Try out a set of Audioquest Type 4

bikerboy

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in posting my impressions of the cables. I went on vacation for 9 days of camping and watching the Tour of California. Got to see the big boys in action. Lots of fun! Anyway......

I had 4 speakers wires that I was able to compare:

A set of DIY Cat-5 ala VH Audio type wires. They are 27 teflon coated copper wires that are braided to make one big cable about equal to an 11 ga IIRC. I made these years ago and liked them.

The Audioquest Type 4 demos that NJPOLKER has so kindly offered up for demo. Thanks man.

A set of DH Labs T-14 silver plated copper wires that I doubled so I have 2 plus and 2 minus wires per side. Thanks Dave.

A set of MIT Terminator 2 wires that I got from Daboyz. Thanks Dave.

I have used the Cat-5 wires for a long time so they were my reference. Were, as in former.

The Audioquest had better bass than the Cat5 but I liked the Cat5's top end better. Smoother, better placement of sounds and easier to listen to for long periods. The Audioquest were crisper on the top but not as clear in the midrange. The bass was full and better defined with the Audioquest. A better choice if you need more bass compared to the Cat5.

The DH Labs T-14 were a shock at first. They are louder in all areas. I dont quite get that but the silver coat must be the cause. Very dynamic, too much for my system. The bass was overwelming. With the right tube combo I was able to make them sound very good. Until the MITs showed up.

The MIT Terminator 2 were a let down at first. Since I had been using the DH Labs and had swapped tubes to make them sound better, the MITs sounded dull, flat and lifeless. Then I got to swapping tubes. These MITs sound better than all the rest! The bass is OMG. More individual bass notes, lower tones and much better midbass. Kettle drums, kick drums, tom toms, they're all there. Bass guitars and upright bass sounds have that weight and fullness that the other wires just dont have. The imaging is so precise and wide, at least 3' past the speakers. The dynamics are startling. They dont have that fuzz around an individual sound. Just clean and clear. No listener fatigue at any volume! That is something that I have been trying to work on for a while. I liked the way the system sounded but if listening for a long time (2+ hours) I came away with tired ears. The MITs fixed that.

So, wires Do I repeat Do make a difference. So much so I used one side of the DH Labs wire and made a new IC between the sda-2a. That made a nice improvement in imaging over the multi stranded crap I was using.

Thanks to NJPOLKER for offering the Audioquest for us to use and I hope others find the demo helpful in their audio quest.

Thanks everyone else for their contributions to this forum to further the cause of superior sound. We audiophiles are a rare breed and need all the help we can get because this isnt easy. But when its right it's really good.

Peace and hair grease, out.

comfortablycurt

Nice review Bikerboy. I can't wait to get my hands on the Type 4's for a demo.:D I'm looking forward to it.

Any word on the re-terminations NJPolker? No rush or anything, just wondering where we stand.

NJPOLKER

OK guys lets start over, well kind of.
I will ship the newly terminated cables out Saturday morning USPS. AQ4's with Vampire Banana's all around.
I have a list but now its old since the "downtime" so lets put a new one together. Don't worry the guys who are on the top of the old list will go back to the top of the new list.
Old list looks something like this
TNRabbit
McLoki
ErickTracy
comfortablecurt
a-mattison
acsubie
muncybob
I hope I didn't miss anyone!!

polkie4life

Thanks guys. Based on the reviews here i went out and bought some type4 to use as a bass cable for my subs.

Keep up the good work.

comfortablycurt

Alright! We're back on for it. Thanks for re-teminating them.:) That should make it a lot simpler for everyone.

That list looks about right to me. I'm hoping I can have an amp by the time I demo them. Not a big deal if I don't...but it'd be nice to have some more equipment to test em on.

I'm definitely going to have some more speakers by then...so this delay may have been a good thing, for me, anyway.:D

erniejade

Hello, i just saw this thread can i get on the list also?

metal83

I'd love to be in on this if at all possible....:)

TNRabbit

PM sent, NJPOLKER. THANKS~

NJPOLKER

OK here we go again

TNRabbit will have them by Wednesday the 18th and can keep them till APRIL FOOLS DAY.
McLoki will get them for the first two weeks in April
ErikTracy the rest of April
comfortablecurt May 1st to 15th
a-mattison May 16th to 30th
acsubie June 1st to 15th
muncybob you guessed it!!! and so on !!
erniejade July 1st to 15th
metal83 July 16th to 30th

These dates are here just to give you some idea when to expect them.

I have listened to them on and off over the past couple weeks and gotta say they are nice sounding cables. Since the new capacitors in my pre-amp are far from burned in I will wait to give any impressions if I ever see these again.

nadams

Damn! Muncybob is going to have them just after the meet at my house. Was hoping maybe it would work out that he could bring them along. Is there a possibility he could get them a little early so we could all get our ears on them?

NJPOLKER

nadams wrote: »

Damn! Muncybob is going to have them just after the meet at my house. Was hoping maybe it would work out that he could bring them along. Is there a possibility he could get them a little early so we could all get our ears on them?

YES I'll take care of it. Whats the date you need them?

comfortablycurt

Alright...that date should work out perfectly for me. I'll have my RTi's by then, and I should have my 2 ch. rig going by then too. It'll be nice to have a couple different rigs to test them in.

nadams

NJPOLKER wrote: »

YES I'll take care of it. Whats the date you need them?

Currently scheduled for June 13th. Things may change as it gets closer if people have other obligations.

metal83

Thanks, can't wait to try these out and compare them with my MIT AVt-2's!

NJPOLKER

The cables are ready to go and I must say I did a wonderful job re-terminating them.
Hopefully the Vampire banana's will work well in all binding posts. They slipped into the posts for my amp and speakers nicely, not too tight and not too loose.

REMEMBER THESE ARE DIRECTIONAL CABLES AND ARE MARKED AMP/SPEAKERS ON EACH END.

Erik Tracy

Sweet!

I've just got my adapters from Audio Advisor for bare-to-banana adapters that I'll put on my old Kimber 4PRs and the Ultralink's I had installed in-wall with my HT rig to compare to the Audioquest Type 4s.

That will make the change overs quicker for easier sonic comparisons.

Should be interesting...

Let the best conductor win!

McLoki

NJPOLKER wrote: »

OK here we go again

TNRabbit will have them by Wednesday the 18th and can keep them till APRIL FOOLS DAY.
McLoki will get them for the first two weeks in April
ErikTracy the rest of April
comfortablecurt May 1st to 15th
a-mattison May 16th to 30th
acsubie June 1st to 15th
muncybob you guessed it!!! and so on !!
erniejade July 1st to 15th
metal83 July 16th to 30th

These dates are here just to give you some idea when to expect them.

I have listened to them on and off over the past couple weeks and gotta say they are nice sounding cables. Since the new capacitors in my pre-amp are far from burned in I will wait to give any impressions if I ever see these again.

I need to be removed from the list. I have been spending my time on other interests lately and am taking a short break. Just don't want to throw off the rotation.

Thanks guys,

Michael

comfortablycurt

Go ahead and move a-mattison ahead of me since McLoki opted out. The first half of May will be perfect for me, so he can try em before me. I want to make sure I've got the RTi's, and have some listening time in on them before I demo these.

comfortablycurt

I was just wondering where we stand on this demo right now? Who's got em?

I'm getting my RTi's next weekend, so I'll be ready to demo these.:D

Erik Tracy

I've been wondering, too.

Last I heard, McLoki had them and I was up next for 'the rest of April'....time's a tickin'....

seafire

bikerboy wrote: »

Hi,
Sorry for the delay in posting my impressions of the cables. I went on vacation for 9 days of camping and watching the Tour of California. Got to see the big boys in action. Lots of fun! Anyway......

I had 4 speakers wires that I was able to compare:

A set of DIY Cat-5 ala VH Audio type wires. They are 27 teflon coated copper wires that are braided to make one big cable about equal to an 11 ga IIRC. I made these years ago and liked them.

The Audioquest Type 4 demos that NJPOLKER has so kindly offered up for demo. Thanks man.

A set of DH Labs T-14 silver plated copper wires that I doubled so I have 2 plus and 2 minus wires per side. Thanks Dave.

A set of MIT Terminator 2 wires that I got from Daboyz. Thanks Dave.

I have used the Cat-5 wires for a long time so they were my reference. Were, as in former.

The Audioquest had better bass than the Cat5 but I liked the Cat5's top end better. Smoother, better placement of sounds and easier to listen to for long periods. The Audioquest were crisper on the top but not as clear in the midrange. The bass was full and better defined with the Audioquest. A better choice if you need more bass compared to the Cat5.

The DH Labs T-14 were a shock at first. They are louder in all areas. I dont quite get that but the silver coat must be the cause. Very dynamic, too much for my system. The bass was overwelming. With the right tube combo I was able to make them sound very good. Until the MITs showed up.

The MIT Terminator 2 were a let down at first. Since I had been using the DH Labs and had swapped tubes to make them sound better, the MITs sounded dull, flat and lifeless. Then I got to swapping tubes. These MITs sound better than all the rest! The bass is OMG. More individual bass notes, lower tones and much better midbass. Kettle drums, kick drums, tom toms, they're all there. Bass guitars and upright bass sounds have that weight and fullness that the other wires just dont have. The imaging is so precise and wide, at least 3' past the speakers. The dynamics are startling. They dont have that fuzz around an individual sound. Just clean and clear. No listener fatigue at any volume! That is something that I have been trying to work on for a while. I liked the way the system sounded but if listening for a long time (2+ hours) I came away with tired ears. The MITs fixed that.

So, wires Do I repeat Do make a difference. So much so I used one side of the DH Labs wire and made a new IC between the sda-2a. That made a nice improvement in imaging over the multi stranded crap I was using.

Thanks to NJPOLKER for offering the Audioquest for us to use and I hope others find the demo helpful in their audio quest.

Thanks everyone else for their contributions to this forum to further the cause of superior sound. We audiophiles are a rare breed and need all the help we can get because this isnt easy. But when its right it's really good.

Peace and hair grease, out.

Thank you for your kind and honest review.I wish others could learn from this.I have always liked cat 5 and the ability to custom tweek as I saw fit.Sure it is easier to buy pre made cables but if you are interested in further tinkering a combination of cat 5 on highs and mids(everything above 220hz) and a 4MM-8MM multi strand on your lows works very well as I mentioned in one of my previous posts.:)
(

reeltrouble1

nobody gives a crap what you wish. you are a moron and a cancer to this board.

RT1

NJPOLKER

comfortablycurt wrote: »

I was just wondering where we stand on this demo right now? Who's got em?

I'm getting my RTi's next weekend, so I'll be ready to demo these.:D

Erik Tracy wrote: »

I've been wondering, too.

Last I heard, McLoki had them and I was up next for 'the rest of April'....time's a tickin'....

TNRabbit has the cables. Maybe he'll give us an update soon.

NJPOLKER

seafire, Please do me a favor and everyone else here for that matter, go away.

comfortablycurt

seafire wrote: »

Thank you for your kind and honest review.I wish others could learn from this.I have always liked cat 5 and the ability to custom tweek as I saw fit.Sure it is easier to buy pre made cables but if you are interested in further tinkering a combination of cat 5 on highs and mids(everything above 220hz) and a 4MM-8MM multi strand on your lows works very well as I mentioned in one of my previous posts.:)
(

That's not what this thread is about. If you can't stay on topic, don't post in it.

NJPOLKER wrote: »

TNRabbit has the cables. Maybe he'll give us an update soon.

Alright, sounds good. Hopefully we'll get an update sometime soon.

NJPOLKER

I wonder who wrote that tag
Who ever wrote it please stand up, don't be a coward.

comfortablycurt

NJPOLKER wrote: »

I wonder who wrote that tag
Who ever wrote it please stand up, don't be a coward.

I could only guess that it was Seafire.:rolleyes:

How exactly does someone being kind enough to offer up a pair of cables for demo, equate to "more cable nonsense"?

NJPOLKER

NJPOLKER wrote: »

Here is how I see the updated List
They should be re-terminated and ready to go easily by the end of the month.
If we can get some ideas on dates that work best for each persons evaluation and live with them this will not drag on. I'm thinking about a one week minimum and a two week max. If any of you guys have any suggestions, lets hear them!

McLoki
comfortablycurt
Erik Tracy
TNRabbit
A_Mattison
cambir
acsubie
muncybob

Hey guys
How does this list look? TNRabbit is getting ready to mail out the cables.
Let me know.
Thanks Drew

TNRabbit

OK, I didn't get to spend much time with the cables due to personal issues, but here's my assessment.

I compared them on both sides (upper/lower freq) of bi-amped Carver AL-IIIs. On the low side, I could detect no difference whatsoever between my PS Audio Extreme 4 meter cables, Drew's cables, and standard 12 gauge copper wire. On the upper side, the PS Audio cables were the clear winner with increased clarity and an apparent expanded soundstage. Drew's cables had a slight edge over the standard 12 gauge copper wires but I was hard pressed to try to make a definitive differentiation between them. With more time, I could give a better opinion, but I need to get them on to the next person.

Thanks for letting me try them out!

Erik Tracy

NJPOLKER wrote: »

Hey guys
How does this list look? TNRabbit is getting ready to mail out the cables.
Let me know.
Thanks Drew

Are they headed my way next?