sonic signature of Pure Note Paragon Question

Hi Rick , I will await your response. BCT 1960 , Thats a fair question regarding the 350 vs 3500 but i have heard of and spoken to a few people that have said just that and sold their top shelf ics for the Paragon . My expectations may be unrealistic but i am excited to find out. I am experimenting and in this system I have not had many ics to compare to . The Nordost and Xindak gold are the only two so far . Maybe i am expecting a miracle with the pure Note but I dont " want " to spend a zillion dollars if i dont have to . If I must I will hoewever. I am looking at Kubala Sosna , Purist and possibly Shuntayas top pf the line IC . I have 80 hours on them and will listen for changes tomorrow. Again , thanks for all the help.

110 hours on them and indeed , its been a dramatic change since firing them up . Air has increased dramatically and detail is stunning for the money. Width is excellent and depth good. Imaging improving but remains good to very good , Top end extension still a touch bright and that may change over breakin period. Bass is well defined and takes some getting used to . Like the Valhalla , its an aquired taste and those who value transparency and accuracy over richness of instrumental character will find these a great cable for the money for sure. Im adjusting to them and continue to marvel at the changes they are making to the sonics. There is another thread going where the value over zip vs expensive cables is debated. All it takes is an open mind , trained ears and the willingness to do some comparisons and the sonic advantages are absurdly easy to ascertain if the system is transparent. The Pure Note Paragon is a good value already and improving.

I own the Pure Note Cereleum interconnects.
With my APL 3910 I prefer the Ridgstreet Sig over the Pure Note.
For me the Pure note never developed that deep clear bass note that I am so fond of. Not muddy bass, but clear and defined bass notes. You may find the same result with your system.
I also thought the same about the Speaker cables from the same companies.
I own a Krell Amp and Legacy Focus Speakers so I am partial to bass notes.
The Pure Note Cables get rave reviews from many,so it must be a system thing.
The Ridgestreet cables took a long time to break in. I own a AudioDharma Cable cooker that helps speed the process.

No conclusion except the Pure Note cables may not be the best match for your components (as it was not for my system.)

Brainwater,

I went through a similar break-in process with Paragon interconnects. The first several days, they were hard to listen to. Very bright, almost harsh in the treble.

After the first week, things got better, and the 'brightness' transformed into what I'd call 'liquidity'. Tons of treble detail and air, but without any hashiness. The midrange rounded out, and bass came alive.

Actually, the bass became shockingly good- it is one of the things that really makes the Paragons stand out in my system. They provide impact and definition, without sacrificing low frequency extension. I've never heard kettle drums and timpanis sound as realistic- you can hear everything from the mallet stroke to the body resonances to the propagation of echoes in the acoustic space.

What the Paragon does better than any cable I've heard is recreate an acoustic space- to me, this goes beyond 'imaging' to incorporate all of the secondary acoustic cues one gets from being present at a performance- echoes, reverbation, etc.

I've heard a number of interconnects (Z-squared Au-Au, Aural Thrills Palladium, Audience AU-24) that provide 'pinpoint imaging' by essentially shrinking the sonic image- things sound more localized because they are smaller. I can see how this could be advantageous in some systems, but it doesn't work in mine. On the other end, some interconnects produce very large and deep soundstages, but at the cost of more diffuse or 'larger than life' sonic images (Stealth PGS-3D, Kimber Select 1130, Wireworld Super Eclipse). For my circumstances (relatively compact system in a relatively small room, mostly classical listening) this presentation is preferable to shrinking the soundstage.

Once they are fully broken in (200+ hours, in my case) the Paragons are the only cables I've tried that provide a superbly precise soundstage without shrinking the sonic image. No smear, no diffuse images, no 'larger than life' performers- one hears everything beautifully presented as a coherent, holographic, life-size reproduction of the performance. It gets spooky at times, but in a good way.

Of course, system synergy is incredibly important, so your mileage will vary. For what it is worth, here are my components:

Rowland Concentra Integrated
Wilson-Benesch ACT-One Speakers
Meridian G08 CD
Equitech Son of Q Power Cond.
Alpha-Core AG-2 speaker cables
XLR inteconnects- Pure Note Paragon
JPS Labs Digital power cord (CD)
Granite Audio 560 power cord (Amp)
Assorted Sonex/RPG room treatment

Regarding a comparison between the Paragon and the Cerulean- they are similar in that both have the amazing soundstaging I described above. Where they differed in my system is that the Cerulean always retained some brittleness and hardness in the treble. For the Paragons, that went away completely following breakin. The Ceruleans where nearly, but not quite, good enough to replace my Kimber Select 1130s- the Paragons did so without breaking too much of a sweat.

Hope this helps- good luck.

Thanks Ozzy and Tommy. Yes , this is what i needed when i started this thread so thanks guys . Tommy , your description has eased my concerns a bit and am at 140 hours of real playing time. They sound much better and anyone who doesnt think cables breakin and improve cant hear . Im nearly satisfied at this stage. Last nite was a marked improvement with the midrange and lower midrange filling out some while the top two octaves became more liquid. Looking good so far. Thanks again for your help as always. i really appreciate the input. Brent