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Cable upgrades

Happy Holidays to all!

I’m reconfiguring my system and am interested in upgrading my interconnects and possibly my speaker cables, and I was wondering if you could make some recommendations.

I was running Audio Sensibility Impact SE XLR between my Benchmark DAC3 HGC (as a DAC/pre) and my Benchmark AHB2 power amp.  The amp is running bi-wired Kimber Cable 8TC (I think that’s the model #) to a pair of ATC SCM40 tower speakers.  In this setup the bass is tight and the mids are clean - overall I’m quite happy - but sometimes I feel, for my ears, I’d love a bit more openness / brightness in the higher end.

My questions are: would improved XLR interconnects help to open up the top end a bit, without being harsh, and perhaps increase the dimensionality of the soundstage?  Or would I be better off starting with upgrading the speaker cables?  I’ve been looking at the Cardas Parsec level of cable, and could perhaps stretch to the Clear line, pending your recommendations.

Also, one other question: pending the possible move to 2 AHB2s (in mono-block configuration), do both XLR interconnects have to be the same length?  If not, would it cause any timing issues between, say, a 2' XLR and a 6'?

I’d appreciate any guidance.  Many thanks in advance.

Best, JAMES

jimboman
mclinnguy's avatar
mclinnguy
272 posts
 

@audphile1

In my experience the Silver Ref II work best between source and preamp, with Matrix Ref II or Absolute Copper between preamp and amp. That allows for some of the not so great attributes of silver ref to be balanced out by the copper downstream

That is so weird- good timing with that post as I just did this last night!

I have Silver Ref.II from my DAC to my Marchand, and Absolute between the Marchand and the high channel Apollon amp (no pre)

I just flipped them yesterday for the first time, and yeah, it was not as good. I am still trying to put my finger on why; the detail was still there, but it was not as open- like more detail in the body, but not as much extension. I wish I had another absolute I could plug in place of the Silver Ref to see if that is better or worse?

Have you tried absolute/absolute source/pre/amp- ? 

jimboman OP
63 posts
 

@mclinnguy Got the cables back from Cardas yesterday. They are now certified and have been re-terminated with updated sleeves. They look brand new!  I’ve got them in my system and will give them a month before deciding whether they stay or get resold.

As you pointed out, the whole exercise cost about $150Cdn. But if I do decide to sell, I can assure the potential purchaser that the cables are ready for prime time.

Best, JAMES

jimboman OP
63 posts
 

@audphile1 Thanks for detailing the AZ setup. If I head in that direction, I’ll probably start with the Matrix Ref IIs — although, I may add a preamplifier to the chain sooner than later. Might stay in the Benchmark stack, and get an LA4, if a good one comes up on the used market.

Thanks again for your support. I really appreciate it.

Best, JAMES

magnuman's avatar
magnuman
200 posts
 

My suggestion to you is if you want to open up your system a little bit more change all the cables to OCC single crystal which is what audio sensibility uses, far superior to anything OFC.

decooney
1,906 posts
 

@mclinnguy ..Got the cables back from Cardas yesterday. They are now certified and have been re-terminated with updated sleeves.

I've had a few older pairs reterminated a few years back, and not only are the ends a little different, the newer process  to apply the termination is different too. Was informed beforehand this changes the end result with a little more resolution across the entire frequency range.  Some of the older cables with a stiff outer jacket and dielectric inside do change a bit after they are uncoiled and set in place for more than 14-21 days.

George Cardas talks about tension release and some info about any type of static electricity that goes away over time, after being set in place and played for a while. I've retested this theory several times with reintroducing old cables coiled up stored away, and multiple pairs of brand new day-1 vs. 60 day used cables, swapping them out for the next new pair of the exact same cable, and having to start the process all over again. The newer version (more pliable) cables seem less effected compared to some of the old version (stiff) outer jacket cables, or the ones with a stiffer dielectric inside, I don't know. In all cases, I always give it the first 14-21 days, taking notes, and listen again at 30 days to compare fwtw.   

 

 

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