Budget Audiophile: AQ Sidewinders vs Scarlet Vipers vs ???

kawizx9r

I'm in complete awe, I love these interconnects.

kawizx9r

Since I got them, I haven't turned the stereo off.

The difference is extremely noticeable, in every song out of every disc I throw in.

Dynamics well, they sound much more dynamic. Instruments roll off naturally, in a way I've never heard them. One of my cd's (that I swore wasn't recorded very well) sounded amazing! I remember hearing a background noise as if, someone was breathing on a microphone but that completely disappeared with these IC's.

Highs are just that, high. They're very detailed and very clear.

Anything in the midrange (voices/etc) are alive! They sound much more natural than I thought they could in my own setup.

Bass is tighter and way more accurate, even without my sub on the Maggies sound awesome.

I remember falling in love with my Maggies when I first hooked them up, but I didn't realize my own pair would sound this good until I had a chance to try these cables. The entire frequency range blends in together so naturally, it's hard to explain.

I didn't expect this much of a difference considering I only have 1 1/2 pairs on hand (using a pair from source to pre) but it's there nonetheless. I can't imagine how it'd sound with 2 pairs hooked up (the other between pre and amp).

Anyone wanna donate some $$ so I can buy a pair

concealer404

If you get me hooked on these tomorrow i'm going to kick you in the nuts.

kawizx9r

concealer404 wrote: »

If you get me hooked on these tomorrow i'm going to kick you in the nuts.

Lol

I'm kicking myself in the nuts already!

I've honestly ruled out getting a new anything-else just yet and decided I will just save up for a pair (and later another pair) of these instead.

concealer404

Yeah... the last thing i need is 3 pairs of $800 cables in my $400 system.

I'm sure it would sound amazing, but... it's just soo... WRONG.

kawizx9r

concealer404 wrote: »

Yeah... the last thing i need is 3 pairs of $800 cables in my $400 system.

I'm sure it would sound amazing, but... it's just soo... WRONG.

They're not that bad

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?cablintr&1265735345&/MIT-Shotgun-S3-%28rca%29-1m-pr--NE

I'll need some time regardless

Conradicles

kawizx9r wrote: »

I just want to thank Mark (doro) for giving me the opportunity to borrow a pair from his own stash

That is so cool Mark.;) Another example of Club Polk at it's best.:)

kawizx9r

Well, I've got another pair of cables that came in today all thanks to Jay (agfrost).

Two pairs of Ben's silver IC's in the rig now and I've got to say I really like the way the sax and trumpet sounds

I'll hold my thoughts though until I've really put enough time to give my personal opinion on these cables. Thanks again Jay.

Pictures and more to come later!

-Freddy

kawizx9r

Some initial thoughts after putting a couple of hours on them in my rig;

I love the way these cables sound in my rig when it comes to jazz/blues. Instruments like saxophones, trumpets and so forth sound so live and natural. These cables reproduce a wider range of high frequencies as opposed to the Sidewinders and I'm really enjoying the way it sounds. This is especially true with older recordings that may naturally sound flat.

Now the bad.

I changed it up and tossed in a few 'hot' recordings such as Tool, Mushroomhead, ACDC, Led Zep, Metallica and a few other things.

Brightness.

It was a bit too harsh for my tastes and didn't sound very balanced. Funny thing is I didn't experience much bass loss, if any (been told by others that their experience is harshness and lack of bass). However at the volumes I listen to music at this is unacceptable, hell even my wife didn't like it. I've been varying it up by replacing one of Ben's IC's with a Sidewinder both between source and pre and amp and pre.

When I had a sidewinder between source and pre, it sounded a bit better. Harshness was tamed but the highs still had some emphasis to it. It was ok, but not enough for me to like it.

I later replaced the sidewinder between pre and amp while leaving Ben's IC between source and pre and it was really bad. The highs sounded really weak and thin, kind of like running water out of a garden hose but at the end getting the output of water out of a straw.

I'm tempted to try these cables with my Maggies since I bet that'd be a much better match but I'm just too lazy to disconnect stuff and move things around.

For easy listening, jazz, contemporary/etc. I really like the silver IC's but given what I typically listen to it's just not for me. I'll give these cables plenty of more playtime since it's too early to judge.

Btw, I really like the consistency of Ben's work on the cables. The soldering/hot glue looks really good on all ends.

Hawkeye

kawizx9r wrote: »

That'd be great Jay, but if you're currently using them then I'd say keep them in!

2 Pairs would make for a better comparison since it'll replace both that I use in my rig. However I will add that, unless Curt comes out here early Saturday or something my Maggies should be gone. I've got my Polks still and will be using them but I've got a few other pairs of speakers I'm inquiring about. It'll be a fair comparison though since I've had these towers for years and am accustomed to their sound. Btw, I'm up north in Portage Park.

Just thought I'd chime in and jack just a bit. Portage Park? My wife is from Pensacola & Laramie and I worked at Milwaukee & Lawrence. Small world!

Gordon

kawizx9r

Hawkeye wrote: »

Just thought I'd chime in and jack just a bit. Portage Park? My wife is from Pensacola & Laramie and I worked at Milwaukee & Lawrence. Small world!

Gordon

Small world it is Gordon, I LIVE on Milwaukee

erniejade

I put bens cables up agains a set of AQ Comumbia's http://www.crutchfield.com/p_703CMB1MR/AudioQuest-Columbia-1-meter-3-3-feet.html?tp=1904

I found bens IC's more open. I did not notice a lack of bass but, I am running a carver C-19 tube pre, Jolida cd100 tube cd, McIntosh amp on polk sda 1.2 soooo.. Bass is never an issue for me lol. As ben's cables burn in, ofr me, the bass opened up even more I thought. Against the Columbia's, the Columbia's sounded kind of restricted, not as open and natural sounding. Now $ wise, there is quite a bit a difference on the $ between ben's IC's and the Columbia's .. ( like $300 difference per cable! ) For the $, Ben's cables in my opinion are fantastic! You can spend a lot more and not even clost to the sound of his.

Are the cables you are using from ben burned in yet? or how many hours are on them?

agfrost

erniejade wrote: »

Are the cables you are using from ben burned in yet? or how many hours are on them?

They've got hundreds of total hours on them, but were out of my system for a couple weeks, if that makes any difference.

When I got them, they replaced some Belden/Canare copper ICs I had, IIRC, and I was pleased with their openness and their overall performance. I bought them 2nd-hand, making their bang-for-buck quotient even better.

I remain interested in hearing Freddy's listening impressions, as my audio buddy in the neighborhood recently moved away. Brightness hasn't been an issue in my rig, but I've got a lot of warm equipment (Marantz universal player, NAD amp/preamp, Polk RTA11TL) that won't easily be convinced to "go bright" Doesn't hurt that my ears refuse to hear much above 12kHz either! :D

Jay

erniejade

Winfield? I am in Bolingbrook and my girlfriend lives in Warrenville. You are in the neighborhood lol.

I replaced all of my Ic's with ben's. For the $ and my system, it was a good match. That being said, Everyones system is different. I do believe in synergy between the components and IC's. What works or sounds good on one system, might not sound as good on another.


When I am using the Carver amazing's, bens cables realy helped open them up in the high range.

kawizx9r

I'm running some pretty warm gear myself as posted in my sig.

I like what these cables can do and can only imagine that they'd be great in your system Jay, hell I bet they'd sound good with something running vinyl. I'd just like to add that in my situation these cables are pretty dependent on the material I throw in.

How long do you think I can run these cables? I'm considering tossing the Maggies back into play to hear how they sound with the silver IC's.

Oh and like all my other threads, pics!

agfrost

Hey Freddy, I'm not in a huge rush to get them back, so keep them for a week, two weeks, whatever works for your plans. Just let me know.

Frankly, I'm nearly as interested in hearing your thoughts with other equipment--Not too much change in my system over time, so I'm living vicariously through you!

Jay

kawizx9r

Just an update.

My impressions haven't changed too much, but I am liking them a bit more and more. They're still a bit bright/harsh but as long as I'm not too crazy on the volume it sounds nice. I'd have to side with the Sidewinders (in regards to my own setup) due to their tonal balance.

If you have a very warm setup, or listen to vinyl/cd's with 'dark' recordings or anything old then I'd say these might work for you or are at least worth the try. The silver IC's reproduce detailed highs, but may be a bit too forward for some.

Conradicles

just an FYI...Bright does not equal Harsh

kawizx9r

Conradicles wrote: »

just an FYI...Bright does not equal Harsh

It was just a brief observation I made.

The brightness was there for all recordings, while the harshness was limited to a few cd's (thus suggesting that the recording wasn't a good one). Still, they're a bit too bright for my tastes when it comes to day to day listening.

erniejade

I would like to say thank you for a great review and taking the time to share it with us.

For my system, with ben's cables, the Carver Amazing are a dark sounding speaker so his cables helped open that part up. With the amazing I have to actually boost the terbble otherwise they are way too dark.

My SDA 1.2 are bright no matter what I use and I need to do the rdo tweeter change to help smoothen them out.

If I change speakers, now I know what cables to check out next!!

ben62670

My cables reach near full burn in at 80hrs. If it is not the sound you are looking for you most likely never like the sound in that particular system. My friend is using them on the Amazings also. That and an upgrade to the internal wiring on the woofers they live up to their name. Amps are a Cary dual mono 120wpc tube, and Carver 9T mono blocks:)

erniejade

Ben so your friend also found the amazing ( mine are the original not the plats) dark sounding also ? Good to know its not just me!! LOL

ben62670

Rewire your woofers. Best mod you can make to them;)