Acoustic Zen Satori VS Analysis Plus Oval 9

Tom,

I have both balanced and rca PS audio transcendence, Belkin PureAV (don't laugh - they sound great) and AZ Wow and Matrix Reference II rca's.

The Oval 9 bass is about on par with the Satori but fatter and not as clean. In my system the Satori is not as warm as the Oval 9, but I don't need any more warmth. I run CD's from a Marantz SA-11S1 balanced to a PLC Sonic Euphoria to my current favorite amp the RWA 30.2. For Vinyl its a Music Hall 5.1 with stock Grado MM and Bellari single tube phono preamp. The Satori provides a good measure of transparency that enhances the presentation without any upper end grain or harshness. The Satori also wins the dynamics competition. But the difference is not an order of magnitude, just an incremental improvement in most every regard.

Please let me know how you like your Solo Crystal Oval and how it compares to your other IC's. What components are in your system?

Within the next few months I'll pick up a pair of the AP SCO speaker cables to compare to the Satori to hear if there is much of a difference.

Regards,

John

My system is a Krell 400xi & Krell DVD showcase.
I also have a Meridian G98AH but like the Krell DVD showcase
more so for all the detail it pulls out of a disk.. Since I have
Krell, I need some warm cables.. That's why I went for the
Oval 9 first since you said they were warmer.

I was told the AP Oval 8 Solo Crystal is THE cable to buy
but it is 4 times the cost of the oval 9s..

How do you like the "WOW" cable? I hear that's a nice
warm punchy cable..

Tom,
Many moons ago I had the AZ Wow interconnect in my system and realized that after comparing it to the next grade up, Reference Matrix, the Matrix had me spoiled. If you are looking for warmth, find a used pair of the original AZ Reference Matrix. They later came out with a more neutral Mark II version. But the original Matrix had a unique warm glow to the sound that would possibly match well with a bright or lean component. It worked wonderful with some Rotel components I had at the time. There are a few other manufacturers who use some gold in their interconnects that I have read have a nice warmth to their sound. Gold has a tendency to lean to the warm side. A couple come to mind that I haven't heard, Kool Kable Silkworm and Gabriel Gold. I did have a Stealth PGS interconnect( since discontinued, but they still come up used from time to time) and it had a very alive, "Golden" burnished sound to it that was, although colored, very mesmerizing and musical. Have fun experimenting and fine-tuning your system.

I owned both. Now I'm using AZ Hologram II. Satori is much better cable then AP 9. Air, transparency, detail etc. AP is a bit heavy on bass, fat bass. AZ Satori has much better tonal balance.
I have AZ Silver Reference IC also. Better then more expensive Siltech.

AZ Tsunami not so good. I bought Lessloss when it cost 350$, way better then Tsunami. Also TG Audio PC better then Tsunami but a bit more expensive.

I use Satori Shotgun on my main system
Matrix II and Straight Wire Crescendo - very engaging ic
(don't waste your time with the wow cable)

Because I loved their interconnects so much, I demo'd Straight Wire Crescendo bi wire in my system and was shocked as it was sluggish and too warm and bloated in the mid bass
back to my Satori Shotgun with it's detail, pinpoint imaging and great tonal characteristics!

on my HT setup
I use AZ Hologram (not bi-wired)for front and center channel

both set ups employ Salk speakers which are fabulous and show every nuance or shortcoming of the music and up chain equipment and wires