Solid Core Is Definately The Way To Go With Logans

[C.A.P]

I am still experimenting with speaker wires as I speak , seems that even cheap Rat schack solid core wires were better than some braided wires I tried , I will experiment more and post my final decisions.

 

[Robin]

Audioquest - "King Cobra's"

C.A.P,

Did you ever get a chance to try the Audioquest's? The "King Cobra", is excellent...

Cheers

-Robin

 

[KCWolfPck]

I'm pretty sure that King Cobras are interconnects, not speaker wire.

Speaking of speaker wire....I recently bought some new speaker cables and am very pleased. I used to have BetterCables bi-wired cables. A couple of weeks ago I received my Audioquest Slate. Bi-wire for the Ascents and regular for the Cinema. WOW....what a difference. And I am pretty sure that the Slates are somewhere in the mid to low-mid price range of Audioquests cables. I am pretty impressed with the improvement over the BetterCables.

Oh, and in keeping with the topic....the Slates are solid core.

 

[garmtz]

I have the same experience with my Nordost Blue Heaven. Stranded cables make the sound more 'fuzzy', with a smaller soundstage and not as tight and clean as solid cores.

 

[C.A.P]

KING COBRA's are probably what I will run I have to demo a few more though !
I will try Audioquest Bedrock real soon and let you know how they sound

 

[Audio Pharaoh]

I am still experimenting with speaker wires as I speak , seems that even cheap Rat schack solid core wires were better than some braided wires I tried , I will experiment more and post my final decisions.

Roger that C.A.P I'm using Acoustic Zen Hologram II's (Solid Core design as well : Single Runs with special jumpers from the 'low' to 'high' posts ) and I completely agree with your findings.

FWIW, I have also tried earlier to use aftermarker power cords to power my Ascents but eventually I settled on the supplied cords. Definitely much better, more musical and more natural. Tried the same with my ex-Aerius I's and same results too.

Happy Listening!

AP

 

[Tj Bassi]

Found myself in the same situation replacing the power cord on a Descent. Tried an Audioquest NRG cable but it did not seem to improve the response-swapping back to the stock line cord actually made the sub seem 'tighter'. Suprising since the NRG is not a cheap upgrade.
I have a friend who poo-poos the whole idea of high-price power cables, claiming that there is little room for improvement when you already have generic copper wire running from the outlet back to the service panel. Any thoughts?

Tj

 

[Audio Pharaoh]

Found myself in the same situation replacing the power cord on a Descent. Tried an Audioquest NRG cable but it did not seem to improve the response-swapping back to the stock line cord actually made the sub seem 'tighter'. Suprising since the NRG is not a cheap upgrade.
I have a friend who poo-poos the whole idea of high-price power cables, claiming that there is little room for improvement when you already have generic copper wire running from the outlet back to the service panel. Any thoughts?

Tj

Hi TJ,

Here's what I believe is more correct and logical (from my own recent experiences) re power cables in general...:

If you have a top notch power supply in your gear, cd player, preamp and amp and that means not just a good basic power supply but also high quality components such as Black Gate caps etc..you will not need an aftermarket power cord. The supplied cord or something very similar in design will most definitely suffice. Just make sure you have correct AC polarity and that's it.

As strange as it may sound, I found aftermarket power cords only mess up the sound even if they seem to 'clean' the power a bit. They 'strongly' impose their own sonic signature (more so than IC's and Speaker Cables) and in most cases will change the whole tonal balance of your amp, cd player or preamp etc..

A lot of high-end audio products may have a well regulated and well built power supply but with cheap components installed. You try to adjust with power cords and you get a different tonal balance and different signatures but still you never actually solve the problem.

You are left with 3 choices in the end :

1- Stay as you are and keep trying with different power cords till you find one that fits with minimal sonic deterioration. A ususally fruitless task in the end.

2- Start thinking and actually sending the units in question for heavy modding.

3- Look to upgrade to 'better' designed items etc..

I've tried the mods route with my universal player with GREAT success and will never hesitate to do it again, especially when you're in the hands of someone like Dan Wright of Modwright.

I will still though say that your milage may vary since nothing is really absolute in the end. But for myself, I have placed the use of aftermarket power cords the last thing to think about when tweaking my system. I will first make sure that all my components are very fit first re their power supplies..

AP

 

[BearcatSandor]

Anyone have any experience with the PS Audio cables?

 

[SPEAKERNUT]

Anyone Try Golden Helix

How About The Golden Helix From Mapleshade?

 

[MrTybalt]

BearcatSandor, I recently put a set of the PS Audio xStream Reference bi-wires on my SL3's. From the moment I put them on there was a huge improvement that only got better as they broke in. My wife even noticed the impressive improvement and asked what other components I had upgraded. Almost put me in the dog house until I proved it was only the cables!

 

[DTB300]

BearcatSandor, I recently put a set of the PS Audio xStream Reference bi-wires on my SL3's.

What did you change from?

 

[MarkNewbie]

What did you change from?

That is the million dollar question!

 

[MrTybalt]

What did you change from?

The old cables were Monster Z3... yes I know much lower price and quality. I also auditioned some Acoustic Zen Satoris. I was pointed to the PS Audio cables by a review posted here. Of course the Acoustic Zens were better than the Monster, but the PS was better than both. The experience with the wife posted above came with the switch to the PS Audio, she had already listened to the Acoustic Zen but was not nearly as impressed.

 

[BearcatSandor]

MrTybalt,

Excellent. I've always had a good feeling about their cables. They what i look at first when i put my system together.

Thank you.

 

[MrTybalt]

I can only imagine how goo the PS Audio Transcendent cables must sound. I think the wife might get a bit upset if I paid more for cables than I did for speakers ! Anyone with experience on the Transcendents?

 

[That1WhiteKid]

I absolutely love my Golden Helix wires. I have compared them so far with Cobalt Ultimate, Monster Z-3, as well as Audioquest CV-4 w/ DBS.
The Monster sounded suprisingly good overall, the Cobalts were very muddy with a horrible skin effect affecting the high end. Audioquest CV-4 sounded very much like the Mapleshades, except for the $300 extra pricetag.
The Mapleshade sound is Ultra detailed, bass is exceptionally tight, although a little leaner than the Cobalts and Monster. They have a very deep and expansive soundstage, but still image wonderfully. I found them to give more of a "live" sound that is a little edgier than other cables, but not in a bad way.
They really sound to me like you took a blanket off of your speakers.
However, a friend of mine with Polk LSi 9 bookshelfs and Myryad amp, using Denon 3805 as Pre/Pro did not like the Mapleshades on my Aerius i's.
He said it was so detailed that it sounded processed. However he took them home and swapped for his Cobalts. He said that the difference was much more subtle than on my system, and he preferred his cables for some music and mine for other.
I am wanting to get 2 sets of their "unique" looking interconnects as soon as I have the wife's approval, to replace my Z-200 IC's.

 

[DTB300]

However he took them home and swapped for his Cobalts. He said that the difference was much more subtle than on my system, and he preferred his cables for some music and mine for other.

Ah yes...welcome to the wonderful world of cables and their system dependence resulting in the need to audition cables in your own system to see what the synergy is like.

Dan