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any other XLR interconnects i should demo?

nearing what i think is the end of my IC comparisons. want to see if there is anything that i've missed. not that i want to try every IC ever made....just want to make sure i've covered most of the more readily available IC's.

i say readily available because i'm looking used/preowned. would consider new but prefer the value in preowned

IC is for my consonance cdp too krell integrated s-300i, feeding aerial 7b's. have tried out 4 so far with one pair inbound. none have jumped up so far and said "i'm the one". understanding that no one can tell me what "the one" is, other then myself.....just looking for things to demo before deciding.

would like to stay under $500 used. would love to spend alot less. listen to 50% rock/alt rock, 30% jazz/smooth jazz, 20% classical.

what i've tried and what my thoughts are so far (read opinion).

Cardas Gold Ref: too warm/veiled

Acoustic Zen Silver Ref II: tad too bright

Audioquest Colorado: bass not tight enough.

Audioquest Columbia: bass not tight enough and a little harsh up top.

Tara Labs Air 2: inbound. will try next week (would appreciate any input on these as well)

if i had choose between the 4 i've tried....the audioquest colorado would be the current front runner.

so has anything flown under my radar that is worth a try? (based on what my feelings are regarding the ones i have tried).

thanks for your help.
levy03
dtsag
119 posts
 
With your taste and budget, you can't go wrong with the XLO's Signature 2 or Signature 3. The best in tight bass and detail in the high but not harsh. It is made of very pure copper material, so the mid is not bad either.

Used Sig. 2 can be had for less than $450 and the used current Sig. 3 will be around $600.
juancgenao
64 posts
 
Analysis plus solo crystal, to me is a better choice,
bettered my xlo sig3,on midrange clarity,smoothness,and way more transparent,XLO has tighter base,the solo crystal is a full sounding I/C, very difficult to beat in it's price range
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Does a balanced connection really make sense if it's not carried through the entire system from source to amp? When carried through the system that way, I was under the impression that the cable quality did not make that much of a difference...Mogami or XLO the only difference should be how much you spent. Someone correct me here if I'm missing something as I'm not speaking from experience - if you are only using XLR for a single connection, all bets are off, as I understood it, and that largely defeats the advantages of a balanced system.
Post removed 
jax2
3,031 posts
 
That's my understanding, too. If you're not running a balanced source, preamp, and amp, then there's no benefit in running balanced in only one connection because the signal becomes single ended anyway.

So, Grant, what about the second part of of my statement? That is, that once you're running balanced from one end to the other (assuming all components are truly 'balanced'), that the difference in cables becomes far less pronounced than with single-ended options. Whereby an average pro-audio cable is not likely going to be distinguishable from a $2k vanity cable (as it may be using the single-ended option).
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