W and M Interconnects

I think that we seem to be missing the basic point of it all. This is not the "Review" channel, it is the "Cable" channel. Since these are virtually unknown cables, it seems logical (imho) that any tid-bit of info should be well rec'd. The info posted is more along the lines of the initial progression of the sale, receipt and "first impressions" of the items. The intent of "my" posting was to relieve the minds of anyone else that might be concidering taking a chance on the cables. Here on the "Cables forum" I wanted to let anyone (that cared) know...

That:
A. The cables were "shipped" (the biggest single worry of dealing with a new company... especially an overseas one).
B. They were "boxed" OK.
C. The construction and material was "as advertised" (although this a bit tough to do without completly destroying the things).
D. (to) Submit my initial and "informal" (in no way a review) opinions of them.

A comment on "blind buying" (a bit of my personal adventures with it).
After "well over" a quarter of a century of living in rural Alaska (admittedly "some" in Anchorage.. but most in Nome (no roads) and some Islands) I have endured the wrath of many shipping mistakes and swindles. Not just for Audio gear and pleasure items, but basics like food and clothing. To have the advantages (in the "lower 48) of going down and looking, listening and feeling the stuff that you would like to have (just buy right there and then) is a real treat. The days and nights spent on the crapper looking and dreaming of Audio gear on the pages of the old underground mags and advertising leaflets were many. There were many mistakes and luckily, there was a good share of fine picks as well. I was one of the first to have an Empire 598 in Alaska (for sure the first in Nome). A good read on the "porcelain buss" sucked me into it. My Altec A7-500W's (VOT's in Walnut !) were shipped because I liked their looks (and talks on the phone).
I'm in Georgia now, but a fare distance from any audio shops. I still rely on the good judgement of others (for the most part).

All of this is what this thread is about. It is about the initial stages of the selling and the receiving of the cables that I (we) chanced (sight and sound unseen) bidding on. It may be many days, weeks.... perhaps even months before we "really" know what they "sound" like (after all, they are really not supposed to sound like anything at all).

I think that we may have just "short circuited" ourselves with the newness of the product and the overall excitement of actually having them. I may have posted a bit prematurely, but I was anxious to let Agon'ers know that the company was OK to deal with and that the product made it. (and, of course, "looked" good).

Herman, your system is just killer. I love the way that you put the thing together, It says a lot about yourself and your overall dedication to audio. I really think that you would like to hear a valid and uncompromised "review" of these things. It will come in time. As I stated earlier, my "front end" is about equal to some "Fisher Price" stuff that I spotted in Wal-Mart. I am in hopes that I can upgrade to the new "Barbie" model of "My First Sony" and get these cables singing like they should.

Tubby

Tubby, if you want to upgrade your front end look into a USB DAC. They offer great performance and since you already have a computer it can serve as your source. Check out these links and do a google on USB DAC. There is a ton of info out there

http://www.wavelengthaudio.com/usbdac.html

http://www.scott-nixon.com/dac.htm

Herman,

As to your statements of: I merely pointed out that posting a review about how an audio product looks without saying anything about how it sounds is a waste of time. There is no need for further discourse if you are incapable of accepting the utter truth in this statement.

It is not a waste of time if people are asking you to tell them as much as you possibly can about a product that they are seriously considering buying. Especially, when there is absolutely no information on them available. They want to know what to compare them to and put a dollar figure on the quality of them. I am sorry but if you don't think that quality of construction has anything to do with a cable. I was not simply saying that they were a pretty cable, which they are. I broke the cable down as far as I could and having seen and sold virtually every major mainstream cable over the last 10 years I felt this cable could hold its own with many of them from a construction standpoint. This is what people wanted to know and unfortunately they want to know it as soon as possible. Considering there is an auction every 3 days or so for the cables and people wanted to bid on them I gave them what they wanted.

If you don't care about the cables then why were you on the forum looking for them. You have to actually search the forum for a product you want to find more information about. Saying that you are not interested in a product when you actually took the time to look it up, read and respond to posts on it, seems counterintuitive if you ask me.

Being the connoisseur that you make yourself out to be I find it hard to believe that you have never purchased anything without actually trying it. Have you never purchased a high quality cigar based only on the smell of it or the visible construction of the leaves in the outer wrapper? My goodness, doing so might just be disastrous according to you. Have you never purchased a nice bottle of wine or whiskey based only on a date listed on the bottle? Lord knows what you might find after you crack the seal. We take chances everyday and this was no exception. I gave people an educated and substantiated opinion of the cables so they could make the best informed decision possible.

As to your comments about running shoes and vehicle purchase: I have indeed purchased vehicles and shoes without ever having tried them on or test drove them as you state in your earlier comments. I have purchased my fair share of what seem to be finely constructed Italian leather shoes based only on appearance and been completely elated with the results. In addition, the simple lack of abundance of certain vehicles to test drive, with the Nissan Skyline and Audi RS4 coming to mind, it is literally impossible to drive one before purchasing, especially if the one you want lies half way across the country. All you have to go on is what you have read. Yet people, including myself, have done it many times.

There is no greater feeling than purchasing a piece of audio/video equipment and having it totally exceed your expectations. Especially if you paid much less than you feel it was worth. That is one of the driving forces behind Audiogon. I love to purchase gear from companies no one has ever heard of because the individuals who generally start up these companies do so because they hate what the industry itself has become. I believe in good value/performance for my dollar and based on my original post the cables were worth every penny I paid for them. Even if I just hung the darn things on the wall!

B.

I don't search the forums. I only look at the "new today" section where every post comes up.

Of course I've bought things without having heard them, Perhaps my analogies were not perfect but I've never recommended that others buy something unless I've heard it or drove it or worn it or whatever..

Once again, you miss the essential component of my position: a review of an audio component that only tells you how it looks is worthless.

Tubby,
I would have to disagree with the suggestions made by Herman on the USB DAC for your computer. Doing so is no better than recommending you continue to use your current source and upgrade the DAC. Your system is still only going to be as good as your source. Even the worst Wal-Mart Special is better than most computer drives due to interference from other components and feedback from power supplies, fans, computer monitors and the like. If you are using a laptop, completely forget the idea. Most CD-Rom and DVD-Rom drives under most of the major names that make it into a large majority of computers are made by a single company based in China. I would much rather see you purchase a decent source component with its own internal DAC's than follow this suggestion. This is no different than the recommendation you would receive from me on the discussion of using your computer as a music server versus an external one passing through it’s own or external DAC's. You are still limited by the computers hardware at some point in the chain and suffice it to say, even the best computer audio components were never actually designed for or derived from actual audio components.