Inakistik LS-2404 Referenz AIR loudspeaker cables
Hello all,I got the Inakustik LS-2404 bi-wire loudspeaker cables last month. I was not really looking to upgrade the loudspeaker cables, but was intrigued after my experience with amazing power conditioner from Inakustik. I was casually reading reviews of their Referenz AIR series cables and did not come across a single review that sounded "meh". At the same time, I tried to look online for their used cable prices and there were not many on hifishark or other site that deal in used cables.
The last time I upgraded my speaker cables was in 2014. It was a amazing difference in what the Clear Day Double Shotguns brought to my system, compared to my previous cables. I really love the Clear Day cables and still have the XLRs and RCAs in my system. While I was thinking that the upgrade would most likely be subtle, I did not expect it to be so profound. But then, this cable is 7X the price of my existing cables. So they better do the job.
The dealer told me that it would take about 100 hours of proper break-in for the cables to sound their best. So when the cables came in, I decided to run them for at least an hour or 2 and then give them a cursory listen. Well, I don’t think I really have to wait any longer, than the 2 hours I ran them in. From the first 20 seconds into "Sultans Of Swing", it was obviously clear that these cables easily bested my Clear Day cables. I will say that I have not heard the cymbals crash so clean, detailed and decay waaaaaaay later. I noticed that the size of image stage had exploded considerably. The sound stage moved 3 feed behind the plane of speakers and extended much farther/behind the front wall. It seems as if the corner tri-traps are making the music and not the loudspeakers themselves. In my system these cables extended sound at both ends - highs as well as the lows. The lows are ridiculously good. The bass is super tight and hits you in the chest. One of my worry was that with the ProAcs, I already had tremendous bass, even with the loudspeaker almost 6 feet into the room. So I wondered, if this cable will make it unbearable. No, this cable did not have that problem. It was the bass definition and impact that these cables increased. This is a wonderfully musical bass. One of the things that amazed me was how much musicality it provides on songs from Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and the Beatles, to name a few older recordings. While I have always enjoyed them, I was surprised by the how much details exist on these recordings that I have not heard before.
This is the first time I was able to slightly distinguish between the various filters in the Oppo UDP-205. I had to listen very carefully though, and it is only very subtle. But there IS a difference. Some are loud, others are soft, etc. Also with this cable it is fun to hear the differences between new Mullard Vs Genalex Gold Lion Vs Psvane 12AU7 tubes.
The instruments sound as it they have "life" in them, which was missing with the previous cables. On complex recordings when the recording is dense and you play it fairly loud, the music becomes chaotic and you feel like turning down the volume. With this new cable, I can distinguish every instrument in the recording and don’t have to reach for the remote to turn down the volume. I feel, because of the ability of the cable to present the details free of each other and present it in layer, it does not make such music chaotic. I am amazed by the size and depth of the sound stage that this cable presents in my system. For example, in Johnny Cash’s song - How High’s the water - the sound in the left channel appears 3 feet to the left of left speaker. And you can actually "see" the instrument "originating" at that spot. With newer recordings, for example, the "zing" of the guitar just hangs behind and between the loudspeakers. The entire music appears to becomes "free from" the speakers - either on the sides, in between them or behind them. The drums feel as if they are in the room. Oh yes, I am not ashamed to admit that I am an audiophile and any sound attracts me. It just has to be "live". The more live it is, the more I am attracted. They make you feel like dancing and singing along. I believe that I have made a good investment in these cables and will not have to look for replacements soon. I believe that loudspeaker cables make the most difference and hence, I went with these and not with changing the interconnects. I will try the NF-2404 interconnects at some later point and see if they make as much of a difference as these did. I honestly doubt it.
There are only 2 issues with these cables:
1. They are pricey
2. The adrenaline rush you get after listening to your music with these in place and then going to bed, keeps you awake for a few hours. Honestly I struggled for the first week and a half. But slowly I got accustomed to it and it is not much of an issue now.
From my first system in 1994 till now, I have noticed that, the more you "improve" your system, the more "alive" it becomes. And the more alive it becomes, the more you listen to music, because it naturally attracts you. I used to pooh-pooh high priced cables, accessories, etc. But now when I have experienced how much difference well designed component can bring about, it makes sense NOT to dismiss others when they rave about a high priced component/accessory. It takes effort and cost to design a great component. It is up to a user to decide what is "worth it". Some may dismiss my choice - but hey, this is MY system and I believe in what my ears hear.
