Moving from Blue Heaven to Silver Reference II


Hi everyone,

Just wondering what one would expect moving from a Nordost Blue Heaven to an Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II interconnect? Associated equipement is a Cary 303/200 (i.e. a little forward of neutral) and a Plinius 8200 integrated (i.e. dark) going to Soliloquy 6.2 speakers (i.e. warm, limited treble) via Acoustic Zen Satori. I'm a fluid midrange and realistic cymbals...

Thank you
portugal11
I'm running an Oppo 970 into an EVS DAC1, a Marsh 2000b preamp, and a McCormack DNA Rev. A. Relatively speaking I find these to be fairly neutral components that pass the majority of information through with very little editorializing of their own (OK, the Marsh may be just a wee bit polite, but it works in the context of my system). I'm an amateur drummer, and I'm particularly very happy with what I hear in cymbal reproduction with this combo and the 6.2s although that's always a personal interpretation. I might not get the nth degree of extension and bite, but the character, tone, and weight of cymbals (i.e. being able to clearly hear the drummer's using a heavy ride) come through very effectively, which to me is more important than sizzle and pop that can often obsure that important information. On good recordings I can even sense and almost feel the wobble of a crash cymbal on its stand, which is something I lose with most other speakers. In some respects I think it's the lower treble that really communicates the feel of the cymbals, and I think this is a strength of the 6.2s. I haven't heard the Plinius, but if it's truly dark sounding I wonder if that might be obscuring some of the upper-octave detail that's dulling cymbals for you.

Anyway, I've used the Silver Ref IIs between my DAC and pre and pre and amp, and although the Matrix IIs do nice things to the mids when I put them in between my pre and amp, it thickens and slows the sound through the 6.2s too much for my liking. And the Silver Ref IIs do a good enough job in the mids with my setup that I don't miss the added glow of their purple sibs.

I've also compared the shotgun Satoris with a single run with jumpers, and it's very close with the shotgun setup adding a small dose of oomph and weight to the overall presentation that I prefer, but it is a relatively small difference. If you're looking for an improvement in cymbal reproduction I think your money might be better spent elsewhere.

I've blabbed enough. Hope this helps.
In terms of closure to this post, I have purchased the AZ Silver Ref. Mark II's and am currently listening to them. They sound great between the Cary and Plinius. I immediately noticed improvements in soundstate, high frequency extention, and and overall air or loftyness in the music. For those that believe that cables make no difference I invite you over...

If anything the Cary 303/200 is a bit forward-sounding (based on the research I have done). These AZ bring that out but I'm still happy being the Plinius and Soliloquy are inherently warm. Now, if I can only find something under $2k that has some good old analog PRAT...
Portugal11,

You may want to try your single run Satori's connected to the high post and jump to the low.
Just a thought.
Good luck on your system!