Favorite sounding interconnects?

There are many good ICs, but my favorite is the Synergistic Research Phase 2, Luminesence and Kaleidoscope with active shielding. The active shielding was a worthwhile upgrade over the already good Phase 2s. It especially improved soundstaging without impairing tonal balance.

These ICs are detailed without being relentless, have excellent tonal balance, and I think are neutral to slightly warm (my preference). I also use Syn. Res. speaker cables and power cords, and have wondered if there really is a synergy among their products. Cheers. Craig.

To save on space, read my preamble to your question about speaker cables. Most of my comments -- and philosophy -- about speaker wire also applies to interconnects. Way too much snake oil and mumbo-jumbo passing for empirical evidence. For my money, the various models of interconnects being sold by HomeGrownAudio are among the best on the market today, AND they are quite reasonably priced (as wire products go). They also pass one of the most important strictures that doctors must abide by when treating patients: first, do no harm. Over the past 6 months, I re-wired my entire audio / HT system, replacing my AudioQuest cables with HomeGrownAudio Super Silver and Silver Lace IC's. Been VERY pleased, and it didn't cost the king's ransom. The Silver Lace DIY kit, for example, costs $140. In my opinion, there is NOTHING that competes with it at that price. I can only say that in my system, the HGA cables sound great -- in other words, they have nearly no sound of their own that I can identify.

I'm very skeptical on silver. I still think high quality copper is what most systems were designed for. I have had great luck with TMC cables. They sell them factory direct from Australia and you can either bid on them here or negotiate prices directly with the owner King. hey have locking (WBT-type) RCAs and are quite stiff. They sound dead silent and are wonderfully dynamic without noticable coloration. As you can probably tell, they are by far the best cable I have heard at home (though I have never used $500+ interconnects). They go in the $100-180 range for one-mater cables. The whites are for component to pre-amp and the Yellows for pre-to power. My system is and ARCAM CD, Musical Fidelity A3cr pre and power and Magnepan 1.5/QRs.

Brown Electronic Labs (BEL). Reasonably priced ($200/1M). Trounce most cables costing 5 times as much. Check out the reviews.

Acoustic Zen Silver Reference. 1 meter. It transfers the emotion of the performers to you with a perfectly balanced sound.

System used in:
* Musical Fidelity HT600 5 channel amp w/ Acoustic Zen Silver Reference interconnects,Yamamura Quantum power cord.

* B&K AVP3090 pre-amp w/ Harmonic Technology Pro-11 AC power cord)

* Sony DVP-9000ES SACD/DVD player (w/ Acoustic Zen Silver Reference(analogue) & MC2 (digital)interconnects, and an Acoustic Zen Tsunami pc)

* B&W Nautilus 805 speakers w/ matching stands, HTM-2 center, LM-1 surrounds (w/ H. Tech Pro-9 plus bi-wire cables)

* REL Strata III subwoofer , XLO custom Neutrik Speakon conector and DH Labs BL-1 for 5.1 out, and H. Tech Pro-11AC pc)

* Denon MD-1000 Minidisc recorder (H. Technology Truthlink interconnects, and Audio One "Reference" toslink cable )

*Musical Fidelity A3 Tuner

* Toshiba 40X81 Widescreen HDTV (Monster component cables)

* Monster HTS-3500 power center

* Salamander Synergy Systems rack

* Hubble 8300i outlets