Can someone give me some insight.


This is sort of annoying and I need some help here.I have been auditioning different interconnects.MIT,Nordost,Synergistic Research to name a few.I thought I had a winner with Synergistic but what I am finding is when listening I am loosing volume in lead guitars and lead vocals.I have some Monster interconnects that I am trying to replace.If I just use the Monster IC's the voices and lead guitar is strong and open but there is lack of clarity..When I use any of the above mentioned IC's the lead voice and guitar are toned down a few db's and now seem more in the background.
I will admit that with the above mentioned higher end IC's everything is so much nicer.Are the Monster IC's over blowing the top end.I do not understand why this happens.
Last night I had the Nordost Red Dawns from pre to amp and was listing to and watching Roger Waters in the flesh-live.All sounded really good except Roger Waters voice was subdued and when it came time for some lead guitar it was also subdued and more in the background.This was being feed to my pre by hdmi and bitstream.I then changed to Synergistic IC and it was the same.Then the MIT and still the same.Then the Monster and the lead guitar and vocals returned to being upfront and in your face.
Since all the above higher end IC's exhibit this toning down the vocals and lead guitar I am starting to wonder if that is the way it is supposed to be.This also occurs when listening to cd's via analog direct or digital.
My system is Rotel 1069 pre.Rotel 1075 amp,Rotel 1072 cdp and B&W 683 speakers and bluray ps3.
Any thoughts on this would really help me out as I do like a lot of the IC's I have auditioned.Thanks.
shaunp
Try something different? If you have a preamp with a tape
loop,preferably remote controlled,try a pair in the loop.
If you hear anything that degrades the music,it would a
pair I would not want in my system.If all the cables do it,
then its the tape loop.Not a proven method,but it seems to
help me out.Anybody interested in better interconnects like
yourself hopefully benefits from my experimental method.
This is the problem with borrowing from Cable Co; not enough time to settle, especially when auditioning a number of variables. They don't tell you that; they surely didn't explain it to me either. I learned to know better both here & from my own experiences. Bob is a nice enough guy, but it hurts their business IMO when they throw too much at you like this.
These guys are right; cables can take a long time to settle, even when used. Much valuable insight imparted above; esp. from blindjim. On my rig, MIT took a good month; Synergistic's best cables took literally *several* months to optimize even when driven 24-7. Initially I thought for some reason they just weren't too good on my rig; now they're amazing.
Some may try to tell you that your components or your ears or whatever something is wrong, if you're experiencing these issues; surprised we haven't heard from those here too. Shaun you've already proven otherwise to yourself, even with lesser priced equipment.
This can be pretty tough to determine; cables come in all flavors & prices; it can be a real challenge to figure out what works best for YOU with YOUR setup. And just because something works well for you doesn't assure similar results on a different rig, & vice-versa. This is why many of us buy used here & experiment at great length, then sell off later what we don't find in our best interest. Or keep them for later experimentation if/when we decide to change the componentry.
I'll share with you another mistake of ignorance that I made when I started the cabling audition process. Be aware that you need to warm up your solid state equipment and LEAVE IT ON (expept when changing cables of course) before comparisons are valid. Cold equipment sounds cold; 24 to 30 hours is typical to reach thermal stabilization. Warmup time can vary by the component & you'll get to know from experience how yours behaves.
A second set of ears can also be useful, as we all hear somewhat differently. Have some fun with it all & best of luck. You'll certainly sharpen your listening skills along the way.
I do not see a mention of speaker wire. I would make sure to use a quality speaker wire (not zip cord) and then see where you are regarding sound.

Also, fwiw, I would be tempted to replace everything with Bluejean wire. They have been mentioned in these pages many times as consitently good wire products.

You can try different cable til you are blue in the face. You will get different results with all and after a few weeks will see the weaknesses in eveyone. You have to settle on something and if you want to save money just a well made wire will suffice.

my 2 cents...
Larryi hit the nail on the head. Although I agree somewhat with the other posters about burn-in and settling in - I believe you should be hearing most of what a cable will make your system sound like right away. Sure, your will hear subtle changes as it settles in and perhaps significant changes if you have a trained ear. It also depends on your definition of significant. But in general, there will be no monumental swing that all the sudden you go "wow there it is!" At least that has been my experience with a variety of IC's and speaker cables. YMMV
Ok I have had 2 days now with the MIT Shotgun S3 and now am in nirvana heaven.When I first got them I gave them a small listen and discounted them as a contender.That has all changed as I put them back in last night and left the stereo on all night and all day today while at work as I had the cdp in loop.When I came in tonight I could here the music and thought wow that sounds pretty good.So I put in one of my go to cd's for auditioning and was totally blown away.I have listened to cd after cd since getting home and am truly amazed.They are so smooth with female voices and the bass is not in the least lacking in any respect or is it bloated.Voices and lead giutars are no longer in the background but they are not too forward as the Monsters where.They are upfront and where they should be.There is a smoothness and clarity that is just what I was looking for.There is punch when called for with a drum kick and symbals are right on the money and not overly exagerated.
When I first got these I thought what the heck is audio coming to.I get some synergistic research ic's and have to plug them in the wall.I get some Nordost and they are flat ribbons.I get some MIT and they have boxes on them.Had to call NIT to ask what that was about and what setting to use which I had wrong.I thought...don't they just make regualar ic's anymore with out all this fancy doodad stuf.But if it works it works and now can send all the other cables back.Thanks for all the suggestions and help.