Problems with Mapleshade cables

Yes, they are fragile and I noticed that they're not made the same way as the ones I have stored away somewhere. The connectors I have are what appears to be locking brass connectors and what they sell now look rather humble and homemade.

I hate to say this but even though the Excalibers are a step up from the ones I have, my Darwin Silver ICs are a much better choice in my system than the version I used to use.

All the best,
Nonoise

I've used their balanced IC's and digital IC's for about 3 years now. Sold off the digital IC's so I could try something more expensive that was unique in that those IC's provided passive noise reduction - otherwise I don't think I would've been tempted to sell them. The only issue I ever had with balanced IC's was an occasion where I broke one end of one lead (right where it attaches to the connector) while routing it in a cramped space. Got a little too careless and there you go. My own stupid fault for getting too impatient, really. But, it turned out to be a simple enough fix for me. I cut the tape off that covered the connector, slid back the plastic insulation sleeve out of the way and re-soldered the connector pin to the ribbon - even used the existing solder - just heated the old joint up till it was molten and then dropped the ribbon into place and re-taped. That was more than a year ago. It has since performed as new and without a hiccup.

"Sorry I have little sympathy for anyone foolish enough to actually BUY that hokey trash"

I get your point Elizabeth. I too had my reservations when a friend brought a collection of ics, powercords and strips. If you REALLY want a laugh check out their power cords. Unfortunately the problem is that the stuff actually is quite good. I haven't personally had any problems but can clearly see why some might as delicate as the stuff is. If you want to see REALLY fragile and even thinner conductors the Omega Micros are just that. More unfortunate is that their ics and speaker cables are the best thing I've ever NOT heard. They make every other cable I've listened to sound like tone controls. The coherence and tonality improves the higher up the line you go and the thinner the conductor becomes. I sure would like to know of another cable that does what these do that is less fragile, that's for sure! I suppose this is one reason they haven't really caught on.

There wire is a BIG joke!!

I can't speak to the IC's, but I love the Mapleshade speaker wire. Its more dynamic than anything else out there, or at least the 10-20 that I have tried in my system.