Hi Guys just wanted to share my new love for the majic of pure gold interconnects. Ive been through the paces of tring different mid to high grade interconnects in my system and finally tried pure gold. Now the price does vary significantly from pure gold cable to pure gold cable, I picked up the KCI and have really loved what gold did for my modest system compared to pure silver, flat ribbon and tons of different copper. I have read the white papers about silver being a better conductor and even some on why gold is more pleasing to the ear. I feel that gold is more coherent top to bottom than silver but noticed many of my audio friends are using silver still. What is the general feeling and use here amongst guys with the high end of equipment? Are you using gold and does it get even better with higher end equipment?
Thanks for the props, much appreciated. I'm pretty happy about the reward, couldn't ask for more. I had an idea the review was going to positive when the reviewers contacted me wanting to buy the cables! I also thought the new review format they tried out(done as a conversation between the three reviewers) was pretty cool, my wife said it's the first review she's read that didn't bore her to tears and that she understood.
Hi Marvin, Thanks for the advice and the "plug". I do need to let people know about the Mandarinas, just have been so busy lately and I've been slacking.
I know you haven't had much time with this new set but are they starting to open up and display some of their magic? The set you have now are brand new not review pairs so they only have the short amount of time on the cooker. Hopefully you got some good time on em this past weekend! Enjoy and let me know if you need anything else. Regards, John
This cable is the real deal. Mine have around 70 hours on them and I can't hear a thing I don't like. Bass is tuneful and powerful, mids to die for, and not etched or bright in the highs at all, just the music.
I'm glad you are enjoying your cables, they will improve with time. Please keep us advised of your thoughts and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me anytime.
I agree with all the positive things said about the Silkworms. In my system, I've heard obvious improvements, mostly on the highs, which are now a lot smoother, and on instrument separation, which is better defined than before. Overall, the presentation is just more musical.
I knew these cables were something special! Great review John!Its rare to get all reviewers to chime in and do a full review of a product- even more special that they were all blown away!! Stivervii
I was one of the reviewers and I ended up buying 2 pairs of Silkworms and a pair of Mandarina for my phono...couldn't agree more Stivervii, these cables are exquisite...they just plain make beautiful music.
Where can I try these KCI interconnects? I have a pair of the Antipodes Audio SG interconnects and was blown away at how much better the Antipodes Gold was when I tried it, but maybe I should be trying some others before I splash out.
I'm slacking, falling behind here! I need to pay more attention as I seem to be missing posts.
Musicfile, Any luck with your cables showing up yet? I hope they get there soon, please let me know when they arrive safely and also what you think. Thank you!
Rx8man, Whoa, how are you doing Pat? Hey, can you email me so I can send you my shipping address, I'd like to update your cables to my new and improved strain relief system(don't worry, no charge), you will dig it. It is much more durable. I hope all is well with you, stay in touch and send me your email addy!
Myrtle, Please feel free to contact me anytime with any questions you may have. You can email me directly at: John@koolcables.com
I got home from a business trip today and had a pair of John's silkworms interconnects burning in
Well the moment I walked into the room the system was humming the music was flowing and wow did it sound nice. I decided to take a seat and just listen
My wife was not happy as a few minutes turned into the a few hours
To sum it up these ic are really something special ! same can be said for the designer John. John "you've struck gold my man"
Musicfile, Excellent, I'm glad you are enjoying them. Please keep me advised of your thoughts and I'll keep you posted on the Speaker cable progress. Thanks again!!
Well, it has been three months since I purchased the KCI Silkworms. I am still amazed at what this ic did to enhance my system. Everything from the deepest bass drum to the slighest brush of the cymbal to the minutest percussion is highly defined to an even lower, if any, noise floor. Yeah, I am very addicted to the music again and redicovering my cd collection. Granted, I have not tried a lot of cables but this has to be the coup de grais of all cables. See my previous post of the Silkworm then give John a call. He'll "HOOK" you up!
Eldulcesol, Hey, good to hear from you!! Glad to hear that your system is spanking some serious butt! If I'm ever up in your neck of the woods I'll be banging on your door for a listen!!
Stiervii, Yes you did, now just sit back and enjoy!
Stiervii, loving life is nice with a silkworm in the system. Getting back to your original post back in April, I do agree that pure gold is more coherent top to bottom and very pleasing to the ear. I am sure other factors about system use play a big part of the sound (music) but damm, this cable changed things quite a bit. I have a one ic system excluding the subs cable and this seems to be the ticket for it. As I posted earlier, the highs are extended without any etchiness, mids to die for and bass that is fast and tuneful. Whatever is on the disk, the silkworm will pass it on to the amp, meaning that the cds should be cleaned before use.
Other than that, sit back, enjoy and as Stiervii says "I'm loving life."
Won a pair of Silkworms a fewweeks back on auction, and while nice sounding "right out of the box" they have really come into their own. Agree with Eldulcesol's description above of the high's, mid's and bass. A great cable.
Also, without digressing, I have dealt with some great vendors via the Gon, not sure anyone is easier to deal with , and more genuinely customer focused that John at KCI.
Has anyone used/auditioned the KCI pure silver "Firefly"? I note the AWG of the Firefly is larger than the gold Silkworm - any difference in speed/PRAT?
Based on the decription and comments above, these appear to be very high performance cables!
Hi Jim, the Firefly is a faster more analytical cable in my experience with it, but not overly aggressive as silver can be if done implemented differently. The Silkworm has terrific PRAT and detail as well, the Silkworm is just plain flat out musical and preferred in my system...
Agree, call John, he'll let you hear for yourself....
Thanks guys - I emailed John and look forward to his assistance.
We're seeking cables that are fast & neutral to work with the ultra fast Delta Sigma amp (flat to 3Mhz) and Manger AG loudspeaker. The Firefly appears to be an excellent fit.
Good to see this thread still going and I agree still with the comments of the Silkworm flat out musical rich in tone and I dont feel its missing anything in attack or detail. I have been using KCI cables exclusively now and received my digital cable. I find it very dynamic, detailed fast and crisp- just what I want on the front end. I have a green hornet and element to compare it with and while both of those are great cables the extra dynamics and transparency on the front end is my personal preference. I need more time with it but things are looking good.
As to the question about the Firefly I think it will fit your needs nicely. It is also a fine cable and I find it more Hi-Fiish with a lot of speed and detail. You dont have to worry about any harshness or splashiness but it just didnt have that last bit of organic tone color and flesh the silkworm has.
There is something about the intimacy and SET quality the silkworm presents that hooks me every time. Its hard to keep things in perspective when I am trying to do an honest cable comparison there is an unfair emotional aspect the silkworms have and I have to keep in mind that some tastes lead to absolute HiFi approach you are looking for.
Our Delta Sigma amp has the liquid purity of a great OTL midrange but far more extended top & bottom. The more neutral Firefly should be a great fit to showcase these qualities without imposing any colorations.
Thanks everyone for the nice compliments, much appreciated!!
Jim, I went and did some reading on that Delta Sigma amp, what a beauty! But, just a tad out of my price range.. Sure looks sweet though. Hope you enjoy the cables.
I tried well over a dozen top digital cables in my rig, the last one being a Virtual Dynamics Revelation Sig.
It sounded fantastic, but the strain on my RCA jacks was too much, I had to support the bottom of the cable off the floor to help alleviate the strain to some effect.
Along comes John's lightweight digital cable, a solid gold feed and solid silver return with WBT platinum locking RCAs, my transport and dac thanked me.
The sound is even BETTER than my previous reference, quieter, smoother and still retaining all the great attributes the V.D. is famous for, I'm done.
I have someone coming by this weekend with a Benchmark DAC and John was kind enough to send us one of the Silkworm digitals to listen to, I'll report back on what we hear but won't have a basis for comparison recently as I'm typically running a one-box solution....
i don't hear it ? i bought a pair used from someone who was looking to sell his.he thought they make work well in my set-up.i found them to sound thin and colored lacking realistic body and weight.the sound is warm but veiled.the design seems simple enough and build quality is on the flimsy diy side i can see where these might work in a bright systems but not for me.I put some transparents back in and my set-up it was no contest.goes to show you how systems differ
Donpark, your experience is quite different from mine. I would be interested in knowing what your system consists of. I found the Silkworms to be the best cables I have ever used and the least system dependent.
Since I wrote my review of the Silkworms I have had the opportunity to try them in 4 different systems with both solid state and tube gear. In every instance they were superb and held true to my review.
Don, Thanks for the great feedback, much appreciated! Seriously though; I wish I could make a set of interconnects that would make everyone happy but as we all know that has yet to be done. I'm sorry to hear that you feel so strongly about the Silkworms but I guess you can't make everyone happy. I appreciate you giving our cables a try...however, judging by your remarks being almost the exact opposite of about 98% of the feedback I get from most other customers I'm curious if something couldn't be wrong with that set, I'm by no means anywhere close to perfect so it could be something is amiss. If you would like me to take a look at them(no charge) to make sure that all is in working order I'd be glad to do that, just pm me or email me(do you still have my email from speaking to me just a few days ago?) If you're interested in having me check them out just let me know.
Don, as Geared stated, I also found the opposite results that you had with the Silkworms. Granted, I have an one ic xlr cable system with a tube amp and cdp and the sound was far from being veilded and most certainly has more than plenty of life. I am curious to what your system consist of. As per build quality, these cables are well above average diy quality. They do look rather plain, but who cares when they are behind the components. If you want something impressive, have John put a bunch of layers of surgical gauze around the cables, then put the sheathing on with extra heatshrink and charge about a grand more.
As John suggested, have him take a look at them or email him with the serial numbers so he can check them out. I am still curious to what equipment you have or maybe pure gold ics are not ideal for your sytem.
Not every component works in everyone's system, nothing more nothing less in Don's post to me than that....my experience with the Silkworm's was different....to each their own....
2007 was my year for vetting cables. Most of the usual suspects in this price range, generally well thought of cables. I got off the cable go-round after I tried the Silkworms. The Silkworms are the best cables I have ever had in/for my system. (2 pairs now) (and confirmed by "she who can hear better than I")
I think this really boils down to what Mr. Smuck and a few others have said; it's a matter of synergy as well as being system dependent. If Mr. Park doesn't like the sound of the cables that is perfectly understandable.
Mr. Park has told me that some people are emailing him and calling him "childish and vulgar names". Lets not do that ok? I greatly appreciate everyones support(lots of emails!) but lets let this man have his say. As more and more of my cables get out there there is bound to be some who won't like them, and as much as I hate to see that it is inevitable.
Thanks to everyone!!
Kbuzz, Were you ever able to speak to any curent users of the Pegasus digital cable?
I thought that I would add my two cents in. I have played around with the KCI gold cables for some time now. I may have been one of the first ten owners of a pair. I have brought them to a few audio RAVEs here in New Jersey with very good results. What I liked about the cables were the openness, naturalness and depth to the sound stage (layering and placement). The actual instruments sounded more real with the KCI ICs. Decay of the notes was very good as well as hearing the reverb in the recording (like a whisper fading out). The gold does smooth things out and can make other cables in comparison sound slightly edgy.
In comparison to other cables, I can see where someone may think that they sound a little on the thin side. Unfortunately, those other cables sounded flat where the sound stage was one dimensional, plus the overall refinement and the overall tone of the instruments was lost.
Overall I preferred the KCI cables in most of the systems I tired them in. Nothing is perfect but these cables do so much correct. They are also very flexible which for me is a welcomed change. Overall the build quality is very good and they looked more professional then a few other cables being sold by other small businesses. If you want a thicker sound, ask John to increase the wire size. Last, John a great guy and he backs up his products. Should you have any issues with his product, he will provide excellent and fast service.
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