Neutral-ish Speaker Cable

Hello @jaybe ,  Congrats on your recent upgrades!  I in fact had Audience AU24SX, full loom, selected after trying several cable brands and models from the Cable Store.  Then my dealer brought over Kubala Sosna Elation speaker cables when he delivered my new speakers.  Wow.  All the resolution and airiness I liked about the AU 24 SX but much more mid and low fullness and dynamics.  More meat on the bone so to speak.  And very natural, not forced at any frequency.  They are about three times as thick as the AU24SX.  Anyway, call me a fan of KS now.  I have upgraded much to Realization, but the value spot is Elation for speaker cables, power cables and interconnects.  Good thing it was easy to sell the Audience cables!  BTW, I did previously audition the Emotion line of PC's in my system and did not choose them.

What’s your budget for interconnects and cables, are you looking new or used, and do you use XLR or RCA?

@soix No problem spending $3-5k on speaker, interconnects $1-1.5k each, but not fixed. Running balanced DAC to pre, pre to amp. RCA possible. Digital system of CD transport, streamer, DDC and external clock with higher end Audioquest coax, Tubulus I2S external clock to DAC. Tubulus BNC clock. Used ok, depending.

@fastfreight I’ve read a lot about KS but had the impression the lower-mid and bottom end presence might be a bit more than I want, it reminded me of the term "thick", not in a bad way like congested, but just the extra presence. I might be wrong on this so feel free to add more, thanks.

These might be a bit out my price range too, but like I said I’m willing to go where the sound quality is, within limits.

Here are some that are well worth looking into given what you’re looking for.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650194385-acoustic-zen-absolute-shotgun-bi-wire-speaker-cable/

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650193097-acoustic-zen-absolute-copper-1-metre-xlr-interconnects/

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisbdd33-acoustic-zen-absolute-zero-crystal-silver-interconnects

Best of luck. 

https://silversmithaudio.com/fidelium-speaker-cable/

Hi @jaybe and @soix !

I agree the lower lines of K-S are a bit dark and less resolving on the high end.  I initially tried a full loom of Emotion power cables and did not like them as much as the Au24SX.  But not true at all of the Elation and Realization lines.  These are very resolving and balanced, full spectrum and natural.  No bloat on the lows and now glare on the highs.

And I agree the Acoustic Zen cables are nice and a value.  I recently purchased a used pair of Hologram 2 speaker cables for my vacation home.  They are really nice, and a really good deal used.  but they are not K-S Realization or Elation, to me.  Same with their interconnects.

My system is very resolving.  I have so far not liked cables with silver, as they can be a bit tilted towards the top.  But, I have not tried high end cables with silver.

Hi, Jaybe. My first thought for any type of cable purchase is to always buy used: let someone else burn them in for you (my MIT cables all took 250-300 hours to fully burn in). Also, replace your current wall outlet feeding your equipment with a CuzeFirst Maestro - simple, easy, and under $100 - I was honestly shocked by the amount of detail it opened up for so little money.

I got hooked on MIT cable and interconnect looms years ago, beginning with used Terminator 2s, then Terminator 1s, and now the Magnum M line. Great bass, midrange, and treble. They don’t emphasize any part of the audible range, great control and separation with everything, which is great for me because I’ve never liked bright speakers or cables. MITs deliver definition and detail without pain.

Their current higher-end product lines are apparently made from pure unobtainium (hugely expensive and well out of my price range), but you’ll never regret spending the money on MIT products. They’re actually as good as their product literature says they are.

PS, no matter where you end up with the cables, buy and install the Maestro outlets :)

Cables don't matter except up here (points to expectation biased brain).

@roadcykler Everything matters and cables and interconnects can matter significantly depending upon design and brand.  
@jaybe I recommend you add WyWires Platinum to your list in your price range.  Moving to WyWires after auditioning a number of brands in their price range made a significant improvement in achieving natural timbre, staging, imaging, dynamic and balance.  Balance was the key.  Nothing exaggerated at any point in the frequency spectrum with vivid detail across the spectrum.  Read professional reviews which confirms my opinion.  Contact Alex Sventitsky, designer and President.  He is a sincere and down to earth person … always helpful.  They are currently running a 35% off sale on the Platinum series.  
https://wywires.com

Audition and see if your ears confirm my opinion and the pro reviews.  Good luck.  

PS  No vested interest. Just a very satisfied customer.  

I would let the new preamp run in and then roll a few tubes before changing anything else (assuming that you are using the Rogue RP-7 recently posted about).

A couple pairs of Amperex 12au7 short plates will cost $300-$400 and long plates around $600, or so.

I would not tube roll until you have @ least 200 hours on the preamp.

DeKay

@dekay Thanks for remembering that. Yes the Rogue has been running non-stop with 200+ hours already and I have a set of burned-in $$$ Amperex Holland 7316s installed. Heavenly.

@jsalerno277 Not familiar with the WyWires, thanks for the heads up.

@sls883 The Fideliums are so cheap and so highly rated (cable of the DECADE) that I just ordered a pair. And returnable. But still looking and still taking feedback.

And thanks for all the other great input from everyone.

Good, the early 7316's are nice.

Here's something you may find of interest as you purchased the Fidelium speaker cables.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/first-impressions-silversmith-fidelium-interconnects

DeKay

@jaybe I look forward to your thoughts.  I wasn't expecting a lot from a pair of speaker wires. They exceeded my expectations. 

I have a relatively middle of the road system that I thought was pretty good, but when I added Silversmith Fidelium speaker cables to my system they had an incredible impact on the sound quality achieved and raised my system to a new level— while not cheap or inexpensive, but they did not cost me an arm and a leg.  The clarity, tonal qualities and locations of instruments, and the three-dimensional sound stage all “popped out” to what they should be, IMHO.  By”popped out” Id o not mean overly bright or in your face, … it was more like everything falling into place where things should be.