Best Cable Match for: Creek 4330SE + Rega Apollo + Vandersteen 2C

Another recommendation (based on my gear) from Hawthorne Stereo in Seattle is Chord Company Cobra VEE 3 interconnects with Chord Clearway speaker cables. Anyone have any experience with these? I'm wondering how they compare with the Mogamis? 

The Mogamis I'm currently using are great cables and are very neutral. I once had a pair of Discovery Essential speaker cables and were very similar to the Mogamis, with the exception of the Essentials being a touch more defined in the bass. Otherwise, they were on par with the Mogamis. I sold the Essentials because there was no sense in keep them as they were that close in sound quality.

The Q-10's by comparison just open up the sound more and seem to peel away a layer of "cloudy glass" so to speak. I don't know how else to describe it. The Creek, Rega and Vandys are all on the... well, let's just say not bright sounding by any means, so perhaps the clarity factor of the Q-10's evens everything out? 

Agreed jsbach1685-

Creek, Rega and Vandy are not bright sounding at all. There are several Audio shpos in the greater Seattle area, lucky you, get out there and listen, listen, listen to those cables/cords!  Keep me posted on the brands that you audition.

Happy Listening!

" The Q-10's by comparison just open up the sound more and seem to peel away a layer of "cloudy glass" so to speak. I don't know how else to describe it. The Creek, Rega and Vandys are all on the... well, let's just say not bright sounding by any means, so perhaps the clarity factor of the Q-10's evens everything out?"

The laidback sound you're talking about is most likely due to the passive line stage in your Creek. Another cause can be setup. If you don't set your speakers up using the formula in your owners manual, the drivers won't be properly aligned to your seating position, and it almost always sounds rolled off in the highs when this occurs. That, and they're not supposed to be too far apart. 6.5 to 7 feet apart from inside edge to inside edge. Properly setup, the images will go beyond the outside edges of the speakers. Also, set the contour adjustments to 0 and only use them as a last resort.

As far as speaker cables go, Vandersteen is special. They need to be double biwired. You need to run 2 separate pairs of speaker cables. If price is a concern, go to Best Buy and pick up a spool of AQ zip cord. Just as an example, on my 2's, two runs of AQ Type 6 outperformed a pair of $3800 Tara speaker cables. The Tara's were just sitting in my closet unused and I still went out and bought new cables. 

My 30 years of Vandys verifies what you said about biwiring.  Vandersteen's MUST be biwired if you want the best from them.  Richard Vandersteen has been insistent about it for as long as I've owned his speakers (30 years).  I see no sense in arguing about it.  The man knows of what he speaks and after all you can just buy a pair and find out for yourself.  

I stand by my recommendation of Audioquest cables for Richard's speakers.  I am not however saying that there are not other brands that would work equally well!

I recently auditioned Rega's Apollo R with Cardas Parsec interconnects and speaker cable. In addition, for your guidance, the Vandersteen website has a section on the FAQ’s on Biwiring. Worth a glance.

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