Thoughts on Iconoclast interconnects?

The very least is that they are designed by someone who has multiple degrees in electricity. The very most is that they are made in the same shop as blue jean cables and as anyone knows blue jeans are top-notch. I have an iconoclast ac cable on my sister system and the quality is first rate. I also use a blue jean  interconnect and speaker cables in my home theater set up. 

I have not tried the Iconoclast cables, but I have found the Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference interconnects offer the sound signature you describe when used with my Audionet pre and amp. There are some for sale now at a decent price. 

There are so many wonderful sounding cables out there on the market these days, it can sometimes be very difficult to choose one over the other.  I never got the opportunity to hear the iconoclast cables, but what I can tell you is this, I believe that the Audioquest Thunderbird XLR interconnects are some of the very best sounding, and are some of the highest value interconnect cable available.  You just cannot go wrong with the Audioquest Thunderbird cables (I'm an owner), as they are absolutely phenomenal sounding!!!  Happy listening.

The Cardas clear beyond speaker, interconnects exceptional cables , my brother bought them  and compared to much higher cost Nordost, synergistic ,and several other well known brands of higher cost  I am thinking  about purchasing them 

in the future  used or  demo to save some $$ 

Iconoclast makes really nice cables. Not the most flashy or the best marketing out there, but quality cables regardless. They are a bit overpriced in my opinion (along with many other brands), but nobody can argue they don't make exceptional cables.

Lots of brands have free in-home trials. I recommend taking advantage of those to get something else that interests you in your own system for a few weeks, to see how it compares. You might find that you like your existing cables the best. Or you might find something else that fits your stated preferences without spending a fortune.

@v-fi I agree with your thoughts on Iconoclast and that an in home trial is the only way to really know what is going to be best in my system. I should look into the details of an in home trial with the brands I mentioned and possibly others. Given the high cost of some of those cables, I am not sure if it is possible to get multiple in for audition at the same time from a place like the CableCo. The other point I have been thinking about is that a free home trial also locks me into buying new at retail price. Not a deal breaker, but I like the idea of saving some money with used interconnects where returns aren't going to happen. 

@kennymacc Undoubtedly, the Thunderbirds are excellent. I have used AQ Fire and Earth XLRs for some time so I feel like the Thunderbirds would be a natural progression, but it could also be fun to try something completely new. I see LTA is often paired with Cardas at shows, so that seems like another possibility. I have also previously owned speaker cables and power conditioners from Audience that were nice.

@zlone did you stick with the AZ Matrix Ref's in your Audionet setup? I believe you were thinking about replacing them in another thread, but I didn't see how that ended. I might be in a similar situation in that I can't say anything bad about my current RCAs, but just wondering if it is possible to achieve even better synergy and improve on what I already think is a pretty engaging sound.

@sfpeloton You have a good memory. I was running a pair of the AZ Absolute’s and these were the subject of the post that you are referring to. I have since acquired a set of the Matrix Reference cables and have replaced the Absolutes, liking the Matrix. Before I bought the Audionet gear I was running Matrix XLR’s, but the AMP 1 forced me to use RCA’s, so I tried some options including making a set of Neotech’s, but I ended up back at Matrix. I also spent quite a bit of time with WireWorld Eclipse, I liked these as well, though they are a bit darker than the AZ’s. 

I started my journey on higher end ICs with Iconoclast TPC interconnects. Great value for the money. I used them on source components and from pre to amplifier. They were a huge step up from the sub $100 ICs I was using at the time.

I wanted to upgrade beyond that and contacted Iconoclast. They happened to have a great deal on a UPOCC RCA cable and I decided to give it a try. While I don’t recall every detail sonically between the TPC and the UPOCC, there was yet another big step forward in quality. More open, more detail, bigger soundstage - I could easily hear the difference between the upgrades in grades of copper.

At the same time, I was also in touch with ZenWave to try Dave’s newest D4 cable, which is pure UPOCC silver. Yes, a bit more expensive than Iconoclast, but again in my system and to my ears, a step even beyond the Iconoclast UPOCC. These cables are transparent, musical, and the imaging is magnificent. Ultimately, because of the deal I got on the Iconoclast UPOCC, I decided to use that cable between my pre and amplifier and use the ZenWave ICs from source to preamp. 

The Iconoclast is an outstanding cable. The new version of the ZenWave D4 cables took things just a step further in my system and were worth the extra cost to me. I’ve since also upgraded power cables to ZenWave as well, from some Audioquest and Triode Wire Labs.

Good to hear the AZ Matrix RCAs are working well in your setup @zlone  The Matrix or Silver interconnects are now on my list to try. 

@cbrez Thank you for sharing your experience! It is even more valuable given that we have the same preamp and speakers. I was not too familiar with Zenwave, but I am tempted to try them next. I looked at the price of the D4 and it was about the same as Iconoclast, so not unreasonable. I am hoping they have a trial period as well and that would clinch it for me. Of course now I also need to decide whether I want to do the Level 3 upgrade on the LTA first. Decisions. 

@sfpeloton Good to hear the AZ Matrix RCAs are working well in your setup zlone The Matrix or Silver interconnects are now on my list to try. 

FWIW, I also tried the AZ Silver Reference XLR, by they were pretty lean sounding my system. Now up for sale on a site near you.

@zlone thanks for the information on the silver. I think I an fairly neutral now so I don’t want to tip too far into the lean and analytical direction.