Cable shoot-out: Second summary


I received the Pure Note cables today and auditioned those with 2 friends and my wife against the Valhalla and Ensemble.
Let me just give a short summary for today:

The king of i/c are still the Valhalla, followed by a 20% margin by the Pure note i/c. The Ensemble still beaten by at least 50%

The Valhalla speaker cables are closely followed by the Ensemble (around 10% advantage for the Valhalla) and Pure Note fall behind by at least 50%.

So money-quality wise, if I were to buy cables today: Ensemble speaker cables and a tough decision between Valhalla i/c and Pure Note i/c.
Moneywise I would go for the Pure note i/c, but for the love of music I would have to take the Valhalla i/c. Maybe the Pure Note i/c will improve, once they are burned in. Then the decision would be a lot easier. But I have still lots of cables coming in. At the end of this shoot-out, I will post a detailed message, covering quality as well as prices. So please bear with me.
tekunda
Thanks Sean for your response. I'll keep this in mind. This cable might run in a bi-wire set-up with the satori....regards, lloyd
Tekunda ,As long as you are looking at cables in this price range,don't forget to try Omega Mikros' Ebony i/c and Planar 4 spkr.I was at CES and heard the Analog 5/planar 3 combination absolutely demolish Nordost Quatrifil/SPM.Give them a shot,with a 30 day money-back guarantee,what's there to lose.Good listening and good luck on your quest. Tom
I would suggest trying to keep all the cables "warmed up" if at all possible and listen to them after they've been running for some time. This means putting them temporarily into a second system, hooking them to a "burner", etc... and then comparing after they've had some time to settle in and you've had some time to become familiar with them. In my experience, MOST cable changes are subtle if the system is well balanced to begin with. I have had some cables make MAJOR changes upon their introduction into the system but most of those were TAKING AWAY from the system or adding something WAY over the top.

I would also encourage you to check into a device similar to a Mobie. You are investing a LOT of money into IC's and it would be to your advantage to hear what they are REALLY capable of. I would not have believed the difference if i had not experienced it myself.

As to Bluenose's question about Jon's CC 89259 speaker cable, i've never buit or used those. I would venture to say that they are probably pretty darn good for the cash involved, especially if you doubled them up and ran them in a "Star Quad" pattern. Jon himself recommends this if you are running big power or have a long run. Even though i have never heard this design, I have little doubt in my mind that i would rather use those than be stuck with Oval 9's. This is MY personal opinion though, so keep that in mind. Sean
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Cool! It will be interesting to see your findings after several days of run-in for all the different cables. Take your time, your opinions can change.
Thanks for the posting. This is a daunting task. I really hate checking out cables....makes me ready for the funny farm......now where's me medication? Will look forward to the final review....I'll make do with the satori. Sean, if you happen upon this I'm curious, how good is the Jon Risch speaker cable? I'll bet it is in the oval 9 league.....cheers and good listening, Bluenose....
Interesting Tekunda, & thanks for posting experience. Can you repeat what equipment you're presently using & the music of choice?

Cheers!