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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
snopro
390 posts
 
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
soix
9,456 posts
 
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. 

oleschool's avatar
oleschool
722 posts
 
    I just changed my trans to dac, to pre  the other day from a basic rca bluejean to az reference 2 and mc2 .I had sent my 1m out to be shortened to .5 meter( mr lee did this an hr after he recieved them and had them in the mail to me the same day ,thats cool) .i just placed them back same disc same volume etc.the difference is serious!.crisper,opened soundstage and the acoustic guitar has jumped back into my stage. This has  been proven to me again and again..
Soix,
It is no secret I love mr lee and az ,but i can say the above cables probly sound great.But as you said different,cables are like tone controls imo .Some are flat ,nuetral ,bright and etc..
I also run satori cables along with az almost exclusive ,but as you stated they will change your sound..
also the shorter the cable the better, almost always..
best of luck 
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
@ghosthouse  don't know if you remember, but actually it was you who recommended Alan Pasqua on a different thread. great recommendation! i play their music at least once or twice every month.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
@oleschool - thanks for your suggestions. Upgrading power cords and interconnects is definitely the next thing on my list. As for room treatments, it'll probably have to wait till we move to another house and can have a dedicated audio room. Until then, WAF is the reality I have to live with :)

I do have few questions regarding power cords though ...

1. The power cord that came with my Parasound A21 seems quite thick and well made. At what price point can I expect a noticeable difference? Someone told me that spending anything less than $600 on a power cord would be a lateral move. Not sure how true that is.

2. What would be a reasonable price point?- Given that the goal is best bang for the buck, similar to the Clear Day cable upgrade

3. Do I upgrade the power cord on my Pre/DAC (Cambridge Audio 851D) first or the amp?

4. What brands would you guys recommend? I'm planning to stay with Clear Day cables for sometime to come, so synergy is important.
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