10 months later and I have now managed to get closer to the sound I am looking for. This was achieved by adding another pair of Audiolab monoblocks and changing all the interconnects to Purist Audio Venustas - WoW what a difference! The sound is much warmer now with added weight - I now find myself spending hours going thro' my CD collection. In reality, I suspect that the PAD cables have been the key factor here, I'm sure I could have got away without the extra mono's, but hey, I can continue to build on this. I must say however, IMHO whilst the PAD's are very good, the Nordost's were more holographic and better at conveying the human voice. Interestingly, I also think that the LAT digital DII mark 2 cable is better in my system than the PAD Venusta digital and represents excellent value for money (unfortunately, I wasn't able to do a comparison with the Nordost Valhalla Digital. I believe the weakest link now is my speaker cables which I have narrowed down replacements for to:- the PAD Venustas (cable seems a bit too thick for my liking) or the Nordost Valkyrja's - unless anyone else has got any suggestions.....
Help with speaker cables and interconnects
My system comprises a TAG Mclaren CDT20R Transport linked to TAG's DPA32R Pre/Dac. This feeds a pair of Audiolab 8000MX monoblocks, which are wire to Monitor Audio 20SE's. Current wiring is LAT interconnects and Audioquest Indigo + speaker cable. The sound is very clean, but somewhat cold and lacking in weight. The Audiolab/Monitor Audio had plenty of power when used witha marantz cd63KI signature Cd player, but this appears to be lacking with the TAG gear. I have tried using Nordost Valhalla digital between CD & DAC and Valkyrja between pre and power amps. This gives amazing detail, but again lacks the warmth. Any advice would be very welcome. Muz.
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- 13 posts total
- 13 posts total