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Speaker cables to smoothen things up

I love the sound of my system. Its dynamic and neutral and very lively. However, my taste to music have melowed somewhat, and im prefer a smooth, relaxing sound at the moment and was wondering if a speaker cable change would smooth things up somewhat and reduce the hardness and attack from my system ( not bright, just hard)
My speaker cables at the moment are some synergistic research tesla quad. I got this for free from my brother therefore ive not tested other speaker cables.
Interconnects are tchernov reference cables and my subwoofer inteconnects are fat oval ic.

The chain goes as follow
Mac mini with audirvana - nad m51 - densen b200 -densen b330 - neat ultimatum mf5 and genesis g928 sub.

Was wondering if a speaker cable change would smoothen things up. Its not to reduce the brightness of my system, my system is pretty neutral. Just want to reduce some of the attack and dynamic off the system. If possible, not wanting to change the amp and speakers.

Ive heard about van denhuls to do this, and ive got a good deal for a d352 hybrid cables. Also a good deal for a kimber 8tc ( the older black and blue version). Would these help? Any reccomendations is much appreciated

Just for info, my room is almost fully treated. Big drapes and rugs and diffusers and bass traps all over.
nieveulv
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
acoustic damping and other room treatments can bring you more successfull and even more econonic results vs. experimenting with cables.
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,236 posts
 
+ 1 with PHOTON46

The takeaway: system synergy matters ....big-time ( an alchemy of the electronics paired up with cables (power/IC/speaker) and with your speakers)

In this context:

(1) consider re-evaluating your source as the first step in cutting out the "hardness"
(2) revaluate the system synergy as a whole: it may be more than just a non-optimal fit with the speaker cables alone.
(3) budgets matter .... sure .... but there is also an inescapable truism in this hobby: you get what you pay for. IMO with the Densen kit and Neat speakers, I would look at the LFD hybrid speaker cables and LFD ICs. (I personally demoed a dealer system with DENSEN/NAIM/ NEAT/LFD mix and match alternatives)

Google them : I believe Gene Rubin Audio carries them

w/o prejudice to the former, I've had the VDH d352 hybrids with very mixed results. I sold them: these worked "meh? to Okay" in my experiences with lower rung kit like NAD (had them hooked up to a NAD kit in a prior "B" system); but quality gear like your DENSEN and NEAT crave much better quality cables to perform.
They did not perform to my expectations in my hi-end A system and were smoked by the NORDOST FREYs. The difference was not subtle.

You have to go way higher in the VDH chain to get quality performance in your system IMO.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Yes to room treatments which can amount to equalization.
If you want to try changing cables, call the Cable Company and use their
lending library. Tell them your requirements and they will advise you.

I have found that Cardas ICs will make a system more laid back, but IMO
their speaker cables colour the sound.
loftarasa
171 posts
 
I've heard Densen and Neat stuff and it's not laid back at all :)

8TC is clean/neutral/not warm so I'd rule those out.

Van Den Hul is pretty laid back but I'd trust their ICs over their speaker cables; can get quite pricey for what it is (in the US at least).

You might like to try OCC speaker cables in the vein of Neotech, Audio Sensibility, Acoustic Zen, depending on your budget.
chayro
2,984 posts
 
Cardas Golden Cross, or probably any of the older Cardas cables like Neutral Reference will soften things up for sure.
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