AQ speaker cable-who's using what?

polkie4life

Hey guys, the time has come for a change in the speaker cable i have.

I currently use Monster (yes i know ), that to be honest has done the job reasonably well. I do have a little bit of sibilance but it seems to be a case of "if it's there it's emphasized". The other main reason for change is the constant wondering "am i missing something".

With that said, and the fact i have AQ type 4 running my subs, i'm looking at the Audioquest range and have a few Questions ;

* who's using AQ and what model?
* what did you change from/ compare to, and what were the differences?
* Are there any online stores that sell AQ at good prices?

TIA

beardog03

I use AQ Bedrocks...
Very happy with them , until I can get my MIT`s..

www.audioadvisor.com

no affil.

NJPOLKER

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82546&highlight=hose

I use these bad boy's most of the time. Excellent everything and nice and warm. Cables do make a difference and you'll benefit by getting your ears on as many sets as possible. Because mine sound good to me and work with my system does not mean they will in your's.

Conradicles

Vann's is a good place to buy AQ type 4's. Usually they have the 12' pair for around $99 with free shipping.

I love the type 4's and SignalCable Ultra as well. Good wires for not too much cash.

polkie4life

NJPOLKER wrote: »

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82546&highlight=hose

I use these bad boy's most of the time. Excellent everything and nice and warm. Cables do make a difference and you'll benefit by getting your ears on as many sets as possible. Because mine sound good to me and work with my system does not mean they will in your's.

Yeah i'm sort of hesitant to change and make things not so much worse but too different? It's very easy to tell if any changes are made, i changed the plug on my PC recently, and the change was immediately obvious... I asked the Q about changing from and the differences so i can get some idea before trying/demo-ing other cables.....

Conradicles

No affil, but here are the 15 footers:

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/751998843/audioquest-type-4-15-ft-pair-ust-ust-g

NJPOLKER

I think you should stay away from silver and go with copper. If you have a system that is in the higher performance arena maybe silver is the way to go. Silver tends to be real revealing and may not be best for your system. So revealing you may hear things you don't want to hear with silver. Some think because it cost more it's better but thats not how it works. Good quality copper performs real well and tends to be more forgiving. Look for quality copper wires and worry about gage secondary.

NJPOLKER

polkie, Did you look in the two channel section in this forum and see where some dope has AQ4's available for evaluations? I think the thread's heading is something like, try out a set of audioquest type 4's.

NJPOLKER

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75568

Here you go I was being lazy earlier.

ben62670

I use AQ CV4's on my mids, type 4's on my lows, and custom silvers on my highs. The CV4's are smoother than the type4's, and have very good detail.

kevhed72

IF you check Ebay from time to time, you can get a deal on type 4's. Last night I lost-out on 3 - 10' type 4 cables that went for 94.00 with shipping.
(I would personally stay away from the seller's in Hong Kong though).

kevhed72

One more idea for you...HCM Audio sells Audioquest GBC (or GBH) cable...seems to be an older model, but has 6 solid conductors and the price seems very reasonable. I have waffling between AQ type 4, AQ GBC, and Signal Ultra for some time now, but may finally order the GBC from HCM tonight...

polkie4life

NJPOLKER wrote: »

I think you should stay away from silver and go with copper. If you have a system that is in the higher performance arena maybe silver is the way to go. Silver tends to be real revealing and may not be best for your system. So revealing you may hear things you don't want to hear with silver. Some think because it cost more it's better but thats not how it works. Good quality copper performs real well and tends to be more forgiving. Look for quality copper wires and worry about gage secondary.

I've heard a full Verastarr cabled, (silver coated copper), system on virtually the same system as mine. It was beautiful, no hint of sibilance at all, smooth and engaging. The cost to do this has ruled it out for me.....

I used Bulk type 4 reading from the reviews of the swap program mentioned. I intend to try pre-made rockets and if i like it buy the required lengths in bulk (to keep the cost down). Cost wise it doesn't help that i need double runs of at least 12-13ft, + a couple of 3-4ft lenghts from control center to power amp......

sandworms

type 4's on all my frts. made my rti10's far more tollerable than when i ran 14g

polkie4life

sandworms wrote: »

type 4's on all my frts. made my rti10's far more tollerable than when i ran 14g

What did you change from?

Toolfan66

kevhed72 wrote: »

(I would personally stay away from the seller's in Hong Kong though).

Why? there is one guy one there from Hong Kong i have heard nothing but good things about. with the type 4's

Toolfan66

The type 4's did nothing but great things for my system, I have them running my front stage.

polkie4life

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

The type 4's did nothing but great things for my system, I have them running my front stage.

What did you use prior to the change?

Toolfan66

polkie4life wrote: »

What did you use prior to the change?

Monster.

mantis

I have used Audioquest cables in my system for years. I have owned many brands and overall I really like Audioquest. Top 2 of my all time favorite cables. Very universal as well. They perform in every system I have Installed them in including all of mine.

Dan

Willow

I use AQ Indigo on my fronts.

treitz3

AQ CV-8's with the 72 volt battery pack. 2 pair. 1 for the sub and one for the mains.

I had many a speaker wire, up to and including the AQ X2 with little to no difference [may have been because I slowly purchased better wire....along with having less than stellar gear]. When I got the CV-8's, the sound difference with many aspects of the reproduction changed. Tried a pair of MIT T2's for a couple of months and the AQ CV-8's went back into place. Compared Kimber Cable [not sure which one] to the CV-8's in a friend of mine's ML rig and the sound was better with the AQ's to both of our ears than the Kimber.

Mantis had touched on them being universal earlier. I think he may have hit a good point. With all of the different gear that has passed, the CV-8's have done all of the setups justice. Granted, it's not the be all to end all......it's just what my ears have told me sounds good.

My advice that's spoken from my experience? Get a cable that is good to go and built specifically for audio reproduction. Don't get a wire and go from there. Why? Your ears will tell you why.

To conclude the post, the best place I have found is right here at CP. I purchased both sets at less than 1/2 price and neither had any issues. To let you know, some pins have broken off on the nanner's and I am looking to get then replaced but that is IMO not the fault of AQ......it's because I swap so much gear constantly. Good things come to those who wait.

Added note. The batteries are not some high priced BS that you have to pay an arm and a leg for. They are standard [watch-type] batteries that can be picked up at HD, Lowe's, Walgreen's, Eckerd's or any battery supply store. I would also like to mention that there is a test button to let you know when the batteries are dead or not, so you never have to second guess whether you are getting the optimum performance out of your SC's.

More information can be found in this link.... http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1033236&postcount=174

I hope this helps.

polkie4life

Nice post treitz.

It about sums up where i've come from.... The differences in the past were never really noticeable like they are now. I added a power amp that's made the differences so night and day obvious, that it's scary. The moment i turned it on i thought, this thing's going to cost me a fortune.

I started this thread not to get recommendations of cables but to get peoples experiences with what they'd moved from. The other factor i chose here, is in New Zealand we have a somewhat limited range of AQ to choose from. All premade AQ cables are available in 3m lengths only, which happens to be a meter short for me.

I chose type4 for my subs due to the cable swap thread started by NJPolker. I may start from there (type4) and work my way up the range and just see how things pan out....

polkie4life

ben62670 wrote: »

I use AQ CV4's on my mids, type 4's on my lows, and custom silvers on my highs. The CV4's are smoother than the type4's, and have very good detail.

Do you have them all powered separately?

There is no way i'll ever be allowed to buy in more amplification.... I need mids/highs biwire and a full range set for the sda array. Logic tells me to go lesser on the sda, but the little voice in my head tells me go the same for both.

We don't have CV4 available in NZ either, but sounds interesting. It may be another blind purchase :rolleyes: