Acoustic Zen Silver Ref vs. Kimber Select 1030

I have all three AZ interconnects (Silver Refs, Matrix Refs and WOWs). The Silver References are definatley better than the Matrix. They have a tighter, better defined bottom end. The other differences are exactly what you say you're looking for, air, openness, and transparency, although the I prefer the midrange of the Matrix refs slightly to the Silver Refs. The Silver refs are definately more detailed, in a nice way. Sounds like you should give it a try. BTW - Yes, it takes a while to break in the Silver Refs, I didn't time it but it was longer than I was expecting.

The most recent Silver Ref IC's have improvements and older ones can be updated. Silver Ref. that are more than two months old are probably not upgraded. Keep that in mind when looking at used cables.

The upgrade is very worthwhile, and if you are considering new cables the Acoustic Zen Silver Reference would be hard to beat at any price. They do take a long time to settle in, but they will be in my system for a long, long time.

Eagle, thanks for the upgrade tip, I called them this morning and they said the upgrade was $75 a set plus shipping. How does the upgrade imrpve on the original? (I have a set of the new style but they are breaking in yet, so the only noticeable difference is the plastice sleeves on the cable ends.)

Eagle, how do you tell the new version AZ silver reference from the older version?

Dmailer and Gpalmer,
There is no way that I know to tell the difference between the new Silver Ref. and old version from looking at the cable exterior. That is what I asked before sending mine in and they determined by age if they were upgraded or not. The newest pair was purchased since CES and it wasn't even the latest version.

The clear shrink tubing over the silver/gray was a previous change from the original version which they still use on the latest production, as far as I know.

I think the cable is more balanced with enhanced midrange and bass performance since the upgrade. It did not take nearly as long for them to settle in after the upgrade, but you should give new ones 100-200 hours. They may continue to improve with even more time. If you call and talk to Robert, ask about his results when comparing the newest Silver Ref. to Valhalla.