To augment unsound’s list:
Kimber was Thiel’s first OMG moment in the late 70s, and we remained fans and beta testers of each others’ products.
Straightwire founded their business on Thiel’s discovery of ITT’s aerospace communications wire which was ground-breaking in the late 70s. Straightwire continued to provide our internal wire for all US-made products. Steve says that their Octave II, which I have, contains all their relevant technologies including their compressed core which pressure fuses slow-drawn strands into a single conductor. Higher-priced models climb the diminishing returns slope with mostly preferential sonic flavors.
OCOS came to us via Dynaudio whose tweeter we used in the CS2 & 3 - 3.5. It is a coaxial cable which tolerates long runs very well. Today I use that cable (in double runs) in live venues, but it does not possess the finesse of the Straightwire or better wires. I haven’t found anyone to re-terminate the proprietary ends.
I remember reading a 3.7 review (Stereophile or Absolute Sound) that complained about a harsh top end. Thiel intimated that Jim had used Goertz in its development - they switched - and the problem vanished. I’ve not heard Goertz, but its propagation specs are stellar.
My own favorite to date is Morrow which incorporates a flat geometry, executed with individually insulated small gauge wires.
Next week I’ll be directly comparing 1 meter interconnects from VoVox Sonorus, Morrow, and my own candidate for internal wiring. I’ll report my results here.
