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Anticables Review

Category: Cables

I need to preface this by saying I don't have what y'all would probably consider an "Audiophile" amp: An Onkyo 805 receiver. But it drives my Vandersteen 2ce sigs wonderfully (and in Pure Audio mode has no video circuitry on. I use Pure Audio (no time processing, no sub) for this comparison.

Ok so I got two pairs of Anticables from Paul. He shotgunned them to bananas on the amp end and put vintage spades on the other (biwired to the Vandys). My other cable is a set of Canare 4S11 star quad: hard-wired on the amp end with BJC spades on the speaker. My conclusion: I can only hope that others in this forum are correct in saying that AntiCables need 400 hours to break in. Right now, they sound thin, tinny, and very lacking in bass and overall stage depth. Putting the Canare back on, Jacqueline Dupre's cello once again sounds like a Strad (instead of a high school instrument), and the bass section sounds full and present (instead of weak and distant).

This comparison duplicates results across genres. For example Alison Kraus' Live SACD, the guitar strum sounds precise with the anticables, but very thin. With the Canare you can hear the string depth through the pick.

My next step is to clip off the spades and hard wire the AntiCables, as some have suggested. Will post an update if anyone's interested :) But for now I just wanted to voice my dissatisfaction thus far, and hope that this magnet wire I paid $200 for might somehow 'burn in' to match my $30 Canare 4S11.
kontrabass
raysclim
5 posts
 
Have anyone uses anticable for car audio system setup ?
I read that the cable is stiff but can be blended to follow the wiring path .
Just worry that the thin sexy coating on the cable will peeled off or scratch off under extreme weather condition ( heat ) and driving condition (vibration ) ? May be I should look for other alternative cable that is flexible ? Any recommendation on the same price point as anti Cables ?

Thanks . Raymond
tgrisham
1,291 posts
 
I wouldn't try it. You need electrical isolation from RFI and EMI, and the coating is too fragile. With the vibrations and movement of the car, it could short out and ruin all the electronics.
raysclim
5 posts
 
Thanks for the advise , I thought so as well,
What about for the case of interconnect ? If t is double shield and jacketed .
Does it make sense to use it ?
makarisma's avatar
makarisma
11 posts
 
I once tried the Anti-Cables when they had just come out. Right off the bat they made the system sound livelier with more attack than my Audioquest Ruby Bi-Wires. These cables, for some, could be all that should ever be needed.
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