I have tried a number of brands of speaker cable in my system, all of which were substantially more expensive than the Clear Day Double Shotgun speaker cables. I decided to demo them after reading comments by Audigon member "Tvad" in another thread. He has owned or heard a lot of high-end components and generally seems to be a voice of reason in the Audiogon forums. He offered high praise of Clear Day cables.
I like to think my system consists of pretty good components. PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC & Transport, Aesthetix Calypso preamp, McIntosh MC275 Mk V power amp, Sehring 703SE speakers, Running Springs Haley power conditioner. All in cost about $25,000 excluding NOS vacuum tubes, speaker cables, interconnects, power cords, maple speaker plinths and maple amp stand from Mapleshade Audio.
When all was said and done, I was not satisfied with the bass response I was getting from my system. The McIntosh MC275 seemed like the most likely culprit, given that it has a reputation for "one note" bass.
I toyed with the idea of trying a new amp. But I have done plenty of equipment swapping over the last few years, and know that it tends to be expensive, arduous (especially with heavy components) and often disappointing. I have had four amps in the last few years and two preamps, which implies that in my case the "success rate" of components has only been 33% (i.e. out of 6 components I tried, only 2 were keepers.) So I was wary of the prospect of selling the McIntosh and buying another amp, especially because the McIntosh does so many things exceptionally well.
So, I decided to demo some new speaker cables to see if there was a simpler fix. I spoke to the Cable Company about speaker cables to borrow from their "lending library". I also demo'd Reality Cables. None of the cables I tried seemed to be unequivocally great. All seemed to require compromises in order to achieve better bass...in most cases, a less open and airy soundstage.
The last cables I tried were Clear Day Double Shotguns. I frankly did not have high expectations for a few reasons. First, they were the least expensive speaker cable I have ever tried. Second, I have in two cases found that silver cables conform to a stereotypical sound, which is somewhat fatiguing, zingy, and tilted too much towards the high frequencies. Third, the Clear Day Double Shotguns are physically diminutive compared to other cables I have tried. (On the plus side, this makes them easy to install. No wrestling with a speaker cable as thick and inflexible as a garden hose.)
In any case, the Clear Day Double Shotguns were hands down the best speaker cable I have tried and not by a small margin. Bass extension has never been better in my system, improving both the amount and definition of bass frequencies. That provides a great "foundation" to music. Moreover, the improved bass came with no sacrifices. The upper frequencies are not rolled off or zingy. Mid-range is exceptionally organic and natural. Soundstage is very open, with the cables providing a great sense of air. Even though I have a very high end balanced headphone rig which offers copious amounts of bass, I find myself doing the vast majority of listening on my stereo rig since I got the Clear Day cables.
What others have said about Paul Laudati (Audiogon member "vonwaffen"), the owner of Clear Day Cables, is true. He is a good man. Not a good businessman, but a good man. He really cares that potential customers are truly satisfied with his cables. He sends out demo cables without charging for them or taking a deposit, and tells potential customers to see if there is a synergy between his cables and your system. If not, you just send them back.
But the fact that Paul is a good guy should not distract from what he has achieved with his exceptional speaker cables.
I like to think my system consists of pretty good components. PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC & Transport, Aesthetix Calypso preamp, McIntosh MC275 Mk V power amp, Sehring 703SE speakers, Running Springs Haley power conditioner. All in cost about $25,000 excluding NOS vacuum tubes, speaker cables, interconnects, power cords, maple speaker plinths and maple amp stand from Mapleshade Audio.
When all was said and done, I was not satisfied with the bass response I was getting from my system. The McIntosh MC275 seemed like the most likely culprit, given that it has a reputation for "one note" bass.
I toyed with the idea of trying a new amp. But I have done plenty of equipment swapping over the last few years, and know that it tends to be expensive, arduous (especially with heavy components) and often disappointing. I have had four amps in the last few years and two preamps, which implies that in my case the "success rate" of components has only been 33% (i.e. out of 6 components I tried, only 2 were keepers.) So I was wary of the prospect of selling the McIntosh and buying another amp, especially because the McIntosh does so many things exceptionally well.
So, I decided to demo some new speaker cables to see if there was a simpler fix. I spoke to the Cable Company about speaker cables to borrow from their "lending library". I also demo'd Reality Cables. None of the cables I tried seemed to be unequivocally great. All seemed to require compromises in order to achieve better bass...in most cases, a less open and airy soundstage.
The last cables I tried were Clear Day Double Shotguns. I frankly did not have high expectations for a few reasons. First, they were the least expensive speaker cable I have ever tried. Second, I have in two cases found that silver cables conform to a stereotypical sound, which is somewhat fatiguing, zingy, and tilted too much towards the high frequencies. Third, the Clear Day Double Shotguns are physically diminutive compared to other cables I have tried. (On the plus side, this makes them easy to install. No wrestling with a speaker cable as thick and inflexible as a garden hose.)
In any case, the Clear Day Double Shotguns were hands down the best speaker cable I have tried and not by a small margin. Bass extension has never been better in my system, improving both the amount and definition of bass frequencies. That provides a great "foundation" to music. Moreover, the improved bass came with no sacrifices. The upper frequencies are not rolled off or zingy. Mid-range is exceptionally organic and natural. Soundstage is very open, with the cables providing a great sense of air. Even though I have a very high end balanced headphone rig which offers copious amounts of bass, I find myself doing the vast majority of listening on my stereo rig since I got the Clear Day cables.
What others have said about Paul Laudati (Audiogon member "vonwaffen"), the owner of Clear Day Cables, is true. He is a good man. Not a good businessman, but a good man. He really cares that potential customers are truly satisfied with his cables. He sends out demo cables without charging for them or taking a deposit, and tells potential customers to see if there is a synergy between his cables and your system. If not, you just send them back.
But the fact that Paul is a good guy should not distract from what he has achieved with his exceptional speaker cables.