Wrayray, can you provide some commentary on your experience with these Discovery Cables?
I need an IC with excellent noise rejection
I have transitioned to some new(ish) equipment. I'm running a Pass X1 into a Van Alstine FetValve 550EXR amp. This is not only a new equipment complement for me, but it will also be reorganized into a new location in my house. Right now I'm using this pair in my old room (which is very small and does not allow any significant volumes without "hitting the limits of the room"), with a 1M Kimber KCAG pair between the two.
The new room arrangement will require a 17 foot interconnect between the X1 and the FetValve. The FetValve does not have XLRs so it will have to be a single ended design. The FetValve also has a very high input impedance - 1 MOhm - so while it may be easy to drive from a loading POV it will be extra sensitive to any noise picked up in the ICs.
So I need a recommendation for an RCA IC that is well shielded with reasonably low capacitance and inductance. I've heard that Wireworld is one of only a few companies that actually discusses the noise figures of their cable designs, and that they are very low. I know there's a downside - IME heavily shielded cables sometimes will either "slow down the sound" or darken it. I want neither. The cable should maintain the ability of this pair to be balanced, powerful, with excellent speed, pace, and air, and awesome soundstaging (which it does now to generally positive satisfaction).
New or used doesn't matter, but if I can find something in a budget category to get this job done I would prefer it. The chances of my paying for a 17 foot run of Nordost or Siltech are, um, zero.
Just as a side note, I would like to keep the discussion on the subject of a possible IC for this use and not on whether I'd be better off with short ICs / long speaker cables. Even with the needed IC, the speaker cables will be on the order of 20 feet and it will be a bi-wire arrangement. So I took a hard look at where the costs would go relative to the electrical need. Since the FetValve is a relatively easy load to drive (and since the X1 has sufficient drive current for long ICs) I decided to go this route.
The new room arrangement will require a 17 foot interconnect between the X1 and the FetValve. The FetValve does not have XLRs so it will have to be a single ended design. The FetValve also has a very high input impedance - 1 MOhm - so while it may be easy to drive from a loading POV it will be extra sensitive to any noise picked up in the ICs.
So I need a recommendation for an RCA IC that is well shielded with reasonably low capacitance and inductance. I've heard that Wireworld is one of only a few companies that actually discusses the noise figures of their cable designs, and that they are very low. I know there's a downside - IME heavily shielded cables sometimes will either "slow down the sound" or darken it. I want neither. The cable should maintain the ability of this pair to be balanced, powerful, with excellent speed, pace, and air, and awesome soundstaging (which it does now to generally positive satisfaction).
New or used doesn't matter, but if I can find something in a budget category to get this job done I would prefer it. The chances of my paying for a 17 foot run of Nordost or Siltech are, um, zero.
Just as a side note, I would like to keep the discussion on the subject of a possible IC for this use and not on whether I'd be better off with short ICs / long speaker cables. Even with the needed IC, the speaker cables will be on the order of 20 feet and it will be a bi-wire arrangement. So I took a hard look at where the costs would go relative to the electrical need. Since the FetValve is a relatively easy load to drive (and since the X1 has sufficient drive current for long ICs) I decided to go this route.
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