I recently sold my Apex Speaker cables, and decided to try out the new Tungsten. After about 80-100 hours burn in time, the conclusion is that they outperform the Apex when it comes to soundstage, broader, deeper and higher. The difference is not night and day, but easily noticeable.
But be aware, they are not merely Apex copies, the sound is also a bit different. There is a shift up in the frequencies, with some more focus and energy in the higher tones, somewhere from 1000hz and upwards. This makes the cable sound airy and smooth, again, not day and night difference, but you properly will notice it within 10 seconds... (If not, you should check out your ears). This new focus area for the cable, might give the impression there is something missing in the mid area, less body and weight. I'm not sure. After listening to different sources, my conclusion so far is that this is not the case. It's the same as with the Apex, but with added energy in the high frequencies it's easy to get the wrong impressions.
The deep bass goes a little bit further down, and has some more dynamic to it, a bit more precise than the Apex. But again, is something missing from mid bass and up? Or is the cable just a bit more linear than the Apex? It might be so, but I need to live with the cable some more days to be able to conclude on that one.
So, yes it is a "better" and a more modern cable, if I may say so, than the Apex. It's not a big step, but a noticable step forward: It sounds bigger, quieter (less noise), smoother, more resolved, with more dynamic and with better linearity than the Apex, (but with added energy in the heights). This means it can also sound a bit Teflon-like, more Hi-Fi when directly compared with the Apex.
Can I live happily with the Tungsten, as I've done with the Apex for several years? I can already give you the answer to that, because I've also tried the Tungsten with the Galileo Speaker Cells from SR. With the Cells added, the positive sides of the Tungsten are highly strengthened, the feeling of air, smoothness, big, dynamic sound, body and holography is just there. So much that I have the real feeling of entering the concert hall. This is by far the best sound I've had in my room, and the cables and Cells are there to stay.
