Anticables Review


Category: Cables

I need to preface this by saying I don't have what y'all would probably consider an "Audiophile" amp: An Onkyo 805 receiver. But it drives my Vandersteen 2ce sigs wonderfully (and in Pure Audio mode has no video circuitry on. I use Pure Audio (no time processing, no sub) for this comparison.

Ok so I got two pairs of Anticables from Paul. He shotgunned them to bananas on the amp end and put vintage spades on the other (biwired to the Vandys). My other cable is a set of Canare 4S11 star quad: hard-wired on the amp end with BJC spades on the speaker. My conclusion: I can only hope that others in this forum are correct in saying that AntiCables need 400 hours to break in. Right now, they sound thin, tinny, and very lacking in bass and overall stage depth. Putting the Canare back on, Jacqueline Dupre's cello once again sounds like a Strad (instead of a high school instrument), and the bass section sounds full and present (instead of weak and distant).

This comparison duplicates results across genres. For example Alison Kraus' Live SACD, the guitar strum sounds precise with the anticables, but very thin. With the Canare you can hear the string depth through the pick.

My next step is to clip off the spades and hard wire the AntiCables, as some have suggested. Will post an update if anyone's interested :) But for now I just wanted to voice my dissatisfaction thus far, and hope that this magnet wire I paid $200 for might somehow 'burn in' to match my $30 Canare 4S11.
kontrabass

Showing 1 response by alonski

As I write this, I'm listening to Wes Montgomery's Tequila LP on a system wired with Anti-Cables and Anti-ICs. Here's my advice: Given that no one brand of cable will be right for every system – if you're in the market for an upgrade, forget all you've read in this thread and just try them. This is a hobby after all, and what's a hobby without some risk and experimentation? That's where all the fun is. AND, when you find a low risk (inexpensive) product like the Anti-Cables that 100's of intelligent and critical folks rave about, jump in, and share your experience with us AFTER you've heard them in YOUR system. I think it is absurd when those who have never heard a product feel like their opinion about it is in any way useful or valid.

BTW, yes, they do benefit from break-in of about 200 hours... and it's worth the wait. In 30 years of audio experimentation, these cables simply blew me away – from their first moments in my system, all the way to right now, when they worked in harmony with the rest of my gear to bring Wes and his band into my living room.

Alon