Huh?
Who out there wants to, or has, validated an amazing cable find?
I own a very decent audio system and have slowly been moving up over the last several decades weeding out less-natural sounding equipment and focusing on best sound for my money (what I can afford). My current gear is a collect of Quad, Pass, Klyne, VPI, soekris and a fairly large collection of Kimber, audio quest, Furutech, Cardas, Straightwire, DH Labs cables built up over time.
I have come across lots of high-priced gear that isn't faithful to the music. My reference has always been unamplified voice and instruments and attend such concerts regularly though they are hard to find (but still easy if you live near a major city).
It always a pleasure to come across gear that is low priced and exceeds higher priced gear when it comes to faithful reproduction of music holding to the live unamplifed sound standard.
So.....
I have recently purchased some ATAUDIO cables from Aliexpress that have left me stunned due to low price and performance. Recommended by another audiophile who seemed credible and owned good equipment so decided to give them a try.
A $26 1 meter ATAUDIO copper interconnect cables is running neck and neck my Cardas Clear interconnects and beaten my Cardas clear Cygnus interconnect cables when it comes to clarity, lack of edge and sibilance, warm open holographic sound reproduction.
Would someone here with a good resolving audio system give one of the ATAUDIO cables a try? The price is noise for us who have invested in decent (high-end) audio system.
ATAUDIO power cords and Interconnects have proved amazing. About to try their speaker cables. I would not recommend their silver cables. I tried them and while they sound more robust and full than their copper cables the silver cables have the a high frequency edge similar to other silver cables I have heard.
Just looking for couple of regular posters here to give the ATAUDIO cables a try.
Can't resist passing along an audio bargain.
If you don't believe in cables making differences please don't post here and go do something else as you have already found your happiness.
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I have never owned any of the stratospherically priced cables, however in my search over the last several years, I found that Audio-Envy cables were the best sounding in my system from a $$$-to-performance perspective. Recently, I had the opportunity to try Iconoclast cables as they have a 30-day money back guarantee. While they are definitely more expensive than the Audio-Envy, the Iconoclast speaker cables have made a notable improvement in micro-detail in the mid and treble ranges and improvements in the depth and width of the sound stage. I would highly recommend you try both the Audio-Envy speaker cables and the Iconoclast speaker cables as they both have a return policy. Yes... They are priced quite differently but both cables are really good sounding with Iconoclast edging out the Audio-Envy enough for me to spring for those. The Iconoclasts are ultrasonically-welded to the connectors. And there is a really good reason proven scientifically that they are woven in the way they are. Also, should you try either, please give them at least 50 - 75 hours of break-in or more. They both smooth out with break-in. One final comment, the law of diminishing returns (also balanced with level of discretionary income) is different for each of us. In my opinion, $-for-$, Audio-Envy is the one to beat. At least in my system ! |
I do not have "an amazing cable find" but I want to confirm that previously reported Chinese Valhalla 2 flat speaker cables iare a great find. These have moved my listening to another level for $205 (2.5 meters). The vendor is RMDigital. You can find more information on the Chinese cable threads.
System is Tidal>optical rendu>Pontus>Doge 10 or Coda Csib> QAcoustics Concept 500 speakers. Room is somewhat acoustically treated. |
Like most of us, I started with average components and cheap cables. After getting a few nicer components, I tried more expensive cables. More expensive meant Blue Jeans, cheap good deals on random cables, etc. These did improve things and made me feel better about my cables. When I moved up the chain again in components, I took members advice and sought help from The Cable Company. I tried many, and landed on Audience AU24SX. I quickly acquired a full loom as they are easily available used / demos. So I thought I was done. Well, when I moved up the component ladder one more time, my dealer said hey, let me try different speaker cables to compare. Wow. I can not unhear these improvements. Fuller, richer, better bass, and still very resolving. So I sold all of my Audience (easy) and now have a full loom of Kubala Sosna, and like @pennfootball71 , now have all Realization in my main system. They are the real deal. This is not being arrogant, they just sound better to me and to me they are worth it. But, having a vacation cabin with an audio system, I try to be value conscious in that system. For me, Zavfino hits the mark. Their Aradia copper cables are very nice and a great deal in my opinion. I do not like silver in my system as too bright and flashy. So I understand value conscious shoppers, but also hear the quality as does our Penn fan. I believe in synergy of cable type and brand. It just all comes together. I have also made nice cables. In my family room my speaker cable runs are very long. This is my second system. so I did not want to go crazy. I landed on Furutech FS Alpha 36 from VH Audio. I got all the heat shrink I needed, Furutech gold plated spades, and made beautiful long speaker cables. I can solder and I bought a heat gun for the shrink. I installed these on the high / mid speaker binding posts, and left my generic thick copper cables on the bass posts. This change was transformational in this system, and was unapproachable with nice commercial cables (runs were 25 feet each). My interconnects and power cables in that system are Elation, so the speaker cables were the bottleneck. Huge improvement and a fun project. So there are better cables at all price points, you just have to find them, and for me they are not made in China. I hope I spelled etc correctly!. |
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