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Which MIT speaker cable?

Of all the stuff in audio that is confusing, wire has to be the most difficult to navigate through and I'd prefer not to buy and sell wire a dozen times til I get it right. I've been doing some research on speaker cables of late, seems many of you like the MIT wire. Here's the set up: Oracle Delphi IV/SME345/Grado Reference through a Lehmann Black Cube, YBA CD Integre, Magnum Dynlab Tuner. IC's include Transparent, YBA, Audioquest. Power cords are Synergistic Research AC Reference on all source components, preamp, and amp. MIT Z-Cord II's on my ML Quest Z's. Preamp is a BATVK30, driving a 25' single ended cable to a Classe DR8 amp, amp connected to Martin Logan Quest Z speakers. I intend on upgrading this long run to quality balanced cables soon. In the meantime, I have eight 8' foot runs of speaker wire made for me by Dave Reich when he was at Classe which I'm now considering changing. I went to Audio Advisor's website and looked at two different solutions, both 10' Biwired cables with spades. The MH-750 Series II is $538, the Terminator 2 Bi-Wire is $212 (add some bucks for termination). I'm looking to tame the high end a bit in my ML's, which cable would you suggest? Thanks, Jeff
jeffloistarca
joekras2785
25 posts
 
I agree. I see used 330II interconnect on Audiogon for about $100. Cable has big full midrange sound. Great for vocals.
jeffloistarca OP
1,004 posts
 
Thanks gents, appreciate you taking the time to respond. My local dealer has a ten foot pair of Transparent MusicWave Bi-Wire, new, he'll let go for $300. Sounds like a reasonable deal, and since my system leans a little towards the bright side, do any of you feel this would be a good match? Jeff
perfectimage
406 posts
 
I personally think that MIT are the best cables out there. I have owned the 750 biwire but you are better off with 750 plus single wire and jumpers. It is a higher grade cable and offers more performance then the lower model biwire. The best part is that its cheaper.
perfectimage
406 posts
 
I personally think that MIT are the best cables out there. I have owned the 750 biwire but you are better off with 750 plus single wire and jumpers. It is a higher grade cable and offers more performance then the lower model biwire. The best part is that its cheaper. One good thing about AudioAdvisor is they have a great 30 day no questions asked return policy.
djjd
61 posts
 
Hi Jeff, someone at MIT told me they voice their cables to ML speakers. Don't know if this is true. If it is, it may explain why some people (e.g., Leafs above) don't like the sound of MIT cables, while some people with MLs or other revealing speakers (e.g., Gjrad above) find them to be ideal. In any case, here's my experience: MIT interconnects worked quite well for my system with ML ReQuests. After trying various ICs, I found MIT 330+ II's (DAC->preamp and preamp->amp) had the most full and natural sound and helped tame the top end aggressiveness in the MLs. In comparison, I found the MIT T2 ICs were not as detailed, quiet, or polite. Some more pricey ICs that received good reviews didn't quite work with the MLs. For instance, Tara Decades sounded unnaturally thin even though they had better imaging and a slightly wider soundstage than the 330+ IIs. I did find some of the more expensive Transparent ICs worked well for ReQuests, but I can't say they were significantly better than the cheaper MIT 330s. Another IC (or SC) you may want to try is the Harmonic Tech. Truth-Link; it is also fairly polite up top. I haven't tried MIT speaker cables (the last SCs I used with the ReQuests were Cardas Golden Cross). But since MIT ICs seem to work well for ML speakers, their SCs may be worth trying in your system. However, I agree with Megasam and Joekras that it might be more prudent to try switching ICs first -- they're cheaper than the speaker cables and you may find that just changing ICs does the trick. I'll also add that I recently bought some speakers (Khorus) that are even more detailed than the MLs, though not as aggressive, and found the MITs don't work as well for them. So, as others cautioned above, it's largely a matter of trial and error. Happy hunting. Don
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