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"World's Best Cables" vs Audioquest interconnects

I've heard many great things about "World's Best Cables". At such low price, these alleged giant killers are a no brainer, so I ordered two pairs. When the shipment arrived, I connected one pair from my phono stage to my preamp, and another pair from my preamp to my power amp.

These cables replaced my trusty old Audioquest interconnects.

First listening impressions: extremely lean sound. Details etched in space, almost as if a strong laser beam is outlining them.

Santana I, side 1: almost unlistenable. The highs are piercing, the soundstage is flat, the splash cymbals sound like trash cans. Made my head hurt.

Switching back to my Audioquest cables: my god, what a relief! The sound is back to its good old sound of music. Everything sounds natural again.

Now, the "World's Best Cables" come with the users manual that claims that the cables need to be burned in for 175 hours. Should I give them the benefit of the doubt and suffer 175 hours, or is that just an audio myth about cables burn-in?

)

crazybookman

Showing 2 responses by mitch2

mitch2
3,697 posts
 

Uh, the OCC process was not even discovered until 1986.

In 1986 the Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC) process was introduced. The world patent "UP-OCC" (Ultra Pure Copper by Ohno Continuous Casting Process) was developed by professor Ohno of Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan.

The OFC conductors and XLPE insulation in the Mogami cables is fine. The 22awg stranded conductor size is adequate for ICs, although some like a bit larger size, which may provide a denser, more robust (i.e., less thin) sound. You can purchase that cable bulk for around $1/foot. However, professional lineage cables like those are designed for ruggedness, flexibility, and “good” sound but not necessarily SOTA sound. In this case, the gold over brass connectors could be improved on. WBC previously offered KLEI connectors (for more money) which, IMO, would probably result in a sonic upgrade based on the copper base metal and minimalist design. Your AQ cables may have solid conductors and, if they are older, I am not surprised if they sound a bit warmer.

mitch2
3,697 posts
 

At 7awg OFC and 8 feet long, you could do a lot worse than $189 for a pair of speaker cables.

If you want to be picky, "Ultra-Pure" and "Extra Premium" are probably a stretch, and I sort of doubt the Eminence spades are the "highest-grade connectors for these audiophile cable assemblies."

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