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Capri to the monoblocs 501, which cables?

I have just bought Jeff Rowlnds Capri and monoblocs 501
(Cd Player Denon DCD 2700 / Loudspeakers Infinity Renaissance 90)
I am hearing 85% classical music, mostly orchestral works and opera. I have been trying (starting from the Denon)

a) NBS Monitor active III / NBS Monitor III / NBS Monitor IV

very fast, incredible precision and details , amazimg soundstaging beautifull space beetween the instruments but, and this is a big but, absolutely awfull sound of the strings, harsch and uncultivated with too much white and pink noise

b) Shunyata Antares / NBS monitor III / NBS monitor IV

less detailed but more homogeneous, more organig picture of the whole, more polite ... sounds as if some tube would be there, I am not sure it is the reality and it seems to me creating some colour and fake sound-staging

c) Transparent ref / NBS monitor III / XLO Pro 650

female voice for example, lacking body, no enough texture, everything a little bit lean

Thank you for advices

kind Regards
clavil
phous
18 posts
 
I have many yrs. of experience with JR equipment. Cardas for all applications has worked best for me.
pops
2,273 posts
 
I've been through tons of cables and have settled on Kimber Select 1011, nice body and texture, very smooth. On my system, YMMV but worth checking out. Portrayal of strings is very good, and acoustic guitar very nice timbre.

ARC PH 5 to CJ Premier 14 to Mcintosh 501's
stew3859's avatar
stew3859
119 posts
 
I have a Model 10; pair of 201s and Coherence II and exclusively use Cerious Technologies PCs and ICs.
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Hi Clavil, I play classical almost exclusively. I use a Capri with the JRDG 312 stereo and am also quite familiar with the 501 monos. If you have recently bought your Capri and 501 amps, they are probably not at all broken in. Expect that for the next 1000 hours of playing time they will do all sort of 'interesting' sounds, that will start slowly turn into music only sometimes after the 500 hrs mark. Until you have just over 1000 hours on the units it is not worth while thinking about interconnects or power chords, because you would be overcompensating for pre-break in artifacts. Rather, if you have the budget, you may look at a pair of JRDG PC1 Power Factor Correction units. You place them between the 501 and the current power cords. They convert the 110V AC from the wall outlet to 385V DC that they feed to the 501s. The 312 and the new Continuum 500 already have PFC built in. Rowland introduced the PC1 to bring the performance of the 501 and 201 much closer to that of the flagship products. You can expect greater authority, more filegreed treble and midrange, and lots more low level information. . . e.g. harmonics and string vibrato.

I use Audioquest Sky ICs throughout my system. They are graceful and extended and work remarkably well with the current generation of JRDG gear. . . but I do not pretend them being the ultimate solution. I have also heard Capri connected with Purist Anniversary ICs. . . absolutely wonderful, but staggeringly expensive.
One recommendation. . . leave Capri and 501 always turned on. . . that's JRDG recommendation. . . but idle time does not count towards break in.

Guido
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