what a thread, lol. My MIT 770 cables were voiced for tubes. They sound great on tubed gear and are still as good if not better than most cables I've heard, however the comparisons aren't fair because I'm listening to many different systems. That's the biggest problem in all of audio. The ears win and I trust my ears. I have been hearing so many different brands of cables recently that it blows my mind. I have a friend who use to be in the industry and in the beginning it was much smoke and mirrors for many companies, including some well known ones. things are different. Grain structure and skin effect are very real. RF interference is HUGE in all electronics. Some companies have figured out ways to fix some of these problems.
I remember so well when Transparent and MIT had their falling out. They went after each other's dealers with venom. Guys, I've been around the audiophile block a few times and have lived on the block since 71. There is more corruption with reviewers than the payola scandals of early radio. That's reality. Many reviewers even use different names. The most obvious is Tom Gillete/Sam Tellig. So many didn't realize it was the same person, lol. That takes nothing away from his/his reviews.
I was just looking for folks input for price vs performance of speaker cable only in the AQ line. I am buying a system. In the end, I'll listen for myself and figure out what I like best, but was curious as to what others like and why they didn't spend more or the reason they DID spend more. So far I have been forced to trust John at AudioConnections, Verona NJ. I'm a new customer there, but I've agreed with everything he's shared with me so far. He's similar to my old friend Bruce from Ocean State Audio. Our ears must be similar because we are sensitive the the same things. I do know that once you get into the DBS line of AQ, it's HUGE for a quiet noise floor.
The biggest irony going into all of this was that I was open minded, but felt I would end up with ProAc D2's (I love monitors) and MIT cables. I wasn't sure what electronics I could afford and would sound great. I knew that I wasn't interested in auditioning Vandy nor AQ products and I never liked what I heard from them many years ago.
This just shows how much products and lines have changed over the years. I have not heard Vandy's under the Treo, but I love the new Quatros, Treo and 5's. I have yet to hear any other speaker that comes close for me. I have auditioned most of the speakers out there that are real companies that sell for 5-35k. There are a few I haven't been able to hear, but most are much more than I can/will afford even used and I won't waste someone's time listening to a speaker that I can only afford used. That's not fair to a dealer IMHO.
