Oh no I'm thinking Again

mrloren

Darn it here I go thinking again.

Currently have SVS soundpath interconnects between my Denon and Emo. I was thinking of changing to AQ Chicago or Red River. Would it be worth it to upgrade?

My wife will be away this weekend so I have the free time.

VR3

Do it

PSOVLSK

mrloren wrote: »

My wife will be away this weekend so I'll be able to sneak them into the system.

Now let's be honest, this is more truthful

mrloren

PSOVLSK wrote: »

mrloren wrote: »

My wife will be away this weekend so I'll be able to sneak them into the system.

Now let's be honest, this is more truthful

That is 100,000,000,000% correct

Which ones if I do go for it Chicago or Red River? Will I notice an improvement

rpf65

Running AQ Chicago between my AVR and amp, and it works well.

My system didn’t like them between the CD player and AVR, it actually liked the cheap cables that they give you better.

Clipdat

mrloren wrote: »

Would it be worth it to upgrade?

Only your ears can answer that question. You could always order them from somewhere that has a liberal return policy like Music Direct, in the case that you don't hear a noticeable improvement.

rburgess714

Hey Loren. My thinking always cost me🤔 FWIW I have enjoyed my Douglas connection Bravo ICs.

rooftop59

Honestly @mrloren, I think that I would save my cash for a more substantial upgrade. You have a really nice system, but the bottleneck at this point for music production isn't cables, its using a AVR as a pre. I have the same AVR ( a couple gens older) and a pretty budget pre (a peachtree novapre) and the peacthree is a HUGE improvement over the Denon for two channel music. If I were you, I would save that cable money for a Parasound P5 or benchmark DAC2 or a PS audio stellar gain DAC, something along those lines. Then save up for cables when they will REALLY make a difference. Just my two cents...

cfrizz

I think your next step would be to step up to a prepro Loren, but then you would have to add a few more channels to your Emotiva to power all of your speakers.

What exactly are you looking to accomplish with your system that you think you aren't getting now or are you simply looking to scratch a never ending itch.

If it's the latter, go play some music. You have put together two very nice systems at your house that most people would never dream of having.

mrloren

cfrizz wrote: »

I think your next step would be to step up to a prepro Loren, but then you would have to add a few more channels to your Emotiva to power all of your speakers.

What exactly are you looking to accomplish with your system that you think you aren't getting now or are you simply looking to scratch a never ending itch.

If it's the latter, go play some music. You have put together two very nice systems at your house that most people would never dream of having.

Some of an itch.

When I got my amp I didn't have the budget for interconnects. I got the SVS Soundpath as a stop gap or so I figured. I have the funding now to get the AQ cables but my system sounds darn good using the SVS cables.

Adding a pre/pro is a few years away right now. I'd have to add an amp for the 6 channels of surround I have.

rooftop59

mrloren wrote: »

cfrizz wrote: »

I think your next step would be to step up to a prepro Loren, but then you would have to add a few more channels to your Emotiva to power all of your speakers.

What exactly are you looking to accomplish with your system that you think you aren't getting now or are you simply looking to scratch a never ending itch.

If it's the latter, go play some music. You have put together two very nice systems at your house that most people would never dream of having.

Some of an itch.

When I got my amp I didn't have the budget for interconnects. I got the SVS Soundpath as a stop gap or so I figured. I have the funding now to get the AQ cables but my system sounds darn good using the SVS cables.

Adding a pre/pro is a few years away right now. I'd have to add an amp for the 6 channels of surround I have.

I think a Parasound P5 or something similar is honestly a better idea. The Denon you have will smoke almost any HT pre under $2000 (maybe more). Get a 2 channel pre with HT bypass and you have the best of both worlds for a lot less coin, and you can still use those SVS ICs to go between the HT bypass input on the pre and the AVR.

mrloren

Hello,

I received the red river cables yesterday. I got home at 4:30 and had them in by 5. I started with some ELO to Heart before Jeopardy and dinner. After my little intermission it was some Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel. Around 11pm it was time to shut down.

My first impression is very favorable to the new cables. System is more lively with better imaging. The SVS cables are not bad and great for the price. These AQ are the real deal.

Now I think I might have squeezed the most I can out of my system and it sounds fantastic.

msg

Nice. Which ones did you go for, Loren?

mrloren

AQ Red River, Got them from music direct for $129 a pair. Sad part is I had to buy two sets for my 3 channel amp. Cost of a single cable was close to the same as the pair cost

I need to run Audyssey but can't today. Neighbor is having a party.

mrloren

6 day's now with the AQ Red River in my system. All I can say is fantastic. I did put one SVS soundpath back in to see if it was just me or if my kids would notice. My oldest had her movie night with friends Saturday. Within 5 minutes I was getting the dad we are not your test dummies. the left speaker sounds way better than the right. So I had to pull SVS cable and change cables to all AQ.

Sunday afternoon I ran Audyssey. I took a before and after picture of the Audyssey graph

Before with SVS Soundpath cables


This is 15 minutes later with AQ Red River


There are some differences in the dips. Only thing different between the two is the cables. Same hardware, same settings.

The SVS soundpath is a good budget cable, considering I paid like $70 for all 3 they couldn't be beat. I did pay 3X that for the AQ but the sonic difference is a lot better and well worth it.

AQ has a way better imaging. I actually unplugged the center speaker for a bit to make sure it was not playing. Rush 2112 was the best yet, zero harsh highs. There is a more Open fleshed out presentation with great mids and highs with a more snappy bass.


Cheers

msg

Hey Loren, interesting. What do the differences mean? Does the increase in step distinction roughly indicate better resolution?

mrloren

The Audyssey EQ graph is how it sets the EQ for room corrections. AQ produce a flatter tone than the SVS. Some of the dips are around 5db less with the AQ vs. SVS.

SVS say's the soldier there cables where AQ only cold welds (AKA Crimp). One of the old Sony engineers told me never to solder in audio, it will add resistance.

I was just listening to the Beatles while making dinner. Just fantastic is all I can say. I took Rush 2112 up to -7db the other day, no harshness at all and had room left. with my RTi-8's that was a no, no, even -15db was too much with those.

I've watched a few movies, vocals are great, nice and clear. Had to do a dead pool double.