I have had Signal Silver ic's and speaker cable then Speltz's anti ic's and speaker cable now I am using Reality Cable. If your speakers are away from the back wall spend the extra and get the Reality Cable. If not then the Speltz cable is the best bargain. Imaging on the Reality cable is much better and speaker placement needs to be addressed. |
I can only comment on Signal Cable. I got the Analog and Silver cables with Eichmann ends by Signal Cable and they were a disappointment in 2 systems. Try Silver Serpent by BetterCables.com, great detail and smooth with tight bass. |
The Audio Art IC 3's are the best IC's under $100....BAR NONE.
They are not overpriced like other cable companies because of R&D. Talk to Rob and he will take care of you.
I would not use Signal cables in my system if they were free (I have and returned both their ic and pc.) |
Thanks Jwatusi. When I posted I was leaning towards Audio Art based on my resarch, though I'd still like to hear from others too. |
I've had good results from Signal Cable's Analog II IC. Not as good with the Speltz IC. |
I've never heard Art Audio or Signal, but I'll give my 2 cents on Speltz, which I have in my system now. They provide a great amount of detail and won't give you a thin or lean sound (probably because they're all copper). But they are noticeably susceptible to EMF and static, so placement is important. |
at that price point check out koolcables.com Soundbolts, definitely worth a listen.... |
"The Audio Art IC 3's are the best IC's under $100....BAR NONE."
Though that is a bit of a strong statement, I would agree that between the cables you are considering IMHO the Audio Art's would be the way to go. Excellent performing cables at their price point.
Best of luck,
John |
""The Audio Art IC 3's are the best IC's under $100....BAR NONE."
Though that is a bit of a strong statement, I would agree that between the cables you are considering IMHO the Audio Art's would be the way to go. Excellent performing cables at their price point."
So, you are saying they are excellent performing cables at this price piont and that they are the way to go between these three choices, but that you don't necessarily agree they are the best at this price point bar none. Can I accurately read in between the lines then that you might be thinking of another brand that is even better at this price point? If so, what?
Thanks! |
Also, has anyone compared Sound Bolt cables by Kool Cables, Inc. with Audio Art? (thanks Arthur above for the suggestion) |
Soulgoober,
No not necessarily, what I was saying is that for that statement to be true I/you would have had to of heard every single interconnect made in that price range and I'm pretty sure neither of us has heard them all. BUT, I'd agree with you in saying that out of his three choices I'd choose the Audio Art cables, they're a great cable.
As a side note, I'm Kool Cables. :)
Best regards,
John |
i have compared the audio art ic-3 to signal analog 2 and silver resolution and prefer the ic-3. another cable you might want to look into is the zu oxyfuel but again i prefer the ic-3. the kci soundbolts are worth checking into, i have the kci mandarinas that are quite a few steps above the ic-3's in performance but also a few steps above in cost. |
Soulgoober,
Sorry, I missed the fact that you are the orginal poster.I had you confused with Jwatusi who made the "BAR NONE" statement. Still stand by my opinion though, out of the orginal three you asked about I would choose the AA cable. Good luck in your quest and sorry for the confusion.
Best regards,
John |
Bllue jeans cables are good. |
LOL - No worries dude, I managed to piece that together on my own. ;) |
I have recently tried all 3. I borrowed some Signal silver IC's with eichmann bullets and wasn't that impressed. I then tried the Audio Art IC-5 interconnect and SC-5 speaker cables(in the last month), and sent them back for a refund. Don't get me wrong, they were quite good for the money, but just weren't "it" for me in my system. I got the Speltz IC's and speaker cables three weeks ago, and I absolutely love them. Nice detailed, warm sound, and the biggest soundstage I have heard yet in my system (Manley Stingray integrated, Cambridge 840C cd player, Paradigm Signature S2 speakers). It seems like they play louder at lower levels on the volume knob than any other cables I have tried. IMHO, they are every bit as good as my Transparent Super speaker cables and Music Link plus IC's. Not necessarily better, but to me just as good. I have since sold the Transparent cables. To me, the Speltz have to be one of the best values in cables. I just ordered a set of the bi-wire jumpers from them today, and will soon be outfitting my HT setup with anticables as well. I would encourage you to try them. You can always send them back if you don't like them for a refund. |
I haven't done the AA and KCI (KoolCablesInc) head-to-head, but have had them both here, both are really good for their price point, both are excellent guys to deal with, I favor the flavor of KCI a bit though....I use his Silkworms throughout my rig... |
mekong, did you let the audio arts burnin for a while?
totally different beast after burnin. |
Mboldda1-
I had Rob at Audio Art put them on the cable cooker before he sent them to me, so for what it's worth, yes they were burned in. |
mekong, when rob burns them , they are not fully burned in, they still need more burnin time just not as much without rob's burnin. |
I just want to chime in re: the Audio Art burn in.
I have Rob's SC5 spkr. cable biwired and yes, thet were cooked before shipping to me.
I still felt they were a bit bright for my liking and Rob mentioned another 50 hours may do the trick.
Long story short, it did do the trick.
Brightness went away without sacrificing high end extension.
Wouldn't have belived it if I hadn't heard it myself. |
Mboldda1- point taken. I may have not given them enough time to make a totally fair judgement. |
Mboldal1 is correct about burn in. Cable cookers can be tricky, to little time and the customer has to go thru a lengthy break in period. To much time on the cooker and the cables can sound pretty bad, this will go away but may take quite a few hours. I only cook my Silkworms for 24 hours as I've found this gives them a good start on the break in process, they will sound great right out of the box but the customer still gets to hear the differences as they continue to break in and open up. Silver cables tend to take quite a bit longer for treatment.
John |
I may split the difference with all of you. I use the AA IC-3 and Speltz speaker wires. a nice combination with the strengths of each. |
another nice combo is ic-3 plus straley speaker cables. |
I love the combo of the audio art pc, the ic 3's and Kimber 8TC bi-wired into my B&W 703's and HTM 7. Based on all this info, i love all the components and cables....BAR NONE....lmao
I get a bit carried away, but I have tried so many cables, it gives me sincere Peace of Mind to know i have my system complete and do not need to 'tweak' it anymore.
Hope that clears up my previous post. Cheers :) |
I have Signal speaker cable and all three types of Signal PC's in my system. Very satisfied with this combination. On the I/C front, I have firsthand experience with all the brands mentioned in the original post ... and my opinion as to which is best can be summed up as "it depends". If you want the cleanest, purest sound (some may call it analytical), with the most detail ... then the Speltz Anti I/C's are the clear choice. IMO, they're great in the mids and highs, but not so strong on the low end. For the best in full bodied sound top to bottom, the AA IC-3's are the best ... with the Signal Cable Silver Resolution coming in very close behind. I think that may be due to the fact that - with the exception of Signal's Eichmann connectors - these I/C's have very similar geometry in the internal wiring ... silver plating over OF copper. To me they give a similar presentation ... smooth through entire range, with excellent details, midrange clarity, and tight authoritative bass. The AA IC-3's just do it a tiny bit better. That said, for my tastes and my system, if I could only have one I/C from among these choices I'd go with this order: 1)AA IC-3, 2)Signal SR, 3)Anti-IC's. At that same time, I could live with either one and not feel lacking or disappointed ... make sense?
FWIW ... between a multi-channel set-up, CDP, Pre, Tube buffer stage, and mains, there are quite a few I/C's at work. One not mentioned in the original thread is the LAT International IC-200. It retails for $279 for 1M pair. It is my personal favorite, and the I/C between CDP front L/R to Pre. I had an opportunity to A/B this against the AA IC-3, and it is the best of the bunch. Does everything the IC-3's do with just a bit more clarity and refinement. |
Clean smooth sound not a bunch of depth, yes the Anti ic's do work good. Definetely a bargain even with Eichmann's. Break in time is very critical with these. At least 150 hours on that solid core magnet wire. |
After reading this thread, I ordered a set of AA IC-3, will be comparing them to some interconnects I have on hand:
AA IC-1
Speltz anti-ic with standard connectors
Tara Labs RSC prime(this set is from maybe 10 years ago)
Better Cables entry ic
I did see in the Audiogon review of the IC-3s a recommendation for a rather lengthy break-in before the sound is good, while they felt the IC-1 really sounded good right away.
What has been some of your experiences with the IC-3 regarding break in?
My biggest single audio improvement goal is to improve the intelligibility of the dialog in movies. My wife and I both have some hearing loss, and we have a devil of a time understanding dialog in movies. I am hoping the IC-3 will have an edge in dialog over the Speltz or IC-1. |
mtrot, did you get rob to burn them in? it will shorten the time required for you to burn them in. when i first got in audio art cables i had ic-1's and ic-3's on hand at the same time. the ic-3's had more detail, better bass, more of a silent background and very dynamic. the overall sound was very balanced and they just sound like music. |
Mboldda1,
No, I didn't think to request burn in. I've not ever really noticed cables sound quality changing that much over time. But I am hoping I will find the cable I am looking for in terms of the price/sound quality ratio. Especially since I need a bunch of them between sources and from pre/pro to power amp. |
Well, I've been A/B comparing the AA IC-1 and IC-3 for several days now. I probably have around 10 to 15 hours on the IC-3. Maybe it has something to do with my 50+ year old status, but I am having a real hard time hearing much difference. In the mid-range, I may actually prefer the IC-1.
I have the IC-1 connected to the front L/R multichannel input, while the IC-3 are connected to the MD/DAT input and selecting "analog direct". That way, I can switch rapidly between them. |
mtrot. here are some of the things you can listen for when comparing the ic-1's to ic-3's.
listen to the quietness of the background.
listen to the dynamic range, how fast one goes from soft to loud.
overall balance of frequency range.
power of bass.
high frequency extension.
soundstage/imaging.
tonality. |
Thanks, Mboldda1
OK, I left the CD player repeating a CD for 2 or 3 days through the IC-3s to burn them in some more.
Still really hard to hear a big difference between the IC-1 and IC-3. I think the IC-3 has just a bit more HF extension and clarity than IC-1. I don't hear any difference at all in LF impact or extension.
Next, I replaced the IC-1 with the Speltz anti-ic. Pretty much the same result: hard to tell a difference, but the IC-3 had a bit more clarity and HF.
Actually, it seems that the Speltz and the IC-1 sound very similar, which I guess is not terribly surprising, since they are both copper cables. Which would seem to make the IC-1 a bargain at their price!
At this point, given the edge in clarity for the IC-3s, which may be a benefit in understanding dialog in movies and lyrics in music, I am thinking they may be my top choice of this group. |
I was a big fan of Anti Cable speaker wires. Seeing how a bare wire works, I
wondered about how a bare ribbon would perform. There are some fairly
expensive versions out there using ribbons. I made my own out of nines and
nines pure 12 gauge copper ribbon that happened to be 2 inches wide. The
highs, dynamics, and detail all took a shocking leap forward. |
Oh my - someone said that anti-cables are weak in the bass?? With my Vandersteen 5A's they literally shake the house with organ, bass drum, etc. |
I have been using Belden 9913F7 (coaxial design) to good effect! |
mtrot, give us an update on the ic-3's.
a killer cable for sale on audio circle is the kci mandarina. |
Well, I have no longer been A/B comparing the IC-3s to other cables, just listening. I do think they sound as good as the IC-1 or the Speltz anti-ic. They do allow a bit more HF content.
Keep in mind, I am not using a great system here. Oppo 970 dvd player into a Sony ES receiver. It may be that in a better system, it might be easier to discern differences between interconnects. |
Have just replaced an all Signal Anolog-2s with the IC-3s.(4 Pair).
No contest in my system, a top to bottom improvement more detailed and lots more dynamic. Just waiting to recieve the SC-5s hope it works out to be as good.
FWIW they are both goods guys to deal with.
Steve |
the sc-5's are great speaker cables, i almost sold my straley sc but kept them because they are more extended than the sc-5's, but i still have the sc-5's. |
BTW, as a follow-up, I ended up buying an Audio Art IC-3 interconnect cable and SC-5 speaker cables. I haven't received them yet and honestly will be a bad person to review them since I'm new to the audiophile world and have almost no basis of comparison, BUT I'm very happy with my purchase and Rob at Audio Art was a pleasure to deal with. |
make sure you give them plenty of time to burn in.
did you get rob to pre-cook them? |
Rob is a great guy and makes awesome cables at the price points. I think you be hard pressed to beat the speaker cables at the price point. John seems like a great guy also and I will be trying a few of his cables as well; |
I auditioned the Art Audio IC 3 against a similar constructed Wireworld Silver Eclipse 5 that cost $800 a meter ( system was Classe Cam Mono 350's, Audio Research LS 25mkII, Audio Aero Prima Tube DAC, CEC TL2, and Audio Physic Libra speakers).
The Audio Art IC-3 had a very similar sonic signature and resolution and was within 90% of the performance.
Btw, the price difference was $800 / meter for the Wireworld vs. $100 meter for the Audio Art.
Do the math.... |
