Further comments on IC's with my WE speaker wires. I tried a pair of ancient van den Hul D300S from my Luminescence preamp to the NAD C272 amp, into Magnepan MMGs.
Initial impression was one of detail and "lightness". After a few days, overall sound became a bit harsher. I liked the "airiness" but not the harshness. This morning I dug out another ancient IC, Monster Cable M1000 MKII, which yielded quite a different result. Fuller, better bass, but still good detail. More pleasant than the van den Hul. I'll give this combo a few days for break-in and to get a better sense of other qualities, such as sound stage. So far I like it.
Meanwhile I'll order some Belden wire and make a pair of IC's to compare. According to the rest of you guys, the Belden is THE one. :)
What a fun and inexpensive experiment/journey this little project is.