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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 strateahed

strateahed
297 posts
 
03-14-08: Strateahed
Just installed Gregg Straley's Reality Cables. My search is finally over. After using Alphacore Goertz MI 1 cables for several years, switched to Signal cable Ultra's for fronts. IMO the Signals produced a fuller sound ... and just a bit on the warm side. I heard a system with some Transparent cables in place ... simply amazing, but I refuse to pay $2,000 for speaker cables! Then I got the upgrade bug ... auditioned Morrow Audio SP2, Speltz Anti-cables, and Audio Art SC-5. While all of these cables are excellent - especially at their price points - each was lacking in a certain area ... the Morrows (bass), Speltz (warmth/emotion), SC-5 (clarity/details). To me, of these three, the SC-5's are the best. Of course, YMMV. I eventually tried a shotgun bi-wire configuration with the Speltz combined with the SC-5's, which was actually quite good.

These Reality Cables do everything well ... top to bottom. There's an ease and refinement in my system now. It now approaches the "high end" sound realm I've been seeking. I believe the Reality Cables are the final piece of the puzzle. I was most impressed by the timbre and tonality they produce. This is the closest I've been to hearing real instruments. It sounds like a sax, piano, guitar playing ... as opposed to a recording of the music. The best part is, at $250/8ft pair these are still in the "budget" price range ... just slightly more than the others I tried, but at higher performance level.

Finally, Gregg Straley is pleasure to do business with. He's got great service and he stands behind his product.

Thought I might weigh in with this discussion. My cable search started earlier this year ... in January; so each of the cables mentioned above were given adequate time to settle in. Of course, they had to be auditioned within the allowable trial period. What I can add is that there is an organic, natural sense to the music with the Reality Cables in place. The Anticables, while very clear and detailed, had almost an analytical character.

I kept the Anticables because they were an odd custom length and initially thought they were keepers (waiting for the proverbial burn-in to happen). The recommended break-in time is 200 hours. They improved with time, but never quite reached the level I was expecting. Anybody want a free pair (9ft/7ft) with bananas on both ends? Let me know.

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