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Transparent , Kubala , Luminous , or RS Poiema

Hi everyone. I am looking to potentially recable my whole system and would love to hear your thoughts on the following cables for interconnects, speaker wire, and digital cables...

Transparent
Kubala-Sosna
Luminous
Ridge Street Audio Poiema!!

My current gear is the following...
Ayre V-3 amp
Krell Showcase Pre/Pro
Vandersteen 2Ce Signatures and VCC-1 Center Channel
Cardas Golden Cross I/C and Digital Lightning 15
Alpha Core MI 2 Speaker Cable

I have heard the Transparent Ultra and Premium digital cable and think they are quite good, but they are very expensive and I have seen glowing reviews on the other cables as well. I am prepared to pay if necessary, but would prefer not to if I can find something comparable at a cheaper price. I know that cables are person and/or system specific and am going to try to audition each, but wanted to hear other thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of each. Please advise...
kmiller5

Showing 7 responses by kmiller5

kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
Rbirke

What was it about Transparent that you didn't care for and why is the Kubala better for you?
kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
Calloway and Hifimaniac..

How much difference is there between the Prana Deva, Nataraja, and Cosmos in your opinion?
kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
Has anyone had experience with the digital cables used by Transparent, Kubala, Prana, or Stealth. If so, how did they match up?
kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
Well, I've heard the Transparent vs the Kubula and the Transparent on my system kicked the crap out of the Kubala. I am simply amazed that the Kubala can sell for so much. I was not at all impressed. I've heard cables at 1/10 the price of Kubala that I thought were just as good.
kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
I was asked about my previous post and would like to clarify some things. I felt that the Transparent cables had a bigger soundstage, more air, and better bass. While I did not feel the Kubala did anything wrong, I felt that the Transparent did things much better. Also, when the Kubala was compared to some Signal Cable, the sound difference was almost indistinguishable.
kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
I listened to the Expression and Fascination Speaker cables. The associated equipment was an Ayre V-3 amp, Krell Showcase Pre/Pro, Audioquest Cheetah I/C, and Vandersteen 2Ce Signature Speakers. Although they were used cables, I gave them a good 48 hrs to burn in and while they did nothing wrong, the Transparent just worked much much better for me.
kmiller5 OP
86 posts
 
I would like to update a comment that I made previously on this board. Due to the posts on the board, I reauditioned the Kubala line. I would like to retract my previous statement. These cables are quite good and are definitely at the top of the pile. I don't know if there was a defect in the cables I heard before or if there was some other problem, but the results were quite different the second time around. In fact, I am seriously considering the Kubala line for my current system. At this point I've narrowed the field to Kubala, Pranawire, and Synergistic. If anyone can comment on the Emotion vs the Deva vs the Designers' Reference X2 I would love to hear.
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