Acoustic Zen vs Homegrown or Mapleshade

The AZ wire is excellent. I was using the Silver Reference between the CDP/preamp, the Matrix between the preamp/amp, Satori speaker wire, and two Tsunamis and a Krakatoa. I recently moved my rack from between my speakers to the other side of the room, which meant using a longer run of speaker wire than the 8ft. Satori. I ordered a 12ft. Run of the Mapleshade Double Helix to use as a temporary solution, because I'd heard it was quite good, and was relatively inexpensive compaired to many others. What I got, was the best sounding speaker wire I have ever tried, and I've tried quite a few costing far more.

The downside, is this stuff is Extremely stiff, and very difficult to work with. You really do need to keep it off the floor like MS suggests for the best sound, but it's very "springy", and this makes installing it correctly a challeage.

I am now trying the interconnect and one of thier AC cords, and am hearing much of the same stunning transparency and dynamics. The IC's and AC cords are particularly tweaky looking, but the RCA plugs are first rate quality. The IC's are as good or better than anything I've tried, but the AC cord isn't up to par with my Krakatoa. Keep in mind that my comments reflect only how the MS wires perform in my own system, but my guess is that they will work equally well in a wide range of systems.(if you can tolorate their ergonomics) I think MS has hit a home run with these. Now that I have them correctly set up, they are a a nice change from the thick, heavy, "garden hose" type wires that seem to be so popular.

Arcam FMJ CD23
Blue Circle BC3 Despina
Blue Circle BC22
Spendor SP 1/2

Bluenose, I also have the paper thin ribbon jumpers. They sure don't look like much, but sound noticely better than the Analysis Plus Oval 12 jumpers with banana plugs that I had been using. Only the edge of the ribbon comes into contact with the binding post, which leads me to question all the hype I read about the importance of contact area. As for the speaker wire, it is not terminated, and only the bare end comes into contact with the binding post. Oxidation is not a concern, because the bare end is completely covered after the posts are screwed down, and I have them treated with Pro Gold. When you think about it, does having an extra gram or so of metal at the ends of your wire really help current delivery?