Whatever happened to Straight Wire?

Straight Wire is still around in the Chicagoland area. The website is very outdated but their product performs very well with excellent build quality and reasonable pricing. While I do not know what the dealer network in other areas represents, I can tell you that in the Chicagoland area you will not find a single dealer that carries the same brand of wire as another (with the exception of Monster and Audioquest - big box retailers). Take a look at this web site... www.straightwire.de Why it is not used here is a mystery to me.

Straightwire does indeed make excellent products but they have been noticeably absent in terms of press and advertising for a while. Innovation is critical, it always has been but especially in todays world. Level 3 and 4 in the SW line can absolutely hold its own against classic brands and most newcomers all day long.

Level 3 and 4 in the SW line can absolutely hold its own against classic brands and most newcomers all day long.

I don't know if I'd agree with this statement. I didn't shed a tear when I sold off my Encore II interconects for (I believe) a less expensive offering from PS Audio. Even when I sold my cables, I told the buyers that the PS Audio cables were much better, but I guess at the price I was selling them for, they couldn't pass up the SWs.

I guess I did make an absolute statement about perhaps the most "variable" link in a playback system. What I should have said is in my system Maestro II speaker cables are as enjoyable or more so than many cables I have owned including Kimber 3035, Audience AU 24, MIT Oracle v3, Magnum M2, 750 shotgun, Nirvana SL, Goertz...just to name a few.

And by variable I mean synergy is impossible to predict without trial and error with cables, the combination of cartridges, arms, tables, electronics and speakers is almost endless. And in my findings the cables link this all up and either help or hinder the ultimate sonic signature. And throw in an audiophiles preference, some like it hot some like it cold and some like it in the many steps between....whew!

A new series of cables or so called "revised" version will not guarantee better sound. Sometimes older versions of a certain cable are more musical. Of course some of you will not agree with this statement.

Chris