As to performance diminishing with time for cables, there is no reason that the electrical characteristics of copper cable or any common synthetic insulating material used over the last twenty years would change within a human lifetime. Unless there is visible corrosion at the connections, i.e. if you are using bananna plugs or spade connectors, there is no reason for a change. And any corrosion can be corrected by retermination. The cable has the same inductance, capacitance, and resistance as the day it was made. |
There is so much change to my system coming next week(ARC CD3 MK2, ARC VS-115) when things settle in I'll try the CDP's I/C or do you think you have to change-out 100% from the start? |
Sambar - you are very correct about the synergy between Audioquest and Vandy's . Now...if you really want the best (read my post below) try Anti-Cables. After trying everything that Cable co. would send me....LOTS of stuff...Audioquest Sky and their silver speaker cable (I forgot what it's called) came in second. I could be very happy with Audioquest, but the Speltz wires were even better. NO joke. If you click onto my system you will see that I use Vandersteen's as well. |
JTMA..performance can diminish with time. You really should clean the connections every couple of months. It's just good hygene. |
EE3 - actually, in my system, they were better than anything else I could throw at it. Money was no object. As I said, I tried all the high priced blends, and the Anti-cables were the best. As a matter of fact, Audioquest has a new muti-thousand dollar interconnect, that is 3 or 4 times that of Sky (I forgot at the moment). By the way, in my system, Sky had just a bit less performance than Anti-Cable - 2nd best. Anyway, I plugged these things into my system, and my wife thought that something broke. She raised her voice and asked me what I had done THIS time...put it back the way it was. This just demonstrates that all systems are different, and we who are looking for "The Best", can't take anyone's word for the superiority of any cable. You MUST listen to how it performs in your own system, evalutate, and reject it, or write a check. |
JPS Superconductor 3 speaker cables would seem to fit your description. They have constituted the single, most wonderfully sounding cable change ever IN MY SYSTEM. I find them more natural sounding, musical and listenable/relaxing than both the Synergistic Research Tesla Accelerator and Acoustic Reference. |
Yes a cable can make your sound worse. Absolutely, some cables are just a poor match.
'BTW how much do those Synergistic cables you like cost. Please be honest I would like to try them if they aren't real expensive. Please don't ask what expensive is because it depends on how much money I have at any given time. |
No technology diminishes with time the cables are just aged( like wine ?) |
Another question: I assume performance diminishes with time with cables. Have anyone seen this happen in their system? |
Wow,
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. I will do research on the cables mentioned and work from there.
Thanks again for all your help. |
I called The Cable Company - who will consult with you and send you the cables to try in your system for 2 weeks, you give a 5% deposit that gets credited to a purchase. I can't believe how much difference Mit s1 bi-wire made in my system over my aging Kimber 8TC. Hope this is helpful. |
I second the Paul Speltz anti-cables. They're as good as or better than any cable in the $1500-$2000 range and only $80 for 8ft. pr.!! Read partial review in the Absolute Sound issue#162 June 2006.
Why anyone would want to spend 20-25x the price of these cables, I'll never understand. They're fantastic and warrant an audition. He has a 30 day return policy.
They do require a minimum of 100-150 hrs. break-in and I would lean closer to 125-150. Most people that knock these cables don't let them break-in for this amount of time, thus the negative review! |
P.S. I had a pair of Kimber Bifocal XL's and the Volcano bested them by quite a bit in my system, AQ goes well with Vandy's. |
I have 3A sigs with Quicksilver amp's I like the warmth of the AQ copper, Mont Blanc or better yet Volcano. I think they have the same sound characteristic but the Volcano is a much bigger sound IMO. I auditioned SR and went with the Volcano. |
Third for Synergistic Tesla series. |
I would second Synergistic, Tesla Series. The best cable i've ever heard. |
Relatively thick Ohno continous copper crystal, also called long crystal copper Zip cord. It is nuetral and not a dollar per foot it is about $5-7. It con be found from many sources do a search. I think Moon audio and certainly Neotech amongst many others. It may not be what you want nuetrality can be shockingly different than your reference system sound. |
I use Synergistic Research Tesla cables with my all BAT system. They are the best I've heard by a long shot. |
I am using Vandersteen 5A and tried many brands of cables including Kimber Select. The best were Anti-Cables - not twisted. Their performance with my components was better than Purist, Cardas, Audioquest, Analysis Plus, Wireworld, etc. They are cheap and you should try their money back guarantee. |
Audience AU24 would be a good choice. I use TG Audio cables which are silver but they are not bright, they are detailed, smooth and slightly warm.
Audio Note Lexus is another good choice. |
With the Bat you might want a little brightening, which might not be bright to the ear. Maybe try a silver cable like the Analysis Plus. I personally really like Reality Cables. I think they sound amazing with SET amps. |
