Unconventional Cable swap made huge difference
dhart86
Posts: 1,594
2 weeks ago I made an unconventional cable swap and it's making the rig sing like never before.
The rig is:
Antipodes Dx server > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr Dac > deHavilland UltraVerve 3 preamp > Belles 150 A Reference Amp > Harbeth C7es3 speakers.
Initial cabling was:
MIT Shotgun S1 between the Dac & Preamp and Preamp & amp
Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables.
The first cable swapped was the AZ Satori replaced by Audioquest Oak speaker cables.
Listening to the rig after this swap was somewhat underwhelming imo. Even tho there was an improvement in the bass, the system felt veiled and un-involving. Things seemed smeared a bit. Now this could be due to the AQ Oaks needing to be played in to get back up to speed, as I bought these from a seller who had not played them for quite some time. However, instead of waiting to see, I continued to experiment with the interconnect cables
I removed the pair of MIT S1 from the Dac to the preamp and replaced them with the Signal cable silver resolutions. The silver resolution / MIT S1/ AQ Oak combo did the trick!!!! The transparency, high end sparkle, air and openness improved greatly as did the detail and bass. I am so happy with the sound that I can't imagine it getting any better.
Side note: I was so happy with the improvement the Signal Cable silver resolutions made, I thought more is better. So I bought 2 more pairs of Silver resolutions cables. I tried the rig with all silver resolutions, but the resulting sound was a little brighter than I prefer. So I put the MIT S1 back in btw the pre and amp and it sounds perfect. A little unconventional I know, but it sounds perfect to me!
The rig is:
Antipodes Dx server > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr Dac > deHavilland UltraVerve 3 preamp > Belles 150 A Reference Amp > Harbeth C7es3 speakers.
Initial cabling was:
MIT Shotgun S1 between the Dac & Preamp and Preamp & amp
Acoustic Zen Satori speaker cables.
The first cable swapped was the AZ Satori replaced by Audioquest Oak speaker cables.
Listening to the rig after this swap was somewhat underwhelming imo. Even tho there was an improvement in the bass, the system felt veiled and un-involving. Things seemed smeared a bit. Now this could be due to the AQ Oaks needing to be played in to get back up to speed, as I bought these from a seller who had not played them for quite some time. However, instead of waiting to see, I continued to experiment with the interconnect cables
I removed the pair of MIT S1 from the Dac to the preamp and replaced them with the Signal cable silver resolutions. The silver resolution / MIT S1/ AQ Oak combo did the trick!!!! The transparency, high end sparkle, air and openness improved greatly as did the detail and bass. I am so happy with the sound that I can't imagine it getting any better.
Side note: I was so happy with the improvement the Signal Cable silver resolutions made, I thought more is better. So I bought 2 more pairs of Silver resolutions cables. I tried the rig with all silver resolutions, but the resulting sound was a little brighter than I prefer. So I put the MIT S1 back in btw the pre and amp and it sounds perfect. A little unconventional I know, but it sounds perfect to me!
Main Rig:
Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded)
Comments
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Great example of a way to fine tune your system.
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Agreed on the AQ cables, I have not tried Signal, but the introduction of the WEL's between my amps and preamp, and the Meteor speaker cables put my system over the top.... I can now sit back and say I'm done.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
nooshinjohn wrote: »Agreed on the AQ cables, I have not tried Signal, but the introduction of the WEL's between my amps and preamp, and the Meteor speaker cables put my system over the top.... I can now sit back and say I'm done.
Would love to get my ears on the WEL's one day. Where does the Meteor's come in on the AQ line up?
Main Rig:
Antipodes DX > Roon > PS Audio Directstream Jr.>deHavilland Ultraverve 3 >Belles Reference 150a >Harbeth C7 ES3
Second Rig:
Roon> PS Audio Directstream Jr Bridge II > EE Minimax pre (Tutay mods) >Belles 150A Ref >Monitor 5 (Westmassguy-modded) -
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
