Gabriel Gold IC's are they really this good?

Norm,

I did a comparison between the Sp101 and the Sp1..I thought the Sp1 maybe better because of its lower mass and what I thought would be greater reactivity. I can say in my system that the Sp101 sounded better. I used an Audio Research tube amp for this test..weighed in at about 45 lbs. The 101 gave the ARC greater articulation and a slightly more focused stage. Tom

Norm,

The SP-101 is superior to the SP-1, so says Robert at SS. I have found this to be true in my system. It is as good as the HRS M3. I have 4-101's & 2-1's.

JC,

Do I hear an amen?

Bobf,

I canned the Zero thing. Unless the gent is willing to send me his $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (14) GMAB Zero then I am at his mercy.

I did send the Rapture to a friend to hear and he is running JPS Labs Alluminata. I will get to hear his wire in my system. I will report back and forward his E-mail reaponse for all to read.

You certainly have me reconsidering changing things around to accomodate running a shorter IC between amp and pre. While this solves that problem it creates a few more. I'd need to relocate my phono pre, TT, and dvd player to be close to my main pre too (additional shelving needed for these). And the stands would need to be low enough so as to not block the view of the projection screen on the wall behind the speakers. Then I'd have to sell the Zoethecus, probably locally. The other option is to keep the zoethecus, move all components including my amp to the side wall and have nothing between my speakers. But this would mean I'd need to sell my AQ everest speaker cables and replace them with something longer and no doubt costly too. If money was no object, this would all be so easy! I'm actually leaning towards placing everything on 2 new stands that flank my VT-200. There's adequate space for this set-up. The sistrum stands look interesting though. Thanks for the suggestions.

JC,

Go to the pics on my system and see the two SP-101's stacked together. This may work for you to get your gear closer together.

The 5M SC is killing you and the sound of your system. Run all Rev. MK2 wire and be happy for the rest of your life.

Out of desperation and in an attempt to save some mony, I actually thought about cutting my 5 shelf zoe into a 3 shelf and 2 shelf system to flank my amp. This would leave 4 unfinished "caps "on the posts which could be sanded and polyurethaned. Might work. I like the idea of the sistrum racks, 3 point support and lets the equipment breathe. Does your set-up get in the way at all in terms of center stage imaging and depth? Years ago, the prevailing attitude was that nothing should be placed between your speakers especially a big TV (and I'm not talking about the effects of speaker magnets here).