Morrow Audio Cables...

jon s

On a lark, I purchased a pair of Morrow Audio MA3 Reference interconnects and Morrow Audio SP2 speaker cables since they were offering a discount. The Morrow Audio cables are custom built to order (it took about three weeks to receive the cables). While not cheap looking, it does not have the same feel of quality as the AudioQuest cables, the mesh sleeve is loose fitting and the cables themselves feel rather thin (I don't think the cables are sleeved in a thicker insulation like most are).

The system consisted of a Marantz 90 watt PM7200 Class A/AB Integrated amplifier, Marantz SA8260 SACD player and a pair of modded Polk LSi15 speakers (the crossover components were replaced with SonicCaps caps, Mills resistors, the woofer was replaced with Polk DB840 auto subwoofers). The Morrows replaced a pair of Audioquest Diamondback interconnects and Monster Cable 1.1 speaker cables. Also compared was DH Labs Silver Sonic BL-1 interconnects.

The speakers were modded a year ago and are well broken in. I must admit that the nine-year old LSi15 still sounds very good for their age with a very smooth top end, the bass is not as boomy as before but it goes a tad lower than the original drivers and are noticeably tighter.

After the Morrow cables went in, there was a noticeable improvement in the sound, it was quite substantial. The depth of the soundstage increased a bit (before there was no depth to speak of). The width was a tad larger but the image was enlarged and opened by quite a bit and yet weirdly focused. Instruments before sounded "small" but now are more lifelike in size. Vocals were more pronounced and clearly focused. I heard things that I never noticed before. Some music has more "air" or ambience around them. I have no hesitation in recommending them for their sound and value (the cables were about $300 total).

Morrow says that the cables sound best after breaking in after about 400-500 hours. Right now, I only have about 100 hours on them. I have read that the sound goes to crap around 300-400 hours but then noticeably improves after that.

I also bought a pair of MA1 interconnects (their cheapest ones) and want to see how much of a difference they are compared to the MA3s (they are twice the price of the MA1s). I have not yet tried them but will report on them when I do. Morrow also has a trade in policy so you can upgrade the cables to a better one. I may be taking them up on the offer sooner than I expected.

Morrow Audio MA3 Reference Interconnect Cables

Morrow Audio SP2 Speaker cables

:cheesygrin:

11tsteve

I currently have MA4 from DAC to pre, and MA2 from pre to amp, and have had a very similar experience. I did notice a slight harshness as they broke in. Some days my ears would get tired more quickly. I would say mine are not quite fully broken in, but they are still smooth and open. A definite improvement over the crap I was using.
My MA4 are actually Y cables, the second half are to an old NAD 1020 I am using for headphones until I can afford a head amp, and they made a huge difference to my headphone experience.

tonyb

Nice to see you boys got your cable groove on. Congrats.....it's always fun when you try different stuff and it takes you up a notch or two.

mantis

Thanks for the review . I'm gonna go check out their line.

mufsoman

Here's a link to Mike Morrow's latest "Tweaks" newsletter that explains his approach to building cables. No affiliation, just a subscriber. I use MA2 IC's for my L-C-R between the SC07 and Rotel amp. They were definately a step up from what I was using. Still considering some more Morrow cables, but picked up this bug to someday maybe build my own...

http://www.morrowaudio.com/newsletters/issue6.html

Moose68Bash

I use Morrow SP7 speaker cables in my main system. I've been using them for several months, but for less than a year. Mike Morrow "burned them in" for the equivalent of 200 hours of use before he shipped them.

Prior to the Morrow cables I had been using Canare 4S11 Star Quad cables in a double-run, bi-wire configuration. The Canares were brighter in the high frequencies to the point of being unduly harsh in my wife's view. An audiophile friend of mine and I both thought the Canares were boldly, if not brashly, realistic.

The Morrow cables allow a wide and deep sound stage with clear definition and placement of instruments and voices on this stage. They are fast and very pleasant for listening over long periods of time. My wife found that they made our system "sing" versus the Canares. Her remarks included that they made her "feel" the music extraordinarily as compared to our system with prior cables and compared with our second system. I think they have their own "voice," which gives a warmth to any music, and if that is your taste, they are great for you.

Mike is also a very pleasant man to deal with.

gp4jesus

mufsoman wrote: »

Here's a link to Mike Morrow's latest "Tweaks" newsletter that explains his approach to building cables. No affiliation, just a subscriber. I use MA2 IC's for my L-C-R between the SC07 and Rotel amp. They were definately a step up from what I was* using*. Still considering some more Morrow cables, but picked up this bug to someday maybe build my own...

http://www.morrowaudio.com/newsletters/issue6.html

What did you have* before*?

mufsoman

gp4jesus - I had some older IC's that I purchased from BB, probably monster, but there's no logo. So maybe anything would be a step up, but definately like the sound of the Morrows.

GlennDog

I'm thinking of upgrading today to Morrow cables. Today, until midnight 25% off all cables, interconnects, etc

No affil

G