John,
Hope Ike didn't cause any harm to you and your family members or your boat !
On another note,
I'd like to compare a Sextet RCA with my Pegasus RCA since the Falcon comes so close. |
Snopro and Jb, do keep us posted on your thoughts as your SE's get some time on them and settle in. I have to say I'm pretty ecstatic with mine after a month of playing time.
I just got the new speaker cables and power cords to demo, I'll post some thoughts in a couple weeks after they play in some... |
Rx8man,
Thanks for your concern but we lucked out and most of the storm missed us, just got some rain and a little wind(which is pretty much the norm in Texas). I did have my boat down on the coast but once again, lucked out and she's fine!
Snopro,
Glad you're liking your Silkworms, keep me posted on your thoughts as they settle down. Thank you!
Art,
How are the power cords and speaker cables coming along? I'm still trying to build another set of the SC's for myself, hopefully someday I'll finish them up.
Best,
John |
Hey Art, How are the speaker cables coming along? Anyhting you or John would care to tell us about their construction etc.? |
I've been on the road quite a bit so I haven't been able to spend tons of time with them, but let me say these do not sound like a silver cable in the traditional sense most of us think of when it comes to silver cables. They have very nice speed and detail, but also keep a very smooth sound at the same time, no shrillness or harshness at all. I am not typically a fan of silver cables, so needless to say I have found these very surprising so far. I still have some breaking them in to do and will post more after a couple weeks of listening. I really don't have much skinny on their construction beyond they are separate runs for + and - on each speaker and use copper spades, maybe John will chime in with more. |
Art, I know what you mean about some silver cables but John has the magic touch. I'm breaking in his silver IC's and they sound REALLY close to the Silkworms. More later along with a review of his power cords. I have both of his power cords. The "Source" for my CD player and the "Current" for my integrated. |
I'm not suprised that John continues to build good cables
My silkworms aren't going anywhere soon |
What's sweet is I have 2 systems in the same room. A tube(Cary SLI80 Sig F1) and GamuT DI-150 solid state, sharing the same CD player and power cables and speaker cables and speakers! Takes 2 minutes to change. Fun. |
Hey Geared4me!! How are ya? Good to see you're still poking around the "audio world". The speaker cables Mr. Art has are a pretty simple design actually, it's the wire that is the real gem. They are a single run of pure silver wire(12 a.w.g.)for each leg pulled thru over-sized virgin teflon, covered in a cotton layer, then a layer of polyethylene and finally protected with a layer of better quality techflex type covering. They come standard terminated(cold weld) with Eichmann's gold plated, oxygen free high-conductivity copper spades.
Good seeing you on here and please feel free to email me directly anytime you have a question as I seem to be a "tad" slow in catching this thread. I hope you are doing well.
Best,
John
Hi Pat!! Glad you are still putting those cables through the paces. So how do you like that Cary? |
Here is an update on the Silkworm SE XLR. First off, I'm not good at putting my thoughts into words but I'll try my best.
John said these cables have a roller coaster break in and he's right. One day they can sound good and the next day take 2 steps backwards. Once the cables break in you'll know it, so be patient you will be rewarded.
Comparing them to Crystal Cables the Silkworms are much ,fuller sounding. CC are leaner in the bass and have more treble energy.
Listening to the SACD 3 Guitars on Chesky with the CC you get more string less body. The SW gives the string plus the wooden body of the acoustic guitars, which sound more natural.
Oscar Peterson Tracks CD the lower registers sound deep and powerful. This is a must have recording. The piano is beautifully captured. The Silkworms make it sound very dynamic and the tone is great.
The Silkworms give music a smooth,rich,warm,textured sound which is quite beautiful. That doesn't mean fat,slow,and,colored. They are detailed,fast,dynamic without being hifi sounding.
They make you relax and enjoy music instead of always analyzing how it sounds. Maybe in an overly warm set-up it might be to much of a good thing. If your system is lean or on the neutral side the Silkworms might give you just what your looking for IMHO. It's all system dependent,I had to change some tubes and PC,before the sound fell into place.
I am really liking the way my stereo is sounding. I can't give the Silkworms all the credit, but they are the icing on the cake!
John is a nice guy. He really cares about making you happy, besides if the IC's don't work out for ya, I think he has a return policy. I won't be sending mine back.
Great Job!
Thanks, John |
How did this thread die out? Any KCI product updates from new or existing users? John, can you give us an update on the product line and all your current offerings? |
Hi Art
The reason why this post has died out is most of us are at home listening to John's fabulous cables and enjoying the music ..imo this is very rare in this hobby
How are you btw ? |
Hi Art,
Sorry for the delay, I've just been super busy.
I have been working on a few new products; one is a pure silver power cord using the same wire as the Firefly(of course larger gauge) and am also working on our new copper interconnect that got put on the back burner a while back. I'm very pleased with the performance of both of these so far and look forward to their release soon.
How have you been? Hope all is well with you up there.
Hey Musicfile, how is that system of yours doing? Hope you've been doing well.
Regards,
John |
John, Hi
I'm doing well and the system is a rocking
Looking forward to hearing more about your new products
Pat |
Anything new brewing you'd like to share with us John? :-) |
Hello Arthur,
How are you doing? Did you ever get the newer Vac mono-blocks you were waiting for a while back?
Yes sir we do have a few things brewing; finally after two years we are rebuilding our website and I hope to have it launched in the next couple of weeks. I finally got off my butt and built some prototype cables I had been working on for a while including a much improved Silkworm, a copper interconnect that is surprisingly good and the silver power cord I had spoken to you about last year. Are you interested in a beta trial? If so shoot me an email.
Hope you're doing well and look forwardto hearing from you soon!
Best,
John |
I am running the new VAC monoblock's and have the Silkworm SE on them. I'll be very interested to hear more about a much improved version of the Silkworm, can you ahsre more with us?
You have mail about power cord.... |
Any idea when the "improved" Silkworm will be available? |
Art,
Thanks for the email, a Beta package will be on the way this afternoon. Looking VERY forward to your thoughts.
This newer Silkworm is something I've been working on for a while but I wanted to keep quiet about it until I worked out the fine details. In most systems the standard Silkworm works wonderfully, but, it seems in a few systems the standard seemed to lack some texture and authority-this bugged me. I had a hard time figuring out what was causing this and in my testing have come up with an "enhancement" that offers quite an improvement, especially in systems that the standard Silkworm wasn't performing as it normally would or should. I'll elaborate further upon it's release, besides-you'll be hearing it within days! ;)
Rja,
Hey, how are you stranger? I hope you're doing well. The improved Silkworm should be available soon, just waiting for some more positive feedback from Beta testers. I will still offer the standard Silkworm, the improved version will most likely be the Silkworm Plus or Silkworm+. Keep checking here for updates and please don't hesitate to contact me directly if need be. Good hearing from you Rja, hope you have a great day!!
Best,
John |
Hi John,
Can you tell us, how the new Silkworms compare to the Silkworms SE ?
Regards,
Joe |
Good to hear from you again John
The system is sounding great, thanks for asking !
Pat |
Hi Joe,
Nice to see you here Joe, I hope you're doing well. I apologize for my delay, the did some work on the firewall here and I've been unable to get online since yesterday evening!
Hmmm, an S.E. owner asking about the newest Silkworm...I have to be honest Joe, I designed this bad boy(named Silkworm+) to try and compete with the S.E. Gold prices continue to climb making the S.E. unobtanium for most of us so last year I started working on an improved Silkworm. I must say the + is up there with the S.E. Joe, nipping right on it's heels. It's a helluva cable and I'm pretty proud of it. I'm getting quite a few inquiries via email and/or pm's so I thought I'd type up a response I can "copy & paste" to help answer some questions, I'll post it here if allowed.
Thanks for inquiring Joe, I hope you're doing great and would still LOVE to hear that system if I'm ever up that way!
Best,
John
HI PAT!! Glad to hear you're doing well, give me a ring sometime...... |
The Silkworm+(pronounced Silkworm Plus) is a project that I've been working on for quite a while now. My goal was to design a cable offering the same level of performance as our Silkworm Special Edition but without the extreme cost of the S.E. We often have customers contacting us asking for the S.E. but once they hear the price they shudder and run(I don't blame them one bit!). With gold prices continually on the rise the S.E. just gets further and further out of reach-for most of us anyway so I've known for a while I really needed to expand on the orginal Silkworm. One important goal was to try to design and build a cable capable of retaining all the great aspects of the standard Silkworm but expand and improve on this-smooth and even more extended highs, more authority, more texture and a deeper tighter bass. I wanted it all but without the extreme cost.
We began working with our wire vendor late last year on this project and after several failures, a whole bunch of "good but not good enough" prototypes, several bloody fingers as well as a few set backs, we finally got it. Success at last-and it's a beauty! It's got more of everything and brings our Silkworm platform to a level of performance that is beyond our expectations. I'd rather not give away any proprietary secrets but I can say this; this newest cable does retain the original pure 24 karat gold Silkworm wire so you're still getting your fair dose of pure gold, BUT, this baby now has double the amount of wire as previous versions. The Silkworm+ also incorporates a new and improved larger, more pure Teflon, an improved and more robust strain relief and to top it off.....some shielding! This is not a full braided type of shield as we found that type of shield sucked the life right out of our cables, but, it is a shield and it works very well. This extra shielding really helps the Silkworm+ offer a deeper/darker back ground making for a very quiet cable.
So, in short you still get the wonderful open/airy, warm and organic signature sound of the original Silkworm, but now you get an improvement across the board; oozing with texture, smooth and extended highs, deep and tight bass, a cable with the authority this baby will make you sit up and take notice. The Silkworm+ is exactly what we were hoping for and it has managed to exceed our expectations. They are much more labor intensive and take me twice as long to build as the standard Silkworm but it's worth every minute of it. I'm tired but I'm also very proud of this cable, it's what I've been striving for for quite some time.
As a side note; if you took note of our last few auctions on Audiogon a few months back you may have seen us selling the Silkworm MK-II, this was the beginning of the Silkworm+ but now we will have the true "Plus" version for sale very soon. |
Hi John,
Good for you John. I hope all those inquiries turn into sales! If it sounds close to an SE,then you are going to have very happy customers. Good Luck! It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
If you are ever in the area it would be my pleasure,John.
Regards,
Joe |
Hi John,
As you may remember, last year I exchanged a pair of Silkworm balanced for a shorter (.5m) pair of single ended Silkworm SE cables and never got around to sharing my impressions.
They connect a Bottlehead Eros phono stage to a highly modified Audio Note L3 preamp and will remain in place "forever". They are smooth as silk, yet pass on all the microdetail I want to hear from my lps.
If your "plus" cables come very close, you have whipped up a special product.
Best wishes,
John B, Utah, USA |
Hey Joe,
Thanks for the props Joe. I'm happy to hear that you are still enjoying the S.E.'s, darn good cable and I'm a tad emarrassed to admit that even I don't own(to costly at the moment) though I hope to one day.
Thanks for the offer Joe and you can bet if I'm ever in your area I'll be ringing your door bell. I would love to hear that system!!
Hi John,
Man I was flipping through my files the other day and ran across your name(for all the digital cables) and was wondering how you've been, how are you? Are the digital cables still keeping you happy?
How is that Bottlehead phono stage? I'll be needing a phono stage for my wife in the future and have no idea where to begin, she's a vinyl freak and I am of no help to her at all.
Oh, and if I am ever in your area expect a door knock as well!! So many fine systems I'd love to hear-so little time.....
Best to ya both,
John |
I have had some prototype Silkworm + with Xhadow Connectors for a few days now and wanted to give some quick, early impressions for those following this thread and wondering about the next gen cables from John. The + has all the qualities of the original Silkworm, but adds decided amount more flesh on the bone in terms of fullness/richness, and is a subtle level smoother on the top end without compromising the detail of the original. There also seems to be a bit more three dimensionality in the soundstage and image. The + is most definitely a nice step forward over the original, which was already a terrific cable.
I'll post some further thoughts as I get a few more days on them, but believe at this point it will be worth the cost and effort to get my originals upgraded to the new + model. Nice work John, I know it was a lengthy process to arrive on these improvements, but it has paid off based on my early listening to the +.
Of course, these are my opinions, based on my ears and preferences in my system, YMMV as always. |
Hi Arthur,
Thank you for the update, keep us posted as you get some more time on them and they begin to open up. I should have my new updated Audiodharma back here early next week, the new upgrade is supposed to be quite an improvement over the previous version. Can't wait to give that a try on the Silkworm+.
John |
I'd like to share my impressions using a Kool Cables gold Pegasus digital cable. I know there are some fans of this cable (and their Silkworm IC's, etc.) here and that would have to include me. First up, John is a very nice cat and his service is first class. What I am buying is an older prototype of the Pegasus and John insisted that I return it (from auditioning) so he can update it for me at no additional cost. He wanted me to have his best. Thank you, sir. That gets a lotta respect from me.
Of the six dig cables I have or have had in my system, his is the most open and gregarious. It plays easy and large. Images are separated out nicely and have a 3D quality. That is to say that they are notably holographic and I can "see" in between and around them comfortably. Details are as exemplary in the far field as in the near field which is most appreciated listening to classical music. It is that ease and expansiveness to music rendered by my system using this cable that is the most endearing to me. Like all dig cables I have owned or played with in MY system, there is some sharpness and silvery like thing going on with "T's" and sibilants. But, it is somehow less objectionable to me, it sounds like it almost belongs (!). This cable is confidence inspiring. Music is notably more relaxing to me thru it, too.
It is replacing a Stereovox dig cable in my system. From the comments I have read in other forums this might be the most misunderstood cable out there. It also has that 3D quality and separation to images but its other strengths to me are further down the frequency spectrum. It has fuller and weightier lower midrange and bass, for example, although the "human playing" is not as apparent. |
Hello Dazone,
I'm glad you are enjoying the Pegasus cable, she's a real sleeper that's for sure. Thank you for your kind words, very much appreciated. Once your cable arrives I'll update it, treat it on the Audiodharma and return it to you promptly. Please keep me updated on your thoughts and if you have any questions or requests don't hesitate to contact me anytime. Thank you, have a great week!!
Best,
John |
I have to second the Pegasus Digital:
It easily beat all the other big-time contender$ I had between my Transport and Dac by a fairly huge margin in all parameters.
Next up is getting my Silkworm interconnects upgraded (like new cables) by John.
He much assured me I'd be astounded again, by an already excellent design to begin with. |
Rx8man,
Just thought you'd like to know your new Silkworm+'s are currently at -325 F!! They'll be down there for a few days too, man that's cold!
Best,
John |
Hey John,
I hope they don't break into pieces when they get shipped back ! |
Pat,
Are you trying to stir up a hornet's nest again? (o: |
I'd never do a thing like that, wood eye ? |
How did you know they called me "wood eye"? |
Pat,
Just got a note from the cryo treatment center; your cables exploded/shattered. Sorry man, that's a shame.... ;)
John |
Dear John,
I want a refund, or wer're goin to the dispute column, sorry man !
Best Regards .................... |
Don't worry, Pat. A little super glue and you're good to go. |
OK Sherod,
Since you're the solution man, I'm having John ship the pieces to your address,
get the glue boy ! |
Thanks, Pat. I look forward to enjoying "your" interconnects. What a pal! You're the best, and I mean it! |
I'll meet you at the Rio Grande ! |
You got it, pardner. Dual at sundown on the Rio Grande. |
Sherord,
I'll send Pat's cables to you first for inspection and then you can forward them on to him with your seal of approval after proper assesment(SP?) ;)
Pat,
Ha ha, ok ok they're fine, just had to give you some lip. They are on the way back and should be here Thursday then on the Audiodharma they go, after that it's off to Sherods place.
Have your new speakers arrived yet? If so please let us know what you think of those bad boys, we're all ears!
Best,
John |
Sherod,
I'm having John drop ship my two pair of upgraded interconnects to your place, since I have no speakers yet, makes better sense to me.
Give us your impressions after they run in a couple weeks, and for Gods sake, no glue or anchovies please ! |
Okie, dokie! Sounds like an interesting listening session. Don't worry, Pat. I use a glue gun now. Less messy than Super Glue. |
Ok, just wanted to let everyone know that all of the cables are back from cryo and are currently simmering away on the Audiodharma. I'm going to let them cook over the weekend and then they're on their way to their new home!
On a different subject; when I received the box of cryo'd cables there were two new razors in the box, at first I was like WTF?? Then I realized why he sent them so it will be interesting to give them a go and see how well they work/if they last longer than normal. Pretty cool....
John |
Good news, John. If you happen to accidentally send me Pat's interconnects, I told Pat that if I liked them, I might have to accidentally drop them into the Rio Grande. Then I'll yell out, "There's GOLD in that there river!" On the other hand, if I do like them, I can always tell Pat that they suck and I'll just keep them for myself. Just don't tell Pat my plans. (o: |
I can see myself facing the Mexican drug cartels as I shimmy down to the water to scoop up my Gold interconnects, sheesh ........... thanks Sherod, you rat basturd ! |
Rats! You caught me, Pat. Well, I guess I'll have to go the honest route. John e-mailed this morning to tell me that your interconnects are on the way to me. I'll let you know when they arrive and keep you posted on their sound as they go through their further settling into the system. Stay tuned, Dude. |
