Cables AQ King Cobra vs. Signal II

phipiper10

I'll be brief but thought I would share my latest comparison.

Hooked up Signal Analog II IC from CDP to Pre and Pre to Amp on right side and AQ King Cobra on the left.

It was clear the AQ was clearer within in just a brief time, 2-3 tracks of 20 seconds each. Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise since the AQ cost more but more $$ doesn't alway mean better either.

The Signal Analog II ICs were about 85-90% of the AQ King Cobras. The AQ were more open and detailed - while the Signal gave a slightly "flatter" presentation. Certainly less revealing.

I will say though in a separate comparison the Signal Ultra SPEAKER cables were very, very close to AQ CV-6 speaker cables maybe 98% or so I think I said previously when I compared those.
So based on my experience I'd say go Signal on the speaker cables (though AQ I think is having a closeout so take a look it might actually be close in price now) but consider trying out some cables beyond Signal if that is an area you are considering upgrading anyway.

Signal is great bang for buck but was bested by AQ in this case for ICs, all MHO.

Still went on longer than intended...oops. GO PATS!!!!!

WilliamM2

Let me get this straight. You compared cables by hooking one brand to the left channel, and the other to the right channel? Ok.

I-SIG

WilliamM2 wrote: »

Let me get this straight. You compared cables by hooking one brand to the left channel, and the other to the right channel? Ok.

Pretty unconventional, but I'm sure dumber things have been done trying to compare pieces of gear and equipment. I kinda like it since I'm about to write a quick review of 2 supposedly apples and oranges pieces of equipment.

Wes

beardog03

I like the King Cobra`s, but will be selling them soon to finish the MIT migration

Thanks for the review though...it`s another way to tell that cables and I/c`s do indeed make a difference ....;):D

phipiper10

Well I figured some things are obvious and other changes are more subtle.

Making a change every five mintutes between cables or waiting a week or two and "remembering" what the old cable sounded like doesn't really seem that smart either.

I didn't make it clear and maybe it wasn't obvious but of course rolled the balance knob full right and then full left after each piece of music I listened too. I did this on recordings I felt were equal in both channels.

mantis

I went audioquest and found a home. I'm parked with nowhere else to go. Happy about that. I'm done with wire.

Dan

phipiper10

I'm now satisfied as well - except I haven't tried silver, yet.

I've compared or progressed from monster and generic ICs to where I'm at now. I tried the first 3 AQ ICs before stopping at the Cobras. In between I tried some Nordost and similarly priced Kimber but preferred AQ each time. I'm happy for now unless something cheap falls from the sky.

When I compared the speaker wire I actually had coiled up my AQ CV-6 took pictures for the FM put the twist ties on and put it in original box in hopes the Signal would be better and maybe sell the AQ to generate funds for other things. I had to unpack the AQ and sell the newly acquired Signals.

I guess I'm happy about that!

Guys are you still of the opinion my comparison method was dumb or does it make more sense that I compared one side at at time? I'm just curious? I know what I need to know about the two cables and as stated I know which is better for my system.

I get I'm only hearing one channel but why hear two If I can tell one is superior immediately?

I'm probably making dumb improvements all the time.

WilliamM2

Guys are you still of the opinion my comparison method was dumb or does it make more sense that I compared one side at at time? I'm just curious? I know what I need to know about the two cables and as stated I know which is better for my system.

I never said dumb, but it is pointless. It's not just cable, this would be the worst way to test any component.

1. Each speaker will sound different due to different placement in the room.

2. The right and left channels carry different signals on stereo recordings.

Each channel will sound different, even if you were using the same cable on both sides.

phipiper10

Couldn't you as easily say, switching cables multiple times in an hour or within minutes doesn't allow for break-in or that your audio memory after two weeks of break-in doesn't really allow you to make fair comparisons to what you heard two weeks ago?

I'm not saying what I did is the best way or without flaw or even that good for that matter but certainly found the other methods have their own flaws after doing lots of comparisons using those methods.

I was mostly trying something different.

At this point I'm trying to open the discussion on different testing methods in a real life environment.

I agree 100% on placement and different music from different channels having impact. To compensate for some of this I played mostly electronic music where the sounds coming from each channel were relatively equal IMO.
Regardless of the piece of music played I always found one side more revealing.

It's true one speaker has slightly more pronounced bass by virtue of it's placement in my room. I could easily switch the cable from left to right side and see if the outcome is the same. If the better sound comes from the opposing side after the switch I guess that might better confirm my findings .

I had seen someone else do the left right comparison and thought I'd give it a try. In the next few days maybe I will switch cables to the other side just to verify.

All input appreciated.

AdamRagland

in my experience, electronica/techno plays more with right and left channel effects more than any other genre. i didnt take williams comment as calling you dumb, however i will agree that the method really doesnt hold much weight. you have too many variables. if you wanted to still do it the same way you could always (if your capable) import the audio track you want to you and re-export it as a mono track?

WilliamM2

Couldn't you as easily say, switching cables multiple times in an hour or within minutes doesn't allow for break-in or that your audio memory after two weeks of break-in doesn't really allow you to make fair comparisons to what you heard two weeks ago?

Absolutely.

At this point I'm trying to open the discussion on different testing methods in a real life environment.

Best method would be a switcher. And to remove bias, you should not know which cable is connected at any time.

WilliamM2

if you wanted to still do it the same way you could always (if your capable) import the audio track you want to you and re-export it as a mono track?

Only if he can figure out how to place two speakers in the same exact place, at the same time.

candyliquor35m

This is a good discussion since this is what this hobby is all about (i.e. comparing A vs to see what sounds better to our ears.

The few times I've tried to do this, it was easier for me to do a left vs right comparison than whatever the more scientific methods are. The one I remember most is when I was comparing stranded vs solid core speaker wire. It was invaluable for me to be able to listen to one speaker, collect my thoughts and impressions and then in a matter of seconds walk to the other speaker and compare the differences.

I've also compared components like cd players by playing the same cd in each one and then plugging one player into the cd input and the other into the aux input and then I could instantly switch the pre from cd to aux and vice versa.

Both methods worked well and got the job done for me.