Morrow SP1 or SP2 cable vs Speltz Anti-Cable?

Isn't Cardas the cable usually recommended??? Maybe check with Merlin to see what there answer is.....

I tried as many cables for my system as I could get my hands on...Kimber Silver, Purist Anniversary, Audioquest Everest/Sky, Cardas, etc., etc., etc. I didn't try Morrow, but Anti-Cables were either the best or no preference to the best I could find.

Thorman,
Cardas is out of my price range for the foreseeable future. In lieu of that, Bobby Palkovich of Merlin recommended "single wire, radially wound copper and around 9 gauge. no silver, ribbon or big gauge solid core."
So I'm wondering now what would come close to that recommendation.

Stringreen:

In an earlier post you mentioned a reduction or "narrowing" of the soundstage when using your Anti Cables in a twisted formation. I have noticed a similar narrowing in my sound stage since I put in double shotgun twisted pairs of Anti Cables. One thing to note, however, is that while the width of my soundstage shrunk, the depth actually increased, but this actually places the central image a bit too far away for my liking (actually, it sounds really good on some recordings, but overall I prefer the central image a bit "closer" into the room – behind the speakers by only a few feet).

What did you do to gain back the width of your soundstage (i.e.: how are you set up…bi-wired, jumpers, spacing, etc.)? Did you notice an increase in soundstage depth…if so, was this to your liking? I want to like my Anti Cables, but I think I need to play around with my setup…

Thank you.

I have had these Merlins going on 6 years with 4 different cables.The Anti's are as good as it gets for me,cheers,Bob

Rebbie, I owned 2 sets of Anti-Cables in the past and have the Morrow SP1 now. As far as I'm concerned, the Morrow cables are better. I can only go off memory, but for me they win with better transparency and resolution. If Palkovich said no big gauge solid core for his speakers then I assume smaller gauge solid core cables like Anti-Cables and Morrow SP 1 and 2 are OK?

After extended listening, I found the Anti Cables sounded somewhat artificial and reduced the soundstage noticeably. No such problem with the Morrows - very musical, and highly recommended!
Hoiwever, as cables are so system dependent, I would suggest you try them both in YOUR system - both companies allow trials and returns.

Foster_9,

Thanks for the post. I am so far stumped trying to find 9 gauge, simple, stranded, copper speaker wire. I've seen 10 gauge, such as Vampire Wire. If anybody knows of 9 gauge speaker wire, I'd love to know!

I am using all Ayre electronics with long balanced interconnects and very short speaker cables that are not twisted. The sound is coming from Vandersteen 5A's...very wide and deep...at least as good as any other cables I've tried. I am using Accrolink/Furutech and Accrolink/Oyeida power cords ....I am very happy. I noticed when the Anti-Cables were new, they were not as good as after a long break in period...other than that, I have no complaints.

Rebbi,

Are either Morrow or Speltz even close to 9 gauge? I am having a bit of trouble tracking with this thread. It sounds like the Merlin rep is recommending dryer pigtails!?! Check out Blue Jeans Cable...

Knownothing,

Yeah, sorry, the thread's kind of a mess.

To bring some order to it. Bobby Palkovich, owner and designer at Merlin, recommended the 9 gauge, copper speaker wire. Actually, he particularly recommends some flavor of Cardas wire, but that's way beyond my budget. I'd had some Anti-Cable here that was braided into a bi-wire configuration at the factory. Just sold it, since the Bobby P. recommended using his supplied Cardas jumpers and just running the speaks in single-wire mode.

I checked at the Blue Jeans site. They have a Belden cable which is almost there -- 10 gauge. Almost.

I finally found that a company that advertises quite extensively on Audiogon, called Supra Cables (made in Sweden, of all places) has a cable that fits the bill, and it's "cheap" by audiophile standards. It's called "Classic 6.0." It's 9 gauge, all copper strands, tinned to reduce "skin effect." And it's only $72 for a 3 meter pair, unterminated, from the distributor, sjofnhifi-dot-com, or you can also order it from Madisound. Anyway, Bobby from Merlin said he hadn't heard it but it looked promising, so I'll give it a go. By the way, sjofn sells it direct with a 30-day money back guarantee.

Rebbi,

Thanks. Will be very interested to hear how you like the Supra cables since I have read great things about them here.

I'd had both Anti Cable and Morrow SP1, the Morrows won, seemed more transparent and a bit more clear in my system.

morrows are on sale right now, 50% off until june 1. i was trying to decide between the two like you and went with the latter instead!

The Supra cables are going to surprise you considering their cost. I've been using the Ply 3/4 on and off in a 5.5m run and that has worked out quite well for me.