Hi all. I thought I would finally respond to "Mookie1's" inquiry if anyone had the opportunity to compare the Synergistic Research Element CTS speaker cables with the newer Atmosphere Level 4. I did have that opportunity and will share the results here. By way of background, my current system consists of an ARC Ref. 10 pre-amp, Octave MRE 220 monoblocks sourced by the Ayre C-5xeMP connected to Shunyata PC's (separating digital from analogue) sitting on a double-wide SRX with Shunyata interconnects and power cables, all feeding a pair of ProAc K-6's. Before I start upgrading the digital front end of my system, I decided to first change-out the speaker cables from my Acoustic Zen Satori Shotguns. I set out, as we hunter and gatherers usually do, to seek out various choices. Given my set-up the first choice was obviously Shunyata SC's. I then explored the other brands hailed by we audiophiles as top tier in the price range of $5 - 15k. To get to the punch line: I bought a 9' pair of SR Atmosphere Level 4's in a bi-wired configuration. Not because of the relatively reasonable pricing or the incredible build quality and design, but because of the incomparable performance. None of the other speaker cables I auditioned measure up to the Level 4's, even the more expensive Element CTS's which are the reference cable for many professional reviewers. I have to say the Level 4's have been an absolutlely outstanding upgrade that far exceeded my expectations of what a couple of runs of wire could do for a system. Most of the other cables I tried offered something more than the Satori's (which are great in their own right) as you would expect given advancements in wire and insulation materials and design since the Satori's showed up in the market many years ago. The Level 4's did everything better: speed, details, nuances and dynamics (without being bright, brittle and overly analytical); warm expressive mids; the bass we love and pine for but often don't get, the widest and deepest soundstage of the punch (behind the system and along the side walls) and spectacular separation of instruments and voices on that stage. My needs/objectives for elements in my system are simple but sometimes difficult to attain: let it be as real as a live/studio performance. The SR Atmosphere Level 4's deliver that without compromise and have helped mine from the other components/elements in my system the best of their performance towards that objective. The CTS's, which I had in my system for 6 weeks, came close - but no cigar. The CTS's were a bit more compressed and struggled to deliver the coherent (time aligned) response of the Level 4's particularly in voice, woodwind, cymbal and piano note reproduction. Regarding the later three, the sustain and decline was palpably more impressive and real. I am going to switch out my Shunyata Anaconda interconnects to the Level 4's now I have witnessed what the speaker cables deliver. Not expecting the same step change I got from switching out the Satori's but will let you know what I discover for those who might be interested.
