Question for Platter spinners regarding IC

Just try it.
if you like it , it’s good.

Sleepwalker, in theory you’re correct about the importance of shielding, but in specific cases it adds nothing except unwanted capacitance. You generally cannot have “ultra” low capacitance AND shielding in the same cable. Keeping phono cables short as possible is the best bet.

but don’t scare the OP out of doing is own experiment.

Good cable has packing in it to reduce capacitance by spacing the signal bearing conductors farther apart from each other and the shield. Yes, keep them to a minimum length by all means. Btw, I think your caution might scare off people who would otherwise experiment to see what works and doesn’t work for themselves. There is a lot of money to save if you make your cables from quality materials and know what you’re doing. 

So I connected the Columbia's and auditioned for about 4 hours playing a variety of genres. Result is still inconclusive but the initial feeling is that the Columbia cable may have introduced a bit of sibilance. Further listening is warranted.
Overall impression is that the Columbia works very well as a Phono interconnect in MY system. It was an improvement over the entry level Wildcat cable without a doubt. 

Sleepwalker, So we can agree not to “scare” people.  Your point about letting people experiment for themselves was exactly mine.  I wondered whether you were quoting me in fact.  The OP just needed to know that he would do no harm to his system by his performing his little experiment, a very little one at that.

Gillatgh, You never mentioned what cartridge you are using.  It makes a big difference between MM and MC types.  MM types are very sensitive to capacitance in that some of them do best with ADDED capacitance in parallel with the input; high-ish capacitance in the cable is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is such a thing as too much, if you’re using an MM. (That’s why I think it is shameful of AQ doesn’t give you the info on their cables.) MC cartridges with relatively low output are much less sensitive to capacitance, except to keep it low as possible.  The manufacturer of a good MM cartridge should stipulate the best capacitative load. But I have found in this hobby more often than not that rules are made to be broken or ignored.

@lewm 
Cartridge is MM Ortophone 2m black, yesterday's listening session was enlightening.  It was obvious immediately that the Wildcat was lacking in some aspects. Sounded a little colder or duller, not really sure what to call it. The Columbia was more lively and open but also imparted a perceived sibilance, especially noticeable on older 1970s albums. 180g reissues were less noticeable. I'll play with the cables for a while and in the meantime shop around for a better phono interconnect at reasonable cost. 
After this little experiment I'd  be interested to hear recommendations of ICs to try from the community