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.
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
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- 137 posts total
@soix thanks for the information and clarification of AZ status. I was only wondering because a local dealer said the cables are ‘pretty rare’ nowadays…perhaps he was referring to his experience in the used market in Canada. Will keep an eye out for a pair of Silver Reference XLR, either generation. Best, JAMES |
@soix Yessiree. I'm a frost-bitten Canadian boy. 😎 |
Hi again: An update on my audio journey: I purchased a set of Cardas Golden Reference XLR interconnects, and after a week of running them in my system, I'm sad to report that these cables were not a good fit. While they brightened the top end, and seemed to punctuate the mids to create a bigger soundstage, the mid/lower bass frequencies were hampered. I kept hoping the cables would settle in, and the low end slam would return, or that my ears would adjust, but... I ended up putting the AS Testament SEs back in the system, and the frequency balance that I enjoy returned immediately. The process did help me realize that I like the way the AS cables sound -- and this was a huge benefit. If I can find a local dealer who will let me demo some higher end cables before purchase, I'd be open to trying again. But making a blind purchase and hoping it will be a good fit in my system -- especially as one goes higher up the price spectrum -- seems unwise. So, lots to learn in the upgrade journey. Perhaps my number one lesson, is to make sure one enjoys the system they already have. Best, JAMES |
- 137 posts total