I've already weighed in on how these sound, and I'm not a trusted source for that kind of feedback here, so I'll not belabor it. But I can give you some info on cosmetics. These cables are somewhat delicate. I'm sure they are tough enough, given their covering in a laminate. But whats inside that laminate is a sheet of metal foil. Not as thin as a sheet of household aluminum foil (roughly twice as thick), but foil all the same.
I was putting mine up on risers. I'm using these Audioquest Fog lifters. In that process, while one cable was still on my wooden floor, I dropped one of the risers, and it landed on a cable. Now that cable has a pucker in that spot, that will never be removed. There goes that flawless golden ribbon. Still works fine, of course. And does not look that bad actually. But it's no longer perfect. IMO if you are one of those people that refuse do buy a used item here if the cosmetic condition is not a 10, then stay away from these cables. But if you can put up with the inevitable crinkles that will happen in handling, and gently-gently pulling them through cabinet openings and such, then they are wonderful.
I'm not in this hobby to show off my gear. I'm in it for the sound. And these perform remarkably well in that regard. I just sold a pair of Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables that I'd been using for years, and they were in good condition. So I know being careful with a speaker cable is possible. And on some - like Nordost's - it's practically required, if you care about cosmetics. On these, somewhat more so.
However, if you are one of those people that do like to show off their gear, there's no hiding these things. A pair of 2 1/4" wide, shiny gold ribbons running from your gear to your speakers is not something you'll easily hide. Even more so if you put them on risers. They show themselves off. Brilliantly. And IMO, look wonderful.
I was putting mine up on risers. I'm using these Audioquest Fog lifters. In that process, while one cable was still on my wooden floor, I dropped one of the risers, and it landed on a cable. Now that cable has a pucker in that spot, that will never be removed. There goes that flawless golden ribbon. Still works fine, of course. And does not look that bad actually. But it's no longer perfect. IMO if you are one of those people that refuse do buy a used item here if the cosmetic condition is not a 10, then stay away from these cables. But if you can put up with the inevitable crinkles that will happen in handling, and gently-gently pulling them through cabinet openings and such, then they are wonderful.
I'm not in this hobby to show off my gear. I'm in it for the sound. And these perform remarkably well in that regard. I just sold a pair of Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables that I'd been using for years, and they were in good condition. So I know being careful with a speaker cable is possible. And on some - like Nordost's - it's practically required, if you care about cosmetics. On these, somewhat more so.
However, if you are one of those people that do like to show off their gear, there's no hiding these things. A pair of 2 1/4" wide, shiny gold ribbons running from your gear to your speakers is not something you'll easily hide. Even more so if you put them on risers. They show themselves off. Brilliantly. And IMO, look wonderful.