Transparent Musicwave Super speaker cables, 12 ft length
Anyone heard of these? A pair came with an Anthem P5 I just purchased. Another question I have, they’re too long and I hate to make them shorter. Could I coil them so I don’t have to cut them? Otherwise, I can’t use them. They will replace Audioquest Type II cables.
gdnrbob, It’s a good thing you aren’t me as I’m very happy with my current set-up. I assure you, if I ever decide to upgrade from these, which I doubt can be done under a couple large ones, I’ll let you know so you can buy them from me for a song. All kidding aside, what I have is far batter than what I ever thought I'd ever have. Patience, the used audio price depression, and some luck being looking at the right places at the right time, has been very good to me. Yes this HT hobby is a sickness if you let it get away from you. It’s like race cars, performance increase is an exponential equation of cost. Sometimes you gotta spend dead presidents on other toys. In my case, custom choppers and women while I still can!
Oldschool, If I were you, I would put on a set of AQ cables. I tried the Transparent, and spent way too much on having them upgraded to the latest iteration. They were good, but the AQ really seem more alive, and these are a pair of old Rockefeller cables I bought on the cheap. I had John Rutan make a set of true biwire GO-4, but haven't installed them yet as I'm letting my new amps settle in. B
The Transparent came with the Anthem P5 as I purchased it used. Got a heck of a deal since the Transparent Music Wave cables were $1,700 new. AQ cables are about as good as any when you get higher up the food chain.
@oldschool, Everything you change will make a difference. Whether it is positive change, or worth it monetarily, is the rub. I notice you have a lot of AQ cables. Is there any reason why you are using the Transparent? Bob
I know this is an old thread that I started but haven't really taken an inventory of everything in my system until now. Heck, I might have missed an item or two but thought I'd share what I can see/find in the system. I definitely CAN hear a difference in cables so anyone saying higher end cables is like snake oil obviously either doesn't have sharp enough ears to hear the difference or, they haven't tried higher end cables or.... Their system isn't capable of taking advantage of the difference. It's understood a system only sounds as good as it's weakest ling in the chain. So without further adieu, here is my inventory:
Speakers L/F and R/F: Paradigm Signature S2
-Cables L/F and R/F: Transparent Music Wave MM
Speaker Center: Paradigm CC-690
Speakers S/L and S/R: Paradigm Studio 20
-Cables Center, S/L and S/R: Audioquest Type 4
Subwoofer: F/L and F/R: REL R-528 (2 ea.)
Subwoofer Rear: REL R-528
Subwoofer Center: REL T-9
-Cables: Subwoofer Hi-level signal: Audioquest Type 4
-Cable: Subwoofer LFE: Audioquest Sub-X
-AC Cable: 14 AWG (3 ea.)
Amplifier: Anthem P5
-AC cables: Audioquest NRG-4 (2 ea.)
Pre-amp: Anthem AVM-60
-Interconnects F/L, F/R, S/L, S/R: Audioquest King Cobra XLR 1.5M
Good to read that you are pleased w/ the outcome- oldschool1 Yes, some discs will sound better or worse than others depending on the mastering. Still, enjoy those older discs for sound quality. Most remasters are highly compressed, limited dynamics in comparison. Happy Listening!
Got 'em back and been listening carefully. I can't say what I'm hearing is attributed to just the cables since I've gone through my whole system in the last several months but, my audio sounds friggin awesome! I've listed all the components of my system in a previous post. Keeping the audio section most all in the same family I'm sure has something to do with the success. When names like Anthem, Paradigm, REL, and Audioquest are combined, how can you go wrong? music sounds just terrific! Only thing is, I can hear the limitations of the recording on cd now. Take an old ZZ Top cd and compare it with any remastered quality recordings and the difference is astounding. Now to shop for higher quality media is in order.... thanks for everyone's participation and comments. It's forums like this that help people like me learn, and enjoy more.
George Meyer has an excellent reputation. A bookshelf, monitor or floor stander are all quite different. Much will depend on the brand of loudspeaker.
There is much junk in the marketplace. I have been disappointed by a few brands over the years. Upon selecting speakers you must spend much time among the designs, manufacturers. Happy Listening!
I'm only swapping out the FL & FR for the Transparent Audio. Hoping to have them back within a week or so. I think I'm done buying audio equipment for awhile. Maybe next year swap out my Sharp 70" for a Samsung 80" screen. 😁 Regarding the FL & FR, I personally believe a good quality bookshelf speaker augmented with its own subwoofer connected high level is the way to go. Isn't that what floor standing speakers are trying to accomplish? I may be opening a can of worms here but.... floor standards that try to deliver full range only deliver down to 35 Hz, possibly 30 at best. And a good bookshelf speaker can cost close to what a floorstander does. A quality sub like the REL easily can reach 20 Hz in the 12" driver size. You get full range, extremely musical, satisfy home theater needs and looks cool 😎. It's just a lot of cables and power requirements. End result: AWESOME!!!
that is nice gear indeed. I like those Paradigm Signature series w/ a REL sub- wise choice. Are you swapping out all AQ cabling for the Transparent Cabling?
Just called George Meyer today and they ordered the lugs for my cables last week. It’s less than a 1 hour job to install them. Simple crimp and solder but the cable is so thick, probably 10 AWG so soldering might be a bit tricky. I’d rather an expert tackle these expensive cables. I hope to pick them up in the next week and put them in the system. I hear a huge improvement with better cables for AC power and XLR interconnects. Here's the system make-up: Amplifier- Anthem P5 uses two AC power cables. Both AQ NRG-4 (one of the AC power goes from the P5 to a Torus TOT MAX using the NRG-4) From the Torus to the wall, AQ NRG-4. The other from the P5 straight to the wall with AQ NRG-4 Blue Ray player- Oppo BDP-103 to the Torus using Wy-Wires Juice II Preamp- Anthem AVM 60 to the Torus using AQ NRG-4 Interconnects from the AVM 60 to the P5 are AQ King Cobra XLR (center channel is an AQ Yukon) HDMI from the Oppo to the AVM 60 is an AQ Chocolate and the HDMI from the AVM 60 to the TV is from SVS. Damn, thats a lot of cable! Currently all of the speaker cable is AQ Type II and sub RCA’s are AQ Sub-X Front L&R- Paradigm Signature S2 each complimented with a REL R528 Center- Paradigm CC-690 complimented with a REL T-9 Surround L&R- Paradigm Studio 20 complimented with only one REL R528 All speakers are beautiful piano black finish Damn, thats a lot of gear!
Good move. I hate to say it, but Transparent prices their work a bit too high. Considering they are in Maine, I doubt they are paying their workers at similar rates. B
Update---- Dropped them off at the local high-end audio repair center. When I called Transparent Audio and got a quote, it was excess of $400.00. They would get new terminals, inspected, certified, and warranted. I said "Thank You"! I'm waiting for the shop to finish them and can't wait to hear the difference. on a side note, after reading countless discussions about the value of high end interconnects vs the BJ, S?S, Mono's, etc if the cost difference is worth the $$$. I just replaced all my interconnects with AQ King Cobra, Yukon, and power cords with NRG4's. I'm here to tell anyone, Yes they make a difference! For so many years I was too cheep to spend the money. Now I know!!!!
Just spoke to Transparent Audio and confirmed they are the original MM cable. Yes the current generation is G5. These sold originally for about $1700 and have a trade in value of about $800 now. Since they came with my P5 when I bought it last week, I'll be using these once the terminations are replaced. im pretty excited about these cables and my new amp.... thanks for all your help gentleman!
MM is MM1. There is not actually an MM1, but when the MM2 was introduced, MM was referred to as MM1 it is an excellent cable, way better than what you are using. I had both the Super MM and MM2. The MM2 is a nice upgrade and the prices are way down now that the Gen 5 is out...
How do I tell the difference between the MM1 vs MM2?
All it says on one side is Transparent Musicwire Super and the opposite side says 38854MM. Does that say which one it is? Also, what are they worth?
I think I will use them for the LF and RF as they would service 2-channel listening, and when I watch movies in 5.4, they will drive the front mains and the AQ will run the center and surrounds.
And if I do use them, the FR cable run needs only 6 ft and the left only 9 ft. If I were to have them shortened, I'd want them to be even lengths requiring some sort of creative run up and back taking up the slack. Terrible dilemma here! lol
If it were I, I would keep the Audioquest cables and sell the Transparent. Myself being OCD would never have 2 different brands of speaker cables in the same system. If you aren't OCD, then use the Transparent Cables. They are many light years better cables than your particular pair of Audioquest Cables.
Audioquest is a sonic match for Anthem gear. If you enjoy your cables on-hand, fine. You can always wrk your way up their product chain (much like Transparent). Happy Listening!
big fan of Transparent cabling here. Is this the MM1 or MM2 series? The Music Wave Super is certainly the "sweet spot" for Transparent especially the MM2 series. I have had the MM2 Super in my system historically and it is excellent. Happy Listening!
I would assume they are light years better than the Audioquest Type II cables I'm now using for all 5 channels? Since I only have these for the LF & RF, the Audioquest will provide for the center and surrounds. It's that or sell the TMW and keep the AQ in place. Thoughts anyone?
@ebm , the Audiogon webpage system has a nasty habit of not informing the poster that it has accepted the post, hence the double post, and no way of deleting the duplicate. @OP, you probably don't want to coil the speaker cables, as it could introduce some magnetic distortion. Transparent can shorten them for a fairly reasonable charge. Otherwise, try to arrange the extra length in an informal manner, preferably with the cables crossing at 90 degree angles, if possible. To be honest, if they are shorter, you will get better sound reproduction. Bob
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