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Need Good Advice - Speaker Cable

I have an Audio Refinement Complete driving Soliloquy 5.0 monitors and a Rotel 855 CDP. I've had them a year hooked up with well seasoned original Monster Cables. The last couple of months, I've been auditioning speaker cables to get rid of some grime in the highs and some thinness to some vocals.

The system with my Monsters is actually quite pleasureable. It has a vibrant, room filling, holographic kind of quality that is very exciting even at low levels. Bass is very good and the midrange can really be wonderful with terrific tone and color to the music. Highs can be very transparent also.

I've now tried in my system Transparent Audio The Wave 100 (lifeless and veiled sounding), Analysis Plus Oval 12 (pretty good resolution and good purity, but too rolled off sounding, not exciting), Mapleshade Golden Helix (amazing stuff really, very pure high end, a bit too bright, some sibilance and some nasality to vocals). Just received and now listening to Monster Cable Z-1 (it has the expansive Monster sound that I'm used too, fair resolution, decent bass, but some grime in the midrange so far).

Almost everything has a cleaner high end than my old Monster's, but nothing is as exciting, enjoyable and colorful as they are. I was thinking of trying a low to mid priced Nordost cable next.

This business of testing cables is still fun, but I'm not sure when/where it will end. Can someone who is familiar with my experiences give me some direction?

Thanks,
Chris
ssglx
ssglx OP
203 posts
 
Lack of adequate burn-in is a possibility with a couple of them, but they were either demos or I ran all in my system for a few days before trying to draw conclusions. The differences between them were stark, with definite characteristics defining how they sounded. I don't have the time or patience to wait out any minor changes to the sound characteristics.

BTW, I just switched back to my original Monsters from the Monster Z-1's and it was immediately apparent that I enjoy the old cables more. The Z-1's were certainly more refined in all frequencies, but the old cables were punchy, very open and live sounding and incredibly solid. Definitely some upper midrange hash, but not unpleasantly so.
ssglx OP
203 posts
 
Nordost Flatline cables. One of the posts here noted that Nordost cables would likely be too lean sounding in my system. How about the all copper Flatlines? Without any silver do they still sound like the Solar Wind/Blue Heaven cables which I have seen noted to sound lean in other posts?

Chris
beernut's avatar
beernut
297 posts
 
IMHO, save some $$ and take a look at Cobalt Cable offerings. I tried the cable game, and in many ways it is. From the MapleShade "wires" to anaconda looking things that felt like bending a steel bar. Went back to Cobalt all the way around. Fair prices, great quality and no "voodoo magic" BS.
ssglx OP
203 posts
 
To those familiar with these cables, please look back at my original post and lets me know what you think of the MI-2's for my situation. I have read that the soundstage is large, similar to my impression of my Monsters.

Chris
uncertainsmile
88 posts
 
what about signalcable?
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