Review: Purist Audio Design 20th Anniversary Aqueous Speaker cable


Category: Cables

I love these cables!

I started out with Monster's 2.4s bi-wire. Wanting to get a taste of a more high-end cable company, I made a lateral move (in terms of $$) to the PAD Musaeus. The Musaeus is a very nice cable, but it didn't blow my socks off in comparison to the Monster. So the Monster 2.4s is a very good cable, IMO.

So I bought on audiogon a used 2 meter pair of 20th Anniversary Aqueous bi-wire for around half the retail price.

Now we're cookin'! A definite improvement! I find my system now has greater resolution and detail, with improved imaging and soundstaging. Everything seems more natural.

While the Purist is a stiffer cable than the Monster, they are by no means super stiff--they are quite easy to work with. Purist doesn't include the long leads in their measurement, which means that the labeling is a little misleading: a 2M cable is really 8.5 feet. The standard spades are 8mm (5/16"). I have 1/4 speaker and amp terminals and the spades work just fine, though it would be nice to have the exact right size. Although very nicely built and finished, I have a little quibble with the spades. They probably work great with terminals that don't have those plastic coverings, with a slot for the spades, that many terminals come with now. But I have them on my speakers, and I can make a satisfactory connection, but not jam them quite all the way. Almost, but not quite. And the way the rubber insulation rides fairly high up means that it is inevitible that some will be nicked or rubbed away.

I mostly listen to Grateful Dead, I am also a Shirley Bassey fan. So I need something that can rock AND also do female vocals well.

All in all I am very pleased with these cables.

Associated gear
mbl 7008 Int. Amp.
Linn Majik CD Player
Krell Resolution 3 Speakers
nyctc7

Showing 1 response by nyctc7

Since I bought the cables used, they had already been broken in, so I can't really comment on the settling-in process for this model. But I can't say that I have noticed any undue brightness.