Audio Art IC-3 interconnects

marvda1

I am not a professional reviewer and i am not working for/with audio art but thought i would like to pass a little inside info on to the masses.

I'll start this off by saying run don't walk to your computer and place an order now. www.audioartcable.com He is about to raise his prices.
I will break this review down into three parts starting with my room ,setup, and what i like in a system/music.

Room: 12 x 15 x 8 ft. with speakers on the short wall with some fiberglass panels for acoustic treatment. The speakers are 3'4" out from the wall and 1'11" from the side walls. There is one chair (my throne) 9' away and the speakers are 8' apart and toed in to point at my listening position.

Equipment(before audio art):
Speakers: Usher 6381
Amp: Usher R-1.5
Preamp: Dodd Audio ELP tube preamp
Source: Onix XCD-88
Speaker cables: Gregg Straley Reality cables
Interconnects (cdp-preamp): Elf audio silver copper hybred
(preamp-amp): Zebra cables
Power cables: (cdp) Element cable digital cord
(preamp) Signal cable 10ga.
(power amp) Zebra cable 10 ga.
The Signal cable and Zebra cable cords are the same
design.

After years of buying affordable cables (<$100) and steady swapping them out for one another, I finally realised that I was only doing lateral moves and that there was not much difference in the sound of these cables so I was never satisfied.
In comes a friend who just happened to be demo'ng a pair of Straley interconnects ($225- 3') and boy did they make a big difference. He didn't make it easy as he gave me a pair of Elf silver/copper hybred interconnects free. The Elf's were not far behind the Straleys in sound and checking on the Elf site their current interconnects start at $450 -3'. I emailed Gregg Straley to ask which would make the most difference, interconnect or speaker cables, his reply was that most people thought his speaker cables made the most difference, so I had another friend bring a set of his Straley speaker cables over for a listen. Needless to say I ordered an 8' pair the next day.

Afetr having my eyes(ears) opened I decided on my upgrade path and that was to start with cables. My problem was where was the money to come from without getting a divorce. I started selling off all my other cables to raise funds. Here were my options:
Straley - 6' $270, 3" $225
Sas (Jena Labs) - 6' $180, 3' $140
Then I was reading about Audio Art which got a lot of great reviews saying people were selling their $600-$750 cables to replace them with Audio Arts. The prices were good enough, 2m $109, 1m $89 so I ordered a 2m length since I had determined that the link between preamp and power amp was my weakest.

I know you must think I am rambling on a lot but it is because I am sooo happy with these interconnects.

My second log will be about what happened when I subbed in the Audio Art for the Zebra cables. Almost forgot I will discuss my musical tastes.

My last installment will be about adding the 1m pair in the system between cdp and preamp so bear with me.

thanks,
marvin

pearsall001

I'm game. I just checked out their web site. Pretty impressed to say the least. I ordered a pair of IC-3 IC's (.5meter) with a 30 day trial period & the crazy low price I had to give them a shot. I'll give them a workout & see how they compare to my Element Cable IC's & Signal Cables silver resotution IC's. If I like them, they stay, if not back they go. Thanks for passing on the info.

fredv

Good deal, Marvin, I am very interested to hear from you how it compares to Straley.

marvda1

Just giving this 2m pair some more time to burnin, will post part 2 when the 1m pair arrives and part 3 this weekend since the 1m pair was pre-cooked.

marvda1

You can also read some more comments here:
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14899
And here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=29641.0

marvda1

Pearsall001, did you get them to burnin your cables($5)? if not just remember it takes 100 hrs. to burnin but they do sound great out of the box, the bass improves a lot with burnin.

pearsall001

No I didn't get them to burn them in. I know I read it in their literature but I really forgot about it until you just mentioned it. We'll just have to hear how they sound right out of the box. But I won't make any decision on them until they have the recommended time on them.

marvda1

Part 2 of 3

I’ll start this installment off with my preferences in sound. I like my highs to be clear dynamic and fast with detail but not sterile sounding. I do not like harsh or edgy highs nor do I like rolled off top end. Midrange I like slightly warm sounds lets say on the warm side of neutral, I also like speed here. Bass should be fairly tight and punchy but must be in balance with the rest of the spectrum.

When I replaced the Zebra cable with the IC-3 between the preamp and power amp there was an immediate and big change for the best. I will try to breakdown the improvements in sound that I observed in each area, i.e. highs, mids, and bass.

The highs are more extended with a smooth detailed sound. There is no harshness or dullness in the sound. Female as well as male voices are clear and natural sounding. As a testament to the smoothness in the upper range the IC-3’s made Patricia Barber’s “Too Rich For My Blood” much easier to listen to and if you have heard her Café Blue album you know what I mean.

The mids are rich, warm, detailed and clear, again male voices are natural.

The bass is deep, tight, and is still improving as I get in more burn in

The soundstage is deeper than before and you hear things in layers with each individual instrument or performer in his own space.
Overall the music has a sense of ease coming through the speakers as if you just added a larger water hose.
The sound is dynamic, not in the sense that the cables play loud but that they go from soft to loud in a heartbeat. The IC-3’s match beautifully with the Straley Reality speaker cables.

I now find myself listening to cd’s that I haven’t listened to in years.
I should have 1m pair in Wed. and I just found out there is about to be a price increase of about $20 across the board.
I am also considering getting a pair of the all copper IC-1 and the speaker cables for my second system and as a change up in sound to the IC-3.
I will most likely post part 3 this weekend.

Marvin

wingnut4772

I am not surprised that these get good reviews. I have speaker cable by DH Labs and it is most excellent.

joeparaski

I'm curious about something....are you "connected" with the company or something? And how did you know "HE" was raising prices by $20? Nice report and I'm really tempted to order some based on your evaluation.

marvda1

no, i am not connected with the company, i live in texas and i think they are in california. it's just that along with the straley speaker cables ( not connected with them either) this is the best my system has sounded and i didn't have to take out a second mortage on my home, then again the straley's are $225.

pearsall001

marvda1
I just received my Audio Art cable (IC-3). It's inline already between the CJ PV14L tube preamp & the Consonance CD120 upsampling CD player & sounding pretty darn good right out of the box. I'll report back later on the comparisons to the Element cable & Signal cables silver resolution cables. I saw your post on Van Alstine's audio circle. I almost went with the 550EXR but Frank actually talked me out of it. He recommended the OmegaStar 440EX for my system. The man sure knows his stuff - the amp is incredible to say the least. My AAD 2001 monitors are 86db, not a terrible load to push but they love power & now they're getting it in spades. It also saved me $700. I don't know how much better the Fet Valve amps are, if they are at all, but for my money the OmegaStar is an absolute winner in all aspects.
Phil

joeparaski

Well, thanks to Marvda1 and his 2 thumbs up with Audio Art I'll be ordering some interconnects. Of course with all the gear I have I'm only going to order enough cables for the main components in my rig or else I'll have to mortgage the house.

Still, I'll be going with the IC-1's instead of the 3's because it's still going to add up quite a bit. I wonder if I'll notice the difference....this is the nagging question and the reason I've hesitated for so long.

But I figure that if some of you guys can honestly hear the difference from good cables to very good cables, then I should be able to hear "something" at the very least since I'll be going from mediocre cables to "very good" cables.

janmike

Good going Joe. Interested in hearing the results.

joeparaski

Marv...I hate you!!! Had you NOT posted your review I would have been a happy person happily listening to my system and being totally ignorant that my sound could improve with different interconnects. NOW...the thought has been nagging at me ever since I read your stupid post. So I called Rob at Audio Art and ordered 10 IC-1's at .5 meters and 6 IC-1's at 1 meter length. That's over $600 for freakin' interconnects....I hate you Marvin. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have so many freakin' components, heck, those 16 cables won't even cover half of what I need, but I'll wire the most important and most used ones first. I'd better hear a difference or I'm gonna be VERY dissapointed.

EDIT...Marv, I hope you realize that I hate you in a nice way. :-)

Mike Reeter

Well Marv,ole Joe is puttin' on the pressure for sure...:D

I would also be interested in everyones thoughts on these i/c's...almost "sounds" too good to be true.

Midnite Mick

Yes, definately keep the reviews coming.

Marvda I never noticed those Ushers in your signature before. Yours and the 6391's have been on my list as I have heard the 6371 in which I really liked but wanted a little more bass. I have now started a DIY though and the kit that I chose was primarily because of the Usher tweeter.

I am wondering if you have heard the 6371's and the differences with your 81's.

Thanks,
Mike

marvda1

joe, that's too much pressure:) now here's the disclaimer, i have not heard the ic-1's. got the 1m pair of ic-3's in wed. and i will finish up my review this weekend. joe you should have ordered 1 ic-1 and 1 ic-3 and use them on your source to decide which is best for your system or tried 1 ic-3 on your primary source outs. hey having to buy 2 pairs stresses me.
joe, what's the makeup of your system?
marvin

marvda1

pearsall001, any updates?

marvda1

midnite mick, sent you a pm over on audio circles.
marvin

joeparaski

Marvin, my system is so separte that even the separates are separated. I'll search for a pic and post it in a minute.

joeparaski

Here ya go.

Midnite Mick

joeparaski wrote:

Here ya go.

:eek: That's all I have to say

Mike

marvda1

i think i would have to learn how to make my own cables:eek:

marvin

joeparaski

And it ain't over yet. There are 3 more amps going in there and a brand new Emotiva Ultra-Lite LMC-1 Processor which I just got, and I'm tearing down the right side wall and putting the gear into it. I'll be restoring my ESS AMT3 Rockmonitors to use as the rear surrounds.

marvda1

Final Assessment

When I got the 2nd pair of ic-3’s in and inserted them between the cdp and preamp replacing my Elf audio interconnects (silver/copper hybrid), I thought the Elf’s had more detail but it turned out the Elf’s were brighter and the ic’3’s had just as much detail.
Now that the 1st pair of ic-3’s have burned in the bass surpasses the Elf’s. I had the 2nd pair burned in at Audio Arts.

Here are some of the notes I took:

1) black background
2) well balanced presentation
3) smooth airy highs, no harshness
4) natural mids, male/lower female voices
5) punchy lower mids/ upper bass
6) good 3d soundstage, increased depth
7) cables directional, small arrows on the cable
8) great match with Straley speaker cables
9) takes some time (100hrs) for the bass to come around, you can get them burned in by Audio Arts ($5)

Some of the interconnects I have had in my system that the IC-3’s outperformed are:
Mas blue
Mas grey
Element twisted pair
Signal analog 2
Aural thrills black axiom
Zebra cables (belden cable)
I have had the Straley interconnects in and they do sound better but are $225 - 3ft pair.

Someone asked if I was connected with Audio Arts, NO I am not affiliated with them nor do I receive any payments from them.

MY MOTIVATION FOR WRITING THIS REVIEW:
1) I was asked by someone whom I sold my old cables to when I told him what I felt about the IC-3’s.
2) We all read reviews everyday and in the back of our minds we want to do a review.
3) I really enjoy these interconnects and since they saved me a lot of money I thought I would pass this on to others like me. If you have the resources by all means buy the $1300 interconnects.

I may try the IC-1’s and SC-5’s speaker cables for my second system. If I do I will report back.

If anyone else tries the Audio Arts cables, I would love to hear your impressions.

That’s all for now,
Marvin

fredv

Hi Marvin,

From Audio Art's webpage, Rob said that his goal was to get 95% of the sound for 30-50% of the money. In this case, the IC-3 1m is about 40% of the straley. Do you feel the IC-3 is 95% as good as the straley then :-) Anyhow, I ordered one IC-1 and one IC-3 and will find out how they sound in my gears myself :-)

marvda1

it's kind of hard for me to put a percentage on the performance of the two versus each other, rather the way I do it is compare the two with the sound i like to the sound i am hearing then if there is a difference in favor of one then decide if the difference in price is worth it, if not i can use the extra money elsewhere. the hard thing about listening to the straley interconnects along wit his speaker cables is that they blend so well together it's hard to tell where to separate to sound of one from the other. the thing with the ic-3's is that they are so smooth and relaxing and you get the detail, black background where the music just come out of the air, then you remember the price and just smile.
marvin

Audio Art

Hello Polksters!

I thought I'd drop in here and say hello!

Thank you all for the very kind comments and observations about my product in this forum. Your thoughts are very important to me as I move forward growing my business and develop new products........a couple of which will be available very soon!

And, very special thanks to Marvin for starting this thread!

Your check is in the mail, btw, Marvin.....;)

I'm only kidding!!

I saw the speculations that he was a secret agent undercover for Audio Art. NOT TRUE! Marvin is simply a customer who happend to like a product so much that he wanted to share his experience with y'all. That's, as Mary Poppins would say, "As it should be".

The information being given on this formum is, of course, how all products should be bought and sold, as it provides the consumer with an unbiased, first hand evaluation of the product in question, shared with others who could potentially benefit from knowing about the product.

Alas, most of the time you have to listen to the owners of the business who have a vested interest in their product being sold, no matter what. Guys like me spouting off about how great their stuff is, when ultimately, the product needs to speak for itself, as I truly believe my product does.

If you are after magic, voo-doo, tweeks, or smoke and mirrors, I am all out of each of those things.

These cables are just a line of cables that are fantastic sonically, at an honest price, and that truly DO outperform much of the competition out there. Reason being, largely, that I am not supporting a multi-thousand dollar marketing campaign every month, nor do I have employees, or much of the rest of the infrastructure of the typical buainess to support with my profits.

Mine is a family owned and operated business that I run from my home in San Diego, California. But, NO, the cables are NOT made in my garage! I have a cable assembly factory professionally build everything I sell, which, I feel, is clearly apparent by the "look and feel" of the cables.

I wish I could take credit for all of this, you know, but I cannot.

As is the case with everything that we have in life, there are many people to thank for th esuccess of this product and my business. The bottom line is that I have been blessed with a fabulous design team, and a factory that can crank out a very high quality product at a reasonable price.

Me, I'm just the man behind the curtain moving the levers.

My intention will always be to offer cable products to the audio/videophile marketplace that clearly overachive at their price points. Thereby offering a value oriented product that adds a superior degree of performance to the A/V enthusiest's experience largely unavailable by buying the same product from a "non-factory-direct" dealer.

That being said, if my cables are achieving this end, I can lay my head down at night a happy man.

If any of you have any questions you would like me to answer personally, please email me at robfritz@cox.net. Also, please visit my website at www.audioartcable.com.

Again, thank you Marvin for your original post, all of your very kind comments, and for bringing me into this forum.

Rob Fritz
Business Owner / Electronics Nut
Audio Art Cable

marvda1

anyone else tried any of the audio art products? if so let me know what you think.