One way is to move the speakers further apart and the second way is to remove or change the damping material at the back of the speaker. If you want depth, you can also manipulate that too by have a "recessed" back wall at the center in between the speakers.
So the depth factor may not be exclusively due to cable design. Good point Clio09.
|
clio09-what do you think of the Gabriel Gold Revelations?
Are they burnt in yet.Awaiting your thoughts against some of the other cables you've referred to.Don't mean to pressure you!!!!! |
Bobf, I was away on business last week and have a trip this week as well. The cables have about 150 hours on them. They have been slowly opening up. I can see where they have taken the sound up a couple of notches from the Extreme. The soundstage is a bit wider and even taller than before, but most importantly is the better layering and increased space between the instruments. I imagine they will get a little better over the next 100 hours. I still have not tried them in conjunction with the Extremes. Right now they are between my TVC and amp. Eventually I'd like to move them to between the DAC and TVC, with the Extreme between the TVC and amp.
I do like these cables better than the Jade Vermeil I had. I also prefer them to the RSAD Poemia!!!, but I think the Revelation and Poemia!!! could also make a nice combination together. I have been taken by surprise by another set of "mystery" cables (of which I bought two pairs) that are currently between the DAC and TVC. In conjunction with the Revelation the sound is the best I have heard from my system in some time. After I compare this combination to the Revelation/Extreme I am also going to run the two "mystery" cables together as well. I'll post some more thoughts as things develop. |
Clio09 - As recommended by the manufacturer, I hope you burn the cables in for 150 hours before sharing any final thoughts on the GG's. And I assume the 150 hours implies a signal going through the cables and not simply connected to two components. You have had the cables for a week now but how long have they been "burned in"?
I set my CDP on repeat and run this into the preamp through ICs when I burn them in during the day and night when not listening. A cable burn-in device may work here, but I assume that when a manufacturer states a certain number of hours, it refers to actual use of the cable. And thus, the CDP->Preamp cable burn-in process as described here works well.
Audiobuzz - I assure you that I was NOT mistaken when I refered to depth. I know all too well a recessed presentation. This typically refers to a significant suckout in the frequency response where one musician is far far distant from the rest of the performers. I have immediately dismissed some preamps, cables and more recently some tubes that exhibit this problem.
Last year I visited an audio dealer's home. He had Avalon speakers that were 8 or so feet out into the room. And he had recently gone through some serious efforts with room treatment devices. Never before had I heard speakers disappear like this. And never before had I heard a singer so far back from the speakers with such incredible realism. I understand that this is a key area where the Avalon speakers excel. And they certainly impressed me. But the overall system implementation had just as much to do with this success as well.
When I came back home, I could hear that I had greater decays and harmonic structure than that system, but I did not at all have the mentioned qualities here like he had. And this never left my mind.
I have since moved the SoundLab A1s another 2 feet into the room, gone through significant amounts of tube rolling with the Aesthetix and CAT gear(thanks to a tube guru friend who continues to send me box after box after box of tubes to try and often allows me to purchase the ones I like), revamped all power cords and recently incorporated a very special APL Denon CDP. Each of these changes brought on significant improvements in a number of areas. But it was only when I dropped in the Jade Hybrid ICs did my mind then return to that Avalon based system. Unlike before, musicians are now placed back from the speakers ... and they integrate so well with the rest of the musicians up near the front plane of the speakers.
Of course no cable does this on its own. But as I have noted before, I have heard a number of ICs (most notably from preamp to amp) so quickly destroy all the magic of a system up to that time.
John |
John,
I received the cables on 5/30 and they were being burned in for a few days (about 110 hours with signal running through them 24/7) until I had to leave town. I got back Thursday and I continued the process for the last two days so by my count that is about 150 hours. |
It's good to know that there are cables out there that can
finally offer the type of 3 dimensionality as the Gabriel Golds.
I have a dedicated and treated room and have the luxury of speaker placement.Not everyone has such an option ,most have a limited amount of space for speaker placement.
Even with my room tweaked (and I know my room I grew up in this house and now own it)
I essentilly re-constructed a room for dedicated listening and have been using the room for over 30 years for hi-fi listening.So many systems have come in and out of my room over the years, with the speakers most recently being in the Martin Logan family(Prodigy's right now)
There have also been a countless amount of cables,speaker wire and sources that have graced my ears and that of my family.
With the most recent and most satisfying of sources being the Bluenote Stibbert(with Ediswan tubes)I also rely on my wife's ear who is a professional dance/music choreographer along with my son who has toured the world as a professional drummer with major bands ,so when we sit and listen to tunes it is quite the experience.
My amp/pre amplification has taken a 180 degree turn from the days of having $50,000 of Levinson gear.I like many other members have found that the big ticket components don't always produce music naturally,they at times put their sonic manufacturer/stamp on things.
I now use a great pre/power source that is truly astounding
(yet could easily start a whole new discussion of it's own so I'll keep that to myself.)
Getting back to the topic of depth and three dimensionality
in the room.I am a big Al DeMeola admirer and as we know he is all about layer after layer, after layer with images and instruments spinning left to right, up and down and in and
out.(give a listen to "Kiss My Axe"
All of this is done on the recording with speed,solidity
and precision.
I did not realize just how much speed,precision and layering until I started adding the Gabriel Golds nearly 2 years ago.
I also was able to pick up on the tonality of the music like never before.This to me is very important I can not handle homogonized tones that are detailed yet colorless.
I had an ejoyable experience with many cables over the years most recently with the Stealth Indra/MLT combo,Siltech Forbes Lake and countles others.I don't see my house,the room,my Logans,my Stibbert,My un-named pre/power unit and especially all the Gabriel Gold interconnects,speaker wire and ac cords going anywhere.
My quest seems to be over.
I am so pleased that this obscure little thread I started
quite some time ago has grown in such a positive way and has been graced by so many passionate,knowledgable and even
entertaining people. |
bobf
thanks for starting the post it is one of the very reasons
I bid on some of the earlier Gabriel Gold auctions and I could not agree with you more.The Gabriels sound awesome like nothing that I have ever heard before.C'mon what's the secret component? |
Bobf, thanks for mentioning 'Kiss My Axe'. That was one of my favorite cds. It has been sitting in my cd library(5000) for years. Amazed that the recording is still outstanding. Awaiting my GG Revelation IC from Steve. |
Gentlemen,
How about a bit more feedback on the speaker cables. Thanks! |
After moving from the Stealth Indra to the Gabriel Gold Extreme to Gabriel Gold Revelation interconnect my next step was to give the Extreme speaker wire a shot.
The Stealth MLT bi-wire run I was using were working really well, and the system sounded well integrated.
I had the opportunity to AB the Extreme against the Stealth MLT set-up and I must admit it was close.
The MLTs may have had a little more slam ,however,the Extreme bettered the MLT in the areas of tone,depth and staging,immediately.
Upon further listening I noticed differences in the bottom octaves also
The MLTs had a consistent low frequency character,meaning almost every track took on a similar bass sound.
Again while listening to Demeola's "Kiss My Axe" with the Extremes it was "where did that come from"
Upon listening to the disc and hearing the various tracks I determined that even the bass was better with the GG's.
The fact is the bass just had to be there in the recording.
I started going thru all my disc that had percussion in them and it was easy to determine the difference .The difference being a constant yet inaccurate bottom end vs. a bottom end that shook my walls when the recording provided the info.
Disc after disc I was able to not only hear the improved harmonics but actually tell the the tracks that had more slam than others.I prefer this "if it not there I don't want to hear it"
I ended up selling the MLT's and eventually got a second pair of Extremes so that I may bi-wire with the Logans.
When the Revelation speaker wire came out I contacted Steve and he took back the Extremes for full credit against the Revelations.
My expectations were high and were quickly met.After about 100 hours of break in time my system reached yet another level.In short if you have Extreme or Revelation interconnects and love what they do like so many of us the speaker wire will just add a whole lot more of the same. |
Replaced Harnonic Tech and Van Den Hul cables and speaker wire in my system nearly 2 years ago with Gabriel Gold and have never looked back.Done nothing but listen and enjoy tunes ever since. |
rja sounds like you have some Gabriel interconnects already and appreciate what they do.By adding the GG speaker wire you will get even more harmonic structure and natural character not to mention speed,detail in the most natural way that I hate to even use the word detail.
Bass solidity and slam will be so accurate it's scary.
Another step towards making an electronic system sound closer to real music. |
Yes, I've owned the Extremes and received my Revelations a couple of weeks ago. Now thinking about a speaker cable purchase. Seems there aren't as many out there as the ICs. But what I've heard about the speaker cables has been positive. |
rja The interconnects have been out longer than the speaker wire and ac cords so there are probably not as many spaeker wire sets out there yet.Plus I don't think I've everseen the speaker wire or ac cords up for auction yet.
Hopefully there will be some in the future and maybe a deal or two for us. |
|
Last weekend I listened to the GG Revelation and Extreme combination. I ran the Revelation from DAC to preamp and the Extreme from preamp to amp. I was so impressed with this combination that I traded up and am getting another pair of Revelations which should arrive tomorrow. I will probably have another update in a couple of weeks.
On another note, the "mystery" cable and Revelation combo was excellent as well. In fact it was on par with the Revelation and Extreme combo. The "mystery" cable used from the DAC to the preamp added a little more bass slam to the mix. However, I did not like using two pairs of this cable in my system. A little too detailed for my tastes.
If anyone is interested in a cable that uses quality silver conductors in a minimalist design with Eichmann silver connectors contact Audiogon member quackfat (also known as someyoungdude on AA). While I call them the "mystery" cable I believe they are known as the Silver Reference II. These haven't hit the market yet but are available for trial at very fair prices. |
clio09- I know what mean about un-natural and enhanced detail.It's gets very fatigueing and at times down right annoying.
I did something similar,I started off with (2) Extremes then picked up one Revelation and eventually went to all Revelations.
I think you'll like the sonic improvement.If the Revelation never came out I'd still be listening to Extreme knowing that I had one of, if not the best IC money could buy. |
I agree Bob there are far too many cables out there that are overly detailed with trumped up bass.That is why so many people switch out a component and then have to switch out a cable too.The one thing I noticed and seems to be fact is the synergy of the Gabriel Golds, they do the same thing in every system.They provide you with natural musical character.This sounds likes a simple task but it definately is the toughest thing to achieve from a cable. |
I think member budburma's description of the sonic character of the Gabriel Golds was extracted directly from my brain. Respectfully here's his remarks if you missed them
" To my ear and in my experience, the Gabriel Golds are the best cable on the market. I realize that's a bold statement, but I have had them in my system for a couple of years and have no intention of ever changing them. They are the most accurate, neutral, and perfectly paced cables I have heard. The extension and detail offered are absolutely grainless and full at the same time; this is, in my opinion, their strongest suit, although I can find no faults in any area. The bible black silence of the background is adorned with an accurately portrayed soundstage with mesmerizing 3-d characters....this fully rounded image is another of their strong suits.
I have the Extreme's and have not heard the Revelations. If I wax and gush it's because....well. I wax and gush over them; they are what I have been looking for in an interconnect for 15 years. They give me a goofy grin just thinking about them and they are the only part of my system I never consider changing in all of my ever curious and obsessive participation in the madness that is this hobby. Prior to having them in my system it seemed I was always trying to make up for a shortcoming in one cable with a different cable in another position in the chain. The GG Extremes are now the only cable i have in my system (4 pairs).
I have found that I really appreciate the sound of amalgams over pure metals whether flying solo or in combo (i.e. a copper hot and a sliver return). When properly alchemied, the amalgams seem to offer all the best of the pure copper, carbon, silver or gold cables without their individual shortcomings. To that end, I have long been a fan of Siltech, especilaly with my amps of choice, Plinius. Other cables that i have had include Stealth PGS (_XL, _3D) and Metacarbons, Analysis Plus Solo Crystal and Golden Oval, all of the G3 Siltech incluing SQ88 and FTM4sg, all manner of Cardas. Harmonic Tech, Acoutic Zen, DH Labs, Empirical Audio, Discovery, Zu Cable..anyway, those are the ones that I can recall without squinching my eyes and rubbing my templews with tiger balm or something like that."
"There's magic in them there cables"
When you read Bud you've said it all(weiser)
|
Jmcgrogan2, Have you tried the new Tesla Acoustic Reference and Precision Reference cables yet? I would love to hear how they compare to PAD and Jade. |
Wow! I wrote that? I sound good on paper. Having written all that, I still stand by it....and hate tiger balm at the temples as it really burns the eyes... BUT, I will be upgradng the the Revelations anyway!. I can't resist the temptation forever and all the songs of praise sung on high in this thread finally pushed my button hard enough.
While I am at it, I think I should terminate the retermination question raised by my own meanderings. If I had read the Eichmann website more carefully and applied the hairdryer technique, I probably would've saved a thousand bucks or so and at least as many hours. But, i learned a lot and got to know some very interesting, engaging, knowledgeable and generous people along the way so I have no misgivings or regrets at all. And, I still have the Gabriel IC's which are another prize.
I have had Gabriel Extremes terminated by Steve with the original Jelco silver and both silver and gold/copper Eichmann Bullets. I have also had them reterminated professionally with the pricey Bocchino B3's. So, those represent the 'versions' in mind and above mentioned by John. I personally like the sound of both the Bocchino's and the copper Bullets a lot. And, while the down under group are obviously populated by extremists, in the end I fall into the 'less is more' camp and really prefer Steve's choice of the gold/copper Bullets. Interestingly, both of those terminations use plating techniques over copper that don't require or use a nickel base....I personally think that's a big deal offering a very large sonic advantage.
Back to the beef on the bone....the second pair Extremes I bought were silver Eichmann terminated and just didn't sound like i expected them to. The first Jelco terminated pair (standard issue at the time) I purchased had definitely raised the bar and I had already come to expect quite a bit. I decided it must be the Eichmann's not grounding properly....In the end, I didn't understand the design well or read their site thoroughly enough (as I mentioned earlier). I ended up reterminating with the Bocchino's and loved the sound! I reterminated them all with Bocchino's! Wow! Sounded amazing! Had to be the Bocchinos!
It was the Bocchinos...but WITH the Extremes. To be the complete and inquisitive audio junkie, I thought I should be able to compare the different termination and provide a complete review with solid a/b comparisons. So, reterminate one of the three to Jelco and buy one more with Eichmann gold/copper bullets....then compare contrast switch position.
In my system, to my ear, etc. silver is anathema.....even in small amounts plated onto terminations. In the end, all hail Steve's choice, the designer makes the best choice for his own cable. Surprise!
So, now I have all re-reterminated cables from Steve....I have put my ear and wallet out there to be counted and I stand by my experience. Now, I only have to sell the Extremes (now at about 37 inches in length...) to get some Revelations.
The madness is the fun. And I thin I may be approaching certifiable. I hope my recount was a fraction as enjoyable as the experience.
Peace! And, enjoy the tunes! |
I know many members think it is heresy to mix cables, but I'm still using my Synergistic Research Tesla and GG Revolutions in sequence and love it. The image, 3-D staging, tone, detail, upper and lower frequency extension is amazing.
I like both the cables, but they have slightly different qualities and complement each other very well in my system. The GG is a bit sweeter with better frequency extension, and the SR Teslas are more three dimensional. Both have excellent clarity and detail. |
06-27-07: Joeyboynj
Jmcgrogan2, Have you tried the new Tesla Acoustic Reference and Precision Reference cables yet? I would love to hear how they compare to PAD and Jade. No, I have not heard either of the two cables you mentioned yet. I cannot say that I have plans in the immediate future to do so either. I have other non-audio (re: family) issues that are tying up most of my free time and money at this time. I'll look into them, but probably won't get around to trying them for another 6 months or more. I am currently comparing power cords with what little listening time I do have. Right now I'm comparing the PAD 20th Anniversary p/c with my Stealth Dream p/c. Both are very, very good, though I have no conclusions at this time. Cheers, John |
Heya John-Is the Dream still on your pre or are you checking it out on other pieces? I have gotten both a BMI Hammerhead Gold MK1 and 2 and am listening up on different applications....my Cary CD 306/200 still loves the BMI's, but my AES pre seems to like Stealth. Go figure. Anyway, best regards and hope the family is ok or, at the very least, doing the best you can flying on the wings of love. |
Hi Art,
Thanks for the well wishes, fortunately the family issues are not health related (knock wood). I'm sorry if I misled you.
Yes, I still have the Dream on my preamp as well as on my phono preamp and cd player. I think it makes the biggest difference on my preamp. I do know others that disagree, one gent currently swears it works best on his DAC, so who knows? Don't get me wrong, I do like it on my phono stage and cd player, but it didn't 'blow me away' like it did on my preamp.
FWIW, the PAD 20th Anniversary that I am comparing to my Dream is on my preamp, since they both have 20A IEC plugs, I can't really switch them around too much.
I didn't realize that Brian had come out with a MK 2 version of the HHG. How does it compare with the first one? Which Stealth cord do you have on your AES?
Cheers,
John |
Jmcgrogan2, thanks for the update and comments on your current auditions. Have you ever tried the DCCA power cords? I recently was doing the power cord demo circuit and stopped on DCCA. I just love them. Right now, I'm going through the Synergistic Telsa line of I/C's and speaker cables. Results are in one of my treads. I'm stopping my cable hunt here also...for now...
Isnt this sport fun! ;-) |
Yes, this is fun! 8-)
I have tried a couple of Don's cords. I find them to be very good values and extremely musical. Not the last word in resolution, and the heaviest and stiffest cords I've ever tried. Someday I will have to see if I can borrow some of the Synergetic Tesla cables though.
I don't really want to hijack this thread anymore from it's designed intent though, so I will leave it at that.
Cheers,
John |
I believe Steve will be adjusting his burn-in time estimate
for the Gabriel Gold Revelations.
The cables really take about 250-300 to fully break-in.
The cables do experience sonic changes at about 40/100 and 150,however at about 300 hours you have EUPHORIA |
I now have 250 hours on my newest Revelation. With both pairs of Revelations in the system I have noticed more space and airiness, combined with some of the best front-to-back layering my system has ever produced. Quite the 3-D and musical experience IMO. I'm completely happy with these cables. I just wish Steve's bi-wire speaker cables were more affordable as I could definitely envision a completely GG wired system. |
Hiernote you are right. 250-300 hours of burning-in is more like it. 150 is not even close. Steve confirmed it.
I just recently bought (1)3m pair and (2)1m pair of GG Revelation.I just tested a 1m pair connected to my work system - B W 602s3,Cambridge Audio 640v2,Audio Note DAC 2 Sig, and PC as transport.
At first i noticed improvements in timbre and vocals (midrange alltogether).Then i noticed brightness and lack of bass.
-After 10 hours, some bass appeared.
-After 50 hours, more bass,less bright.
-After 150 hours,the same improvement, in smaller quantity.
At 220 hours i tested them in three very different systems.
They won over other ICs, but i was NOT satisfied.
In my system, they performed worse than other IC (Ixos).
Ixos had much better bass and tonal balance.I though GG was only for vocal and jazz music.As a heavy metal listener (mainly) i was not very happy with my GG.
-At 230-240 hours,HUGE improvement.No more brightness,no more metalized treble, and bass appeared.Real bass.
After 330 hours i tested them in my system against Ixos again.This time Gabriel won clearly.Even bass was better with Gabriel,GG won by a big margin.
Now my GG Revelation is around 400 hours of playing time.I still feel improvement in bass area, but i am not sure if they are still getting better or i'm just more used to their sound.Now i really like these cables.
Anyway, this is the best IC cable i've heard so far.
I intend to keep these. |
audiobb- I concur that the cables do take a bit of time to break-in ,however,I never found them bright or to be light in the bass even in their infancy.I also concur easily the best cables I also ever owned. |
The cables really take about 250-300 to fully break-in.
The cables do experience sonic changes at about 40/100 and 150,however at about 300 hours you have EUPHORIA What actually is changing from 150 to 300 hours? Are we talking tonality changes as in a more linear tonal response or simply a more extended frequency extremes, or .......... some other sonic attributes? There's a lot of discussion on tonality here. This was not much of an issue for me at 0 hours or at 155 hours. Tonality was nearly identical to the Jade Hybrid except for a little bit of bass shyness in the GG Rev. I too never heard any hint of brightness with the GG Rev when used between the Aesthetix Callisto, CAT JL-3 and APL Denon tube CDP products. What about dimensionality, decays, harmonic structures here? And I do not mean in absolute terms but relative to how the cables were from the start AND directly compared to other cables swapped in and out right then and there. I heard absolutely no improvement here from 0 to 150 hours. Are there any significant improvements in these areas at the 150-300 hours? And did anyone have a reference cable whose strengths excelled in these areas to compare back and forth with the GG Rev's during their burn-in process? |
Soundstage,depth of field,height of stage,detail,bass and even greater tonality and textures which these cables are becoming famous for occur after the 300 hour mark.As I initially stated when I started this thread I was comparing the GG Extremes to both the Stealth Indra and Siltech Forbes Lake which are both what I call pretty decent reference cables.I liked the Gabriel's better.The Revelations definately take longer to burn in but once they do LOOK OUT ! it becomes NO CONTEST.
I've read a lot of Steve's feedback (sts) and many members love the sound of the Revelations right out of the box.I'm sure once they break in they must be gushing with greater appreciation. |
"I've read a lot of Steve's feedback (sts) and many members love the sound of the Revelations right out of the box. I'm sure once they break in they must be gushing with greater appreciation."
Yep. |
clio09-I assume you must have some?
What cables did you compare the GG's against before you went with them? |
Bobf - I have two pairs of the GG Revelation. I posted a while back here on some of the cables I have directly compared them to including Oritek X-2 and RSAD Poiema!!!, as well as the Silver Reference II cable offered by Audiogon member quackfat.
Indirectly, I made some comments as to my preference for these cables over the Jade Vermeil and Virtual Dynamics Master. |
Bobf wrote:
"clio09-I assume you must have some?
What cables did you compare the GG's against before you went with them?"
In my case, it was Nordost Red Dawn's and Synergistic Research Tesla Accelerators. I was amazed right away. There was some slight overall improvement for me after break in, but not much. They sounded incredible right when I got them and positioned configured them correctly between the right components. |
It's strange.I am 100% sure about the brightness in the beginning.I mailed Steve about it.It was exactly like i wrote before.
From 0-300 hours the bass got deeper,with bigger punch,and simply more present overall.
High frequencies lost the "metallic hiss" that was there in the beginning.They got more natural.
Midrange was excellent at 0 hours,but also improved with time.
Dimensionality and harmonic structure improved greatly.The whole sound became more musical and coherent.
The biggest changes were from 220- 250 hours.
Soundstage is excellent now.But i haven't kept any record of how it changed as hours passed. |
I took delivery of Extremes and Revelation interconnects a little over a week ago. I put the Revelations in a second system to burn in (without listening to them) and put the the Extremes in my main system to listen to while the Revelations burned in.
The Extremes replaced VD Master's in my main system and I fell in love with them right from start. After around 50 hours, I thought they were incredible, the best interconnects I've heard. I was amazed, and it got me even more anxious to replace them with the Revelations. After 150 hours on the Revelations, I replaced the Extremes....and I was at lost at what I was hearing. I could hear s liyylr more detail, body, and treble extension... but a smaller soundstage, less air around the instruments, a litte glaring, and more forward less musical presentation that made me not want to listen. I put Extremes back in for a sanity check and imediately the music drew me in and made me not want to stop listening.
I have them back in my second system burning in again. I hope this is just a burnin issue. But I'm puzzled because the Extremes, with 0 to 50 hours on them, sounded better than the Revelations with 150 hours on them. I hope this changes. |
