Can we have an "Ask Sean" catagory?

Uh, Slappy, I was the "other" Audiogon member Bigkidz was refering to on that "get together beer party" FYI, I.B.T.B.!! Remember the "make Slappy happy and get-em back on the mappy" post ? The doggy thing, .......well it'd have to be one really pretty dog !!!!

Cdc: I am not a huge fan of most Goertz interconnects, so there must have been some type of mis-communications here. Having said that, i AM a huge fan of their flat speaker cables.

As far as their "Micro-purl" interconnects go, they can work pretty well for balanced cables but less so for single-ended (RCA) based cables in my experience. The dielectric used is of low quality and the potential for VERY high capacitance, which rolls off the top end, is also quite prominent. The electrical characteristics will vary depending on how the conductors are configured / wired up. Given that these are a three conductor design ( like the PBJ but WAY different ), they can be used either way ( XLR or RCA ).

For use as a balanced cable, the cables should be configured so that you have the hot, neutral and ground in that order. Given that some XLR equipped gear uses different pin configurations than others, the only way to know if the cable itself was configured in the appropriate manner would be to verify continuity from pin to pin. I'm not sure which pin configuration that Goertz uses from the factory, so you might want to find out what lay-out your specific gear uses and then discuss this with Goertz if you're interested in using these cables.

As a side note, Component A, using one XLR pin configuration, combined with Component B, which uses the other XLR pin configuration, will produce horrible results. As such, you should ALWAYS make sure that your components use the same pin configuration BEFORE buying or using XLR type cables. There are two different standards in use and it can be VERY confusing.

As an RCA type cable, I found these to sound somewhat bright and bloated. I would think that these cables would work best in a "budget" system that lacked extension at both ends or in an HT installation. The tilted up extremes might tend to sound more "dynamic" or "punchy", which might be exactly what you want for a lack-luster movie based system.

Their flat interconnects, the one's that look like mini versions of their flat speaker cables, are VERY high in capacitance. With some components, high frequency loss and blurring may become instantly noticeable. I have a set of Goertz Silver Sapphire's and tried them between the digital source ( Philips SACD 1000 at the time ) and my HT Pre/Pro ( Sunfire Theater Grand ). I compared these against several other designs in that specific location of the system. Some of the other cables were copper, some were silver and some were a hybrid silver & copper. The Silver Sapphire's didn't do too badly and actually beat a few other cables. While the SACD 1000 didn't have the most "revelatory" high end, i didn't notice any detectable reduction in extension or blurring. Other components may not respond in the same fashion. As such, you might want to check with the manufacturer of your components to see how load stable they are with high capacitance interconnects.

Other than that, i do appreciate the kind words of support from all of you folks. Best wishes to all and good listening... Sean
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Mattybumpkin - when I read your post a different Professor came to mind as a picture in my head of Sean: Remember the professor on "Rocky and Bullwinkle" that they always went to for science questions. He'd open his closet to get the magic blackboard to explain upon. Opening his closet a cascade of miscelaneous objects and devices would come tumbling forth and bury everyone around. He'd emerge from the rubble with his magic blackboard to expand it to a much larger size and explain Rocky, and or Bullwinkle's scientific questions......Audiogon may be Sean's magic blackboard. At least we're saved from all the misc. stereo debris cascading out of his closet like an audio avalanche!!

Hey Professor, er, I mean Sean.....I'd like to I take Mt10425 up on his great suggestion and point you to my recent post to the 'amplifier' section. Somehow it got listed as a Review(?!). Anyway, you can find it here.

Best,

Marco

Marco: You are probably closer in your description than of my "clutter" than Matty is. As to your question, i responded there prior to coming back to this thread. As such, "you've got mail" ( in that thread ). Sean
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Thank you for the prompt assistance Sean! I will have to give that recording a careful listen at lower volumes and get back with a response on that thread. I could answer from memory, but I don't think listening thus far has been as deliberate as it could. I'm usually just enjoying the recording so much that I get lost in her voice. It's certainly much less apparent if it is there, but I'll check again.

I'm a man of clutter myself, but I usually know where everything is......well, most things anyway! Now where is that damn CD?!

Thanks again!

Marco