Shortlist of Speaker Cables/ICs: advice/opinions

Again, in all seriousness, even though all cables exhibit certain qualities that are supposed to translate into how they should sound in your system, it really does take an in home audition to get a true feel how they'll work for you, for in addition to sonic characteristics there's the question of synergy.

You have already made the best suggestion, that being get the cables available & audition them & regardless of what anybody try’s to tell you, always trust your ears when it comes to your system.

I would also suggest you take notes while doing your auditioning.

Hi There,

Will do Driver. What I am doing on these forums is getting opinions on what would be worth trying and which combos to try. It is not easy to set up home auditions here so I need to know what I will be demoing (I can't go back for 5 different combos unfortunately, dealers won't do that here).

Boa2: I was actually thinking more about copper throughout. That is why I thought of the Solo Crystal and not Silver Oval, and the Matrix Ref instead of Silver Ref. The reason is that I had silver before (HGA, Kimber KCAG) and did not really like them in my system. Sounded a bit edgy and bright.

Right now it seems that my two main choices would be the AP combo or AZ combo. The Kimber's seem out of range (price and availability). Has anyone tried and perhaps compared the AP and AZ cables listed?

Cheers,
X

X,
I found the silver to be bright in my system as well. That is, until I listened to them for several days, after which I could not go back to the copper. Every time I put a copper cable back in, the music sounded veiled and smoothed over. I found that the Analysis Plus Solo Crystal was more veiled and blurry than the AU24. I liked the Harmonic Technology better than either. I have had good luck with the AP silver, however, especially after I treated the room. Then, it never sounded too bright or edgy.
Best of luck,
Howard

Look into Virtual Dynamics cables, personally I have been as happy with their performance as anythig else I have tried, including some on your list-Cardas, Audience, Acoustic Zen. (That said, I found all three of those that I mentioned to be fine cables.)

I will address the Acoustic Zen cables on your list as they were favorites of mine for awhile.

Early last year, I was very happy using an all Acoustic Zen configuration consisting of MC2, Silver Ref II, Matrix Ref II and biwired Hologram II. The system was very smooth, powerful and had good extension at both ends all while retaining a decent amount of organic nature. However, at some point I felt my system lacked a bit of romance and sometimes sounded dry.

At this point I decided to buy a single run of Audience AU24 speaker cables to compare against my Hologram II, and after comparing them for five months decided that the AU24 were definitely what my system needed. While cymbals no longer had the shimmer the Hologram II brought to my set up, the overall sound closer to analog.

I know you weren't impressed with the Audience, but I have to ask if these were the interconnects or the speaker cables? Earlier this year, I tried switching all my AZ interconnects to Audience and felt the AU24 killed all the dynamics and shrunk the entire presentation. The AU24 speaker cables on the other hand retained the same expansive soundstage as the Hologram II while making everything sound less digital and more real. I didn't like the AU24 interconnects at all, but I love their speaker cables.

Last spring, I bought a set of Ridge Street Audio Poiema speaker cables and was very impressed with them. After comparing them to my AU24 for a couple months, I felt the Poiema reminded me a lot of the Hologram II. I think they're an excellent cable and a great bargain.

The results you've posted of the Cardas and Audience lead me to believe the Acoustic Zen may be a better choice for you. But be aware that the Matrix Ref II and Silver Ref II are very different sounding interconnects. They both have the same expansive, smooth Acoustic Zen family sound, but the Matrix Ref II are fuller and rounder, while the Silver Ref II are more neutral and have a better delineated treble.

I've used Cardas Golden Cross interconnects and Analysis Plus Oval 9 speaker cables in the past and in my system both lacked the top extension you may be hoping for.

Ultimately, it'll come down to you having to take the plunge and buying a few to compare. Allow them enough time to break-in, and try to resist the quick back and forth A/B'ing which may give you an idea of the cable's differences, but won't give you the overall impression and broader picture a long audition of a few weeks or months will.

Good luck.