I’ve been comparing WE16GA, DCA16GA, DCA20GA, and Belden 8402 as interconnects for the past 6 months in my setup (Dynaco ST-35, Jolida Glass-FX DAC III, Hagerman Bugle 2, and JBL C-38s (130a + 175 + 2405).
I started off by making a complete set of interconnects using Belden 8402. The difference between these any my audioquest, crimson, and monster interconnects was astounding. I have never experienced such a magical 3D soundstage from my JBLs. I have loved my JBLs because of their warm, life-like midrange - but had not experienced a soundstage like that before.
I was able to get my hands on some WE16GA and made a few interconnects. I really appreciated the balanced nature of the WE16GA - the Belden 8402 tended to bit a bit darker in the midrange, where as the WE16GA was a little more flat across the frequency spectrum. The dimension wasn’t quite as amazing - but there was still a heightened sense of dimension with the WE16GA compared to past interconnects I’ve used.
I then picked up some DCA16GA - because…why not! My experience with the DCA16GA was very similar to the WE16GA - but with a bit more midrange detail than the Belden or WE16GA. For my system, the DCA16GA has performed very well - it brings in some detail to my already warm tube/horn system.
After reading about the DCA20GA I decided to pick that up as well. After about 2 months of listening - I think I’m beginning to settle in on a favorite. Initially I built a few unshielded cables to test out. The unshielded seemed to have a really nice tonal balance with very nice image-depth. I especially enjoyed the upper range detail it has brought out. Two of my favorite live records: We Get Requests by The Oscar Peterson Trio and Waltz for Debbie by Bill Evans have become especially enjoyable - I *love* hearing the depth and space of the lounges and the details that surround the audience.
My latest excitement is with Shielded DCA20GA interconnects. All of the previous interconnects mentioned needed a considerable amount of burn in time until they hit their stride. For whatever reason, the Shielded Version of the DCA20GA stood out immediately - in a *great* way. The midrange has thickened up. I’m not sure how to describe it, other than the music is dense, pleasurable, and excitingly spatial.
One last bit of info: I have also been experimenting with mix and matching all these different cables - trying to find the best placement for the cables in my system (i.e. what cable works best between different devices in my signal chain). I have found that it is really interesting how important synergy is - especially with these tinned copper cables. It is a fun and worthwhile journey - at a very low cost.
what more can I say - I am *enjoying* the music.
cheers!
