I have a BAT VK-20 and BAT VK-200 what are the bes

audience cables are very good...

the speaker cable and/or ic's might need the matching power cords or they can sound a smige thin... with that being said, their pc's are very, very good..

I have sold the BAT equipment.

I'll have to put both on my 'short list' for audition.
Acoustic Zen Hologram II
Audience AU24
Thank you Gunbei.

I love the Audience AU24 speaker cables. I compared a single run of AU24 against a biwire run of Acoustic Zen Hologram II for four months and after a tough decision elected to keep the Audience.

But, It really depends on what you want the speaker cables to accomplish. The Hologram II were very smooth and I felt had better extension at the frequency extremes, but I preferred the more midrange forward AU24. Both soundstage very well.

Well the more playing time that goes by, the better the system is sounding. That's always been my experience with building/changing systems. I've also been thinking of upgrading to a VK-220 with BAT-PAK, and selling the VK-200. Then I would be in the burn-in cycle all over again. Any experience with the Audience AU 24 cables?

Gfloyd,

Hmmm, I don't have any experience with the Monster Sigma Retro Gold so I couldn't say how any of the Acoustic Zen cables would alter the sound of your system.

However, the attributes you're searching for - "high end to open up a little bit and the midbass to tighten up" - are what the Silver Reference II excels at. Also, they create a very large soundfield.

My only fear is that inserting the Silver Ref II into an all solid state system might result in an overly lean and dry sound, especially with B&W 801 Matrix IIIs in the mix. But that's a very subjective thing. With a tube DAC and preamp I felt the Silver Ref II was a bit lean for me, but it seems your taste and mine may be very different so it could work for you.

I still have the Silver Ref II and have thought of selling it. I'd like to state this openly rather than approach you through private e-mail so it won't seem like I have a hidden agenda. Heck, I'm not sure I even want to sell it. The important thing is how the AZ Silver Ref II differs from the Monster Sigma Retro Gold, and I have no way of knowing if it will be a positive or negative change for you.

Maybe someone can comment on the Monster or give other suggestions. There are lot's of good cables out there and you probably would be able to achieve your goal without paying for a used Silver Ref II.

Something to consider is that the VK200 is on the dark side as well, but that's what I like about it.

Good luck!

Thanks to everyone so far. Hi Gunbei, I'm currently using Monster Sigma Retro Gold interconnects and speaker cables. I like these cables but after the expense of the new preamp I was just wondering if I was really getting the best sound from my investment. I would like for the high end to open up a little bit and the midbass to tighten up. These things may happen after more burn in time (the speaker cables are fairly new.) The equipment I'm using doesn't have any tubes. I previously used a VK-30 tubed preamp and decided that I wanted to go back to solid state. About the time the VK-30 was burning in and sounding good, (It was still a little dark sounding) I lost a tube. This was just too frustrating for me. Thanks again for the input.
Gary

I've owned a VK200 for over a year now and really like it. I had aVK3i mated to it for about a month, but for the last nine months or so I've been using a Blue Circle BC21 preamp instead.

I experimented with different configurations of Acoustic Zen cables - Silver Reference II and Matrix Reference II - from DAC to pre and pre to amp. Eventually settling on two runs of Matrix Ref II. I use the AZ MC2 from transport to DAC. In my case, using the Silver with the Matrix or two Matrix depended on what tubes I was using in my DAC - Silver Ref counteracting dark tubes, and Matrix Ref taming revealing tubes.

All the Acoustic Zen cables I've owned are very smooth and throw a huge soundstage. Choosing which one to use depends on your taste in playback and what you're trying to achieve sonically.

What cables are you using now and how do you want to change the sound?

Contact the Cable Company and audition Nirvana S-L or, better yet, S-X Ltd. Not inexpensive but if you're patient you might find some for sale on A-gon.

Who knows, unless someone experimented with that setup. That said, I had a Vk30 and Vk200 and found that match to be a bit dark, adding an Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II was a very nice addition.