The Intellectual People Podcast - Galen Gareis (Former Belden Wire Designer)

@rnrmf1971 - thanks. I assume these are connected to your amp. Could you share what amp you're using and what you're driving it with? I've got a number of amps, but currently using a pair of Pass XA60.8s driven by a DIY preamp. 

@jaytor  -  I use them between a Levinson 52 pre and Bricasti M28 amps, so it's a fully balanced system.

These replaced Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 7 XLR's. I used to use WW Platinum 7 throughout my system when I needed to warm it up when I had speakers that didn't have enough bass/warmth for my taste.

In a reasonably balanced sounding system, I think the Iconoclast OCC is technically superior - and for me, audibly.

@rnrmf1971 - Perfect. Thanks for the additional info. These sound like they'd be a good choice for me. 

I mentioned this in the thread about high-end XLR cables, but thought I would post here in case others are interested in the Iconoclast cables. 

After listening to the podcast mentioned in the OP, I spent some time researching these. I've been reluctant to spend big bucks on a set of interconnects since most of the well-regarded cables get very expensive in the 25ft length I needed, and the cable co lending library doesn't have lengths like this available. I wasn't willing to spend thousands of dollars on a cable that I couldn't return and particularly where the manufacturer provides no information about how the cable is constructed or basic LCR measurements. 

I have been an audiophile for 45 years and while I lean considerably more toward the subjective side of the subjective/objective equation, I also have an EE background and like to understand why a component or cable works like it does. So I really appreciated how forthcoming Iconoclast is being describing their cables design and construction and why they made the decisions they did. 

I decided to give these a try and ordered a 25ft set of 4x4 OCC cables. These cables aren't cheap (at > $4K) but at least Iconoclast/BJC offers a liberal 30 day return policy with no restocking fees. Prior to purchasing these, I had tried Belden 1800F from Blue Jeans Cable, and three DIY cables made from DH Labs Pro Studio, Parts Connexion "The Natural", and Neotech NEI-3001 Mk III. Of these, the DH Labs was my favorite, but each of these cables sounded different and each had things I didn't like. 

I've now had the Iconoclast cables playing in my system for about 150 hours, but it didn't take me very long to decide they weren't going back. They are more dynamic with sharper attacks, have a more natural decay, and a noticeable increase in clarity. The slight harshness I was hearing from some of my other cables is gone, and I'm enjoying listing to some of my poorer quality recordings that I couldn't handle with my previous cables. 

I don't think any of the cables I built myself are available as factory terminated cables, so I don't know exactly what they would cost, but I'd doubt they'd be more than 30% of the cost of the Iconoclast, so you would expect some improvement. But I wasn't expecting as much as I got and was prepared to send these back and spend the money on other component upgrades. Now I'm thinking of investing in a second set of interconnects between my DAC and Pre, and also considering the Iconoclast speaker cables.

Hi everyone, greetings from Melbourne Australia where we are all confined to our homes. 

Was a long time lurker on this thread and recently read Douglas Schroeders excellent review of the iconoclast cables. 

One thing I struggled to get a clear picture of was the difference between Galen's cable goals and other manufacturers such as Tara Labs, Stage III High Fidelity and also Audio Envy and the Silversmith Audio Fidelity line which are  generating

The science of cabling is laid out and sure the electromagnetics are spotlighted well but how doed Belden/Iconoclast do this better than other companies who are also surely working with  LCR as properties to manipulate. Isn't an air tune containing a conductor the basic idea behind a coaxial cable which has been made since 1870? monoblocks,Tara Labs very explicitly states their capacitance  as a design goal. And isn't Teflon a fairly generic material in cable design> 

Has anyone done any explicit comparison's with these other brands and can account for specific  material and engineering differences that make iconoclast class leading in terms of sound. ?