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
@audphile1 Thanks for detailing the AZ setup. If I head in that direction, I’ll probably start with the Matrix Ref IIs — although, I may add a preamplifier to the chain sooner than later. Might stay in the Benchmark stack, and get an LA4, if a good one comes up on the used market. Thanks again for your support. I really appreciate it. Best, JAMES |
I've had a few older pairs reterminated a few years back, and not only are the ends a little different, the newer process to apply the termination is different too. Was informed beforehand this changes the end result with a little more resolution across the entire frequency range. Some of the older cables with a stiff outer jacket and dielectric inside do change a bit after they are uncoiled and set in place for more than 14-21 days. George Cardas talks about tension release and some info about any type of static electricity that goes away over time, after being set in place and played for a while. I've retested this theory several times with reintroducing old cables coiled up stored away, and multiple pairs of brand new day-1 vs. 60 day used cables, swapping them out for the next new pair of the exact same cable, and having to start the process all over again. The newer version (more pliable) cables seem less effected compared to some of the old version (stiff) outer jacket cables, or the ones with a stiffer dielectric inside, I don't know. In all cases, I always give it the first 14-21 days, taking notes, and listen again at 30 days to compare fwtw.
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@mclinnguy yup - two sets of absolute copper was my configuration before I switched to Nordost Tyr 2. I also had every AZ power cord - el Nino, Tsunami, Krakatoa, Gargantua. |
I see that- I don't know what happened, I thought I went through the whole thread this morning but I didn't see those posts... strange- I feel like an idiot, and I'm sure I look like one too 🤪 Anyway good news. Strange how the "low range" needed repairing- any idea how old they were? I guess that is why they are getting away from solder and are using high force clamping. I think you will recoup the $150 will that bill of authenticity and as someone posted before: "a clean bill of health" Now we are interested to hear how that bass compares to how they were before 😉 |
