MIT S1.3 Shotgun balanced inter-connects

BlueFox

For some time now I have been tweaking my 2 channel system to try and get the most from it. By adding items such as Mapleshade brass footers under all the gear, and upgrading to Pangea power cords on the Wadia, DAC, SACD, pre, and power conditioner, the sound was very good. At least to me. Each item made a noticeable improvement. However, as we all know, there is always improvements to be had.

What I am trying to do is get the maximum performance from my current electronics and speakers before I start thinking about replacing any of that gear. After doing the previous tweaks I was ready to think about the ICs. I upgraded the speaker wire within the last year, along with the digital IC between the Wadia and DAC. However, I was still using the Kimber Kable Hero XLR ICs I purchased when I first bought the gear. I guess the pre and the first amp are around 2-3 years old now. Time flies!

Anyway, the analog ICs seemed like a good candidate to upgrade, so the question was what vendor to buy. There seems to be quite a large selection of cable vendors out there. That indicates there really is something positive occurring with cables, but the problem is I do not have the money to experiment with every brand to find what works the best.

However, thanks to reading CP, and doing other research, I decided to at least start with MIT, since they always seem to get good press. The problem with MIT is they have so many models at various prices it was semi-difficult to decide at what point I wanted to bankrupt myself. After some mental gymnastics I went with the Shotgun S1.3 balanced IC. Since I needed 3 sets (SACD to pre, DAC to pre, pre to amps) the 1.3 seemed to be high enough up the cable chain to be an improvement, but only caused a few days of anguish after deciding to spend the money. From a price perspective, they fit in good with the other gear.

Well, after installing them last night, my buyer’s remorse is fading, and I am happier and happier. Right from the beginning they were better than the Heros, and an improvement in bass was readily apparent. I mostly listen to classical, and I was surprised at the new sounds I was hearing at the low end. I also noticed an improvement in bass when I did the speaker cable upgrade earlier, but this was an even better improvement.

The biggest improvement I am now hearing is the sound stage has become wider, and more detailed. One thing I always noticed with the KK Heros was that while the sound was clear and detailed, the soundstage was mostly defined between the speakers. It opened up on some CDs, but by and large was clearly between the speakers. I always attributed that to the recording of the CD, but not anymore.

While listening last night, the sound stage literally opened up before me. It was so cool I was laughing with pleasure. I could not believe it. Right before me it expanded! While the music is still centered between the speakers, the sound expanded out and now includes the speakers. I couldn’t believe it. The Heros were constricting the sound stage.

Once again, at least for me, I have heard how cables make a difference.

If the bass improvement was the only thing resulting from the Shotguns I probably would have felt my money was wasted. However, the ever widening sound stage has made the purchase justifiable. In fact, I think I am going to get the matching S1.3 speaker cable. If it works together with the ICs and adds another improvement to the sound it will be a worthwhile investment, but at the moment the Omega Mikro Planar 1 speaker cable is doing great with these ICs.

Two thumbs up for MIT Shotgun S1.3 balanced ICs.

Of course, no review is worthwhile without the negative side, and these MITs do have a downside (other than price). My only dislike so far is the boxes containing the passive electronics. While certainly necessary, the way the cables came together all the boxes are directly behind the preamp. This prevented me from being able to push the rack closer to the wall. As I was moving the rack back in place I saw the preamp moving forward out the front. So, I ended up with the rack a few inches further into the room. Not a big deal, but something.

The other drawback to the boxes is they put a strain on the XLR connections since they are hanging in the air. My temporary work around was to try and provide a strain relief by using the twist-its I have saved over the year, and attached the MITs to other cables. Unfortunately, the only cables available to use were the power cables! This provides some strain relief, but I need to come up with a better solution. Hopefully, the insulation in the Pangea power cable, and the XLR design minimize any interference. It certainly sounds okay.

Gear used:

iPod Classic – Apple lossless files
Wadia iTransport
CIAudio VDC9 power supply upgrade for Wadia
Mapleshade digital IC
Sony XA5400ES SACD/CD
Cambridge-Audio 840E pre-amp
Cambridge-Audio 840W amp – 2 amps in bridged mono @ 800W/ch into 4 ohms
Panamax M5300-EX power conditioner
PSB Synchrony One tower speakers, 4 ohm
MIT S1.3 Shotgun, balanced
Omega-Mikro Planar 1 speaker cable
Pangea AC9 on power conditioner
Pangea AC14SE on Wadia, SACD, DAC, and pre
Mapleshade brass footers under all gear
Mapleshade 4” maple speaker platform with carpet piercing brass feet.

madmax

All the MIT's I've purchased new sound like crap for the first few weeks. I was able to catch one set burn in during a long listening session and WOW what a change. So you started with MIT. I bet you finish with MIT as well. Do the speaker cables if you really want a thrill.
madmax

F1nut

Thanks for posting your thoughts.

The other drawback to the boxes is they put a strain on the XLR connections since they are hanging in the air.

I believe that is much less of an issue than you think it is. My MIT's have been hanging in air for years, not a single problem.

dorokusai

I agree, never had an issue with the weight of the network boxes and have used various models since 2005. I velcro them to the legs of my rack as well for cable management, not really for strain relief.

You could have saved money by going with the 3.3 model as I've never heard a difference within the same stage of interconnects, only with the next stage....like Shotgun vs Magnum for example. Either way, good choice.

Ern Dog

I had Kimber Hero IC's at one point and agree that they were constricting the sound. Glad to hear you like the MIT's. I'd like to try the Shotgun IC's at some point in the future.

woofiepaws

dorokusai wrote: »

You could have saved money by going with the 3.3 model as I've never heard a difference within the same stage of interconnects, only with the next stage....like Shotgun vs Magnum for example. Either way, good choice.

Would this be true of the speaker cables as well? Sorry to veer off topic.

dorokusai

Yes but that's just my opinion. I've owned quite a few levels of MIT.

heiney9

Nice review, congrats and as they break in they will sound even better.

H9

woofiepaws

dorokusai wrote: »

Yes but that's just my opinion. I've owned quite a few levels of MIT.

Thank you.

Time to start shopping!

hearingimpared

Great write up! Wait until you get two full weeks of burn-in on those ICs. The soundstage will get wider, the 3D imaging becomes blatently apparent and the tonal quality becomes real and much much more.

As far as the boxes go, my rack weighs somewhere in the vacinity of 350 lbs so all I could to was slide the boxes behind the rack which ended up laying across each other therefore not putting any strain on the RCA connections. I have the huge boxes of my 750 MH Shotgun speaker wires just hanging from their banana's pluged into the Cardas posts installed on my speakers and have not had any problems with then become loose or bending the post in almost two years.

Great stuff Blue Fox.

Beta

Great post!

I incorporated two pairs of MIT S1 Proline interconnects into my gear about a month ago. I was literally shocked by how much improvement they made. I posted here at Club Polk how delighted I was with this decision.

At that juncture, several members informed me that they would sound even better over time. I couldn't imagine how they could sound better. Well, to my amazement, they do. I now have over 200 hours on them and they have improved significantly from when they did day one. The sound stage opened up even more etc. etc.

I am so happy with MIT that I have since ordered a pair of S1.3 speaker cables and am currently waiting for their arrival.

BlueFox

Burn in is ongoing, and it seems to just be getting better. The sound is coming in clear, pristine, precise, detailed, and it adds emotion and passion to performances. Granted, on one hand I am not hearing anything new, but on the other hand I am hearing everything new. That is what is making this upgrade so much fun.

One thing these cables have done is made me realize my gear has more potential than I realized. Each tweak has made an improvement, and I have to wonder at what point will it stop improving. At that point it becomes reasonable to start thinking of new gear, and start over again by tweaking the new gear. However, it seems as if that will not be for some time. When I get the S1.3 speaker cables to match the ICs, and if there is little, or no, improvement then it might be time to start thinking of newer gear. Or just be content with what I have. But, I suspect the S1.3 speaker cables will up the performance curve even more.

Anyway, the point is even entry level gear as is mine can sound great right from the start, but with a few tweaks and upgrades it can really shine.

F1nut

I have heard a difference between the S1 and S3 with improved bass response being the most noticeable.

Norm Apter

BlueFox wrote: »

. When I get the S1.3 speaker cables to match the ICs, and if there is little, or no, improvement then it might be time to start thinking of newer gear. Or just be content with what I have. But, I suspect the S1.3 speaker cables will up the performance curve even more.

I proceeded similarly, though I went with the Shotgun S-3.1 (first purchasing 3 sets of ICs then a pair of Bi-wire Speaker Cables in the same series). While I can't absolutely guarantee it, I would say that you will definately notice a very obvious improvement once you put the Speaker cables (and let them burn in) as well. My suggestion is just to wait until your ICs are fully burned in (over 200 hours) before you acquire the Speaker cables to really discern the improvement that the speaker cables have to offer.

(I had been running Signal Cable Analog II ICs and Signal Cable Ultra Speaker wires, and as good as those are (esp. in value), it was a pretty big jump up with the MITs)

Since you mentioned something about the network boxes, you should know that the Shotgun Speaker Cable network boxes are about 3 times as large as the IC boxes (at least in the case of the S-3s). But as others have said, I've never let it be a concern. I'm used to the size of them (speaker network boxes) now, but I can still recall when I first took them out of the box I was really amazed at how large they look. I'm talking humongous (if you've never laid eyes on them before).

cnh

Great Review....BlueFx,

Somewhere on this site is a link to a review by one of our members (I think)...that explains the tech that is involved in the 'mysterious' MIT BLACK BOX. It wasn't until I read that that I began to understand that it could make a difference. Of course...such I/Cs will ALWAYS be beyond my reach. My wife would HANG me with an MIT cord if I even thought about buying one? Even 'used' I could never justify buying a set to my wife!

How you guys can buy and trade in these things is beyond me. But more power to you and your 'wives'!!

cnh

heiney9

cnh, if you watch Ebay or Audiogon diligently you can find a good deal. Look for Terminator 2's; an older cable but MIT's most popular and you can find I/C's starting around $50 and speaker cables sometimes around $100-150. Very much worth it.

hearingimpared

One thing I wanted to tell you Blue Fox is that as the burn-in process continues, you will notice more and more 3D layering of your front to back and height imaging. Same with the soundstage.

cnh

heiney9 wrote: »

cnh, if you watch Ebay or Audiogon diligently you can find a good deal. Look for Terminator 2's; an older cable but MIT's most popular and you can find I/C's starting around $50 and speaker cables sometimes around $100-150. Very much worth it.

Thanks heiney9,

I could probably handle that...with a bit of persuasion. Sounds good!

cnh

cnh

Thanks for the link Mike....good stuff!

cnh

BlueFox

cnh wrote: »

Thanks for the link Mike....good stuff!

cnh

Can't you find a Chinese knockoff for a couple of dollars.

Polkitup2

Keiko wrote: »

http://www.mitcablesexpress.com/

Good source for buying B stock and closeout. You might want to sign up for MIT Club Express, cnh.

Cheers,

Mike

Yep, last weekend they had an additional 15% off their already 50% off cables if you were on the e-mail list.

BlueFox

Well, after one week I am still amazed at how good these cables are sounding, and getting better. For anyone to say that cables make no difference only shows complete and utter ignorance.

Anyway, these things are addicting. Yesterday I ordered 5 CVT Terminator 1 RCA Interconnects for the home theater, and a Magnum Digital Interconnect for the Wadia. This is it. No more cables, at least for a few months.

F1nut

For anyone to say that cables make no difference only shows complete and utter ignorance.

That's sig material.

hearingimpared

BlueFox wrote: »

Well, after one week I am still amazed at how good these cables are sounding, and getting better. For anyone to say that cables make no difference only shows complete and utter ignorance.

Anyway, these things are addicting. Yesterday I ordered 5 CVT Terminator 1 RCA Interconnects for the home theater, and a Magnum Digital Interconnect for the Wadia. This is it. No more cables, at least for a few months.

They really do put a smile on your face!

F1nut wrote: »

That's sig material.

Gold Jerry Gold!

Beta

I have been burning in my new S1.3 Biwire speaker cables for several days now. Still have a bit to go. Nonetheless, the three dimensional image and contrast that is emerging is amazing.

Thank you F1 for directing me to Joe Abrams!

madmax

BlueFox wrote: »

When I get the S1.3 speaker cables to match the ICs, and if there is little, or no, improvement then it might be time to start thinking of newer gear.

You won't believe how much those two pieces of cable are controlling your sound quality. Just do it and move on to the next quality level. Its a cheap upgrade.
madmax

Beta

BlueFox wrote: »

Yesterday I ordered 5 CVT Terminator 1 RCA Interconnects for the home theater, and a Magnum Digital Interconnect for the Wadia. This is it. No more cables, at least for a few months.

If it's not too much of a bother, a brief review of the Magnum Digital Interconnect and how it performs in conjunction with the Wadia 170i and your DAC would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

BlueFox

Beta wrote: »

If it's not too much of a bother, a brief review of the Magnum Digital Interconnect and how it performs in conjunction with the Wadia 170i and your DAC would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I installed the Magnum Friday night, and have been enjoying it since then. I installed the CVT Terminator 1 ICs in the HT yesterday, and enjoyed rewatching Star Trek and Terminator 3 (my audio reference BR DVD) last night.

I will give a review for both these cables later. However, I will tell you now the reviews will be enthusiastically positive.