The Liquid Air cables have made a huge difference in my system. I have used two versions of Jerry's power cords in this line of cables: the base Liquid Air for my preamp and a new (I may be the first one to hear them) "high-current" Liquid Air power cord for my mono block tube amps. I have not used any of the Liquid Air line-level cables (digital and IC). I do have experience with them, however, in the Mini-Reference power line conditioner that I started out purchasing last December '10 with the "Liquid Air upgrade." In the more recent months I added the power cords.
The Mini-Reference PLC lowered the noise floor of my system in ways that were informative. In fact, the single most significant feature of the Liquid Air cables is how they suppress noise and allow what is on the recording to come through. What surprised me was how much more palpable the recordings sounded when played over my system -- this effect was noticeable with the Mini-Reference PLC but greatly enhanced by the addition of the power cords.
At first (during the first couple of weeks) I wondered if this "more palpable sound" was moving me away from the sound I had worked hard to achieve, but as these Liquid Air cables burned in over a period of several weeks, the soundstage became very dimensional and instruments/vocals had plenty of surrounding air, an organic quality I particularly like. Vocals over my Quad 2805 speakers now have the immediacy and delicate sound of a very good horn system. This is something I would never have expected from the ESLs, but now attribute to the recordings themselves because of the lifelike quality, as opposed to improvements we usually attribute to gear: transparency, depth, wide, dynamics, etc.
Another remarkable aspect of the Liquid Air cables (in my case rendered in my system by the amp power cords and Mini-Reference PLC) worth noting is "timbrel truthfulness." The full color of the orchestra is reproduced to a much greater effect than I've previously heard. This characteristic is so significant that it increases the sense of realism--surely impossible to quantify, but easily recognized. Imagine a much greater sense of ease and corresponding reduction in listener fatigue that comes from hearing what sounds like the real thing. These are the finest cables I've had the pleasure to use, and Audio-Magic offers them at a very reasonable price for the value. I did try the Illusion power cord on the Mini-Reference but did not feel it better my 8ga. reference cord in that position, still you mileage may vary.
The Mini-Reference PLC lowered the noise floor of my system in ways that were informative. In fact, the single most significant feature of the Liquid Air cables is how they suppress noise and allow what is on the recording to come through. What surprised me was how much more palpable the recordings sounded when played over my system -- this effect was noticeable with the Mini-Reference PLC but greatly enhanced by the addition of the power cords.
At first (during the first couple of weeks) I wondered if this "more palpable sound" was moving me away from the sound I had worked hard to achieve, but as these Liquid Air cables burned in over a period of several weeks, the soundstage became very dimensional and instruments/vocals had plenty of surrounding air, an organic quality I particularly like. Vocals over my Quad 2805 speakers now have the immediacy and delicate sound of a very good horn system. This is something I would never have expected from the ESLs, but now attribute to the recordings themselves because of the lifelike quality, as opposed to improvements we usually attribute to gear: transparency, depth, wide, dynamics, etc.
Another remarkable aspect of the Liquid Air cables (in my case rendered in my system by the amp power cords and Mini-Reference PLC) worth noting is "timbrel truthfulness." The full color of the orchestra is reproduced to a much greater effect than I've previously heard. This characteristic is so significant that it increases the sense of realism--surely impossible to quantify, but easily recognized. Imagine a much greater sense of ease and corresponding reduction in listener fatigue that comes from hearing what sounds like the real thing. These are the finest cables I've had the pleasure to use, and Audio-Magic offers them at a very reasonable price for the value. I did try the Illusion power cord on the Mini-Reference but did not feel it better my 8ga. reference cord in that position, still you mileage may vary.