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Cable upgrades

Happy Holidays to all!

I’m reconfiguring my system and am interested in upgrading my interconnects and possibly my speaker cables, and I was wondering if you could make some recommendations.

I was running Audio Sensibility Impact SE XLR between my Benchmark DAC3 HGC (as a DAC/pre) and my Benchmark AHB2 power amp.  The amp is running bi-wired Kimber Cable 8TC (I think that’s the model #) to a pair of ATC SCM40 tower speakers.  In this setup the bass is tight and the mids are clean - overall I’m quite happy - but sometimes I feel, for my ears, I’d love a bit more openness / brightness in the higher end.

My questions are: would improved XLR interconnects help to open up the top end a bit, without being harsh, and perhaps increase the dimensionality of the soundstage?  Or would I be better off starting with upgrading the speaker cables?  I’ve been looking at the Cardas Parsec level of cable, and could perhaps stretch to the Clear line, pending your recommendations.

Also, one other question: pending the possible move to 2 AHB2s (in mono-block configuration), do both XLR interconnects have to be the same length?  If not, would it cause any timing issues between, say, a 2' XLR and a 6'?

I’d appreciate any guidance.  Many thanks in advance.

Best, JAMES

jimboman
jimboman OP
63 posts
 

Thanks @soix for the recommendation. I read your posts and @ghdprentice posts with great interest/respect for your opinions. Many thanks.

I’ll keep an eye out for a used pair of Silver Reference IIs. In the meantime, I am enjoying getting to know the Testament SEs.  I admit, it’s a bit of an ‘experience-expander’ for me. I’m beginning to see how improvement of system components have created a finer ‘sonic resolution’ which enables me to discern strengths and weaknesses of all parts of the chain.

I’m grateful to folks sharing their knowledge and experience. It’s a great help!

Best, JAMES

decooney
1,905 posts
 

@jimboman ..." but sometimes I feel, for my ears, I’d love a bit more openness / brightness in the higher end."

---

"...An update on my cable journey: ...1) Cardas Clear Cygnus (recommended by Brian at Cardas)".

 

Yes, Cygnus will work as prescribed. Working with Brian I did some early factory cable testing with Cygnus when they first came out, and later bought two pairs to compare to Golden Reference and Clear Reflections. It all depends on the rest of your system and I found the particular design of the 4-wire Cygnus can provide the added openness and brighter detail you are looking for in comparison to the others in the line. Each of the ICs in the lineup do have a different balance of low/med/high frequency results and presentation in the three different systems I’ve tested them on. Without getting into the weeds too much, the only way to know is to try them.

 

soix
8,707 posts
 

I’ll keep an eye out for a used pair of Silver Reference IIs.

Just fyi, there’s not a lotta difference between the Silver Ref l and ll — I have and still use both.  The good thing is there’s a fluid market for AZ cables so you can likely try them and sell for little/no loss if they don’t work out, but I’d say they’re well worth a try

jimboman OP
63 posts
 

Thanks @soix   Good to know.  Is there a good place you’d recommend to look for AZ cables (other than Audiogon)?  Not sure, but is AZ still in business?

Best, JAMES

soix
8,707 posts
 

Hifishark.com is a good site that tracks many sites including Audiogon.  Here’s a link…

https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=acoustic+zen

New AZ products are still being sold so they must still be in business.

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