Which complete set of cables to try out?

The High level Nordost are crazy good… the low to intermediate not so much. So I agree with your dealer.

I would rent some from cable library. The Cable Store. 
 

Cardas should be on your list… tends to be a touch warm which is good in most systems.

What is your system and any comments on the sound? Perfect… little warmer would be good,  or more detail?

Acoustic Zen is definitely worth a look.  Very natural and organic sounding yet still nicely detailed. 

Thanks for sharing. My current system is built around a pair of KEF Reference 3, which is in my profile. The sound is on the slightly warmer side of neutral. I would say I am looking for cables that aren't going to change anything in the tonal balance (i.e. no addition of treble, midrange or bass), with which I'm happy. I'm happy as well with the level of details, what I'm looking for is a bit of tuning and enhancement on the existing basis.

But if I could have more of that "blackness" in the soundstage, better separation of instruments and even more vividness/contrast in the timbral colors, I would be one happy man. Following some changes in power cables I already experienced some improvements in this aspect, I hope to find another improvement in this regard, that my Audioquest and Furutech experiences didn't really bring.

As for the cable library, I would love to, but since I'm located in France, I can't participate unfortunately...

Sorry missed your system… no photos. Photos are very helpful I have mine on line.

Nice system. Very good description of the sound.

The name that comes to mind are Transparent… because they will not tilt the balance. Cardas will… Clear Beyond not much… but still. I suspect they will help with the noise floor.

It is interesting what you say about the noise floor. Is it the same for digital as well as analog?

Is there a power conditioner in that list? If not… that would be my first move. Wood floors? What is behind your speakers? Something absorbent (yes would be good)?

Larger high end sellers are Wireworld, Transparent, and AudioQuest. (I have tried Audio Quest… I don’t get it… but they are one of top 3). Also for very cost effective DH Labs I have used a lot.

I’ve bounced back and forth between Shunyata and Transparent. I could go either way really. They both have a few pluses and minuses, but both very livable. To get into the sweet spot with Transparent you need to go Plus at least or better yet Ultra. In the Shunyata line the Venom’s are quite good, but each step up is worth it IMO. Go with overall budget. I’ve tried both Cardas and Nordost, and neither rang my bells. Keep in mind, a full loom of “brand X” doesn’t necessarily mean great sound. Sometimes one level of cable matched with another works well too. For instance I was running Reference Transparent cables with Ultra interconnects. I tried Reference IC’s but actually preferred the Ultras. All Ref was just too forward for me. Experimentation is key, and the fun part.

@ghdprentice Yeah, I never took the time for a proper photo of my system and to tidy up the cables and my records which are all over my place :)

The effect of the power cables on the noise floor was more apparent on the digital system than on my turntable. I will definitely invest in some power conditioning device, after I deal with the core part of the cabling. 

A dealer next to mine is selling a pair of used Cardas Golden Cross for a good price with Golden Neutral ICs. I know these are less neutral than the current Clear range offered by Cardas, but how do they compare in terms of quality? I know they offer different type of sound, but I heard that they excel in the "organic" aspect of music reproduction.

@geof3 Many thanks for sharing your experience. Never heard the Transparent cables, from what I can read, these are "transparent' and neutral cables :)

Could you please elaborate on the differences and the qualities of both brands when you tried them on your system? We get a lot of reviews on how each brand is supposedly great at X and Y, but I feel a comparative review is usually much more informative. 

I will ask my dealer to try out a mix of Tellurium Q cables, with a mix of the Ultra Black 2 range (speaker & ICs) and Black 2 range. It's kind of curious with Tellurium Q, the power cables in a given range costs twice as much as the speaker cable from the same range. Just an oddity but a bit strange...

A huge part of the cost for power cables are for the connectors at each end.The power cables are what have made the biggest difference in my system IME.The Cardas cables are very good quality but do lean towards the warm side of neutral and in some systems will tend to lose detail, same with WireWorld (copper based).Never tried Tellurium but have read good things about them.Definitely worth an audition.

My cables are all sourced from small U.S. companies so I can't comment about what's available in your country

Try the Cardas Gold Cross before you buy. I find them very warm. Most systems have a tipping point… if you go past it, suddenly the detail disappears… But you can never tell until you try. Yes, contemporary Cardas are more neutral than earlier models.

Cables and wires everywhere… the mark of a dedicated audiophile. Definitely photo ready.

Cerious GE or Matrix depending on budget

Since you are in France, Tellurium Cables, their black series are very good.I believe they are popular in Europe.They are made in UK.

A Canada company may work well. Very affordable, including the top tier:

https://www.zavfino1877.com/cable--accessories

Based on your mention of tonal color I would suggest Auditorium23 based in Germany fantastic copper cables. Don't let the relatively affordable pricing fool you these are serious cables.

@ghdprentice Took your advice about power conditioning that you suggested as a first step and just got myself an Audioquest Niagara with Audioquest Blizzard & Monsoon PCs since I received an incredible offer from my dealer. You were totally right, straight out of the box, the sheer addition in energy, the silence between notes and the texture on plucked string instruments is surreal. And it is literally just out of the box, with only the Audioquest Monsoon cables I can't imagine how it could sound when the Blizzards that I ordered arrive... Quite an eye-opener.

In the meanwhile, I tried out on loan the Tellurium Q Ultra Black II speaker cables, the RCA ICs from the same range, with 2 Black II power cables each on the DAC & Integrated amp. I made my system sound a bit too forward for my taste, albeit with increased detail. Quite impressive sound, with very extended highs and bass, but it lacked the coherence that I can experience with my 300$ Van Damme cable loom + Audioquest PCs. As if I am listening to very impressive individual sounds and not a music.

Brought back the cables after the 2 day trial and in the meanwhile Ordered a full loom of Zavfino/1877 Phono cables (Prima Mk.2 Speaker, Fusion Mk.2 RCA &  Highlands Phono cables). Given the relatively attractive cost of entry, it will be interesting how it lives up to the hype on the forums. 

@jond I already had Audiotorium23 speaker cables approximately 5 years ago. I sold them not long after getting them, I had been told that it would be a perfect match with the Tannoy Kensington GR and Air Tight ATM-2 amp I was running back then. I don't know if it's due to system synergy but never really brought anything to my system back then. But to be frank, Tannoys are not the most revealing speakers out there :)

@habermas  I for one am looking forward to your take on the Zavfino loom. 

Well the delivery is planned for tomorrow. So between the new power conditioner and the loom of Zavfino cables, it will definitely be an interesting weekend for me. Even though I didn't like it, it's a shame I couldn't keep the Tellurium Q cables a bit longer as a comparison point for the Zavfinos. Because individually, certain aspects of the Tellurium Q cables were really excellent and could have been a good benchmark for what the Zavfinos can do.

@habermas I guess it just goes to show everything is synergy and I hope your new Zafino cables work out well for you!

I for one am looking forward to your take on the Zavfino loom.

+1. From everything I’ve read the Zavfino cables seem excellent, and when paired with the Niagara I’d be very surprised if you’re not happy. Congrats and look forward to your thoughts.

OP,  really glad I could help. My reason for being here. Thank you.

Update of the Zavfino loom:

So I received my Zavfino loom consisting of their Prima Mk2 Speaker cables (pure PC-OCC litz 9 AWG, which is exactly the same gauge as my Van Damme Hifi Grade cable that it replaces), the Fusion Mk 2 (strands of silver & PC-OCC conductors, which is not the same as silver-plated OCC) and the highlands Mk 2 (pure silver conductor). Oh and since Zavfino doesn't do bi-wiring, I'm also using their 9 AWG PC-OCC jumper cables. It's still ongoing burn-in and my first impressions should be taken with a grain of salt.

The cables arrived with the plugs and splitters covered in plastic protection, it took at least 20 minutes to remove the cables from the boxes, velvet bags, take out the velcro and remove all the plastic. The speaker cable must be the thickest cable I ever tested at my place, but still it's rather flexible, I'm able to hook everything up properly despite the lack of space behind my hifi rack. Another surprising fact, the cable is quite heavy, I would say probably 4-5 lbs each.

Because I'm an impatient fella, I put on all the cables together at once. So my first impressions on these Zavfino cables will be as a whole loom, I cannot comment yet on the quality of the cables taken separately. And I repeat myself: it's still burning in as we speak, the situation may improve or worsen in 100+ hours.

As I'm listening right now, it's not a cable that will bring out the bass/mids/highs in your system. The only thing that I perceive in terms of change in overall balance is a much extended highs, that comes out effortlessly. Not more or less highs, not cristalline or silkier highs: just more naturally extended highs, the sort that you can hear in a concert of a small chamber ensemble. I realize now that the structure of harmonics for string instruments had been cut-off by my previous cables. For that matter, the Tellurium Q Ultra Black II loom that costs 3 times the price of this Zavfino loom wasn't as extended but brought the treble and upper midrange forward, sounding a bit artifical at the end.

Same for the timbre of instruments: what I perceive is that these cables do not add or remove richness in the timbre of instruments. Like an excellent wine that has depth: at first when you taste it you think it is very similar to another wine. Then it takes you a tenth of a second to realize that this wine has a full palette of very subtle flavors and layers of complexity.

It's quite similar with this loom of Zavfino cables: for 3 seconds you think "hmm, I don't notice any meaningful change compared to a 300$ Van Damme cable loom". And then you hear the additonal layer of depth that you can perceive in the timbre of instruments when listening to a version of the Brandenburg Concertos played on period instruments that you never perceived so truly before. Then you listen to a version of Strauss' Elektra with wonderfully massed strings, with a timbre that just sounds "right". And you go on and on.

The last advantage of this Zavfino loom is the excellent intelligibility of instruments and speech. I often struggle in following lyrics in operatic works without looking at the booklet. Everything seems now more effortlessly intelligible, I don't even need to focus anymore to follow what's being sung. I'm quite baffled how a simple set of cables can do that.

I haven't yet tried with other genres of music, since I mainly listen to classical & early music, but these cables are something special compared to the Audioquest Rocket 88 + Yukon RCA & XLR and the Tellurium Q Ultra Black II Speaker, RCA and Black II power cables cables. I am very new to this cable thing and don't have the vast experience some people have here. But I have 10 years of hifi behind me, and the last time I had such a surprise was when I bought an Air Tight ATM-2 power amp 5-6 years ago. And the magnitude in the invested amount has nothing in common with my purchase back then which was around €11k (around 13/14k USD back then). I can't wait to receive my new Holo May KTE DAC that I ordered and to hear how everything comes together.

Cheers!

Oh I forgot to mention a small oddity (not really a flaw but still): When using this loom, the vertical plane of the music seems to have moved by 1.5 feet vertically, closer to the ceiling. It's not a bad or good thing per se, especially with my KEFs Reference 3s which have a d'Appolito disposition and the singers are at a lower plane than usual. But still, it's worth mentioning.

Thanks for the update @habermas : IMO, it's still a bit early, Zavfino still needs quite a bit of break in, and I bet they will sound even better when fully broken in.

I am assuming you know the speaker cables are directional? Although they do not have any arrows, there is a certain way to set them up. You should have gotten a diagram from your dealer (or direct from Zavfino if bought direct).

@thyname Oh I didn't know that. I was wondering as well, about that, didn't get any diagram and put the cables randomly. Could you please share the diagram?

Sorry. It's a PDF document I received from Ray, the US distributor of Zavfino. I don't know how to share that PDF here.

Just checked in my installation, I installed the cables in the direction of the lettering except for one jumper that I just corrected. I.e. the "Z" from Zavfino is in the direction of the amp and the "O" is closer to the speaker. Same logic with the jumpers. I tried to include a photo, hopefully it works

I found a thread via Google mentioning this, for the fusion I had by chance oriented in the direction where the metal "thjing" which looks like a splitter is closer to the amp than the source.

Now it should work

It’s different. See if the link above works. What service do you use to share photos here and how?

Just checked a thread about it, it only takes imgur apparently. Thanks for the link, I will try to invert the cabling (sigh... that hassle again haha) and report back if I hear any changes.

Here you go. Imgur worked. Thank you.

Notice the lettering of the cables going to right and left speaker (upside down to the right speaker)

Zavfino is excellent. 
 

I’ll throw out another name - EWA cables. These are also fantastic in a way I did not expect, bass output is next level. I have only tried their speaker cable and interconnects. They’ve been in my system for about a month and I did not need to swap back and forth- it was pretty clear these were staying.

Another interesting cable set, no power cords, is Driade flow 405. I’m getting a pair soon, but they come highly rated and are a little pricier than Zavfino or EWA.

As good as the cables may be, it’s insanely stupid they just don’t put directional arrows on the cable jackets.  STOOPID!!!

@soix yes, I agree and it would be basically free to do. But to be honest, I don't hear much of a change since I swapped my cables back in the correct direction from Zavfino. I would need a few more days of listening to be sure perhaps. 

@cd45123 yes, I read some very positive reviews about the Driade Flow and here in Europe they retail at the same price as my Zavfino for the required length at my place (10ft/3M). I will do some further cable loom tryouts in a few weeks, once my new digital sources arrive and I have a bit more available hifi budget to play around, since they are not distributed by brick and mortar dealers and therefore no way of testing them without buying directly (same as the Zavfinos).

I have asked my hifi dealer about other interesting cables to test. He told me about a Swiss cable company called Ensemble, whose cables are supposed to sound very natural with a strong presence factor. He's not selling them yet and doing some in-house tests with different equipment, I will borrow those once he no longer needs the demo sample. Let's see how it goes.

@habermas ok interesting, I’ll take a look at Ensemble. I am looking forward to your thoughts on how Driade stacks up. My Flow speaker cables are supposed to ship tomorrow, so hoping to have them late next week.

I have the ls-40 speaker cable from EWA coming, too, so hoping to get a lot of time in to test next week.