Tvad, a most excellent choice! It's great for reverb. Awesome. |
I agree with Boa2... Silver. Did you try the Nordost SPM or Valhalla? You may want to work your way up the Nordost ladder. I tried six or seven different cables from the Cable Company, before I arrived at my biwired Nordost SPM. Some of the cables that I listened to included Synergistic Resaerch Resolution Reference (discrete biwire), Audioquest Volcano, Wireworld Eclipse (not Silver Eclipse) and Kimber Kable BiFocal- XL. For detail, and in my system, the Nordost SPM was the clear winner of all those that I tried. It's top end is excellent, but I wouldn't call them bright. Also, to Gunbei... Theres no silver in my backyard.... just dog pooh. |
Rsbeck, I see that you have alot of money tied up in equipment (Meitner Emm Labs, Levinson, Monitor Audio), but there's no mention of interconnects and your speakerwire is listed at $100. Have you tried any of the upper end cables- interconnects and speakerwire? You sound as though good quality wire doesn't matter much. Or am I understanding you incorrectly? There's alot of people that would disagree with you. |
Rsbeck, First, let me say that I agree with you concerning alot of what you've been saying. I think that for total system improvement, room treatment and dedicated power- ( I noticed that you too have dedicated A/C lines.) are some of the biggest improvements that you can make. There was a major change in my system when I went to dedicated A/C; as much improvement as an upgrade in equipment. I tried powercords for my preamp a year ago, courtesy of the Cable Company. The powercords ranged from $700 to $1500 list. I tried Acoustic Zen Krakatoa, Acoustic Zen Gargantua, Shunyata Research Taipan, and the Elrod Signiture 2. All these cables changed the system sound, but in the end I preferred the stock cable that came with my Bat vk5i. But... at least I tried these products to see what they sounded like in my system. With all due respect, analytic research is good, but, for me, I prefer to listen with my own ears. |
It looks like this thread took a big turn and went south. Instead of reading analytic white papers, I'd suggest one listens with thier own ears. After all, isn't that what we do... listen? When mariners first set out to sea, people said that they would fall off the edge of the world. It was flat. Why? It was proven, scientific knowledge at that time. And it sure looked convincing on parchment. Well, guess what the earth's round. Listen, listen, listen... Oh yeah... listen. Happy trails, all! |
Rsbeck, I agree that money is better spent on components, room acoustics, and dedicated A/C, than on cabling. But I also think that cabling makes a big difference in a system. I don't read the hype that you talk about. I just try the cable. But... About a year ago, I needed a cable that was balanced and longer to replace my 0.5 meter Siltec FTM4sg single ended interconnect. I tried 6 interconnects that were on loan. The one that stood out above the rest was the Siltec SQ110 Classic. I bought it. I use this between my preamp and amp. It's biggest asset was lowering the noisefloor in my system. At any rate, here's the hype on this cable. I just pulled out the booklet that came with it. "our shielding effect reduces the noise floor by 40-60db" "total noise is limited by the electronics used (typically 90-130 db)" "the theoretical signal-noise level of our new technology is on the order of 160-180db"-- Is all this true? who knows. I just know that it worked very well in my system. I gained more clarity, microdynamics and musicality compared to my already good interconnect. So you were asking about a cable? In spite of some of the hype, I choose Siltec, for thier unique technology of using gold and silver. And yes, I think that cabling is probably the most overpriced "component" in the audio chain. |
Rsbeck, Yes- About a year ago, I decided to change from single-ended to balanced. I switched to a Bat vk5i preamp, which is a balanced only design. The Siltec FTM4sg could not be changed to balanced, due to it's ribbon design, but I did have my Siltec SQ80b interconnect (cd to preamp) changed from single-ended to balanced. And yes, although I've tried other interconnects, I keep returning to Siltec. Thus, the balanced Siltec SQ 110 Classic. I've read some of Siltec's claims, including thier shielding claims, but mainly I just listen and compare. As far as vague goes... there's more than just the cable companies that are vague about things in audio. Well, best wishes! See you at the next watering hole. Happy trails, Stan |
Rsbeck, An Addendum: When I spoke of other things vague in audio, I was actually thinking of some of the audio tweeks that companies offer. Also, I thought that you might like to see some of the more recent claims that Siltec made (although you might have already run across what I posted). That's why I posted it. Best, Stan |
Rsbeck, Your point two is incorrect. My listening partner can hear the difference between flat and .088 db down @ 20Khz. Click on my system and scroll down to the last tweak for a look at my listening partner. He also works cheap! |
Tvad, what kind of wire are you using on that Close-N-Play? |
Tvad, Congratulations on your recent find. I'd suggest the Great Northern Sound mod with the optional Koetsu cartridge. Best of Luck! Stan |
