2. cables
  3. 1149978042

Signal Cable or Audio Art Cable for best budget...

ICs for pre/pro to power amp, and from DVD-HD player's 5.1 output to 5.1 input on pre/pro? Or, possibly another brand?

I would like to go with Venhaus Pulsars, but I think that is going to run into too much money.

My current five ICs from pre/pro to power amp are a set I got from Blue Jeans Cable some time ago for $75 for the whole set. They are described as "Belden 1505F".

If I went with Signal Cable, I could go with the Analog 1($36/pair) or Analog 2($49/pair). With Audio Art, I would probably have to go with the IC-1, since the IC-3 runs $90/1 meter pair.

Or, I could pop for a little more dough for the front 3 channels, and go less expensive on the surrounds.

I don't know much about cables or how good the Belden 1505F is, but my sound watching DVDs seems a little flat. Dialog and surround info seem somewhat incoherent.

Should I expect an improvement over the Blue Jeans Belden with something like the Signal or Audio Art cables?
mtrot

Showing 4 responses by mtrot

mtrot OP
804 posts
 
Well, well! I just swapped out the Blue Jeans cable on the center channel with an old(about 10 years) Tara Labs RSC Prime ic that I had on hand. Whoa, the highs and the dialog were instantly clearer. Still not as good as I would like them, though.

This makes me think the Blue Jeans Belden cables are not that great. This is reinforcing my idea of changing out all 5 of the ics from the receiver to the power amp.

I am also thinking of de-spading the Speltz anti-cables that connect the center channel speaker, and connecting the bare wires.
mtrot OP
804 posts
 
Hmm...thanks, never heard of those. I will check them out.
mtrot OP
804 posts
 
Well, I did get a set of Audio Art Cable IC-1, and I'm pretty impressed. They are noticably clearer than the Blue Jeans cable, and smoother than the Tara Labs RSC Prime. The mids are very nice, but the highs are still there nicely.

What has made the most difference in the clarity of the center speaker is that I took the spades off my Anti-cables, and just connected the bare wire. This made more difference than the IC cables. Now, dialog is very easy to understand, and vocals are great.

I also just picked up a set of the Speltz Anti-ICs, and I am going to compare them to the Audio Arts.
mtrot OP
804 posts
 
Hi, I'm glad somebody followed up on this.

I tell you what. The Speltz anti-ics are unbelievable. It is like a veil is lifted. I get clarity, soundstaging, imaging, deep bass. All that stuff. Vocals are fabulous. I want to get another set of them with the upgraded connectors.

The IC-1s are pretty good, but when I installed the anti-ics, there was no doubt they were staying on my front main speakers.(I only have the one system for audio and video)

The IC-1s are very nice and smooth sounding. They have good frequency response, and are better than the set of Blue Jeans cables they replace. But the Speltz are just in another league.

The only thing the Speltz may lack compared to my Tara Labs RSC Prime is maybe the exteme top frequencies. But with everything else so good, I can live with that. Besides, I am not sure the Tara's high end is necessarily accurate.
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