One would be remiss to not include XLO Limited Edition. If the purpose of a cable is to stay out of the way,this one's absence is deafening. |
I have used the SILVERSMITH AUDIO speaker cables for some months now. Itts the best cable I have ever heard and they lifted my Audio Artistry speakers to a new dimension. Several of my frinds now use sILVERSMITH and the cable outpermored PAD and Transparant cables in every AB test we have performed. They must be regarded as "cheap" giving the best avalably sound for around 2500ยง. |
If you order the Proteous new, and let Jim Aud at Purist know where in the system it is going, be can fine tune that cable so there is very little difference between it and the Dominus. The advantage in the Dominus is that no matter where you put it, in about three weeks, it will have "figured out" what is the best signal path and broken in to whatever it is connected to. Same story when it is moved to new components, just give it time to adapt. The Proteous will work very well in every situation, but ultimately not up to the absolute level of the Dominus. Primarily the difference is in the signal to noise and dynamics. The tonal balance is extremely close, with the Dominus having a slight advantage in the deep bass. However, I cannot tell any difference in the (perceived) distortion characteristics at all. |
Albert, a question: How would you describe the difference between the Proteus and the Dominus, particularly with regard to RF and EMI screening? I'm happy with my Full Spectrum cables, but they're no longer readily available and I've got additional cable needs with my now bi-amped setup. I live in the NYC area, so I have to protect against RFI in particular. Dominus seems much more unwieldy than the Proteus, and may be stretching the budget too much, so I'm curious about Proteus (I use a Proteus digital cable which I like a lot and is similar to my Full Spectrum in tonal balance, data retrieval, etc. in that application). Thanks for your thoughts. |
Avguygeorge, all the cable in my system, including the balanced and single ended interconnects, Power cords, and speaker cable (including the Dolby 5.1 surround sound) is all Purist Audio. The two channel is all top of the line Dominus, with the 38 foot long run (Preamp to mono amps) being Dominus RLS (Radiant Light Source). The surround sound is Proteous, which is the next line down from Dominus. The only exception is the power cables (Omega Micro) on the Walker motor controller for the Walker turntable. These were supplied by Lloyd Walker, and I have not ordered two more Dominus power cords to see if they work better than these. For me to describe the Purist, they really don't have a personality, at least not like most of the other cables I have tried. A reviewer friend of mine just recently got a full systems worth of Dominus, and when compared to other cables he has owned (a lot of them!) he described the Purist to me as one of the finest cables he has ever heard, with his only objection being that it seemed to slow the music down just a bit. I personally do not know how music can be "slowed down." I think of that description when speaking of an error in speed in a turntable. I guess if he means that the Purist has no "bleeding" edge or brightness, or sticks out any place in the audio spectrum, then I agree with him. The sound is not exciting, just accurate, liquid, ULTRA low distortion, VERY black (due to screening against RF and EMI) and very phase accurate. If I had to complain, I guess the dynamics seem perhaps a bit compressed, but that is usually a normal perception in sonics when a cable removes the hash and bright bits from the musical spectrum. If your system happens to sound better with one of these artifacts, then the Purist could perhaps sound lacking. Personally, I have found that it is easier to have a beautifully accurate cable, and get the desired tonal balance changes with isolation devices, tubes and other tweaks, rather than give up the really special qualities that the Purist delivers. Just my opinion, works in my system, but you need to try it for yourself. By the way, I don't guess you live close enough to me to borrow cable? I have at least one run of Dominus single ended interconnect that I am not using right now, it is about 10 feet. |
In regard to Fabio's other gear, he can't believe that it's not hifi. |
Regarding Fabio's "stuff" the article mentions the pieces, piece by piece. Much to my surprise: much/most, mid fi;not the speakers or cables tho.Till my speakers and amp go beyond 10grand ea,I'll stick with Syn. Reasearch;Res. Ref 2 /with the active sheilding;best I have ever owned (8 grand/their speaker wires inc) Albert: love to hear what you use,even if I can't afford it now. |
Thanks Dan I wasn't kidding. Most of the top dogs in the business of reveiwing are using this cable. Would like to see what its all about. |
Snook, Don’t know if you were kidding or not, but The Cable Co has Purist Cables. I have a couple of Digital cables coming my way from them. If you are willing to pay 5% of the retail price (non-refundable, but applicable toward a future purchase) and shipping, then you should be able to audition the cables. In my case I needed two balanced digital cables to go between my dCS gear, so I have three different sets coming. I purposely chose a cable outside my price range for comparison purposes. Cheers, Dan |
Would love to hear the Purist cables. Can one demo these ultra expensive cables without purchasing first. |
I have compared several of these cables, and as usual, my vote goes to Purist Audio. The Dominus RLS being first choice. Next would come the standard Dominus (non RLS). Yes, I have heard them. I own them and they are worth what they cost, at least in my system. |
Still using vintage 10 gauge Monster Cable from 1982. Not made anymore by Monster Cable,or at least I cant find them in current catalog. Probably better out there,but still satisified with these. |
Any one ever hear the old LiveWire Red? About the same price per foot as freeway and has great sound. This stuff is way too big to terminate though. I have some, anyone interested? |
DeKay has been at the Temple Ball again! |
I've seen Fabio's setup and he uses transparent with the modified Martin-logans. It was in a stereophile about 4 years ago. Hard to tell which are the best because my system changes and probably my ears do too. I've spent a lot of time checking different cables with help from the cable co. With my system the Transparent were laid back. The nordost spm were great but after 2 weeks they sounded a bit on the bright side compared to the JPS superconducter 2. I have used the JPS for 2 years and have changed to the Audio Tekne cables which have been excellent. All these cables are excellent choices. The changes on all these cables were more on the subtle side and could live with any of them. |
|
Has anyone seen "Fabio's" hifi setup, it was on some news show a while back? One planar speaker (of the pair) was quoted as being $80,000.00 I beleive. I wonder if $50,000.00 cables would be condidered overkill. |
Megasam, 10k is insane but have you compared 10k cables to 1k cables? This doesn't count if the 1k set was yours because you will automatically want to pick them, and in your mind they will sound better. |
Nordost SPM Reference. Listen to them and you'll know why! I also am very impressed with JPS Superconductor 2 NC. Both are very revealing with clean detailed high frequency and great tight bass. |
Trelja you don't have an extra 50K, he he he. The best cables will never be heard by most of us, in TAS last month most of the $100,000 plus systems they recommended had NBS Monitor and Siltech speaker cables at mind boggling costs. I can just imagine the look on some guys face though when he drops $10k on speaker cables and a month later hears a $1k pair that blows them away........some sanity and prespective is required, Sam |
While I have never had the opportunity to play with them, the Kimber Black Pearl HAVE to be number one. Waaayyyy out of my budget at $50,000! The Kimber Select technology is based upon Black Pearl. |
|
Magnan Signature is the best I heard and used. |
I think, MIT-2 had set the standard for the audio cables! |
Based solely on my personal listening experiences, I'd have to rate the Kimber Kable 8TC as the best moderately priced speaker cable I have owned or heard. Expensive stuff? Probably the Cardas Golden Cross. |
Again, it would be the same as my vote for interconnects... Transparent Reference XL. But different systems work better with different cables. |
