Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

OK Ken (as Mr Webb said), but I will have another go when the speaker cables have had more hours, because the bass performance was definitely still moving around.

RedKiwi and Dekay-As you know, I've been breaking in the Mapleshade Double Golden Helix as you have with the OTA. Now, at about 100 hours, I can report that the soundstage has settled in to where I have stopped moving the speakers around every 5 minutes. There's a nice arc in front of them which curves back to the sides and is very deep. High frequency transients like brushes on cymbals are still too close to the speakers and there is a little of the shift left or right as sounds go up or down the scale. This was more pronounced with the DH Labs T-14 as well as the Coincident. I'll look elsewhere in the system (Cambridge D500SE, passive volume control, Music Reference RM-10, Meadowlark Kestrels)to solve this.
My biggest fear about these tiny gauge cables is groundless, bass is just excellent. I have the new 50 greatest Philips Symphonie Fantastique on right now and the double bass, tympani and low brass rattles the teacups. Last night, I kept playing Patricia Barber's Cafe Blue over and over because of the incredible double bass under a couple of the cuts. I even listened to her singing Ode To Billy Joe, one I usually skip (I hate that song!) because her deep, husky contralto was just mesmerising.
The mid-range and treble that won me over when I acquired the RM-10, Silver Lace and passive volume is augmented, in spades. Although brushes on cymbals, as noted above are problematic from an imaging standpoint, the sound is very alive with sharp attacks and lingering decays. Snares on or off is easy to pick out, now. And voices, oh my.
There goes track 4: marche au supplice; the tympani is way back in the hall and the English Horn nice and woody. You've gotta hear those trombone pedal tones. Blaaaatttt.
......Sorry, Sir Colin was complaining about the fan noise from the Hewlett-Packard. Just finished hearing the tutti and I have chills. Get this recording.
So now I've tried a few tweaks. I had vibrapods under the CDP directly on the 1 1/2" maple shelf. Maybe it was better, it didn't hurt. But I've always noticed that the RM-10 had a buzzy vibration you could feel when playing. Took the pods away from the CDP and put them under the amp; a definite step up in tonal clarity, I think. But, the main thing is I clearly heard the difference. Same thing with power cables. I was happy to help adopt an orphan but didn't hear much, if any difference, with the Asylum cables. Well, when I put the stock cord back on the amp, the soundstage worsened and everything was too bright.
You have to know how delighted I am to be hearing these things especially as today is birthday number 54 and these ears heard Hendrix live, big city traffic and even 80 mm. mortars.
I guess Pierre Frey is on to something. These cables will be around for awhile.

Kitch: I am glad to hear that they are working well in your system. Would you say that they have an unusual sound (like "way" more musical than other cables that you have used in the past)? Yes, I am fishing as I will write about the OTA kit at the end of this week. Funny, I don't really know who Patricia Barber is, but have been listening to "Modern Cool" which I picked up at a thrift last week, quite a bit, along with some Tomita (my Pink Floyd of the 70's).

As I was writing here about an hour ago, I'm noticing that something is different about what's playing. So after I finished the post above I slid my listening chair over behind the sofa and, bang, the soundstage is live. I think, hmm, my chair is higher than the sofa I usually listen on.
I always wondered what the trade-off was between the sloped baffle for time alignment and the speaker firing up at an angle. Well, with my ears at 50"!, everything came together. No sound is coming directly from the speakers and the soundstage is wall to wall. The purity of voices and instruments has to be heard.
Did I spend a lot of money in vain? I put back the DH Labs T-14 and the image lessened and the magic diminished. It's still a pretty good buy, though.
So here it is. For now, this is the best music I've ever had at home. $300 for the speaker cables and less than $5000 in the system. I hope the OTA gives as much pleasure.

Very interesting Kitch. I don't know anything about the Mapleshade cables so would be interested in a description. With the OTA the most significant "sound" improvement is with cymbals - no spit or smearing - every little detail seems so like the real thing it is amazing. My speaker cables to my woofers are percolating away on my older daughter's system - she gives them a decent work-out, but her room is sufficiently distant for me to be able to run a burn-in disc while she is at school, so I reckon they will be ready to re-audition soon. But in general I love the way the OTAs do not smear or emphasize anything and the music comes alive in a very natural way.