Clear Day vs Acoustic Zen


As I mentioned in another thread, I am looking to make one or two upgrades to my system this year. Total budget is around $500 - 600. My current system is:
B&W CM10
Parasound A21
Cambridge Audio Azur 851D (preamp + DAC)
Cheap Audioquest wires (I think I paid around $50 for an 8 ft pair).

The two speaker cables that I've seen mentioned a lot here are Clear Day and Acoustic Zen Sartori. I almost pulled the plug on a pair of used AZ Sartori a week ago, but it was sold before I could make an offer.
There are other AZ Satoris on sale here at agon but they're all over 8 ft, which is not what I want.

However, I see that for the same $$$ for used AZs, I can get brand new Clear Day Double Shotguns.

Has anybody compared these two in their systems? Given that B&W is generally considered to be a tad bit on the bright side, I wonder if the silver in Clear Day might not be the best choice?
128x128arafiq
Okay, I really feel like an idiot now ... shouldn’t have jumped the gun when I posted my first impressions. So it turns out that the spades were not inserted all the way into the binding posts of my speaker. Second, I realized that the volume was set well below my normal listening levels. This is remarkable, because once I set the volume to my normal listening levels, it’s like a veil was lifted.

I’ve been listening non stop for the last hour or so ....

The soundstage has definitely opened up ... it’s wider, much wider now. I can hear things at least 4 to 5 feet to the left and right of my speakers. The cymbals reverberate more and feels like the reverberation is travelling outwards and around my room.

The separation between instruments and the voices is much more defined.
The base is not more per se, but has tightened up considerably.
I’m hearing new details on familiar recordings. And it all sounds so clean.

The best part is that the brightness that I complained about earlier is pretty much gone. I cranked up the volume waaaay up, and guess what? No more harshness. Lastly, and I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s almost as if someone added more ’heft’ to the same music I listened to before.

Okay, so I had my jaw drop moment about an hour ago, when I listened to Alan Pasqua’s The Antisocial Club. Holy cow!!!! They’ve finally stepped into my living room :) Sorry if I’m gushing like a newly wed. But this is pretty amazing for a guy who is new to this hobby.

Your hooked lol you have the cable bug . I feel interconnects will make a bigger difference.. then a/c like i said if you think thats a wow moment get on treating your room ! go on gik website and fill out form take a cple pics . Your jaw will drop . No affiliation 👍
arafiq - Glad you are enjoying the Clear Days. A couple of your comments really resonated with me...in particular "added more heft". That was exactly the reaction I had to the Clear Days...and for me that was probably the major change I noted. It was like the music put on 20 pounds of muscle. By the way, good to read you were playing Pasqua’s "The Antisocial Club". That is an excellent recording to begin with and wonderful music. Pleased someone else knows and likes it (well, I assume you do!). 
Hey Arafiq,
I am glad the cables worked out for you. I told you they are really nice and not just for the money.

Joe
Congrats.  Sounds like a big win all around.  At some point you may still want to pick up a used pair of AZ Satoris to compare.  They're both great but likely different, and it might be very interesting now that you know more what to listen for.  You can sell them pretty readily once you're done with little/no loss.  And I agree with oleschool -- interconnects can often yield more significant differences than speaker cables so you might want to explore those too.  It never ends.  Congrats again.