KCAG OR PRO_SILWAY


I HAVE ANALOG AND ALL TUBE GEAR I WANT TO BUY ONE OF THESE FOR PREAMP TO AMP DONT WANT TO MESS WITH AUDITIONING THEM WHICH ONE SHOULD I GET, YOU DECIDE
davebauerb295
LISTEN TO ME NOW: I AM AN ANALOG GUY TOO (however, my CD player knocks on the door of vinyl performance. It's a good'un!). I've owned Kimber Silver Streak (haven't heard KCAG though); I've tried AudioTruth Lapis; I OWN AudioTruth Diamond; I've tried Cardas Neutral Reference; and I'm trying Harmonic Technology Pro Silway 2 right now (all RCA versions). And, IT SO HAPPENS THAT THEY'VE ALL BEEN USED BETWEEN MY DAC AND PREMAP, and also phono stage to preamp. I'VE DONE EXTENSIVE COMARISONS. I'll try to get to the point in describing each of their sonic characters. (Incidentally, my preference for preamp to amp interconnects is MIT 330 Shotgun, both RCA and XLR. I'm a Krell guy, but don't let that color my comments for you. Between AMP and PREAMP, this 330 has beaten ALL OF THE ABOVE silver ones, in addition to BEATING TRANSPARENT REFERENCE, AND EVEN MIT REFERENCE, but not MIT "EVO",...both of which cost over $2000/m!!). HERE GOES: --SILVER STREAK--forgiving, not fully developed dynamically, not "fast", not "high rez", slightly forward midrange, loved the WBT connectors. --AUDIOTRUTH LAPIS x3-- "Edgy", laid back in the midrange, the most "silver sounding" and a-neutral ic I've heard, artificially hyped transients with incorrect duration, good bass extension. --AUDIOTRUTH DIAMOND x3--My reference for "speed" and resolution of detail, transients still slightly hyped, tonally neutral but slightly grainy in the upper mids, bass is deep and faster than maybe any other ic in existence (bass of the others sounds like a booming car system, when compared to Diamond with bass that's like what an electrostatic subwoofer might sound like.--CARDAS NEUTRAL REFERENCE--A "tube like" midrange, nice dynamics, nice transients and duration, but DECIDEDLY forward in the upper mids/low treble, not as transparent in any of the range as the others, similar overall to Silver Streak but way more dynamic and a tad more colored thru the whole range.--HARMONIC PRO SILWAY 2--the most transparent low to middle mids of ANY of the others, more dynamic and extended bass than everything (including my fav 330) but somewhat "tubby" pitch definition compared to Diamond's bass, smoothest mid to upper treble but less detailed treble than Diamond, the MOST LAID BACK IN THE MIDS to upper mids of the others (even than Lapis), less "edgy" hyped transients than Lapis, yields a "crystal" quality to the midrange that is at first inviting, until you realize midrange timbres lack essentially all of their natural color, but if your system is forward in the mids, THIS IS THE ONE FOR YOU. Hope this helps.
Hi, I'm currently running a 1.5m KCAG between the GT SE40 SE tube amp and my GT SEP1 SE preamp. I have a pair of HT Pro Silway mkIIs running between my Electrocompaniet EMC-1. Last week these were reversed. I feel that both cables are close in the rendering of subtle nuances within a recording. I think that the KCAGs offer a bit more sparkle, or zip, to the high freqs. without adding any fatigue (a perceived issue with pure silver.) I think that I'm hearing a slightly more detailed BASS line and maybe slighly more resolution with the HT cables (an example would be hearing the Tenor Saxist grunting slightly) between the CDP and Preamp. However, this could be the quickness of the silver between a lower powered tube amp and preamp. I'm going to get a second pair of each, then run them together and see. I like them both and you can find them used for a lot less than their $535 and $400 respective retail prices. Chris
I've had KCAG and now use the KS-1020's. They are more dynamic, quiter and better balanced. I can't speak for the other brand you're compairing them against, but I totally love the KS-1020's. They sound much faster and precise than cables costing much more! They are in the same price range as the KCAG and have much newer technology. My vote and twenty year audiophile experience has been with Kimber Kable. I'm not a dealer, just a long term happy happy customer.