I've been pleased with the Signal Cable products. For the $$ very hard to beat.
http://signalcable.com/ |
Audio Magic is another good cable to go with the Europas. |
I've been using Signal Cable IC's and cables with the Europas, and have really enjoyed them. But in talking with Roy it seems that his clear favorite is Audio Magic, next best Analysis Plus. He likes the AM IC's a LOT. I asked his opinion on amplification and IC's for the Europas, given a spending limit of around $1k. His answer was pretty surprising to me, he recommended an older integrated (named a few favorites)at around $200-$250 and the best IC Audio Magic makes, at around $750!! So thats just how much he thinks of them. I would really like to try that out, but the WAF on a $750 IC is damn low. |
Scotty is correct. Roy wires his speakers with Audio Magic and recommends their cables.
Disclaimer - I am currently selling a pair of Audio Magic cables.
Regards, |
Matty,
How do you like the AM cables? Could you give us your opinion of them as compared to others you may have tried? |
Phasecorrect and Jb3...
When I had Europa's, I used (again, per Roy's recommendations) both Analysis Plus and Audio Magic cables. For several months, I was using Audio Magic Excalibur II IC's with Analysis Plus Oval 12's. I then upgraded the speaker cables to Excalibur II's as well. The all-Audio Magic combination was excellent. Don't know if it's the speakers, the cables, or the combination, but there were none of the traditional drawbacks of silver cables, just extremely transparent, detailed, fully-extended sound.
I know Roy recommends the Sorcerers, but if budget is a concern, I found that the Excalibur II's were a great match for a lot less money. The speaker cables specifically were a noticeable upgrade from the AP Oval 12's. For reference, I was alternating between a Jolida 502a and an Audio Refinement Complete, with a Jolida CD-100 as the source.
Hope this helps,
Eric |
what integrateds did Roy recommend? |
Eric,
Thanks, thats good info. Upgrading to AM IC's is at the top of my upgrade list, but the Sorcerer's are just not in the budget. I'll definitely look into the Excaliber II's.
Freaky,
As far as integrateds go, Roy highly recommended the Blue Circle offering. As far as SS gear goes he prefers Blue Circle and Edge (big $$) from what he has told me. But on the budget side of integrateds he said that some late 70's Onkyo and Harmon Kardon products were surprisingly good. |
Jb3,
I found the cables to be very linear with excellent extension on both ends. Utmost clarity with a very deep soundstage, very detailed and dead quiet. Natural timbres with no harshness.
One example, Eva Cassidy "Live at Blues Alley", some of the songs you can clearly hear people talking in the far background and you an hear dishes rattling, either being picked up by the waiter/waitress or from the kitchen.
Quite honestly, I have them up for sale and I am not sure I want to sell them. Kinda glad I have only had tire kickers so far..
Regards, |
Oh,
I have only had two other speaker cables in my system, AP Oval 12 (OK cables) and Blue Circle BC92 cables (very good cables). Excaliburs were MUCH better, in my system anyway. They provided much more of everything, except maybe bass when compared to the Blue Circle's.
Regards, |
As for my cables, I use the Ridge Street Midnight Silver Ed. II's with the Europa's. SC, IC's and digital , all Ridge. Brings out beautiful details and a nice balanced sound. Amp and preamp : Krell KSA-100 mkII and Audio Research SP-9 mkII.Before getting RSA cables, I used Zu Wax SC's with Zu Warmouth IC's.Before them , AudioQuest cables. Best so far has been the Ridge Street's, and they work well with my other speakers I have here, Mirage M-3's and Von Schweikert's VR-1's. Worth checking them out-got me dance'in !!!! ( and that's no B/S !!) |
I just replaced my Signal IC's with Audio Magic Excalibur 11 IC's. Far more transparent high end, better staging and more depth. Simply a huge improvement.
They work great with the Europas. |
I went from Transparent Music Link Plus ICs to Acoustic Zen Silver Ref and really like the change. Gotta point out the Zens are much more expensive and I am not a huge fan of Transparent; way too expensive for what you get IMO. Buy used if you go with Transparent.
I'm using Analysis Plus Oval 9 wire and have always liked them. I very rarely feel the highs can be a tad bright, but am waiting on my Cardas Neutral Ref ICs to use between my pre and amp (replace the Zens) since I have heard a lot of people say using copper rather than silver may tame the rare bright spots. I needed ICs for 2-CH SACD anyway. |
Abbeydog,
Good to hear from you on this, if I remember correctly we have a very similar system other than CDP. I have had good luck with a relatively inexpensive SACD player, the sony 222es. I'm really wanting to try Excaliber II's with it and the 370, seems like that may be a really good combo for the $$. |
Jb3,
The Signal cable I replaced was an Analog 1. You list the Analog 2 in your system, so I don't know how the two would compare exactly. However, I think for the used price it would be a good try. Roy recommends A.M. cables for his speakers and I must say they seem to match well. Great detail (for one thing) but not overly bright to my ears.
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