Epilog ...Finally!
A somewhat surprising end to the currrent dilema of "Double Your Pleasure", 'same brand throughout or not... there may well be a more difinitive study around somewhere on this topic. there should be too. Although a goodly portion of mixing a 'this' or a 'that' into a system on the build is part of the so called fun aspect of this oft times errantly termed 'hobby'. I really don't think hobbies usually cost thousands upon thousands of dollars, euros, rupies, or if like me boxtops. Whittling, ships in a bottle, paint by numbers, now those are hobbies! this ongoing search and search again endeavor is no more than the satisfaction of ones own ego. I am long in the camp of “Buying stuff I don’t need, with money I ain’t got, to impress people I haven’t even met yet!”
I do have to admit a time or two, or eleven, I've made choices solely based upon ego. Most all of those were poor choices, and quite costly. I refrain from that altogether these days. I am for whatever reason caught up in the cycle of finding the satisfying sound too. Mine is one that when I touch base wirh reality finds itself far short of the 'At any cost' neighborhood. I dwell in the bowery. the impoverished areas of demoland, or usedville. Seldom is it to me to enter the grand halls of 'brandy spankity' new city. I do jump into the latter inadvertently, quickly, and leave it far faster... these days doing my homework prior to the purchase is a must. An absolute must. therefore I gotta say what's happend in this hunt for those like me that do their research beforehand. I'm not talking strickly reviews, though they have their uses, and are quite the truth of things at times. No. Not even talking with budgetary constraints. Though, I sure wish something would constrain me. No, I'm talking having the items on hand. Eyeball to ear... or vice versa.
All that leads me to the following statement (s). I picked the Synergistic Research Resolution Ref X2 active XLR as the IC for my amp. i tried eight IC’s prior to making the choice. ranging in price from $550 - $1700. Popular names and not so popular name brands. Soundstrings, Nirvana, two from VooDoo, the Silver ref & Ultralinear, two from MIT, the Shotgun S2 & Magnum 3, Cardass golden Cross, and of course, the Resolution ref. I didn’t pay much heed to anything apart from the sound I got until I got enamored by the results obtained from like manufacturers. Namely the MIT offerings. Startlingly dynamic to say the least about the MIT’s though, there is more I could say. All the cables possessed their own unique additions to my system. The call I made for myself was one of compromise. I went with the one that lent itself to a colorful and smoothly dynamic presentation, along with a superb presence in the mid range to which I am so fond.
I sacrificed the enormous depth of bass and impact of the MIT’S. Don’t’ have quite the mammoth sound stage of the Soundstrings. Improved upon the lack of proximity to the presentation than the Golden Cross provided. Found more naturalness in the sonics than the Silver Ref allowed. Found more transparency in the mid range than the Ultralinear (which for all intents and purposes didn’t get the fairest appraisal as most of the time I had it in ‘new’ right out of the hands of it’s maker condition, all but a few hours were spent running in the cable), I did wish to have it for another couple days as it appeared to be on the brink of filling out and had begun to sound quite impressive. Such was not the case regrettably. I also found more dynamics and tonal range than the Nirvana SL could provide. I would liked to have had the Nirvana SX Ltd in XLR form as it was noteably a favored IC. The sonic envelope maintained by the SX is quite involving. The only kick I had about it was the overall relaxed presentation. That being said it remains an interest for future consideration, so good an IC did I find it to be. Far more dynamic than the SL yet both the Nirvanas found me leaning into the soundstage from my listening position… and ultimately I did move in the chair about a foot or so. Regardless, the presentation is as natural overall as any cable I’ve auditioned in this effort save one. That one showed up a touch late and is the most expensive of the lot and as the final cuts have been made I’ll not mention it here…. Another time perhaps as it is even more intriguing than the ones previously auditioned. In combination with the Nirvana SX Ltd RCA I was in amazement much of the time. Remarkable. OK, enough.
Given the dynamics, smooth presentation, low end resolution, almost non existent background, mid range transparency, upper end refinement and overall warmth, it’s richly textured and defined sound, the Resolution Ref X2 active set the tone. It was neither the least costly nor the most expensive. I didn’t care much for having to plug it into the wall either… given current fuel prices. (yeah, it ain’t much, but it counts), maybe that’s upcoming from SR. The RR does have as good a resolution/support center as I have yet encountered. Quite user friendly, and willing IMO, to go the extra mile…. As do many others. I made the decision knowing full well I was buying it on the heels of a new iteration forthcoming from SAR. A more detailed version of the Res Ref should be out now. The Resolution Reference 2, is what I think they called it. About the same money I believe. Around $1300 for 1M XLR with the active network.
So yeah, I spent more than I wanted to at the onset. Made a couple compromises, did neither prove or disprove IMO the ‘same same” scenario, but am pretty pleased with the results. It’s a far step up from the Cardass Neutral Ref once occupying that spot. Night and day differences. Over twice the price too. I did find one other rule of thumb that is bandied about here fairly regularly…. As the costs of the interconnects rise, so does the refinements and traits of the cable. Overall that is. In specific areas one cable may well duplicate another. The big picture, the presentations, however are quite dissimilar. I will indeed for those contemplating this same path or considering some of the same wires, post my experiences in the personal review section on Audiogone shortly, as I have copious notes on each…. With the exception of the VooDoo Ultralinear given it’s sudden departure for purposes of a more formal review.
Lastly, I saw a thread here some time back that said with the active network one does not have to worry about warming up the cable. I will assume that was a facetious remark. They do in fact need to be run in regarless the active network and if they remain unused yet plugged in as I ddi during my comparison for a few days, don’t count on A/B ing them with another set. Unless of course you’ve got them running in or on another rig. Even then, I think the comparison might be tainted, in that instance. They need both to be plugged in and plugged in.
I sincerely appreciate each and every note, thought, remark and shared experience I am as always in your debt. Maybe I’ve been equally of some help to someone else.
Thank you.