Absolute Sound 2017 Cables and Interconnects
BlueFox
Posts: 15,251
in Electronics
Rudolph the Reindeer might learn something here. 
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2017-editors-choice-interconnects-and-speaker-cables-part-1/
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2017-editors-choice-interconnects-and-speaker-cables-part-1/
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
Comments
-
Thanks for the link. headed off to the track to fund some of these
-
... The Equinox is what sold me on Wireworld 2 years ago and has completely changed the way I approach cabling.
How so, if I might ask? Diameter? Metallurgy? Dielectric? Geometry? -
This content has been removed.
-
Very helpful, thanks.
FWIW, I have long been a proponent of "do no harm" to the (analog*) signal from transduction -- i.e., reading from whatever medium -- to transduction at the loudspeaker.
Lots of components do do harm. Sometimes euphonic harm... but harm nonetheless.
* It's not that I don't care about signals before they're analog voltage waveforms... I just don't know much about 'em. My interest pretty much starts at the analog signal in terms of reproduction.
-
This content has been removed.
-
This content has been removed.
-
I look at cables like cooking food.
I can follow the recipe to the letter, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't prefer something added, or subtracted according to my taste.
I felt the same way until I became familiar with Wireworld products. I don't fault others for that opinion. My point with the Equinox sounding great to everyone I've had try or buy it is that it seems to transcend between systems, whereas something like MIT sounds phenomenal in the right system and mediocre in another. That flavor can make or break the entire system.
Anyways, enough babbling from me. Cheers dudes.
It's too bad Polk removed the MIT demo threads. I seem to recall all positive reviews in the Shotgun S3.3 thread and that was with a whole lot of different rigs.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I can't give you that information because it's gone.
Polarizing? Perhaps because people don't understand the technology.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
This content has been removed.
-
This content has been removed.
-
^^Is that you "X'?The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
This content has been removed.
-
At the moment, the Equinox (and Oasis) speaker cables are discontinued. They are about to release a new, improved version of each with three great benefits:
1. Thicker gauge
2. Reduced diameter of cable
3. LOWER price
I'm waiting for the email to tell us they have it in stock and I'll be placing my order immediately.
On the news of discontinued Equinox I went to their website and looked in the closeout and sale section but didn't see any there. Any blow out pricing on those coming down the line? Or, are they basically made to order? -
Have to agree with Skip on the purpose of cables. I want the signal into my amps to be what came out of the preamp. I want the signal into my speakers to be what came out of the amp. The benefit of this approach is you can change gear, and know the new gear will be at its best right from the start. Trying to tune the sound of your system with cables is just stupid, IMO.
I have MIT Shotgun S1.3 XLR ICs in my HT, and they work great. However, I despise the MIT business model, and will probably never buy MIT again, at least as long as they continue with their current business model.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Have to agree with Skip on the purpose of cables. I want the signal into my amps to be what came out of the preamp. I want the signal into my speakers to be what came out of the amp. The benefit of this approach is you can change gear, and know the new gear will be at its best right from the start. Trying to tune the sound of your system with cables is just stupid, IMO.
I have MIT Shotgun S1.3 XLR ICs in my HT, and they work great. However, I despise the MIT business model, and will probably never buy MIT again, at least as long as they continue with their current business model.
Why, what's the deal with their business model that you find execrable?
-
That needs to be in a separate thread; Audio Companies business models you don't agree with.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I have MIT Shotgun S1.3 XLR ICs in my HT, and they work great. However, I despise the MIT business model, and will probably never buy MIT again, at least as long as they continue with their current business model.
WTF are you talking about?
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
This content has been removed.
-
My opinion is based on their past, apparently the present is slightly different. A few years ago they had cables sold online, and cables sold in stores. After just checking they only show cables sold in stores. I guess they got a lot of complaints about that model.
The problem was they had too many variations of the same cable. All this means is that the manufacturing of the cable is trivial, which implies, for example, there isn't much difference between 6 poles and 8 poles of articulation. At least not enough to justify the price difference. So, they should consolidate their line to a few models that covers the low, mid, and high-end. The biggest issue I had/have was they artificially inflate their list price so that dealers can give 50% or more discounts. Sorry, I do not support that model, no matter how good their product is.
Reduce the product line and lower the prices to real world prices and I could reconsider them, but for now I will stick with a vendor who comes out with better products each generation and at a lower price.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Have to agree with Skip on the purpose of cables. I want the signal into my amps to be what came out of the preamp. I want the signal into my speakers to be what came out of the amp. The benefit of this approach is you can change gear, and know the new gear will be at its best right from the start. Trying to tune the sound of your system with cables is just stupid, IMO.
I have MIT Shotgun S1.3 XLR ICs in my HT, and they work great. However, I despise the MIT business model, and will probably never buy MIT again, at least as long as they continue with their current business model.
I assume you mean innovation faster than a speeding bullet and the most confusing product line ever. MA, 2C3D, matrix, internet sales, dealer only, etc... I have several MIT cables and believe the 330 shotgun series is an all time great and some of the old reference series as well. I even own music link IC's which are pre network and are not bad. But I agree their current bus model gives me a headache. And the pricing is off the charts.
Basis 2200 Signature, Vector 4, Transfiguration Proteus, Allnic H3000, Meridian 200/563, CJ ET5, McIntosh 501's, Thiel CS6, 3.6, Polk SDA SRS 2.3tl, MIT EVO, KS/Wywires PC's -
The biggest issue I had/have was they artificially inflate their list price so that dealers can give 50% or more discounts. Sorry, I do not support that model, no matter how good their product is.
I know what you're saying but Shunyata does the same/similar thing. Music direct and the cable company have their speakers cables at 25% off. They are always 25% off. Is this suppose to make me feel like I'm getting a deal?
It's all Marketing. Some companies do it and some don't._____________________________________________________________________________________________
Ethernet Filter: GigaFOILv4 with Keces P3 LPS
Source: Roon via ethernet to DAC interface
DAC: Bricasti M1SE
Pre/Pro: Marantz AV8805
Tube Preamp Buffer: Tortuga TPB.V1
Amp1: Nord One NC1200DM Signature, Amp2: W4S MC-5, AMP3: W4S MMC-7
Front: Salk SoundScape 8's, Center: Salk SoundScape C7
Surround: Polk FXIA6, Surround Back: Polk RTIA9, Atmos: Polk 70-RT
Subs: 2 - Rythmik F25's
IC & Speaker Cables: Acoustic Zen, Wireworld, Signal Cable
Power Cables: Acoustic Zen, Wireworld, PS Audio
Room Treatments: GIK Acoustics -
The reason why the Shunyata cables are now reduced is because they are being discontinued and making way for their replacements. In the past, when the Zitron line was released the best discount I have gotten is around 15% from the Cable Company.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
My opinion is based on their past, apparently the present is slightly different. A few years ago they had cables sold online, and cables sold in stores. After just checking they only show cables sold in stores. I guess they got a lot of complaints about that model.
The problem was they had too many variations of the same cable. All this means is that the manufacturing of the cable is trivial, which implies, for example, there isn't much difference between 6 poles and 8 poles of articulation. At least not enough to justify the price difference. So, they should consolidate their line to a few models that covers the low, mid, and high-end. The biggest issue I had/have was they artificially inflate their list price so that dealers can give 50% or more discounts. Sorry, I do not support that model, no matter how good their product is.
Reduce the product line and lower the prices to real world prices and I could reconsider them, but for now I will stick with a vendor who comes out with better products each generation and at a lower price.
The different model lines were at the request of the brick and motar stores. They wanted to be able to offer models you couldn't buy online. Now it appears they have done away with the online sellers, which in this day and age I believe is a huge mistake as you can't find many high end audio stores anymore.
I guess that means you don't like Polk's business model either. Come to think of it, I see Shunyata products discounted on a regular basis too.
Following up on Stones post. I have to agree with one thing, the prices have gotten ridiculous. Although, I noticed they just came out with some new versions of which some are priced a bit more reasonable.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Every brands higher series of cables is ridiculous in pricing. Try flying by the wife you want to spend 2-3g's on speaker cables instead of going to Hawaii and see how far that gets ya.
I agree with Skip on the copper, the OFC seems to kick it up a few notches over the OFC, no matter what brand it's incorporated into.
Buy used gents.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Fixed it for you.Every brands higher series of cables is ridiculous in pricing. Try flying by the wife you want to spend 2-3g's on speaker cables instead of going to Hawaii and see how far that gets ya.
I agree with Skip on the copper, the OCC seems to kick it up a few notches over the OFC, no matter what brand it's incorporated into.
Buy used gents.
-
I totally stuck on my wireworld Equinox ic's. It must be the OCC copper...lol.The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
Buy used gents.
If that applies to anything then cables would be that thing. Assuming they aren't too old, and all the electrons are worn out, used cables would be great. However, I suspect if you are after a particular model it might be a while before it shows up on the market. So, you need to balance the concept of spending a bit more money and buying new to enjoy the music now, or waiting for some indeterminate time before you can find what you want.
On the other hand, if all you want to do is experiment then used cables can be very useful for that. The Cable Company also will lend cables for people to experiment with.
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Good news! I know a guy with an electron refurb service. His work is excellent. He does source his repair parts from China, but they're just as good as US made electrons. Says so right on the C of A. He repacks 'em in the wire using OEM methods. Cheaper than buying new.
-
-
mhardy6647 wrote: »
Good news! I know a guy with an electron refurb service. His work is excellent. He does source his repair parts from China, but they're just as good as US made electrons. Says so right on the C of A. He repacks 'em in the wire using OEM methods. Cheaper than buying new.
You can easily do that yourself with speaker cables. Simply disconnect from the amp and then plug into an AC outlet. The worn out electrons will be reenergized and give new life to the cables.
Just kidding in case Rudolph the Rube Reindeer thinks because he read it on the Internet it must be true.
Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits.
![[Deleted User]](https://w4.vanillicon.com/40bc09a87daec053937ab0249c85e591_100.png)
