And yet another IC question / comment. / review

erniejade
erniejade Posts: 6,321
edited March 2009 in 2 Channel Audio
I am checking out some new I/C Right now I am using Audioquest sidewinder. I just got a set of the Audioquest Columbia. I know I know BIG freaking price difference between the 2


OK the test. Jolida cd100 with the EI tubes in it, adcom 565 pre McIntosh 2105 amp. Polk SDA 1.2 and carver amazing on a Sunfire sig II.
CD Edie brickell Volcano. and Rufus wainwright does Judy garland at Carnegie Hall.

1st impressions with the volcano cd.on the polk without the cable in the speaker. The 1st thing i noticed the the highs on the columbia's was night and day. it was like someone took a blanket off the speak. The mids were also a bit clearer but in a way more mellow at the same time. it didn't jump out at me like it does with the sidewinders but, it was much clearer. but the bass was not as prominent as it was with the sidewinders. Actually it seemed a bit weaker. The sidewinders had more of a kick to them.

now Same cd with the cable in the 1.2's Well....... ... the vocals disappeared. The bass disappeared. The highs were still there and still good but everything else seems to kind of vanish... Weird. To be honest here,. i did notice some music with the cable in the speakers just sounds terrible on the 1.2 or the 2.3. SOOOO I changed CD's to Rufus wainwright does Judy garland at Carnegie Hall. The Vocals came back a little but on the sidewinders they came back even more. Bass on the sidewinders also came back.

I am thinking the columbia's just don't like or are having a bad reaction to the sda cable. Since the jolida has 2 sets of outs, it makes it easy to go between the 2 cables so that is why i chose the cd for a test.

Now before anyone jumps in and says no way the SDA cable can cause this..... I have a theta time align dac unit and is completely unalienable with the cable in! YES it does make a difference.

So on the carvers the same results as the 1.2 without the cable in. Highs is night and day, mids, clearer but not as froward, bass weaker but tighter at the same time.


I am on a 30 day trial. I got them for on a special for $320 for 1 meeter. SOOOO any suggestions on what to try next? I want to keep the highs that the columbia has, but the bass the sidewinders have. I am not opposed to changing brands. I am not married to Audioquest. I have been going through the needle DR. since they do have the in home 30 no questions asked trial.


I was thinking of trying the ones that do not have the battery on them like the Audioquest king cobra Tara labs rsc vector, or Harmonic truth-link.

I am opened to suggestions !!
Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
Post edited by erniejade on
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Comments

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,418
    edited March 2009
    I am clueless on this as my ears cannot justify the expense of esoteric cables and connections... I wish you all the best with your tests however and am eager to learn!
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2009
    LOL I understand but honestly, the highs between the 2 sets,, it was like someone took a blanket off the tweeters. it was the rest I am not convinced with.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited March 2009
    nooshinjohn wrote: »
    I am clueless on this as my ears cannot justify the expense of esoteric cables and connections... I wish you all the best with your tests however and am eager to learn!
    I don't believe your ears are the problem.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • Hawkeye
    Hawkeye Posts: 1,313
    edited March 2009
    I've been playing with the WireWorld line up lately. There is a terrific sale right now for the Silver Eclipse 5 Squared IC for 50% off. Puts them right in your price range at $350.

    http://www.thecableco.com/product.php?id=563

    Gordon
    2 Channel -
    Martin Logan Spire, 2 JL Audio F112 subs
    McIntosh C1000 Controller with Tube pre amp, 2 MC501 amplifiers, MD1K Transport & DAC, MR-88 Tuner
    WireWorld Eclipse 6.0 speaker wire and jumpers, Eclipse 5^2 Squared Balanced IC's. Silver Eclipse PCs (5)
    Symposium Rollerblocks 2+ (16)Black Diamond Racing Mk 3 pits (8)
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2009
    Face wrote: »
    I don't believe your ears are the problem.


    I am not sure how to take this comment?
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,965
    edited March 2009
    erniejade wrote: »
    I am not sure how to take this comment?


    Take it as suggesting the "wallet" is the problem,not his ears.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited March 2009
    Welcome to the dark side. I don't know why it's so hard for people to understand that impedance differences, material differences, and connection topolgy can all have a measurable impact on a cable; thereby changing it's sonic character.

    This is not rocket science, nor is it "audio-voodoo."

    Having said that, there is a point of diminishing returns; and the more expensive cable isn't always necessarily the better sounding cable. Cables are more about sonic "flavor."
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited March 2009
    I'm confused, are the cables you are testing speaker or the interconnect cable between the SDAs or ICs for sources?
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2009
    Between components. Sorry about the confusion.


    The cable between the SDA 's I have found does not play nice with some cables or components I.E. A theta DAC with time align. When I had the cable on the SDA plugged in, it was terrible. I would unplug the cable and it was OK.
    Now, with the AQ Columbia, when I would have the cable in on the Polks, it sounded horrible but if i take the cable out of the polks the Columbia's sounded great. With the cable on the polks plugged in the Columbia would loose the vocals and get a caught in the middle effect like you had your speakers wired out of phase. I did not have this issue with the sidewinders. I have noticed with the SDA if your components have any kind of time align or adjustments, it kills the sound with the cable plugged in.

    On a side note, I did notice some music on the SDA with the SDA cable plugged in, just sounds bad or the bass and vocals get lost. You unplug the cable and it jumps right back. I find myself taking the cable in and out depending on the cd.


    I hope this clears up the confusion?


    I am going to try a set of Ben's cables next and put them up against the AQ.


    I do love the trebble out of the AQ and it did clean up the mids but, less in your face as the sidewinders and the bass is a bit shy on the Columbia vs the sidewinders. The Columbia just do not seem to play well when I have the cable on the SDA plugged in. Not plugged in on the SDA, they sound great.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,775
    edited March 2009
    Isn't one of the Jolida's outputs tube based, and the other SS? I would think that is the difference you are hearing.
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2009
    WilliamM2 wrote: »
    Isn't one of the Jolida's outputs tube based, and the other SS? I would think that is the difference you are hearing.

    I was told the 2 sets of RCA out are the same. not the coax out I will take a look on Jolida's web site.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2009
    I took a look around and all i could find was the 2 sets of rca outputs are fixed. I have emailed Jolida to confirm that the outputs are the same. Just looking at the pics of an open unit on the back, it looks like they are the same but, I will confirm to be sure.
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,321
    edited March 2009
    I heard back from jolida

    "Both sets of RCA outputs are wired to the tube outputs.

    Thank you for your consideration,
    Michael Allen

    jolidacorp@msn.com "
    Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited March 2009
    erniejade wrote: »
    I am not sure how to take this comment?
    It wasn't directed towards you.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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