Mapleshade tweaks

My experiences have been variable. The Samson racks are as good as it gets, as far as I am concerned. I have two of them. I also have a Mapleshade-modified Scott tuner, and I can assure you that the difference between it and the stock version is several orders of magnitude. It will stand up to virtually any tuner ever made.

On the negative side, I did not care for the ICs at all. It's difficult to say how much was due to the fundamental character of the ICs and how much was interaction with the speakers (SoundLabs). Quite a number of highly regarded ICs have not sounded good on these, so I would certainly suspect at least some mismatch there.

RCCC - Blanket pronouncements with no backing facts are utterly useless. We might as well be on a Y@hoo message board.

Slaw3 - thanks for giving us a few facts to work with, but perhaps statements such as "And they have great copy writers, saying things that can't be proved but sound darned good. The products themselves ...um, don't" need not be quite so all-encompassing when you've (apparently) listened to only the cables. As it happens, I would agree with you - at least in the case of the ICs in my particular system, but conversely they make at least two products that I wouldn't voluntarily do without.

Perhaps some of the negative reviewers here should pick up the phone and have a little chat with Pierre about their experience. It's one thing to say that everything is bs because you've tried one or two of their products and they didn't work in your system, and it's another to reject everything.
From experience I know that Pierre is very patient and will give you any advice you'd like, even on matters that won't make him sell anything (such as speaker placement, etc). The fact that he favors maple over granite or whatever else doesn't mean that it's the best solution for everything and everybody; what is? And of course it won't necessarily work in every system and every room.
Having said that, I have had great results with his speaker Floorstander plinths (I have a concrete floor) but not with the Excalibur Plus ICs (which I didn't find better than AN Sogons; hey, that's in my system, with my ears...). But I'll keep exploring what they have.

Piedpiper asks: "Not to beat a dead horse but I'm guessing this was a matter of taste or compatibility. What specifically was your complaint?"

I respond:

I set up a comparison in my 2 channel system. I A,B'd the Mapleshade Golden Paralell Long Run cable against my SignalCable Ultra Speaker Cables. SignalCable makes very good wire for a fraction of the cost of the big boys. Although the lengths of each cable make the comparison a bit unfair (the Mapleshade was 20', the SignalCable was 10').

Using a pair of Dunlavy SC-3's as my monitors,(which are good to around 40-45HZ, depending on room placement), and a Von Scheikert VS-1 powered sub to reach down to, say, 25HZ or so, these are the results that I heard:

The Mapleshade wire cast a slight blanket over the presentation, making it sound a bit dull and less brilliant. The highs, particularly the air around ride cymbals, was noticably rolled back. And the lower register was also deadened quite a bit. I lost alot of impact and slam below 80HZ. The difference was real obvious. It just sounded awful.

So, a matter of personal taste? I don't think so. Compatibility? Maybe.

I am merely stating my experience with a manufacturer's product that a fellow 'goner sought out. That's all. Nothing personal.

Thanks Judsauce, for your honest and thorough communique. I haven't done exhaustive comparisons with the Parallel Long Run, and I haven't heard the cables you compared them to, but I will say that they were a major upgrade from Kimber 8TC in a customers system, although definitely not bright if that's your cuppa.

Peace.