I only ordered a power cable from them several months ago. I won't be ordering from them again after the terrible service they gave me. No confirmation of my order. They didn't answer phone calls or EMAIL's and finally got in touch with me after a couple of weeks. He told me they had a 2-week installation job so evidently; they have nobody else who can do any cable or sales work when the installation work is being done. Not sure what the guy is a Captain of but very strange to call yourself that. The power cable seems fine for the price I guess but I'll be looking elsewhere next time for better customer service.
Audio envy - dang!
I use an ARC Classic 60 amp with a Herron 1A preamp. The AE cable went between these two.
I run an ARC Phono pre PH3se from my VPI prime as source.
My speakers are Thiel CS2.4’s
Out of the box a bit bright, But after a few hours that just went to strait up transparent - I mean freaking crystal clear. No tonal aberrations. Smooth, with no etched highs. Voices sound right, Natural. Soundstage opened up, as you might expect when things get clearer.
The best part was how inexpensive they were. They made my Cardas Clear Light interconnects I was using sound clouded by contrast. The Cardas was about x3 the cost of the AE’s.
BTW, this wasn’t “I think I hear differences”, this was “I’ll never use those Cardas in this system again, and where is my IPad, I need to order my next set!”
And that’s just what I did.
I wonder what kind of improvements I can get with the new Expanded Ocean power cable replacing some entry level $50 ones. I’ve spent a lot of money on audio this month ($1,600), trying to have a bit of self control otherwise I would buy 2 Expanded Ocean right away. I'm going to email Captain and hear his opinion on this matter. |
@tthelen64 the deal won't work for me. I'm not a cable roller so it makes more sense to buy the newest model with the upgrade option and be done. Thanks anyway. |
@tthelen64 those feet are a bit more than my budget. Do your Ocean cables have the upgrade option? |
I currently have a full loom of Ocean and Mega cables and I'm in the process of migrating to the Puritan Ultimate PCs. Anyone considering upgrading to either Mega (c13 or c19) and Ocean cables and looking for a deal, PM me. The Audio Envy line is nuetral, presents a wide soundstage with detail, finesse and dynamics. Not sure what I will thru the process but willing to kick the tires. |
@samureyex It is $50 per cable additional for the upgrade. It allows you to order up to 3 cables if needed. I ordered one and it is a fantastic cable. Performs way above it’s price point to my ears. All of my power and IC cables are now AE of different levels and I am very pleased with the synergy. |
I have a number of AE power cords and they are all better than several major brand name cords I've used in the past. I haven't tried the newest Expanded PC with the upgraded ground, but I've just had such good sound with the regular Expanded, P3, & P2 that I've not made any changes. I may just replace the P2 & 3 with Expanded next year but for now I'll just listen to music. |
@lalitk Thanks for your reply. I cannot respond back in the PM so I think I’ll do it here. Zavfino was my #1 choice but I ended up going with Veritas cables. For power cords, AE looks fantastic and that will be my plan going forward.
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@kclone In my experience speaker grounds go on the (-) or black side of speakers. I have ground boxes wired on the (-) on one pair and ground purifiers on the (-) on another pair. |
Lak, thanks, I get that part, but there are two other wires, one for each speaker cable side, that I assume go on the terminals of the amp. If so which output terminal? I already have Rel Subwoofer wire on some of the output terminals.
I took a listen after 14 hours. System is more relaxed overall and the bass is more extended, detailed, and cut out in it’s own space. Very nice! I should also add I put the Audio Envy USB cable in between the Evo 432 Server and Laiv Harmony DAC. |
Jetter, I have the SP-14s. I just hooked them up, not sure how to hook up the ground wire so I have to call Cap to figure that out. But just the speaker cables alone, there was a noticeable difference between the SP-14s and the Canare. The SP-14s sound thick, big, weighty, instruments have a lot of meat on the bones. The Canare sound kind of thin in comparison. I would have not thought of that of the Carare, but next to the SP-14s, that is indeed that case. This is a right out of the bag comparison, so if the SP-14s improve over time, like I said of the Prestige IC, it's just gravy.
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Will do Jetter. I know the Canare are cheap, but my goodness they seem pretty darn good to me. I haven’t found anything worth replacing them with yet. I haven’t tried extremely expensive stuff as cables go. The most expensive was some $2400 Audience Speaker cables. I have had several pairs below that price point. Clear Day, Supra Sword, Duelund, Western Electric, JSP Labs, Nordust, to name a few. |
Yes, but keep in mind at the time of this posting I only have about 22 hours on them. The AEs have more coherence, detail, and extension. Instruments have more spacing and definition within the stage. Guitars specifically have more crunch. The Duelunds have a little more dryer sound, which I never noticed before until the AEs were in. Where the Duelunds are better is a more expansive stage. But it is early, maybe with more time the AEs will improve in this area? The 8402s are currently another system with the Wharedale Linton speakers. I probably won’t take the time to do a comparison. |
I put the Studio Prestige in the system about two hours ago. Sounds great out of the bag, very balanced, well extended and plenty of detail. I was expecting them to sound hard and bright and then settle in over time. They are not bright in the least. Gosh, if there is truly improvement over the next couple of hundred hours it is just gravy. |
@nutty I had been asking Cap to make a pair of Model 34 SC, but was able to get SP14s and the prototype ICs. With the new Okta and PCs, this is the best I’ve heard from AE |
@nutty I have the SP12s and really dig them.What would you say the improvement is between the two cables on a percentage basis? |
I contacted Captain to ask about an XLR to RCA cable to go out from my new API equalizer to my preamp.He said he could make one to my specifications when I was ready. After some experiments with adapters and cables with different wiring configurations the one ordered from BlueJean Audio (Belden wire) worked perfectly but had a slightly grainy texture which actually complemented certain instruments. Vocals not so much though.So I ordered the cable from AE and hoped for the best. Just received it today and it exceeded my expectations which was simply no more grain.Right out of box it's silky smooth,grainless,and a perfect fit in my system. There is nothing to criticize.I played the same CD that I was just listening to without adjusting the volume or the equalizer.Then chose a few more to try finding something unacceptable.Nope.It's staying. |