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ICs with great natural sounding highs?

I currently use Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II (XLR) and it's a great IC but the highs have a certain "silver" coloration especially in the cymbals sound. It's not harsh or bright but when I auditioned Cardas Golden Reference ICs recently I was struck with how cleaner and more natural the cymbals sounded - you can hear the real metal when the cymbal is hit rather than a splash of silvery noise. In all other aspects (bass, sounstage, details etc) however Acoustic Zen came out as a clear winner. But I would love to get a cable with absolutely realistic sounding highs as well as great soundstage, neutral mids, detail and bass that Silver Reference ICs do so well under $1000 for XLR. Should I try Synergistic Research? Shynyata? Others?
antonkk
thorman
1,262 posts
 
I would suggest Ridge Street Audio "Poiema" i/cs..Check the reviews first and go from there.........
larryken
537 posts
 
anti-cables do it for me.
Larry
pear_cable
5 posts
 
Most interconnects cannot do what you are looking to achieve. They either accentuate high frequency information (like your current cables) and sound overly bright, or they absorb too much information to eliminate the brightness, but sacrifice real punch in the process. You need to look for interconnects that have very low capacitance along with a host of other mechanical properties and quality materials that will maximize the accuracy. Silver can do this, but it needs to be properly shielded and mechanically damped.
jimmymac
98 posts
 
I second the recommendation for Ridge Street Poiema ic's.
thomasheisig
568 posts
 
XLO Reference/Signature
Audioquest Cheetah
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