Looking for really fine cables at really low price

In many respects I agree with the Positive Feedback Review by Wojciech Pacuła of the WE16ga and Belden 8402. The important part for me was this thought: "And again—when I asked the right question it didn't take me long to find an answer. Both cables offered amazingly rich, "mature" midrange—so incredibly good that the only comparison I could think of were the best amplifiers with Western Electric 300B triodes on board. Please notice—it is not about THE BEST SOUND in general, but THE BEST SOUND OF THAT KIND. The one that many of us could live with happily ever after. Sound is remarkably palpable, it is presented close to the listener, it is immersively rich. It's been a while since I heard such an incredibly rich sound here. Mr Yazaki wrote about how "organic" his system sounded like with these cables and now I knew what he meant—it was absolutely remarkable. These cables offer a wonderfully coherent presentation with properly balanced proportion between basic sound and harmonics. They are also phase coherent which results in fantastic spacing effects. Both IC and speaker cable are remarkable, not the best ones there are, but the only ones of their kind."

Then I paused, laughed my evil laugh, couldn't stop for several minutes. When I came to my senses I was struck with this thought: this article sums up perfectly, in my opinion, precisely where the audiophile world has gone off the rails. The descriptors of Yazaki-san style of listening is my own, Jeff Day fellow Positive Feedback Reviewer, describe it as "Timbral Listening", his preferred listening style as well; and I would propose that this style of listening is legion, but not well served by the Audiophile world that places undo emphasis on "sound" rather than serving the "music." The further emphasis on "extended" highs to the ninth degree, or "bass" as described by Audiophile Reviewers is not real bass to me and I am a bass player (much too little space or time here to fully expound my view on this matter).

Then I laugh some more at audiophile values, geez: "I compared them to my reference cables: Siltech Royal Signature Series Double Crown Empress IC and Tara Labs Omega Onyx speaker cable." Holy cow, sound I do not prefer, that cost multiple thousands up against a type of sound that I prefer (300B), that cost less than Two Hundred Dollars for the "BEST SOUND OF THAT KIND." More brick and mortar audio stores would still exist if there was more "best sound of that kind" at WE/Belden cost. It would be "back to the future" where nearly every home had a decent audio system, students would still have those nice dorm-room smaller system with good music/sound. Best, Rob

All,
Great points and discussions. With Brownsfan with Timbre and PRAT, etc.

Salectric, thanks for sharing. The PF article is an interesting read and Mr. Pacula's take on the WE wire pretty much nails it with regard to what I hear in my system, as I have attempted to describe previously in this thread;

a little warmer with a little less (excessive) bloom in the bass, and a little more up front with vocals. Maybe a little wider and deeper soundstage. Tonal quality is very good. High frequencies sound quite natural. The bass I am hearing is full and has good punch.

a little tonally warmer than the Jupiter, which sounds good tonight but makes me wonder whether the tinning is causing a sort of euphonic warmth

focused on the midrange where they provide a nice tonality, but also good-sounding in the LF or bass, where they have good body but without the bloat some cables allow. In the high frequencies, I find them a touch shelved-down, and maybe even rolled-off, but primarily shelved-down, meaning the HF, while fully present, seems to have lower output compared to the lower frequencies. This sound recalls earlier days when our speakers had large drivers and our systems were musical but not so detailed.

the WE wire has a tonally rich, somewhat relaxed sound with really nice full bass. IMO, it is a musical contrast to some of the ultra resolving wires out there

Mr. Pacula closes by stating

Both IC and speaker cable are remarkable, not the best ones there are, but the only ones of their kind.

which I find similar to my statement

it is nice to be reminded that perfection is not a prerequisite for enjoyment

I initially did not agree with Mr. Pacula's take on the bass from the WE wire, which he described as having

"limited frequency range on both ends (treble and bass)"

That caused me to reevaluate why I like the bass from the WE wire so much in my system, and why my other wires comparatively cause "excessive bloom" on some material. It may be that, since my HT wires are known for extended bass, those wires overly drive the very low frequencies of my Aerial 9's, which are rated down to about 30Hz and about -6dB at 27Hz. It is also likely that I have not noticed an absence in low bass extension because, in my system, the lowest frequencies are handled by an Aerial SW12 sub. The sub is wired directly to my preamp using ICs, so it would not be affected by the WE SCs. Therefore, if the WE wires do have a slightly "limited frequency range" in the bass, that characteristic may result in the quality of low bass from my system being actually better overall through the WE wires because they limit the very low frequencies to the main speakers and allow the sub to handle them.

As final thought, it is unfortunate all of you do not have cable conditioning equipment since IME that can greatly reduce the time required before you hear the full capabilities of a cable.

Salectric,
Another thank you.

Salectric,
I read that article over at "High Fidelity" a couple of days ago (Pacula's personal review site) and tend to agree with his findings. I say 'tend' as the Supras that I use exhibit most of the qualities he mentions but seem to have a more stable nature with bass (nothing seems rolled off) but the highs do have that 'shelved' quality where it's all there but not 'in your face' which is how I now prefer it.

Some CDs have a simply wonderful high end minus the glare compared to others so I have to say that the 'shelved' quality is probably more an accurate quality since it depends on the material played (how it was recorded). I can't attest to the WE 16ga but the Supras can really shine.

If I had any doubts as to a 'shelved' high end it was laid to rest when watching 'John Wick' on blu-ray. There's a scene where he tears up his basement floor with a sledgehammer and the metallic ring that precedes the concussive bass of the sledge breaking the concrete is quite jarring. After the first blow I had to brace myself for the next few. The highs are there when called for and not one iota more. I like that.

All the best,
Nonoise