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Shortlist of Speaker Cables/ICs: advice/opinions

Good Day,

I am in the market for speaker cables and interconnects. The system includes an Electrocompaniet amp, Shanling CDP and Gallo Ref III speakers. I am looking for 6-8ft single wire SC and 1m RCA IC, budget of $700-$900 new or used.

The characterisitics I am after are: something detailed and accurate, but not clinical/not too lean. I also prefer something warm as opposed to something bright dry as long as it isn't too rolled off. However accuracy is the key.

I have come up with the following shortlist and would like any suggestions, opinions and experiences. As you can see, I plan to get SC and IC from the same brand (this has always worked well for me):

Kimber: MonocleXL SC and KS-1011 IC
Analysis Plus: Solo Oval 8 SC and Solo Crystal IC
Harmonic Tech: Pro 9 Plus SC and Pro-Silway III IC
Acoustic Zen: Satori II SC and Matrix Ref II IC

Please try not to suggest other brands as many are simply not available to me. I have also tried Cardas and Audience, neither of which impressed me (well, the Cardas Golden Cross did but is way out of my budget).

Thanks and Regards,
X
xenithon

Showing 6 responses by xenithon

xenithon OP
130 posts
 
I must ask once again, please try NOT suggest other brands. They are not available to me and thus I will not be able to audition them. I do not want to buy blind.

X
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
I must mentione that I live in South Africa. Availability is very limited. It is also not possible to audition all the cables even those with 30 day trials as it would cost $100 or more just to send them here and back. The ones on my list are the ones I can get and will audition before buying.
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
Hi There,

Will do Driver. What I am doing on these forums is getting opinions on what would be worth trying and which combos to try. It is not easy to set up home auditions here so I need to know what I will be demoing (I can't go back for 5 different combos unfortunately, dealers won't do that here).

Boa2: I was actually thinking more about copper throughout. That is why I thought of the Solo Crystal and not Silver Oval, and the Matrix Ref instead of Silver Ref. The reason is that I had silver before (HGA, Kimber KCAG) and did not really like them in my system. Sounded a bit edgy and bright.

Right now it seems that my two main choices would be the AP combo or AZ combo. The Kimber's seem out of range (price and availability). Has anyone tried and perhaps compared the AP and AZ cables listed?

Cheers,
X
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
I guess I have to say it again: I live in South Africa and thus those I have not mentioned are not available. Do not forget that all these 30-60 day trial periods are normally ONLY valid in the US. And even if they are valid internationally, I am still liable for shipping to me and back which is easily $100 or so.

X
PS. Thanks for the input. It is really appreciated but simply not applicable to me.
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
Hi Again Guys,

Thanks for all the great info. I think for the moment the two combos on my shortlist which I will be testing soon are:

Analysis Plus Solo Crystal IC and Solo Crystal Oval 8 SC
Acoustic Zen Matrix Ref II IC and Satori II SC

I will see how each fare in the system. However, any experiences and advice about these two combos is appreciated. If anyone has compared them I would love to hear your thoughts and findings.

Cheers,
X
xenithon OP
130 posts
 
Friz: I am very interested in the Kimber combo but the pricing is a major factor. I do not think I would be able to get the MonocleXL and KS-1011, but I will be able to get the MonocleX and 1011. Do you think it is worth it going for the MonocleX? I have heard the difference between in and the XL is quite significant.

X
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