Rsf, I apologize for not fully answering your question. Over the last 20 years I've had more cables than I can remember. Going back as far as ten years I can remember using Gregg Straley's Reality Cables, which I highly recommend in the budget category. I've used Kimber Kable 4VS and 8TC (both versions) in my stereo system, and the original 4TC and 12TC in my home theater. Blue Jeans Cables are my current cables for my surround speakers in the theater, and I put them in my stereo briefly just to hear what they could do when paired "out of their league". Let's see...I home auditioned Ridge Street Audio Alethias biwire cables four or five years ago, and I'm currently listening to a set of Sablon Audio speaker cables, which Mark at Sablon offered as part of the demo with the Corona power cords. I tried a set of anti-cables about eight or nine years ago, too. Those are all I remember specifically having in my system apart from the various Stealth models I mentioned previously, though I know there were others.
My first experience with "audiophile" speaker cables were the original Monster cables. They looked like thick zip cord. They sounded worse than the zip cord that came with my Polk Audio bookshelves. I almost gave up on cables right then and there! It was an important experience, though, as a very, very trusted member on the old, now all but defunct audio review boards used to argue that "cables don't matter" in terms of affecting sound. I beleived they did to some degree, and that that wasn't necessarily a good thing!
All of the speaker cables I mentioned had stengths and weaknesses, of course, but I am a fan of faithful reproduction of music, so I prefer fast, clean/detailed, tonally balanced cables. The Stealth Dream V10 is the best I've heard so far in my system. In addition to the above attributes they provide an astonishing soundstage in all dimenstions if the speakers are optimally placed and the rest of the system allows them to perform to their potential. I do have to say I loved the Reality Cables back in the day, and the Sablon Audio speaker cables are fantastic - and even better when I had a Sablon power cord or two in the system. Mark at Sablon says there's a whopping 40% improvement to be had by birwiring. Maybe I'll have to hit him up for a second set of demo speaker cables. ;)
How good are the Sablon speaker cables? Well, they compete with the Dream V10. They compete with the Nordost Valhalla that I've heard many times, though never in my own system. I've never heard a speaker cable that is clearly an entire tier above them. I don't know what Mark charges for them, but I'd bet it's much less than the Stealth or Nordost. The Sablon speaker cables won't be for everyone; unlike Sablon power cords, which have enormous bass response and slam, the power cords are ever so slightly on the lean side of neutral. I suspect if one had a system decked out with Gran Corona power cords, tonally balanced interconnects, and the Sablon speaker cables that leanness would be completely gone. Mark has an exceptional ear and his understanding of cable components and geometry are second to none.
Okay, I did not intend to turn this in to a Sablon fan club post - and I do prefer my Dream V10 to the Sablon cables - but since you asked about performance relative to other cables I thought it relevant to mention. Apologies for being rambling on! :|
