Wish I knew about the Speltz, but you certainly get speed, attack, refinement, soundstage etc with the Quattro Fil, no doubt about that. The key problem I have with it is it strips some of the warmth of the real thing away and in my systems made me less interested in sitting down to listen to the music. But it sounds like the Quattro Fil may be right for you given the need you expressed. |
Some months ago, I auditioned the Quattro, Transparent Super, and compared them to my established Kimber KCAG. My sys in part consisted of LP-12, ARC LS-15, Mag 3.6., and Manley 250 mono's. All cables were xlr. To my surprise, Transparent was the choice because I felt it delivered a more acoustical sound from top to bottom than either the Kimber/Quattro. The reference instrument/artist was Milt Jackson on vibes, Ray Brown on bass, Mickey Roker on drums. I now have transparent super throughout my system. All are quality products and expensive so listen 1st. |
I'm replacing a pair of cardas golden reference with Speltz. They have a 30 day return demo, so its really no risk and the cables far outperform their price. |
I have a couple of the Speltz cables in key positions in my systems and would say they are warm sounding cables. I'm pretty sure the Nordost are less warm sounding.
So for your application, I vote for SignalCable Silver Resolution wiring. |
I wouldn't necessarily consider the Speltz anti-ics warm or warmer. Although they are perhaps slightly more full-bodied than other similar performaning ics.
I've compared the Speltz'ics to other cables that were performance competitive to the Nordost Valhallas (but not the QuatroFil) and the Speltz were easily superior.
In fact, thus far, there is only one ic that I've heard that is better performaning than the Speltz anti-ics and that's the Audio Teknes, which is what I currently use.
Funny thing about this hobby, the SignalCables Silver Resolution Plato mentions weren't even in the same performance league as the Speltz ics in my system. And I highly regard Plato's opinions. Especially when it comes to amplifiers.
-IMO |
Thanks for responses.
The Quattrofil listed at $600 has been snapped up by somebody but it's likely I"ll get one of these.
I've also read that Speltz's anti ic's far outperform their price and beat Nordost SPM's and Kimber Selects(little far-fetched claim) so I'll also be considering these in my secondary setups if they don't live up to my expectations.
Cheers. |
I wouldn't say the claims are far-fetched about the Speltz cables especially with their anti-ics.
Swapping in a 1m pair of the $100 Speltz anti-ics made my $3500 pair of ics sound veiled in highs and bloated in the bass. Which I sold immediately.
The Speltz anti-ics also easily surpassed another pair of ics that were direct performance competitors to Nordost Valhallas (according to a number of reviewers).
Far fectched claims? Hardly. Are the Speltz cables the best buy of this century? Perhaps.
-IMO |
Have you tried the Oritek X-1s or X-2s? Clear, clear, clear. No warmth. Just the music. IMHO. |
Hi. I just tested the Speltz against the Oritek x-1 and x-2. In my system, the Speltz was significantly better than the x-1. Although the x-2 and the Speltz were more similar than dissimilar in my system, the x-2 had a touch more midrange body and the speltz a touch better low extension. The x-2 is an excellent interconnect. The Speltz, as Stehno testified, really is a "best buy" and shows that performance sometimes is not linked to price. |
The Speltz, as Stehno testified, really is a "best buy" and shows that performance sometimes is not linked to price. Sometimes? How about the Nuforce Ref 9 and especially the Nuforce SE amps? The SEs may well be without equal and at a fraction of the price of its closest competition. Along the same lines are the Foundation Research line conditioners. The old adage, "One must spend a lot of money to realize one does not need to spend a lot of money." applies to this hobby perhaps as much or more than any other. I think it would be more accurate to assume its the aethetics, sometimes build contstruction, and name recognition that is often times more directly proportionate to the amount of money spent than to think the added expenses are directly related to performance improvements. -IMO |
Stehno, an excellent post. I think the success of the Speltz cables probably says more about how over-priced some of the 'name' cables are. There are too many cables on the market that are $100 of technology (maybe), and $2000 of marketing. And I am a cable 'believer'. I've never tried the Speltz cables, but a few years back, a friend built a set of IC's with nothing but 2 polished silver wires fed through PE tubes. When compared to the Audioquest Diamonds and Lapis I had at the time, I was stunned by how much more open, uncolored, and dynamic they were.
That's when I started ignoring everything but the sound. The IC's I use now are pretty expensive, but at least they outperform $20 DIY cables. |
The Speltz anti ic's are going through some serious changes as they break in. I have never heard the sonic changes in a cable like I am hearing now. They are very detailed out of the box. After 24 hours straight and 8 hours with a Purist Audio cd enhancer there is more depth, width and less detail. Warmer sound right now. If the detailed highs come back and they add a litle more weight on the bottom I would be extremely happy for the price I paid. Right now as they sit they beat a lot of other ic's. For $150 I had to give them a try as most should. Same thing goes for David Schulte's wire of the Upgrade Company, very detailed, open and not forward or colored. Excellent for high end systems that can handle the detail they deliver. Schulte's wire does not get in the way of your components. Again, you do not have to spend a fortune for really good cables. Upgrade Company speaker wire is better than anything I have tried period. Just the right tonality. It takes him a while to make but it is worth it and you don't have to pay for any ads. These two are definetly winners in my book for the people's choice award. If you want fancy names don't come round here! |
The Speltz anti ic's are amazing. They are open,detailed and fast with a nice hint of warmth and not forward at all. Good solid bass extension. They seem to be more on the silver sounding side than copper because of the extended highs which are refined and sweet, not edgy. They will get your feet moving for sure. They are revealing and will let you know when you have made a change in your system for better or worse. People will shy away from these at this price point which is a big mistake. After they get some good run time, which I accelerated, they take on a new level.Farfetched claims are out the window. You don't need to trust the testimonials for a 1m pair with eichmann's for $150 bucks.They are going to rival some very good ic's out there. |
I've lost my response twice, so I'll keep this short. I use Signal Cable Silver Resolutions for analog and Oritek X-2's for digital. I'm hoping that Jp1208 can answer the debate between silver and copper(Speltz)on analog vs. digital. |
Or maybe Plato can answer the silver versus copper, on digital versus analog? Alex(of APL Hi-Fi) got me thinking about it, but I don't think he will see this. Alex may have found silver with a certain RCA that adds no harshness. Also, and I have to compliment Plato on his advice of Signal Cable Silvers with Nuforce, what part, Plato, did your new line conditioner play in eliminating the slight harshness that Signal Cable Silvers have? I have to mention that it is only in comparison to the X-2's that I even heard the slight harshness on analog, and it doesn't interfere with musical enjoyment on analog. I also want to compliment Ori(of Oritek Audio) for his recommendation of X-2's on Alex's 3910 and Signal Cable Silvers for my Linn LP-12 source. |
I have converted over to all Speltz now.I started when they had a different style all together than today. The new version is my preferred although the old version had better bass even with its fairly cheesy RCA setup (seperate pin and sleeve for hot and return so one channel was two seperate runs) OK that said these are incredible cables. The first thing I noticed was how big and detailed the image got, how smooth the HF got (with an MF Trivista SACD) and it just became easier to detect small recording details. In fact I heard things in reference recordings I did not hear before. This cable clearly represents the best audio value I have come across. You owe it to yourself to try them. What did I have before? You name it, I tried many interconnect cables in the <$1,000 range from Kimber,Nordost, YBA, MIT, Cardas etc. - you can see I sold my Kimber here on A'gon.
ET |
Electroid, can you tell me if you are using them with cd or analog, or both? |
Speltz on digital is excellent. No glare not forward and the highs are still detailed and transparent. Some do like the sound forward and detailed without the glare and Signal Cable silver did not take out the glare on digital.
Speltz anti ic's do not give you that roll off in the highs either like I thought they would. They do give you a relaxed presentation without rounding off everything. There is also more body in the mids and a tighter more extended low end which fills everything in and does not leave that hollow sound that most silver cables do. I thought I was going to get a thick syrupy sound and it just did not happen. When the cables start breaking in the mids start to get real congested and the highs lose there sparkle then they open back up again after a lot of hours! The speed, detail and openess is there like a silver conductor would produce but with more warmth and body. PRAT is definetly present!
I am voting for bargain of the century in ic's for sure without a doubt. It defenitly works great with Nuforce gear and digital cdp. I don't have vinyl so I can't comment there. Could be a contenda though! It is good to know that you do not have to spend a lot to get a lot and I am talking over 1k range. So Ori, I hear you have done some really good things with your new X2 ic and don't charge a fortune.It seems more and more people are coming out with good products at an affordable price so people can enjoy music and still fill there gas tanks.
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Electroid, if you have not done so yet, try lifting the Anti-cables about 2 inches off the ground. Depending on your system's resolution, you might be in for a surprise.
I won't tell you what the surprise is but if you notice the difference please post it here.
-IMO |
Both- Trivista SACD- Thorens TD 125 w/Rabco SL8E so they come from the phono to the phono pre and from the phono pre to my Placette passive line stage. I feel they are the best cables I have tried on both. My phono pre is a 54db gain tubed MM unit.
ET |
All my anticables both interconnect and speaker cable are dangling in free air and have been that way since their installation. Both the interconnects and speaker cable cooperate nicely if one uses the correct length avoiding too long a length. What did you notice when removing them from the floor? I can imagine but I won't be trying it as I will leave things as they are in my setup. Everything else I have isolatd has shown benefits.
ET |
There is a lowered noise-floor and the perception that the cables make the sound faster.
Similar to installing a slightly 'faster' amp that gives the perception of a quicker tempo. Although it's not really a quicker tempo, it's just a slightly more dynamic 0-60 and 60-0 in 4ns type of effect. |
