Short Power Cable (ie, 3 to 6ft)

I assume also that you don't really mean short power cables, but short speaker cables. I found an audible improvement when using short (4 foot) speaker cables and a longer (8 foot balanced) IC between the pre and power amps than when I had used a longer run of speaker cables and a shorter IC. Of course, all the cables were same manufacturer, same grade. I have not tried the same test with single ended cables, although I can't believe 8 foot RCA terminated cables would lose much, if anything. (More than 10 feet, however, I would suspect there would be some loss.)

vtin: ok, you can ignore part of my other post on your cdp query thread (should have read this one first). are your eclipses the "old" model or the updated "classic."? the latter are somewhat more revealing and have greater bass "punch." hence, you'll want more neutrally-balanced speaker cables with the "classic." i've owned the original eclipses, the ascents and now have eidolons. I've driven all three pairs of avalons with various iterations of the rowland model 8 stereo amp. for quite some time, i used cardas cable and interconnects, golden cross and neutral reference. this spring i started to experiment with other wires. for me, tara "the one" sounds best in my system, with fim gold a close second. i have real problems with the stiffness of the fim wire, which is an important reason why i rejected it. "the one" gives me a neutral tonal balance and very wide sound stage. the sound stage depth is in keeping with the laid back presentation of my rowland amp, which i prefer. pace and rhythm are superb. BTW, if you care at all about resale, i'd not purchase speaker cables shorter than 4 feet or 1 1/2 meters. as with everything, of course, do try to audition cables in your system before buying. cables that will sound best with your gear are likely to represent a sizable investment. -kelly

While this is a very "generic" statement that could change from gear to gear, i ( personally ) would try to avoid long interconnects unless both the preamp and power amps were operating in a TRUE "balanced" mode. I am with Greg in my findings of preferring longer speaker cables with shorter IC's when running single ended. Just keep in mind that because something has "balanced" connectors on it, it doesn't really mean that the circuit was truly designed to operate that way. Sean
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My Avalons are the Eclipse Classic and I am using a Rowland Concentra at the moment. I am planning to change my Rowland and may connect it to Wadia direct. Do you think Rowland 6 is a good choice? Or, do you think the Rowland 8 is better?

What comments on the Rowland 8, 8T, 8Ti and 8TiHC? In view of the savings, the 8T appears to be quite a nice budget option. Is the optional Rowland Battery worth a try?

Regarding the balanced cable, does anybody compared the Tara Lab the One and the Cardas Golden Section to the Van Den Hul MC Silver IT?

The Tara Lab Air One (Over US$1,000 second hand!)is almost 3 times as much as the Cardas Golden Section! If take money into consideration, is the Cardas, Tara Lab Air 3 or Tara Lab Decade worth considering?

vtin: the rowland 8t is a good choice, tho i'd try to a/b one with the model 6's. (the battery makes the noise floor lower but is a pain in the patoot to deal with - newer models are ok altho older ones leaked.) BTW, the tara "air one" is not the same as "the one." the air one is mid-line and costs much less than "the one." "the one," in my system, is vastly better sounding than cardas golden section. i've not tried the van den hul but have been very disappointed with similar "silver" cables. -kelly