Pulling the trigger

[kach22i]

The cables that have been recommended are Synergistic Research (Alpha Sterling Active),

Was this from "The Cable Company "?

He/they were not real big on SR wires when I asked about them. Perhaps it was the application difference. I think they liked the power cords very much though. I was going from turntable to tube phono preamp - different animal to be sure.

Let us know how these comparitives turn out.

 

[taylode]

Was this from "The Cable Company "?

He/they were not real big on SR wires when I asked about them. Perhaps it was the application difference. I think they liked the power cords very much though. I was going from turntable to tube phono preamp - different animal to be sure.

Let us know how these comparitives turn out.

Yes, it's "The Cable Company". I went through their process and that's the three that they recommended. Had I given them a bigger budget I might have gotten a different mix but they didn't seem give me that impression.

 

[kach22i]

three that they recommended.

Please let us know how your ears like active shielding, I've only read about it myself- nothing conclusive.

 

[taylode]

Please let us know how your ears like active shielding, I've only read about it myself- nothing conclusive.

I will do my best. Being rather new to this just remember the source and factor that in when you read my reviews.

Now that I've made my public disclaimer, what is active shielding and which cables have it?

 

[kach22i]

what is active shielding and which cables have it?

This one:

The cables that have been recommended are Synergistic Research (Alpha Sterling Active)

I called it "SR" and the active shielding model.

You might need a battery or two, don't know if it's AA or Transistor type. You should find out before hand so you are ready.

As I understand active shielding, it creates a wall of energy to block out unwanted radio frequency interference. Some say this cleans up the sound (blacker background), others say it smears the images slightly (as the signal may expand from overjoy- I guess).

Synergistic Research was sold in a store I used to hang out at which sold lots of tube equipment. They had some kind of great trade-in policy back then which made them a very high profile company. I think they were a rebel off-shoot of MIT or Transparent or some other wire company. A single black power box would power all of the cables, but now like eveyone else they use an attached battery to save on cost.

Don't get too hung up on history, reputation or technological features - let your ears do your thinking.

 

[MarkNewbie]

Many of the members have very good suggestions. I would like to offer a couple.
The speaker cable will definitely contribute differences with the speakers and amp that have been discussed. Consider the higher end acoustic zen products. The sound will be open, less grainy, and clearer than some of the recommendations discussed. Try out different cables before you purchase them. You will be more satisfied as an audiophile.
I use an amp that drives my Ascents, frescos, grotto, descent, and theater i ML logan speakers. consider test driving from a dealer simaudio Titan 7 channel with balanced interconnect inputs. Additionally, Preamp is the EAD theatermaster 8000 pro to direct the sound signal from the devices. While this is my opinion, this combination will crash and burn the McI products, anthem, Pass. You can pick the titan and EAD at pretty good prices used.

You lost me with the crash and burn analogy??? The Simaudio unit that you refer to puts out 200WPC into 8ohms and 400WPC into 4ohms which is not too shabby but only operates in class "A" mode up to almost or about 5 watts. Keep in mind, your talking to a two channel guy too. Your comparing an amp that anything much above a whisper converts to class A/B or B operation to brands that run 10 to 20 times or more power into class A? Don't get me wrong. Simaudio certainly has some great stuff out there and if you are running their Moon Rock Monoblocks, I could see the analogy. Let's see, four of em would do it for a 7 chan HT set up. Hmm, that's 4000 watts total. And, that would be 880 lbs total. Hope you got good flooring. Cost would be $148,000.00 new and figure about half that used. Now your talking crash and burn stuff!

 

[DTB300]

You lost me with the crash and burn analogy???

Basically, it is their SUBJECTIVE opinion on the equipment, and they like the Simaudio better than the McI, Pass, and Anthem products. They do clarify that it is their opinion, so that is nice to see, instead of the usual, this is the best and the other stuff is not worth it.

That is the biggest problem in this great hobby of us...too much to choose from. But what a nice problem to have

Dan

 

[MarkNewbie]

Basically, it is their SUBJECTIVE opinion on the equipment, and they like the Simaudio better than the McI, Pass, and Anthem products. They do clarify that it is their opinion, so that is nice to see, instead of the usual, this is the best and the other stuff is not worth it.

That is the biggest problem in this great hobby of us...too much to choose from. But what a nice problem to have

Dan

Did I sound like I was trying to put them in their place? If I did, that was certainly not my intent so let me take this opportunity to apologize. I was merely trying to show an OBJECTIVE difference to a SUBJECTIVE opinion. Oh I hope I didn't do it again with that last one. And thank goodness there is so much to chose from, makes it fun and drives you batty in the process...LOL

 

[DTB300]

Did I sound like I was trying to put them in their place?

Nope...did not sound that way to me....But I just wanted to make sure people understand when someone states "this equipment is great", that it is always subjective as we each have our own preferences. There is no BEST piece out there...

Dan

 

[MarkNewbie]

Nope...did not sound that way to me....But I just wanted to make sure people understand when someone states "this equipment is great", that it is always subjective as we each have our own preferences. There is no BEST piece out there...

Dan

Perhaps you should see a picture of my date last night? Oops, I am getting off topic. LOL

Thanks for your subjective comments. Sometimes when you type something rather than say it face-to-face, your true meaning can be misconstrued and the last thing I want to do is come across in a demeaning manner. There are so many people in this forum that are way smarter than I am and I can easily accept that. In fact, it is one of the reasons that I love this forum. I have learned so much on here as a result. In fact, timinwi's comments made me go and research the amp and pre he was talking about. Anytime someone raves about a particular product on here, I google it and read every spec and review I can find. You can never stop learning and it's so much fun. Especially in this hobby that we all love and share.