For once - Rain started play - I decided to put a rainy day to good use and upgrade a set of interconnects with a second identical wire for the signal conductor - basically, half the approach grannyring has tried - he also doubled up on the neutral wires.
I have been auditioning a Helix IC with the 18 gauge Aolid Copper wire with AirLok from VH Audio. It competed favourably with the Solid Silver Mundorf wire at about 1/5th the cost. So today, I upgraded these IC’s with a second identical 18 gauge signal wire
The results were impressive to say the least and the cables are not even burned in at all yet.
Improvements...
- more precise artist placement within the image
- improved articulation of very small instrument details e.g. plucking guitar strings - they now "pop"
- improved clarity across the board
- overall sound is more lively and less compressed
So what’s in the cable I am listening too?
- a Helix interconnect with ONE 16 gauge neutral wire (as per the web site)
- TWO 18 gauge VH Audio Solid Copper + AirLok insulation signal wires (NEW)
- KLE Innovations Absolute Harmony RCA plugs (as per the web site)
So far this cable is performing better than my IC’s that have a Solid Silver Mundorf wire + Cotton sleeve + Absolute Harmony RCA’s
For me, If I can hear improvements easily, then an up[grade like this is worth it - and this was noticeable from the get go. I didn’t have to play multiple tracks to discern a minute change - it was clearly audible. What Grannyring refers to as "a wall of sound" and I can see why
On the plus side, the solid copper wire is much more affordable than the silver.
But, will a dual Solid Silver wire with AirLok insulation sound even better?
I’ll keep you posted :-)
BTW - "Thanks Gran" :-)
Regards - Steve