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Review: Acoustic Zen Absolute Interconnect

Category: Cables

I was looking forward to audtioning Robert Lee's new highest reference Acoustic Zen interconnects & speaker wires which he calls the Absolute. They represent his latest thinking regarding the state of the art in his house of wires. About two years ago I had gone through a lengthy audtion process, which included five highly regarded sets of wires from well known companies, untill I decided to replace all my wires with AZ Silver reference II & Matrix reference II and Satori speaker wire. I'm a great fan of AZ for two major reasons;1) They offer great "bang for the buck" out standing performance for the cost ratio.2) They have,for me, a wonderful combination of tight/powerful bass,great details,transparency,dynamics,natural timbres, along with being musical and a smooth "sense" of ease. The process of audtioning the Absolute began with inserting a Absolute interconnect between my DAC and PRE-AMP along with putting the Absolute speaker wire in. Since I bi-amp there are four sets of interconnects so I put the Absolute interconnect at the front of the system. Well, it turned out to be a very gratifying experience! It not only tremendously improved the above stated virtues but added the following;1) A giant soundstage with excellent layering of players in a sense of real space.2)A sriking sense of air/three-dimensionality around everyone in the soundstage.3)Much improved/natural timbres.4)The new cables added that wonderful "organic/musicality" that I think we all strive for in our systems. It strongly reminded me of the experience I had when I audtioned my Pass Labs-350.5 to my then current amp an Edge NL-10. The Edge, which is still a great amp with many reference level characteristics, just kinda sounded sterile compared with the musicality of the 350.5. I know thats a very subjective way of explaining my experience, but its hard to use objective language at times to explain why a component just sounds more like the experience of real music. These wires are not inexpensive(2000.00 for the interconnects and 2800.00 for the speakers wires) but offer so much without any apparent shoutcomings that I think they are very fairly priced and compete with many reference level wires at a much lower price.So I think Mr. Lee has done it again, great sound at a reasonable price! As a final note I want to mention, even though we all know it all ready, that important factor of system matching and synergy long with your personnal taste make home audtioning a must for us serious audiophiles! I highly recommend you try these wires out if your a fan of AZ or looking to upgrade you wires in your sytem.

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teajay

Showing 9 responses by teajay

teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Guidocorona, when I did my original lengthy audtion of different wires a couple a years ago, AudioQuest was one of the flavors I did listen to. I do not remember which specific cable I tried, it was towards the high end of their line, but found it to be ok at best. So I'm not a fan,however I know the Sky cables have gotten very good reviews recently, so maybe they greatly improved compared with what I heard a couple of years back. I don't know if this really helps you out but its the best I can do.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Rsbeck, I think you took my comments out of context in my review. What I would call the house sound of Acoustic Zen cables in general is very musical and yet detailed etc.,so the Absolute cables are an evolution towards the standard of real music. They take what the original AZ cables provided to a higher level plus adding that sense of organic/musicality that gives a sense of ease and flow that real music seems to have. So the original AZ cables are still pretty damn good,not inferior,but the new Absolute cables are just that much better. As far as your question about what Robert Lee did from a technological prespective to get these improvements I don't have that type of expertise, but I believe if you call AZ and ask Robert what he did he would share this information with you. He's really a great gentleman and fun to talk to.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Guidocorona, that's a great question which I cannot answer.In my response to Resbeck,I shared I don't have that type of technique information but that being the type of gentleman that Mr.Lee is, he has always taken the time to talk to me on the phone and answer any questions I have had in the past and I'm sure he would do the same for you. He's really a pleasure to talk to. I was told he will back at his office this coming monday, why don't you give him a call and see what he says and be nice enough to share what you found out after talking with him.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Wow Rsbeck, it seems to me you want to pin me in an either/or position on the older AZ cables in comparsion with the new Absolute wires. Either there was something wrong with the previous AZ cables or the Absolute wires are qualitatively different. That type of logic excludes gradients and degrees of change or improvement. I prefer sometimes/and as a logical position. In this case the new Absolute cable takes the virtues of the older AZ to a higher degree and adds new wonderful characteristics to the sonics. So the older AZ cables did not have to be inferior for the new Absolute reference to sound better. Finally, I hope I'm not getting defensive but if you take a look at my total system it has pretty good pieces from the digital front end all the way through to the speakers. So I don't think there was anything lacking in the overall sound of my system,to be quite honest its one of the best home systems I have ever heard,but the Absolute brought the total sound to even a higher level.One last note,I am curious about what Mr.Lee did on the mechanical level to produce these new great cables,but first only care about finding out about their sound signiture to see if I like them and later on about inquiring about the specifics of the technology.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Rsbeck, I find it hard to believe,sharing this with respect to you, why you would find it so hard to accept that even if you have a system that already functions at a reference level of resolution that it can be brought to even a higher level with better cabling. We all know that cables are another important piece of equipment that allows a well put together system to really shine and move towards the reference of real music. You also are implying that the Absolute cables are another generation or upgrade of the original Silver&MatrixII reference cables. The Absolute is a totally new design, even though I'm pretty sure that Robert Lee took what he had learned designing the other series of cables as a launchpad for his new higher reference level design. If your really a good skeptic,and not just closed minded,don't take my word for how good the Absolute cable is, but audtion in your system and make up your own mind. I do believe that I stated in the review that with any cables a home audtion is one of few "MUSTS" in life.The last time I talked to Mr.Lee was only regarding when he was coming out with the Absolute wires,not technological explanations of the cables. I do know he would more than happy to discuss this with you if your that interested in those aspects regarding his new reference level cables.One more time improvement doesnot have to be an either/or but a refinement of what already is plus new attributes that take us closer to the reference of live music.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Guidocorona,thanks for sharing the information regarding the type of metal used in the Absolute cables. I also talked to Robert Lee early today and he also shared he went from a teflon to an "air" foam material to insulate the cables. I'm no engineer so I don't quite understand the importance of this change,Mr. Lee said it took about a year to find the right material to use,but I do know the cables sound great.I hope you will audtion them and tell us what you think.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Guidocorona,the way Mr.Lee made it sound to me was the major expense was the new and different dialectic/insulation materials he uses in the Absolute cable. He did not mention anything regarding the metals used in the cables when explaining the higher cost but definitely talked about the much higher cost of the insulating materials. I have always had the impression that as designer,Robert Lee, builds his cables to a high level of quality but doesnot add cost to his cables just to increase profit by using esoteric/expensive materials. So, if he uses a more expensive type of material its the only way to get the sound/improvement he is seeking in his process of improving his sonic reference.I want to be clear I'm not saying the Absolute cables are the "best" in the world.I can state there the best I tried in my system and are highly competitive with much more expensive cables on the market.
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Rsbeck,I hope that Lrsky has no regret posting what he did to give you a chance to get back on this thread. Even though your personnal veiwpoint about AZ's website has nothing to directly to do with what this discussion is all about,if it gives you pleasure{bemusement} I'm happy that we gave you something to brighten up your life. It seems that you have no direct experience either with Mr.Lee or his products but what the heck,little things like facts or objective information should not enter a conversation like this.Just your veiwpoint based on your desire to have a little fun even if that means being nasty towards someone you have never met or talked to {Robert Lee}.All your posts on at least this thread remind me of the old saying,"better to be thought a fool than open one's mouth and prove it". So before you respond to defend your honor,I will state I will not answer back to your response in order not to reinforce your type of "fun" anymore. It's obvious all you want to do is to be negative and nitpick what ever anybody else believes anyways. You have the right to be wrong and have your bemusement all at the same time,lucky you!
teajay OP
1,714 posts
 
Guidocorona,it was my pleasure to share my postive experience with the new AZ cables.Even though their more expensive than the Silver Reference II's they made enough of a sonic difference in my system that it would be hard to go back to my old reference point. I have another post called "the law of diminishing returns" that addresses the topic of what one spends to get real sonic improvements at higher costs for smaller incremenents of improvement.Still,the Absolute interconnect/speaker wire are giving me a higher level of listening pleasure on a daily basis,so the higher cost was worth it to me.I have tried much more expensive wires and did not enjoy them at all,so we all know more $ doesnot always mean better sound by any means.
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