Mit exp-1

tonyb

Bought a set of these IC's recently here in our own FM. After listening for a few days, I must say these are about the best budget cables out there. Across the whole musical spectrum, they just sound like music without any emphasis on any certain part. It sounds as if the whole signal is making it's way from point A-B without anything within the cable interfering.

If I had to pigeon hole them, I'd say there's a tad bit of harshness on the higher frequencies but then these are new so I'd imagine that would subside after some break in. I paid 50 bucks for these used, but where new in the package, a steal guys. If your looking for a well balanced cable for not a lot of coin, the EXP-1's will fit that bill.

Jhayman

I had similar experiences as well on both of your thoughts..lol
I found they worked fine as RCA's for my Technics TT but they are a little more Harsh using them as Interconnects on my Mono Blocks so I am using a Cheaper one which sounds better to me.

tonyb

DSkip wrote: »

Interesting Tony. Our synergy must be completely different. They didn't mesh that well with my rig at all. That 'tad bit of harshness' had much more emphasis with the Ushers. Glad they are working out for you though.

So far anyway, but if that harshness doesn't subside, to the curb they go. I'll give them a proper chance though. These are budget cables lets not forget so I don't expect them to sound like the Shotgun S1's. Been rolling around some entry level cables, and so far these are the best over all.

EndersShadow

Tony, I agree. They are a very good cable and I appreciated that they were easy on and off and still had a good grip. No grip of death on my amp or pre from these.

I had them in my rig for about 5 months and a/b'd them v the Shotguns from the MIT Demo and honestly between the IC's I had a decently hard time telling the difference... the Speaker Cables on the other hand, that was easy to pickout......

soundfreak1

Bought a pair here some time ago and they work fine for me.if you deside not to keep them pm me.

cnh

Have fun Tony!

I spent an afternoon at an A-Philes house with his high 5 figure two channel set up that was built around a primo set of Quads.

This guy had all of the AUDIO magic paraphernalia: cables the as thick as pythons, ultra high end heavy handcrafted wood TTs, TOTL DACs, ceramic elevators for his weight lifting grade cables, isolation cone feet that had been touched by Midas himself. In other words "the works". And he was ALWAYS moving gear looking for more and more synergy. He was also QUITE the talker, could BEND anyone's ear to the point of fatigue. Certainly greater fatigue than his music system. lol

Well, he demoed a few things for me. And they sounded very good. But not RADICALLY better than what I, myself, can reproduce with lower grade equipment at home? All of that excess audio was teasing out less than five percent better sound, maybe even 2 percent. And I was appropriately underwhelmed because of that. Because of the diminishing returns problem.

And we can't say that this guy has not spent the last 20 years tweaking his system. He pulled out a dozen different high end cables to show me. So he's tried almost "everything". I also felt a little sorry for the guy, who lived alone with a pet, never married, and between jobs? He seemed quite "lonely".

We finished the session with him describing a TT that was supported by magnetic repulsion so that it floated in the air between the magnets, a 40 lb. aluminum platter, high end cartridge and arm, and a tensile strength steel wire wrapped around the platter to drive it. He went on and on and on about this TECH. Which to me was somewhat boring since I am a skeptic when it comes to these overly engineered TTs. Thank GOD my daughter called me on my cell around then so I could exit gracefully! His own table was very good itself and it did NOT blow me away. Sorry!

Nice guy though, even if he's slowly being pulled into an audio black hole into which he will one day disappear as neighbors look for his body!

The moral of the story. Certainly "tweak" but never forget to have a sense of humor and always be able to "laugh at yourself", when you lose that, well...you cross over the line into the to be pitied category, perhaps!

cnh

tonyb

Oh, believe me pal, laughing at myself is a daily occurrence. I always try to keep things in perspective when it comes to audio. The main objective is always to simply enjoy the music regardless of what gear is in the mix.

EndersShadow

I too laugh at Tony often.... :evil:

tonyb

Agreed Skip, but keeping everything in perspective we are talking rolling budget IC's here, not 2-3-4g pieces of gear. Just playing around really until a pair of Audio Metallurgy GA-0's show their face. Ecco Audio had a pair...sold, U.S. Audio mart has a pair priced kinda high but get no response to my emails.

polkfarmboy

These were my very first pair of brand name cables I purchased when I was still in the "cables are BS" mentality. The exp's threw me face down in in the dirt and walked away as I lay there with my pants down.

soundfreak1

polkfarmboy wrote: »

These were my very first pair of brand name cables I purchased when I was still in the "cables are BS" mentality. The exp's threw me face down in in the dirt and walked away as I lay there with my pants down.

Now thats a mental picture I wont soon forget.LOL

tonyb

polkfarmboy wrote: »

.....as I lay there with my pants down.

You mean you never got those skinny jeans up....did ya ?

polkfarmboy

Like audio cables, I was also still in the " Skinny jeans are BS" mentality at that time. Could there be a link between the exp's and the skinny jeans? hmmmmmmmmm maybe just maybe.

tonyb

Skip, what cables are you tinkering with ?

tonyb

Cool, If I'm not mistaken, I think Phil uses PNF cables. Seems to like them...

tonyb

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Bought a pair here some time ago and they work fine for me.if you deside not to keep them pm me.

Still one pair for sale in the FM if you want to snag some.

pearsall001

tonyb wrote: »

Cool, If I'm not mistaken, I think Phil uses PNF cables. Seems to like them...

Not me Tony...all Grover Huffman IC's. Love 'em!

tonyb

Sorry Phil, I know someone around here is all PNF stuff. Damn, can't remember crap anymore.

Tekkis

I have a couple of sets of these interconnects and I cant for the life of me remember which end of the cable is supposed to be connected to the source. I really should have written down my routing before I tore everything apart before the move.

F1nut

The arrows on the cables point in the direction of the signal flow, so from your source the arrows should point in the direction of your pre amp.

Tekkis

I can't find any arrows on my sets. They are from the b stock run last year the only indicators I can find is one end says mpc plus by mit

pearsall001

tonyb wrote: »

Sorry Phil, I know someone around here is all PNF stuff. Damn, can't remember crap anymore.

No worries, I'm in the same boat as you!

F1nut

Tekkis wrote: »

I can't find any arrows on my sets. They are from the b stock run last year the only indicators I can find is one end says mpc plus by mit

Ok, I'm not really familiar with that model. Call MIT on Monday at 1-916-625-0129.

polkfarmboy

The mpc side goes towards the output.

I should clarify, when using a pre and amp the mpc side would be going into the amp.

I know something about MIT cables Jesse does not, this truly is the end of the forum.

nooshinjohn

Cables don't matter, and anyone that says they do has an agenda to rip you off...






J/K



Sorry about that I was just perusing some classic JuJu threads before they move on to the new forum, and I needed a good laugh.

tonyb

Crap starter...lol.

When it comes to budget cables, finding one that is acceptable to you is the daunting task. Either the top end is too harsh, the lower bass too muddy, vocals recessed, or soundstage too thin. One of those apply to any budget cable I've found.

tonyb

True Skip, I've found though that the sweet spot in IC's comes in between the 100-200 buck range used. An area that can meet all your requirements without dipping your toes into the ubber expensive. Still, it's no guarantee either, that synergy thing and all.

What I have also found in my experiences, the more gear you have in your system the harder the chase to find that synergy. Too many pieces and cables in the mix to throw it off one way or another. Something to be said for simplicity.