Try out a set of Audioquest Type 4

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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited April 2009
    Erik
    Please PM the address you want them mailed to to TNRabbit so he can mail them to you.
    Thanks
    Drew
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited April 2009
    OK, I'm out of sync; I think I PM'd the wrong person for an address. Who is next?
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited April 2009
    TNRabbit wrote: »
    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!

    Forgot to add that the quality & connectors were very nice~
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited April 2009
    I'm not sure at this point who's ready for them. It seems like Erik Tracy is ready, right?
    Gary, If you can wait till tomorrow to ship them maybe that will help sort things out.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2009
    NJPOLKER wrote: »
    I'm not sure at this point who's ready for them. It seems like Erik Tracy is ready, right?
    Gary, If you can wait till tomorrow to ship them maybe that will help sort things out.

    I'm ready...I'm ready....:D
    spongebob.jpg

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited April 2009
    Too funny!!!
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited April 2009
    Sorry, Aaron; Erik gets 'em next. Will go out this afternoon.
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited April 2009
    Erik; they might get to you by Sat, but I'd bet on Monday.
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2009
    TNRabbit wrote: »
    Erik; they might get to you by Sat, but I'd bet on Monday.

    Roger that - I'll keep my eyes open for them.

    Thanks!

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2009
    TNRabbit wrote: »
    Erik; they might get to you by Sat, but I'd bet on Monday.


    I should have taken that bet!

    Got 'em!

    I'll be putting them into my rig over the weekend....

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited April 2009
    Awesome, I can't wait to hear your thoughts on them.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2009
    I've got the AQ Type 4s in my rig and I recalibrated the ypao accordingly with a fresh config that is Pure Direct w/ no sub so that I'm comparing only the speaker cable differences to my fronts.

    First impressions....more gain across the board than my older Kimber 4PRs...bigger soundstage painted left to right....a bit bright....bass not as focused.

    Anyone who says cables don't make a difference either have cotton stuffed in their ears or are tone deaf, or haven't bothered to actually try a demo for themselves....

    I'll let these settle in for a bit with more listening time - then swap them out again to reassess against my baseline cables.

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited April 2009
    Do you have my IC's still? Try them with the AQ's in the mix for haha's, and without. Of coarse this test could go against my cables, but synergy is a ****. Thanks for your review.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2009
    ben62670 wrote: »
    Do you have my IC's still? Try them with the AQ's in the mix for haha's, and without. Of coarse this test could go against my cables, but synergy is a ****. Thanks for your review.
    Ben

    Yup...I still have your IC's in-between my phono pre and my avr!

    Vinyl tests are for tomorrow.

    Agreed about synergy.....the AQ Type 4's are hard to figure out for me...need more time.....

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited May 2009
    So....who is next on the demo?

    I've had the AQs in my rig for several days now...doing some unique testing which I'll write up later.

    But, I'm kinda in a schedule bind...would love to have them for all of this coming weekend for some extended listening, but then I go on business travel until the end of the following week.

    So I can get them out to the next person on the list by Sat May 16th - if that works for everyone else.

    Erik

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited May 2009
    Thanks Erik
    Who is ready for them next?
    I have promised them to the Central Pa guy for there gathering on.......
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  • acsubie
    acsubie Posts: 773
    edited May 2009
    NJPOLKER wrote: »
    Thanks Erik
    Who is ready for them next?
    I have promised them to the Central Pa guy for there gathering on.......

    i'd be willing to take them for a week for a comparision vs my silvers
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited May 2009
    I've had a chance to try out the AQ Type 4s in my HT rig and here are my thoughts.

    Build Quality: High - nice construction and I liked NJPolker's banana terminations - makes swapping out the cables easy and convenient.

    Sonic Quality: High - Can't fault these cables at all in my rig for openess, accuracy, and clarity.

    I tried something which I thought might provide some tell tale clues on sonic differences:
    - I used my AVR's YPAO autocalibration to set the frequency spectrum for my in-wall speaker cables and the AQ Type 4's, then saved each run in my AVR memory setting.

    My in-walls are 16AWG Ultralinks that I had run during my HT install to hide all the wires.

    My Yammy V1800 has a PEQ mode called "Natural", which I like as it somewhat tames the brightness attributed to the RTi series.

    I thought, hey, if there are sonic differences in cables, then each run that I saved would have different PEQ adjustments. If I then swapped cables and recalled the PEQ settings from the 'other' cable run, I should be able to hear a difference.

    I carefully set the audio levels during each calibration run so that there was virtually no difference in what the AVR reported for auto level adjustments.

    I got both my Ultralinks and the AQs to be within 0-0.5db of each other, so when I had a given set of cables in and I switched to the saved run for the other speaker - there was NO audible level difference - to my ears.

    As for a sonic difference....well, to be totally honest, the results were inconclusive. Either my rig cannot reveal very subtle detailing, or I can not hear a difference - based on my AVRs autocal for a set PEQ mode.

    I switched back and forth between saved settings for both sets of speaker cables and sometimes, I could detect a difference in tonal quality (different midrange presence or high end openess), but most times the differences were too hard to clearly say that there was a change.

    I also ran and saved an autocal run for each set for a Pure Direct mode - no PEQ changes - just straight/pure unadulterated RTi 'sparkle'.

    I used various sources - CDs, LPs, and digital cable. In Pure Direct it was as straight a path from source thru speaker cables to speaker as I could get in my rig.

    During extended listening the Type 4s had what I would characterize as a natural response providing a sonic clarity that was open and not strained or congested.

    Bass was good - sometimes I had to double check to see if I was in Pure Direct as my RTiA3s were kickin' out some deep bass! I'd go put my ear up to the sub just to make sure it wasn't outputting any sound!

    When I switched back to my Ultralinks, it seemed to me that they exhibited just a tad congestion in the mids to lower treble.

    For the money, AQ Type 4s are a bargain for a very good quality cable.

    They are thickly jacketed - it would be an effort to pull these thru the wall to hide them in my setup - that is about the only drawback I can come up with.

    Soooo....who is next to try these out????

    Send me a PM with your name and address.

    Erik

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited May 2009
    I think I'm next in line...

    You can go ahead and bump me down a notch though. I'm getting some external amplification within the next week or so, and I think that would be help expose the cables character a little bit more than my AVR.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • Lowell_M
    Lowell_M Posts: 1,660
    edited May 2009
    Go ahead and take me of the list (a_mattison). I'm busier than a one legged man in an **** kicking contest right now so wouldn't be able to give these proper attention. Sorry. Thanks for the opportunity though.
    HT
    RTi70 mains
    CSi30 center
    RTi28 Rears
    Velodyne CHT-12
    H/K AVR-247
    ADCOM GFA-7000
    Samsung PN58B860
    Playstation 3
    2-Channel
    Polk Audio LSi15's
    Rotel RCD-1072
    Nakamichi CA-5 Pre
    ADCOM GFA-555
    Signal Cable Analog II IC's
    Signal Ultra Bi-Wire Speaker Cables
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited May 2009
    Ok....how about....who wants them next? :p

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • muncybob
    muncybob Posts: 3,042
    edited May 2009
    It's getting close to the Central PA gathering (6/13)so perhaps anybody in that group(me included)?? Unless somebody else can try them and have them to a Polkie in time for the get together??
    Yep, my name really is Bob.
    Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited May 2009
    As long as they get to the Pennsyltucky crew for the 13th I'll leave it up to you guys who gets them next.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited May 2009
    Discuss amongst yourselves...then shoot me a PM - I've got them boxed up now - just need a label and a quick trip to the Post Office..

    Standing by.... :p

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited May 2009
    If anyone wants to try them out before the Pa guys speak up now or by Monday. If not lets send them to one of the Pa guys early next week.
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited May 2009
    Ah hell...since no one else is speaking up, I guess I'll take them next.

    I look forward to checking them out.:)

    I'll shoot a PM to Erik Tracy.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited May 2009
    I spoke with Eric, and he's sending them on to the PA guys. I'll hold off a little longer. I'll have some external amplification by the time they're done with them, which should put them to the test a little better than my Onk'.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • messiah
    messiah Posts: 1,790
    edited May 2009
    I'd love to try these cables out for a couple days too, and not too far from comfortablycurt. Hell, maybe we can get together and compare notes :D
    "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    Benjamin Franklin, February 17th, 1775.

    "The day that I have to give up my constitutional rights AND let some dude rub my junk...well, let's just say that it's gonna be a real bad day for the dude trying to rub my junk!!"
    messiah, November 23rd, 2010
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited May 2009
    I've been swamped at work this week - working late and not able to get to the Post Office - these will go out Friday afternoon....

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited June 2009
    acsubie is finished with the cables so I think they should go to nadams next for the Pa. gathering, right?
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