Reference level cables that are 10-years old? buy?

Hi Justlisten,

These were sitting at the San Francisco store. They probably brought them over from Berkeley as they are in the process of moving to where dB Audio used to be or around that area.

FrankC

Just picked up the cables from San Francisco. I was incorrect, and they are not 10 years old. They are version 2 of those cables, all with active shield. So, maybe 5 years old or less?

To be exact:
Absolute Reference X2 XLR (1m): I believe this retailed at more than $4k.
Designer's Reference X2 XLR (20ft): At this lenght, probably close to $10 originally.
Resolution Reference X2 speaker cables (10ft): $3200 retail?

The left side of my brain is asking what the heck am I doing spending this kind of money on cables...

FrankC

I've only had time to listen to the cheapest cable in the bunch, the Resolution speaker cable. Compares to the Transparent Ultra that I am currently using, I would say the following:

1/ It has darker background (I guess that's what that actie shielding is supposed to do);
2/ Better definition of instruments;
3/ Better timber;
4/ Much more layering in the soundstage;
5/ Better control of the bass;
6/ More detail;
7/ But more polite in presentation. The Transparent seem to have more "impact". So more "wild"/"raw" as oppose to "polite", I guess.

As always, changing one thing will lead to another. I figure by changing out some of the upstream interconnects like the Cardas Golden Reference will more likely remove some of that "politeness".

I was supposed to return these by 3pm this afternoon. But I think I will just purchase them. The deal is way too good and I can sell my old cables to recoup some cost. That's my right brain talking. My left brain is still trying to accept the idea of spending this kind of dough on cables.

Thanks all for your inputs and listening to me rant.

FrankC