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Audioquest Diamond Sound

I need an old timer (like myself) to tell me how an Audioquest Diamond balanced interconnect sounds, versus an Audioquest Diamond x2, x3. My Stereophiles don't go back far enough.

Is an Audioquest Diamond (not x2, x3) 2 meter balanced a good enough cable to connect a Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 to a pair of Sonic Frontier Power 2 monoblocks? Will the resolution be there? I've inserted a Mark Levinson 36S into the system, which I'm having a hard time blending with the Sonic Frontiers. I've added Harmonic Technolog Pro-Silway II between the Levinson and SF preamp, which seems pretty nice. My speakers are B&W 801 with Nordost SPM cables.
coxhaus
abstract7
541 posts
 
I tried Diamond X2 and also own Lapis X3. I prefer the Lapis X3 to the Diamond X2. I also own one pair of Diamond X3, and can only tell a very slight difference between it and the Lapis X3. The diamond X3 is just a bit more refined. Due to cable lengths I have not compared Diamond X2 to X3 directly--but hopefull this indirect comparison helps. I agree with the above posts that the Diamond X2 is a bit on the bright side, but as other's have stated it is system dependent. At this level, the cables are very good--and most likely in very high end systems where the details and matching make a big difference.
vibeman
29 posts
 
Amonst impossiblie to reply to your question. Diamonds sound better than the Emeralds or Lapis in my system- You'd have to try them in your system to detemine if you like them. Much too subjective to get a realistic answer without hearing them in your system with yor music. Buy them used and sell them if you find they're not for you.
j_thunders
173 posts
 
Negative's for merely mentioning his name. Now I really hope it helps.
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
I pretty much agree with all the posters. I had diamond2x for years. There are much better cables out there/ no matter how one person feels; to each our own,I guess. When the 2x came out (about 8/9 years ago)it was amongst the best. I don't think the competing cables stood still,all that time.
john_l
782 posts
 
I thought the diamond x3 was EXTREMELY detailed and transparent. I preferred the nordost spm and quattro fil to it. They have equivalent detail but are smoother. The diamond still has a tiny tiny hint of 'silver harshness'. Less than any silver cable I have used, but still there. This is played a/b against a special edition quattro fil cable. I'm an empirically actualized nordost bigot.

I have a/b compared the diamond to the prosilway II. I think the prosilway is almost as transparent, but a little more listenable. It depends on your reaction to silver cables. The harmonic tech truth link is a wonderful copper cable too. A little veiled, but smooth and easy to listen to.

If I were you I would go buy a set of red dawn or spm's. I had great performance with them and my old sfm-160s and all red dawn. I would try red dawn and see if that floats your boat. The SFL2 is euphonic enough that it will probably cover the slight harshness of red dawn.
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