Interconnects

[Scott Wheeler]

I took the dive and listed my system. I would actually love to hear any critisism of any of my components and if any of you have suggestions for upgrades tell me. I think I know the weaknesses of my components but one cannot upgrade without knowledge so any and all of you feel free to share your opinions with me. I can say right off the bat my systems biggest weakness is dynamics. You can only get so much SPL out of CLSs. The bass from the sub isn't flat down to 20hz as well. The electronics are definitely not the last word in low noise floor. My room is also a big limiting factor in speaker choice. I think there is quite honestly no room for improvement at this point on the front end until I someday get a more sensitive phono section but if anyone has different opinions I'd love to discuss them. My feelings won't get hurt.

[Grant]

Originally posted by Scott Wheeler
I think I know the weaknesses of my components but one cannot upgrade without knowledge so any and all of you feel free to share your opinions with me. I can say right off the bat my systems biggest weakness is dynamics. You can only get so much SPL out of CLSs. The bass from the sub isn't flat down to 20hz as well.

Hmmmm, my experience with Audioquest was not good. I found the sound to be compressed with them. At the moment I can't recall the name. Their interconnects are flimsy.

MIT was an excellent choice! They are very dynamic, without brightness.

[Scott Wheeler]

I have audioquest interconnect cables as well and indeed I much prefer the MIT but when I auditioned the MIT shotgun speaker cable to my suprise it didn't fare well in my system but the Audioquest clear speaker cables did quite well. I suspect that there are many speaker cables out there that will beat my Audioquest Clears. I've had them for about 14 years now. I think speaker cables are probably a bit more system dependant than line level interconnect cables. I hate auditioning cables I must say. They usually make small differences that are...well...different, not always better or worse. I only jump on cables when I hear a solid unmistakable all around improvement like I did with the MIT interconnects. Thanks for the comments Grant.

[Dave]

Grant and Scott,

What model, how much are the MIT's that you're talking about?

The reason is, at the time I purchased my IC's, I tried (bottom of the line, mind you) Tributeries, MIT, Audio Quest, Transparent.

The only mid priced and quality IC's I tried, I bought. None of the above came close to Kimber: Silverstreak. I since have upgraded to the KS-1010's and so far nothing has even come close, but if the MIT's have something great to offer, I'll try them out.

[Scott Wheeler]

Dave

The MIT cables I have are named Shotgun. They are about 14 years old so I don't even know if MIT makes them anymore. They were very pricey at 500 buck a meter pair and were their top of the line cable at the time. I suspect there are better cables out there these days but how much better and at what price? I think I hit the point of diminishing returns big time on those cables but who knows? I've been suprised too many times to assume anything.

[Grant]

At one time in the mid 90s Bob Ludwig said that Gateway was wired with MIT. He now uses Transparent Audio.

[Dave]

I am absolutely sure that there are better MIT's out there than the ones I heard. The Transparent's that I heard (Soundwave, Bluewave?) were not as detailed as my Kimbers, but again I'm sure that there must be better models than what I heard.

[Claus]

I'm using Transparent Cables' Music Wave Ultra loudspeaker cables... my favorite! I'm using the cables, but Wilson Audio uses also TC for their internal wires.

[aashton]

I bought some MIT MI-350 Proline Twin Balanced interconnects for $200 on the Bay - the guy just described them as MIT interconnects so I took a chance :D (They retail at $1700) - most of my purchases have been along similar lines ( I aim for 75% off retail ).

The termination boxes mean that they are not practical to use at present :(

All the best - Andrew

[akshobhyavajra]

Originally posted by Scott Wheeler
I took the dive and listed my system. I would actually love to hear any critisism of any of my components and if any of you have suggestions for upgrades tell me. I think I know the weaknesses of my components but one cannot upgrade without knowledge so any and all of you feel free to share your opinions with me.

I would venture to say that you'll have to do your own testing since component matching is not a clear "science". Example - I used Transparent Audio Music Link on my current SET amp analog system and found that the sound was dark and veiled. Yet MIT Terminator 2 cable / connects sounded more detailed and more open (also less money). The MIT was also a better match for this system than Kimber PBJ and Wireworld Atlantis.

On a previous system (Sunfire SS amp / Preeminence One Passive Line Stage) I tested various cables and found Tranparent Super to be better than the MIT's more expensive design (I simply could not afford the Ultra or the obscenely priced Reference cable). So you just can't always tell what might work on a particular system until you try...

I have been pleased with MIT and would also recommend the internet vendor "UsedCable.com" ( http://ecom3.aspre.net/cgi-bin/TheCableCompany.storefront/ ). I've gotten some good deals on both digital and analog cables (Prices well below retail).

Hope this helps...

[TimB]

The following IC's are ones I have tried, with some commentary and opinions:

Monster Cable 1000's : Nice cable, good for all basic uses, not the last word in transperancy, but have a great Harmonic presantation. I would recommend them to any one looking in this price range.

Monster Cable 950's : Also a good cable less expensive than the 1000 series, but again a good cable that beats the pants off most basic cables.

NSB : Maybe the best cable I have ever used. Very expensive solid silver conductors, heavy buit and very stiff. The music flows unipeaded with these! You may find rivals, but non that will beat the clarity, dynamics and sound stageing.

Sonic Horizon's : My current buget fav's. These are a silver claded, multi geometry, teflon shilded cable. They can only be ordered from HCM, which is the biggest dis I can state at their price range. These come close to the NSB over all. A good choice for people who want every thing with comprimises over the entoire range, not just one area. The comps's are small, worth at leats a listen IMHO!

Radio Shack Gold : My first non manufactured supplied cables. Ok, a bit wooly, not the last word in transperancy. Do the job better than some other budget cables. One note, thier 75 Ohm vidio cable with RCA connects may be the best digital cable you can find under $200! The RS cables are all worth checking out as a comparison cable. You know, how good is another cable to it. Most are, but at there price, they can be great to take to stores and compare with the higher priced ones.



Again, all this is MHO.


Tim Bishop

[Tullman]

Originally posted by Scott Wheeler
I have audioquest interconnect cables as well and indeed I much prefer the MIT but when I auditioned the MIT shotgun speaker cable to my suprise it didn't fare well in my system but the Audioquest clear speaker cables did quite well. I suspect that there are many speaker cables out there that will beat my Audioquest Clears. I've had them for about 14 years now. I think speaker cables are probably a bit more system dependant than line level interconnect cables. I hate auditioning cables I must say. They usually make small differences that are...well...different, not always better or worse. I only jump on cables when I hear a solid unmistakable all around improvement like I did with the MIT interconnects. Thanks for the comments Grant.

I have been using audioquest clears for about 10 years. I like them. I know there are better cables out there for me, but the price of admission is too high right now. One must make decisions when upgrading. Should I upgrade my analog/digital frontend? Should I get a subwoofer? Should I start to go muti-channel? Should I get more music?

[aashton]

Originally posted by TimB

NSB : Maybe the best cable I have ever used. Very expensive solid silver conductors, heavy buit and very stiff. The music flows unipeaded with these! You may find rivals, but non that will beat the clarity, dynamics and sound stageing.



The problem I found with NBS cables was that they were too springy for my set-up - as in enough to lift a component or make you worry about snapping a connector. Excellent build quality - but maybe just a bit Over The Top in the engineering department. I have a number of their Power cables that I don't use anymore in a box out back because they would just lift components (and not lightweights at that) clean off the shelf. I also found I needed two or three feet behind a component to loop the cable :eek: Not having a big room this made me look for something a little more "flexible" :D

All the best - Andrew

[Scott Wheeler]

You all make great points. The thing I would love to upgrade next is my room to a bigger room. Aside from checking out the Martin Logan subwoofer I am limited in speaker possibilities with 11.5 feet in width. Not that I am complaining about the Martin Logan CLSs but I would love someday to get a speaker system that is an assult on state of the art. Those kinds of speakers all need more space than what I have. I figure my interconnects will stay as long as I have the electronics I have now.

[pigmode]

Scott,

It seems like you have a pretty sweet system that could realize a nice improvement through cable swapping. Such tweaks can be pretty gratifying overall.