Stunned by a cable upgrade


Yesterday I received a 12ft. pair of Analysis Plus Oval Nine speaker cable and I am absolutely stunned by the positive difference they have made in my setup. They replaced a 14 ft. biwired pair of DH Labs Silversonic T-14s. I ordered these on the advice and glowing reviews of fellow members of this forum in an attempt to tame my bright system. I am currently using a Sim Audio Moon I-5 integrated, Sonus Faber Concertinos, Musical Fidelity E60 CD player and NHT SW3P subwoofer.

I must say I've never had the experience of one component making such an audible difference. The DH Labs have a very in-your-face presentation, and the soundstage is flat by comparison. Changing to the Oval Nines I was shocked how much width and especially depth were added to the soundstage. It had the effect of opening backwards like an accordian. Amazing! All the glare was gone and the music became bigger, fuller and just seemed to roll out effortlessly. So full in fact, I had to adjust my subwoofer to compensate for the increased bass and corresponding mudiness.

I spent the entire evening marveling at how the music of Robby Longley, Sunny Sumter, Diana Krall, Jesse Cook, Inscendio, Yo Yo Ma, and Oscar Lopez came to life. My gold Dave Brubeck Time Out CD had always sounded so thin, but now flowed with an ease and roundness I had never enjoyed before. Paul Desmond's sax was so real. The instruments and voices on every CD I tried seemed more lifelike and natural.

Previously, I had tried various affordable interconnects from Cardas, Kimber, Tara, Monster and DH Labs thinking this might help. While the different interconnects did change the character of the sound, the shifts were pretty subtle. A pair of Cardas Golden Cross proved to be the most effective and expensive, but the problem still persisted. It's almost as if everything was bottlenecked at the speaker cables, and now the music seems to flow unrestrained.

The DH Labs are in biwire configuration. The Oval Nines are a single run. I would have thought the biwired cables would have an edge in spaciousness, but this is not the case in my system. I had considered changing out the Moon I-5 for a tube preamp/SS amp combo hoping to cure the leaness. With the Analysis Plus now in my system, I no longer have the urge to change my amp. I'm starting to see how good the Sim Audio really is. I also have on order a Bel Canto DAC 1.1 and I hope this will reap even greater rewards.

I know this must sound like a cheap plug for a product by a manufacturer, but it's not. I'm still amazed by the transformation my system made last night, especially since both cables have been so well reviewed and are fairly close in price. Has anyone else experienced such an improvement in their setup by changing cables? And if so, what were the components involved?
gunbei

Showing 1 response by wellfed

FWIW, both my brother and myself are using the Analysis Plus Oval Nine speaker cables in somewhat similar systems. We have exactly the same speakers and preamps. He uses a single run of 8' AP Oval Nine cables. I am using a 4' bi-wire pair. We have different, but similarly power rated, tube amps.

His system has very, very good bass reproduction(quantity and quality). My system is bass shy in comparison but still satisfactory.

Even though there are many similarities to our systems, there also many things that are disimilar, for one, he has a smaller listening room with 8' ceiling, I have a larger room with a cathedral ceiling that is 13' high on the left wall and 9' high on the right wall and a large opening to another room.

Since we live 250 miles apart I have never played with swapping out each others components, but it would be interesting. It is apparent that system synergy, acoustic environment, or both are actively involved in this equation.

Since the AP cables do not hinder excellent bass reproduction in his system, I believe it is IMPERATIVE for potential AP Oval Nine purchasers to audition the cable in their own systems to determine the suitability of this cable.

BOTTOM LINE, I think there are too many variables involved to make a valid general judgement about the bass performance of the AP Oval Nine cables. Even though I do not get the deep bass my brother gets I still love mine.

God bless.