Acou Zen vs Anaysis Plus vs Cardas Clear Sp. Cable


My system is an Egglestonworks 7.1 with Andra lls up front which have Esotar tweeters and Dynaudio 12" woofers. May go with McIntosh amps to warm things up a bit. Using JPS PC and interconnects. My room is fully treated. I am using a Lexicon processor.

I want a speaker wire that will be very smooth with non-fatiguing highs with midrange that lets dialogue be clear and understandable at moderately low volumes. A nice big 3 dimensional soundstage for movies. These traits have been brought to my system by JPS Aluminata PC/interconnects and Super Conductor interconnects, but worried it may be too much of a good thing so want to go with a tad warmer and with a very smooth sounding speaker cable.

My speaker runs for the front 3 channels are long...10' to 24'. In the running: Cardas Clear Sky and Light, Purist Audio Genesis/Museous, Analysis Plus Oval 9, Oval 8 and Acoustic Zen Satori. Oval 8 seems to be getting out of my budget due to the long lengths. The speakers can not be biwired.

I am leaning towards the AP Oval 9 and the AZ Satori. Thoughts on how these two compare and which would be better for my system and goals would be appreciated. Alsofeel free to comment on any other of the speaker cable I have listed. Thanks.
gelaw

Showing 9 responses by gelaw

Yes, thinking of temporarily moving my side speakers (EW fontaine lls) to the front to test various wire. What are your thoughts on the Clear series vs the Golden Reference? I though the Goldens may be a bit too warm and too dark for a theater application. Clear Sky is at the outer edge of my budget but it's only 12 awg. Clear Light is 8 or 9 awg, which is better for my long runs, but it will be too expensive.
Thanks for the comments.

Does the AP Oval 9 use teflon as the dielectric? I know the AP 9 is not OCC, while the AP 8 is. The Satori uses solo crystal copper (OCC) and a teflon dielectric.

What type of bass does the 9 vs the Satori produce? Is it highly detailed tight and defined or more slam and a bit bloated? With 2 12" Dynaudio woofers in each Andra ll, I think it is better to be detailed and save the slam for my subwoofers.

From all I read, it seems the Satori cable is right in between the AP 9 and 8 in sonic signature. It seems that the Satori has a bigger and more holographic soundstage with a bit more detail, which is all good, but is it as warm and smooth as the 9? A non-fatiguing smooth sound/treble is a top priority due to the very revealing/high resolution nature of the esotar tweeters, particularly with movie sound tracks.

Which cable would perform better at lower volume?

The Satori is 10 awg, is that enough for a 25' run? Is the resistance low enough on this cable? I will be using different lengths for the front 3 so the less reistance the better.

Thanks
Also it seems by everything I have read, the revised Oval 9 projects a bigger sound stage, more detail and more refined bass than the early Oval 9. Still smooth though even with the added detail. Maybe the new Oval 9 closed the gap a bit with the AZ Satori?

Does anyone know how warm and smooth the Clear series is? It may be a bit more neutral then the 9 or Satori. Maybe not ideal for me? There is very little written on the Clear speaker cable.

** Smoothness** defined articulate bass, good detail and maybe just a bit warmer than neutral is what I am after. Movie sound tracks can get a bit edgy at times on a very high resolution system. What I am not after is a cable that is so warm that it sounds blurry and lacks detail.

A good speaker cable shootout would be the Oval 9 vs the Satori vs the Clear Sky/Light.
Thank you for the link. I am familiar with that thread and it's very informative. I started this thread to see if anyone has compared the Satori and the Oval 9 since that 2009/2010 thread in a system that was closer to mine.

Pops seems to have a system close to what mine will be so his comment seems encouraging.

One question, is the Satori warmer than neutral or more towards neutral? I see differing opinions on this, but what I see consistently is that the Satori is very smooth.
Thanks for the info Jkuc. Can I ask you did the AZ or the AP have smoother sound (especially treble)? Was one a bit warmer than the other? What speakers did you compare them on? I have sensitive hearing to treble so this becomes part of the equation. I like everything you said about the AZ, except when you say "extended highs"... As long as the highs are super smooth and maybe a touch warmer than neutral.
Interesting response Jkuc. Is the AZ Hologram II difficult to work with? I have heard that the wire is very stiff and it's difficult to keep them tightly connected to the spades.

It seems by your post that the differences are not that subtle. Do you think these differences would mainly be detectable with 2 channel music listening or would they be equally apparent in a reference home theater?

I would think my Egglestonworks would benefit from the AZ's more full bodied and saturated sound. I understand that the AZ are smooth, but are they smoother/warmer sounding than the AP Oval 9?

From what I read, it appears that the AZ Satori and Hologram are closer in sound to the descriptions the AP Solo Crystal 8 or the Cardas Clear Light.
I have some results from my speaker cable trials. I tried the following speaker wire: Cardas Clear Light, JPS SC V, AP: 9, Solo Crystal 8, Purist Audio: Musaeus, Elementa Advance, Aqueous and Venustas.

My processor and amps are now McIntosh with Egglestonworks speakers. The speaker wire that sounded the best for my application was the Purist Audio Venustas. Very natural dialogue with great midrange, but not in excess or bloated, effortless full bodied smooth sound, large 3 dimensional sound stage, and fairly high resolution that was not edgy or fatiguing in any way. Lots of testing, but I am now very happy with the results.

During the demo process I learned just how different speaker cables sound. Without demoing various speaker wire in your particular system, it's impossible to predict which one will perform the best. Reading and member assistance can help narrow it down though. :)
I have some results from my speaker cable trials. I tried the following speaker wire: Cardas Clear Light, JPS SC V, AP: 9, Solo Crystal 8, Purist Audio: Musaeus, Elementa Advance, Aqueous and Venustas.

My processor and amps are now McIntosh with Egglestonworks speakers. The speaker wire that sounded the best for my application was the Purist Audio Venustas. Very natural dialogue with great midrange, but not in excess or bloated, effortless full bodied smooth sound, large 3 dimensional sound stage, and fairly high resolution that was not edgy or fatiguing in any way. Lots of testing, but I am now very happy with the results.

During the demo process I learned just how different speaker cables sound. Without demoing various speaker wire in your particular system, it's impossible to predict which one will perform the best. Reading and member assistance can help narrow it down though. :) Thanks all for your advice along the way.